Moving in the times of COVID
It’s no news that we have officially become Florida residents last month. And while I wrote about how that went in this post, today I wanted to share our living room, and how it was like starting from zero in a new state, during a pandemic.
We have been in Florida for a while, it’s true, and it was the pandemic that somewhat forced us into our decision to settle here. We were, of course, seriously considering it, but COVID, as well as finding a place we liked sooner than we thought, sped up the process for us. Well, “sped up” is a strong word in this case as the process took a while because of the aforementioned epidemic we find ourselves in.
We came to Florida with a few things, just what we thought would be necessary for our stay here, which wasn’t necessarily planned to become permanent. Apart from some basics, we didn’t have anything else to start a home with when we decided to move here.
As soon as we secured our place, we compiled a list of things we would need, furniture included, and I began looking for them online, as browsing the stores during these times is not something we wanted to do. Well, that quickly gave me anxiety as finding items in stock proved to be a challenge. Turns out that everyone else had the same idea since sofas and other home goods were swiped everywhere. I literally spent entire days checking for stock updates, and making immediate purchases when I found something we wanted or needed. It was a draining process.
As our previous furniture was from IKEA, and we have been extremely happy with it, we decided to shop there again for most of our needs. I wanted the same EKTORP sofa we had in San Diego, in white, of course, as it was the most comfortable and durable couch we ever sat on. It was still like new when we donated it to the Salvation Army 6 years after we bought it, so you know it’s a good one (it was our only couch so it got plenty of use). But it wasn’t meant to be as the Ektorp was out of stock for months, with no estimate of when it would come back. So I had to choose something else, which was funny (NOT!) considering that all sofas I liked on their website were also out of stock.
We even went to the store to see if we could find what we were looking for there, even if from their “as-is” section. “As-Is” is the furniture that has been on display or maybe returned (sales are final, and most times items require some cleaning), with a 30% or more discount applied. No luck there on sofas, but we did find our nightstands already assembled (if you know Ikea furniture, you know that’s a big deal) and the staff told us that the couch we wanted is being discontinued, *sad face*.
We browsed the store looking for other things we needed, as we went when it opened, and few people were around. After purchasing our coffee table (I love how big it is), our side tables for now (even though basic, I love how versatile they can be, and we can always give them a makeover, or repurpose), and a few other small home goods (this ceramic vase is stunning and oh-so-chic), we left disappointed. But I wasn’t going to give up, as once home, I continued my search on their site, just in case stock was replenished somehow.
HÄRLANDA was my next option for a sofa, but of course, it was also out of stock. As I kept looking and decided to give non-white couches a chance, I found the FINNALA sofa (pretty much the only one I liked, aside from the ones mentioned above), and by a miracle, it showed that there was one available in “orrsta black-blue” (navy), which was right up my alley. Yep, I immediately added it to my cart, found the same bed we had in San Diego, as we’ve been happy with it, the mattress, and placed the order after having to tweak our new address for delivery (their system wasn’t taking it). I was almost shaking with fear that someone else would get to the sofa before me. And I was just as nervous that the order would be canceled (I’ve read it happened to others) up to the point it was delivered.
I was lucky to act fast on it - the sofa is currently not featured on the website… what’s left of the series are the sectionals, sleeper sofa, and accessories. I chose this couch because it is wider and longer than the Ektorp, offering plenty of room for lounging, and is just as comfortable though firmer. The only issue I have with it is that the armrests have to come apart in order to remove their covers for washing, which is a big design flaw in my eyes. After all, the best part about many Ikea couches is that the covers can be easily removed and washed as needed.
As far as delivery, I had the luxury to delay it by two weeks (the earliest available date for delivery was only 3 days prior to my desired one), which probably helped with our experience since Ikea’s website states that deliveries are delayed at this time, due to COVID. We had zero issues with ours.
I didn’t find a rug at Ikea that I liked, so I scoured online until I found the one. I went for the 7'10" x 9'10" size in turquoise, and for the size and look, the price is simply unbeatable. As you see in the photo above, the rug is beautiful, but it’s not the soft kind and has a low pile, which works for us. We can always add a non-slip rug pad if we want more padding.
Getting this rug to us was another “adventure”; it was shown as “out for delivery” for 4 days in a row, and when we finally received it, the labels on it indicated that it was en-route or processed to be on the delivery truck 4 times. By the time it got to us, the plastic wrap was torn, and the rug was pretty dirty on the outside (spot cleaning took care of that mostly)… Apparently, UPS was overwhelmed with packages and couldn’t keep up with the deliveries. A few days earlier, we had FedEx deliver several packages days before the estimated delivery date, with no issues.
I was eyeing more things on Amazon, but after our area rug delivery ordeal, I decided not to shop there again, at least for a while.
Our living room in a nutshell:
-1- Area Rug // -2- White cushion cover // -3- Blue and white cushion cover // -4- Inner cushion // -5- Sofa (sectional), and same-series sleeper sofa), exact one unavailable // -6- Blue and white ceramic vase sold out, similar here // -7- Coffee table // -8- Side table (also perfect for kids as a play table) .
I adore a blue and white combo, and as you might have guessed, I decided to stick to navy blue and white as the main color-theme throughout our home, with a pop of color offered by our area rug.
Since, right now we don’t have a lot of books, as well as other decorative items, we found no need for a bookcase or other furniture at this time. And though our townhome might look a little “bare”, I surely enjoy the peace and calm it provides, especially during these times. I do plan on getting a plant stand (the one I want is out of stock currently) to organize and display my plants beautifully.
Did you have to move during COVID? And if you’ve been shopping for your home, what have you been looking for, and what have you found?
Until next time.
xoxo,
Em
