Fun fact: Sometimes following instructions can be misleading...especially instructions included on a box containing a product that is produced in and distributed from another country. Our country loves these items. We purchase them every day. We don't think much of it considering instructions, directions, and packaging are all in familiar ENGLISH. However, next time you decide to buy nice couches, brought home in boxes with dotted lines that say "CUT HERE", clearing displaying a picture of a razor blade, (which most normal, sane, even smart people would take as a clear picture, signifying the appropriate tool for the job), you may want to double check the master mind behind your product.
Lane and I found a deliciously comfortable sectional, ataman and all, at Costco a few weeks ago. Originally we had our eyes set on a cheaply made sofa, (extremely comfortable with unique and fun features, not knowing it was cheap at the time) but we usually like to think things over and by the time we came back to take another look at purchasing, it was too late. The only one they had left was the floor model and it was clear it had been turned into a playground. Needless to say, that was not meant to be.
Well, we knew that Lane had his surgery coming up with some inevitable down time for recovery, and the current couch we have is not built for comfort. It was generously given to us by my boss. We had no furniture to speak of getting married but were fortunate enough to have generous people on our side. We graciously accepted the couch, not caring how old or uncomfortable it was, and went on enjoying our marital bliss. It came to our attention during one of the surgery discussions, that something a little more comfortable would be greatly appreciated during Lane's recovery. We were so abundantly blessed when we got married and have been able to save all the money that we received from loving friends and family, so we decided this could be an awesome opportunity to purchase our first piece of furniture. We proceeded to take a closer look at some of the other furniture pieces that Costo had (side note: if you're a Boyer, it is a requirement to fall in love with Costco) and discovered and awesome sectional that was in our budget. We took a week or so to look around on the web to see how comparable the price really was for the quality and found that it was a great deal. It was bigger than I think we originally thought about getting, but we liked it a lot and decided to go for it.
There is only one downside to the deals at Costco. No delivery. So this purchase started a series of multiple trucking excursions. We borrowed my dad's truck and also had Lane's dad show up to help with the second section of the sectional. We got them back to the house and with the help of my dad and brother, got them into the house with only a little breathlessness. We were so excited to get them out and sit as giddy newlyweds on our very first couches. After thanking our families for their help and swapping cars back, Lane quickly assessed the giant box situation and whipped out the razor blade. The boxes clearly "forbid" you to cut along the natural openings of the box and distinctly directed your attention to the dotted lines all around the bottom of the boxes, where it says "CUT HERE". That's exactly what my handsome husband did. We got the cardboard cut and, with teamwork, removed the giant box from the first one.
Drumroll right?
But there it was. A kick in the face to Lane. He was no happy camper as he realized that the razor blade had slashed the bottom edges of each couch. He was devastated, and who can blame him?? After convincing him he wasn't an idiot and no one could possibly know the couches would sit right at the very edges of the box, we proceeded to set them up in the living room. After all, there wasn't anything we were going to be able to do about it for the rest of the weekend.
Happy ending: We forgot about the slashes for a few weeks (well, almost forgot. Lane still felt crummy when he stopped in the kitchen and could see one slices end staring at him) and were able to FALL IN LOVE with our couches during Lane's recovery.
Positive plug for Costo: When Lane was coming out of surgery, still groggy from anesthesia, he happened to retell the comical couch story to his mom. She took matters into her own hands and called Costco for us. They immediately told her to bring them back. They didn't care that it was essentially our fault (but not really...dotted line people) and just told us to bring them back in for a trade or full refund.
Sad ending: When we finally got our ducks in a row to take the couches back down town, they were completely sold out, with no more in production for ship. :( We were super bummed. We really did love those couches. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Needless to say, old Mr. frumpy uncomfortable is back in the living room. Someday we'll find the perfect couch. It will be comfy and nice and you'll probably hear us saying "What Costco sectional?". ... Ok, who could forget this experience? But we WILL find a nice couch.