30 Things Series - Number 2

2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.

There was a blog post I wrote about 6-7 years ago in which I had posted a few things I wanted for myself in the future. One of the items was to buy a couch. I must have seen #2 on the 30 Things list coming.

At the time, I was still living at home, in college, and spending an inordinate amount of time playing The Sims 2. Life was good, but I wanted more. Spending hours "buying" Sim furniture and decorating apartments and houses was just a cursory fix.

Years later, when I moved out, I moved into an apartment with my then boyfriend, now fiancé, Dan. Our apartment was a small, one bedroom bachelor pad with little room for anything more than the things he already had. I didn't have the option of adding much of anything.

Making one's first large purchase for a home feels like a rite of passage. Before Dan bought a house which needed filling, I was a college graduate. By age, I was technically an adult. However, I'd never had any serious bills to pay or anything of substantial cost I needed to buy. I was in this strange, in between stage. It gave me a feeling of being left to the wind, as if I weren't truly anchored.

After Dan bought our house, I began my mission to fill the house. We did well with furniture he had, things he had in storage, some great pieces donated by friends and family, and a few things my mother so graciously bought for us. It began to feel like home. I started having to pay some real bills (hello student loan payments). I also made my first big purchase - a washer and dryer. It felt like a very adult thing to do.

I remember sitting in front of the washer, watching it as it ran, then the dryer. I was proud of my purchase. Though they weren't a piece of furniture, they counted as my rite of passage. I was an adult furnishing her adult home!

While furnishing the house, I discovered Craigslist, much to Dan's chagrin. I was beyond excited when I found an all oak, roll top desk. I had always wanted one of those! Dan and I went to pick it up from across town, disassembled the thing, carted it all the way back to the house, then reassembled it in what was my office at the time. It was beautiful! And my laptop didn't fit on the desk space due to the roll top.

Soon after, I sold the desk and picked up a smaller, Bombay Company cherry wood desk which I loved almost as much as the roll top. I also found two antique chairs on Craigslist I just had to have. They're currently sitting chairs in the guest room. I'm not sure if that is they're permanent place just yet. These chairs and the desk are my favorite passage into true adulthood purchases.

In the end, I'd have to say I agree with the necessity of purchasing a decent piece of furniture not previously owned by someone in my family. While there is certainly nothing wrong with family or friend donated furniture (I have some lovely things from Granny's storage shed), it creates a feeling of ownership over your home, wherever it is, to have something you chose, then made the commitment to purchase.