F is for your own furniture

When I moved back to my apartment in Urbana at the end of the summer, I wanted it to have more pizazz.

In my case, having more pizazz meant having more than a shag rug at the front door, more than a torn print of Edwin Munch’s “The Scream” on my wall, and more than the “Pizzazz” pizza oven that I’m convinced will cook anything exactly how I want it.

Having more pizazz meant having better furniture.

Now, I’ve noticed a few things about apartment living in my collegiate life. At the top of that short list of observations is this: most apartments contain couches that are made of cardboard. That’s why you’ve gotta bring your own stuff if you want any semblance of comfort in your new place.

It’s why I decided to bring one of my favorite leather blue recliners to replace the love seat that I think was upholstered with dish towels.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s too much effort to bring your own furniture. The futon won’t fit in your car. It’ll be too heavy to carry and once you get it in the main doorway, you’ll have to flip it and rotate it 172 degrees before you finally wedge it through and scratch up one of the legs.

The thing is, it’s worth the effort. Having your own proven piece of furniture means you can jump on it, readjust it and really relax the way you want to.

If you spill something on your own couch cushion or La-Z-boy, who cares? You don’t have to pay any fines. Just throw a paper towel on it. It’ll soak it up.

Finally, having your own furniture will make your guests more comfortable as well.

They’ll appreciate your foresight, and the surprisingly-painful-but-ultimately-not-too-serious injuries you sustained in bringing and sharing a piece of your furniture — really, a piece of yourself — with them.

Unless your piece of furniture is like my blue recliner.

I seem to be the only one who can figure out how to work the handle and properly extend the footrest.

In that case, don’t worry about sharing your own furniture. Go ahead and enjoy it yourself. Your guests can sit on the cardboard.

Andrew Maloney is a junior in LAS.