Couch wanted? Forget Ikea, try the street

99 Days — 

In need of a couch? Well take a stroll through DC's neighborhood streets and the selection rivals that of Ikea.

I sense that these street couches magically appear in relatively large cities or those very fashion forward ones that have taken up floor pillows in lieu of couches.

These street couches serve many purposes, to which the purpose is often in the eye of the beholder:

1. The 'Moneymaker'
We all know that cash can be tight and well when you've got a bed, a chair and a paycheck not coming for two weeks, throwing the couch on the street/craigslist can bring in some cold hard cash. Let's face it, those friends can start crashing on the floor.

2. The 'Where did those stains come from?'
Every couch has one — or 10 — and if the couch is goin' to the curb it's bound to have some fabric blemishes. It happens to the best of couches: "That random spot that magically appeared after your friend crashed on the couch a few times;" or "The not sure what was for dinner but now it's the couch stain;" or everyone's favorite, "When this couch was handed down to me, they said the spots were a 70's fabric trend."

3. The 'I can't drag this on the Metro'
The Metro provides an essential service for us DCers. Groceries, bikes, strollers, babies and the 'not sure what's in the corner of the train' are all daily sights on the colorful lines. But let's face it folks, Metro doesn't need additional seating on the trains. So lugging a couch on Orange line to transfer at Metro Center to the Red line just isn't gonna cut it.

4. The 'I won't give a dollar to a homeless man, so I gave a couch instead'
For those of you who are a little hesitate to give a buck or two to a homeless guy, the couch is the obvious next logical option. Instead of a buck, a beat up couch serves so many more purposes — for starters it's certainly a lot softer than the park bench.

5. The 'It's bulk trash day'
This would be the most logical and sensible reason to put a couch on the curb, but the other four made for good prose.

No matter the reason, keep putting those couches out there, because at the very least it gives me something to think about as I run around our city and write about the Sights in My Nikes.