I have this little game that I play with myself. To me it’s fun, but I’m the type who would never want to bungee jump or anything. I always try to see how many different seats I can get in our main living area/family room. This room has 11. You can’t see the ottoman on the other side of the red chair.

Do I have 11 people over every day that need to rest their hiney? Nope. But we have hosted our community group in the past and I love that I have a place for them. It might not be the most comfortable place to sit for 45 minutes but they will have a seat. My husband recently hosted a group of 8 buddies and he was happy for all the seating. And we like to have the whole family over for Christmas so lots of rump resters is a must. Not to mention the fact that my boys have their friends over practically every day and they lounge all over this house.

yardsale find $5? for our bedroom

When my husband was in grad school we had 3 places to sit in our tiny garage apartment. The sofa, the bed, the toilet. From there on out I vowed to always have places for people to sit. Please don’t ask my why I don’t make better vows like to never get an extension on our taxes or never let the dishes sit for 2 days dirty in the sink but, my vow was for maximum seating potential and I have followed through.

a bench is so versatile

Therefore, just like when we all confessed how many lamps we had , I shall now confess my love for all things chair/sofa/ottoman…places to sit in my house not counting beds or toilets: 30 places downstairs, 8 upstairs. 38 places to sit inside my house.


So, if I’m out and about and see a great chair and it’s less than $10, I will usually buy it. We could use a chair in our boys rooms and the other office. I’ve yet to think to myself “gosh, I wish I didn’t have so many places to sit in my house.”

my office desk–I figured why not add in extra chairs just in case?

Here’s how I work lots of chairs into our rooms:

  • every sofa table has a chair or ottoman pulled up under it so it doubles as a desk
  • I use breakfast tables pushed up against a wall as desks — surround them with chairs and they are a great place for homework
  • bring outdoor wicker furniture inside for texture tuck it in a corner next to a floor lamp
  • use extra dining chairs around the house next to side tables {I especially like the arm chairs} just add a pillow and it looks like it was meant to be

salvation army chair: $8

See the two dining chairs in this room?

another yard sale chair placed with a yard sale parson’s table–makes a great desk for our boys’ room

same table as above paired with 2 extra armless dining chairs–in the old playroom

Ok, you know you want to spill it, how many seats are in your house?