Sunday, July 4, 2010

Feeling with your eyes and seeing with your hands

Two simultaneous cries went up. "Oh! I love THIS!" and "What? You like THAT?!"

We were furniture shopping and heard the same refrain several times we tagged along with another couple on the hunt for that most elusive creature The Perfect Sofa (at an affordable price).

It took some time for us all to realise that each had different criteria. Mrs Shopper is very visual and also "a bit OCD". Mr Shopper is kinesthetic so it's all about how things feel.

Mrs Shopper loved the shape of the deep seats, and the interesting texture of the subtle nubby weave mocha fabric cushions - which wouldn't show finger marks or need too much plumping. Mr Shopper hated the rough nap of the same weave, and the dense, firm foam on the cushions. When Mrs Shopper thought another sofa was 'hideous' and 'would mark in minutes', Mr Shopper was so busy enjoying the cloud-like density of the pillows and the lush softness of the velvety wide wale cord covers. I don't think he noticed it was slate blue, a colour Mrs Shopper doesn't want in her lounge room.

While they stuck to generalizations: 'great', 'yuk', 'fabulous', 'awful' tensions were high. Once they realized what their partner was on about, they were able to stop wondering what planet they were on.

The next time you can't see another person's point of view - let alone agree with it - remember the sofa search and ask yourself if you're trying to see with your hands or feel with your eyes!

This is post 60 of 100 posts in 100 days.
Sent from my iPhone

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