Is the H&M 4827 West End sofa similar in comfort to other sofas like the City, etc?

I love the looks of the H&M 4827 West End sofa but cannot find one anywhere near me (OK) to see it in person and see how it sits. I've checked the Dallas area and there are none. The furniture store in OK that carries H&M said that they have never had the West End sofa in their store so they can't tell me what it's like. The only sofas that they keep on their showroom floor are the City sofa, the Sundance and the Austin. I've tried those three H&M sofas and they are super comfortable. I just want to make sure that the West End sofa is comparable to these sofas in comfort. Also, the West End only comes in the Alberta Harness leather in the Just in Time program. Has anyone seen any H&M furniture made in this leather? Is it a good leather? I would really appreciate any and all comments and suggestions.

Trying to tell you what sofa you will find comfortable is like trying to tell you which shoes you will find comfortable at DSW. It's a subjective kind of thing and matter of personal preference. I think you will discover that 90% of the H&M line sits well across the board - they don't make bad pieces. West End will be closest to the Sundance, its a bigger sit than the City and does not have the bustle back of the Austin.

Alberta Harness is a basic program leather - it serves a price point. It's a finished top grain hide that comes out of a Chinese tannery and looks about like every other finished leather that comes out of a Chinese tannery. It's unremarkable, and at the same time will do good service duty with a pleasant look to it. You will not confuse it with a nice Italian aniline though! Then again, the price in Just in Time is superb so like most things you have trade-offs vs budget.

Duane, I got the two leather samples that you sent me of the Alberta Harness and the Portfolio Tobacco and you're right in that the Alberta Harness looks very over processed, especially next to the Portfolio Tobacco. I think we have almost decided to go with the West End sofa (not as deep a seat depth as the Sundance which is good for me at 5' 3" and I'm not sure our den can handle the overall depth of the Sundance). We're thinking of using the Portfolio Tobacco leather on the West End sofa since it looks and feels like such a nicer leather. We saw a Sundance recliner in a furniture store here and the leather is a lot more of a lighter orangey brown compared to the darker brown sample you sent. Is there any way to make sure that I get a color closer to the sample? I realize that changing the leathers takes the West End out of the JIT program so we won't get the benefit of the great prices but I'm trying to pay attention to what you've said numerous times about choosing a better leather instead of just trying to save money and regretting it later. Have you seen the West End in Portfolio Tobacco and would you recommend that? I still want to stay with a protected, durable leather with all of the grandkids that we have here. Thank you so much for all of the time that you devote to this forum and for helping so many of us who are trying to make wise furniture decisions!

Portfolio Tobacco is a GR 2 leather and its most often used as a program leather on specific items. I rarely have anyone order it to use out of promotion, because quite frankly I think you can get better hides in GR 2 if going into the regular line. I prefer hides such as Atticus, Angelo, and Aspen (all GR 2) over Portfolio. Portfolio is a painted, or finished leather, so the color rarely varies as paint is paint - its made up the same each time in the car. Color variances are more apt to be in pure anilines where the color is dyed vs applied.

Read this thread all the way through, noting that PROTECTED does not mean armoured, it means the leather is painted. This is actually the best thread on the whole forum in my opinion:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...ecting-leather

If I were buying a West End outside of the promotions and wanted to stay in a GR 2, I'd select one of the Atticus leathers. Or in GR 3 my choices open way up and I'd get a nice pull-up or burnished hide on it. But that's just me!

You can always order a CUTTING FOR APPROVAL on any H&M order where you get a sample sent to you of the actual leather to be used before production begins. Note that you must order the piece to get a CFA and it adds appx 3 weeks to the overall time to build the piece and there is a $ 15 charge for a CFA. Once you get the swatch you can say "Go Ahead" or you can re-select another leather if not satisfactory. I generally do not recommend CFA's as they add to the buying confusion process and slow everything down, but it is available as one more decision-making tool.

Wow! I thought I'd read everything in the forum about leathers and how to choose them but somehow missed this one amazing thread that you mentioned. SO MUCH really good information in that thread and I agree that it's probably the best, most informative thread on the whole forum!!!
Out of the 3 leathers that you suggested using outside of the program in Grade 2 I think I like the look of the Aspen Tobacco the best but would like to look at some of the other ones too. Could you please send me a sample of the Aspen Tobacco, the Angelo Mink and the Portfolio Harness?
Duane, thank you again for your kind help and much appreciated patience with me as I try to make my decision!!!

Please email all sample requests with your address (half of all sample requests don't include a mailing address!) to keepingroom@gmail.com. Alternatively you may do so here in the Quotes and Orders page on the forum as well.

Hi Duane! I just received the 3 other leather samples that you had H&M send me (Aspen Tobacco, Angelo Mink and Portfolio Harness). On the back of the Portfolio Harness sample it does not say whether it is protected or not (although on the H&M website it's listed as protected) The other two samples say protected. On the back of the Port. Harness sample it says Softness: 3, Special Effects 4, Surface Grain 4, Serviceability 2. What does it mean Serviceability 2? Does this mean that it will stain or absorb body oils easily or what?
I looked at the Atticus leathers that you suggested you would use for the West End sofa and think the Atticus Chestnut and Atticus Sable are beautiful but am really concerned about body oil, body sweat and 6 grandkids under 10. My husband has a leather recliner that the part where he rests his head and arms has become badly stained in less than 2 years. Since we're wanting to get a recliner and West End sofa in the same leather I'm stumped as what to do now and what the serviceability thing on the other sample means. Would the Atticus be more resistant to stains than the protected Portfolio Harness and Angelo Mink?
Thank you again for your amazing patience in answering all of my questions. You're help is so appreciated!

Great! All of those leathers are finished (painted) or in H&M speak : Protected (they are really not armored, just painted). They used to use those index values, but have stopped doing them. I'm glad they did stop them! 1 was super-tough commercial, 4 was fragile in the old system.

There is no practical difference in those three leathers, they are all going to perform about the same, so select on color and hand of the hide, and high/lows. My favs of those three in order of preference are 1) Angelo 2) Aspen 3) Portfolio

I put in the Atticus to your order so you could see an aniline hide at the same price as the finished leathers, it would make up very handsomely on the West End Series and would be what I personally would buy. If you are really concerned about staining or marking the safe bet is the finished hides. If you husband is staining leathers, then I'd suggest ordering armcaps and a head rest cover, then step up the maintenance on his unit to every other month using the Leather Solutions kits.

Glad to assist!