Great Room Layout and Picture

[drcollie]

Great! If doing the Author Chair outback, also look at doing the footrest panel in the decorative leather as well. Yes, the whole chair goes to a GR 5 at that point.

On the other embossed hides, keying to the Garfield Chestnut:

Flora Honey: Will work, but introduces a considerable amount of gold into the roo. May look a little brassy.
Laredo Whiskey: Colors hues work well. A 'busier' look than the Ostrich.
Santa Rosa Copper: Color hues OK, but this is a VERY bold pattern that may 'pop' more than you want.
Segovia Cocoa: Perfect color match. Will work equally as well as the Ostrich. A more modern, contemporary look is a bit more shiny as well
Vineyard Trellis: I don't have that swatch on any of my handles, sorry!

Yes, the ottomans will be flat enough.

Sundance feet are not screw-on, so they require a lot more work to modify the frame to accept. I think if your are going to use a specialty hide on them, I'd not worry about a leg match and I think the height is fine, but that comes down to personal preference.

There are no cool embossed leathers in GR 3. However ottomans are not big square footage users, so GR 5 prices on them are no where near as severe as on a sofa, etc. Will PM prices to you.

Duane

[aluebcke]

Thanks Duane for you opinion on the class 5 leathers I mentioned. I'm going to run it by my husband to see what he thinks....I'm thinking either Laredo Whiskey, Segovia Cocoa, or Ostrich Chesnut. But have to run the prices by him, too....and we're already over budget.

I'll be near a dealer this weekend (taking my son to get measured for a tux for a wedding this month)....I'll take a quick look at these three.

Thanks for your explanation on the feet....makes sense now.

Amanda

[Monique]

Just jumping in to say that I have ostrich patterned leather on dining room chair seats. I put it on 6 years ago. It is not H & M leather but looks similar. It is a wonderful pattern and one that you never tire of. It's not too much....just right. Everyone comments on it; looks really up-to-date but not over the top.

Sounds like things are really coming together. Love having two leathers on the Author Chair. Great idea!

The good thing about using the Author Chair ottomans is if you ever use the chairs in a different room, the ottomans will be perfect with the chairs. I'm always thinking about flexibility.

Enjoying your process..learning a lot too!

[aluebcke]

Thanks Monique....great to hear you haven't gotten tired of the ostrich print.

Flexibility is always good...and we're thinking the same for when we finally decide to move.

I showed my husband the ostrich pattern and he likes it...which surprised me. He actually thinks the patterned leather on the ottoman and chair is a great idea (thanks Duane!). But, he suggested a crocodile pattern instead....to give the room a bit of masculine touch (to contrast with the gold silk drapes and flower/stripe pillows I'm planning).

I also like the idea, but it scares me a bit. Will it be too bold?

I checked H&M's site for animal print leathers in brown, and see the following as options:
Nile croc burnished (class 5).... I like the smaller pattern of this versus the Sara Rosa Copper.
Serengeti dusk burnished (class?)
Tangier Sage Burnished (class 3....can this be right?)

Any opinions?

Duane, will these match/complement with the Garfield Chesnut? Do you think they'll be too bold?

I did find a sofa in the market photos with the nile croc burnished:
http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/atta...3&d=1304566521

Still considering the ostrich....although when my 8 year old son saw it, he asked if the raised spots were cow nipples. Not sure why, since he's seen cows before. Despite that, we still like it.

[drcollie]

One of the nice things about the Ostrich pattern is its subtle yet decorative. There is nothing subtle about the Nike Croc - it explodes off the pieces and says "HEY - LOOK AT ME!" I think on the back of an Author Chair, it may be a bit overwhelming.

Nice Croc is good looking.
Sergegeti is too, but the pattern on it is very large. Careful on that.
Tangier is cheap looking. Pass.

Yes, the will all go with Garfield Chestnut, some on either side of the color hue spectrum, but all falls into the similar color family.

[aluebcke]

Thanks Duane.

To update everyone, I missed the sale....still can't decide but have narrowed to the Nile Croc or Ostrich (for the top of the ottoman and back of the author chair).

Duane was kind enough to order me samples of these two. Thanks Duane! You're awesome.

We'll now be waiting until the next sale....will give us time to save up since we've doubled our original budget. We'd rather get what we want, vs settling on something we won't be quite as happy with.

Anyone who ordered during the sale and did something in Garfield, Nile croc, or ostrich.....please post pictures when your furniture comes in!!! I'll be so jealous sitting on my old couches.

Oh well, I'll have time to finish the silk drapes I'm working on. I've finished 1 panel (lined and interlined, 12 ft tall). It took me 10 hours, but the rest will go much quicker (I hope). The panel looks fabulous.....I can't believe I made it myself!

[drcollie]

Just so you know Amanda, H&M has told me today they WILL be offering a Sundance series Loveseat in the coming months. I think that was one thing you were considering in the planning?

[aluebcke]

Hi Duane. Yes it was....but my husband likes the idea of two sofas.

[aluebcke]

Hello again,
For anyone following our decision making process, we've been considering dropping to a class 2 leather to save on the cost.

Duane was nice enough to order us more samples (I believe the fourth time). Thanks Duane!

We received the new samples this week, and while they were nice, they just do not compare to the Garfield for color variation. So, we're sticking with the Garfield leather, but changing from the Garfield Chesnut (afraid it may be too orange) to Garfield Fawn.

Our room has some dark furniture (TV cabinet, side tables) and dark wood floors...so we think the Garfield Fawn will help to lighten things up a bit.

So, our current thinking is: Garfield Fawn on the two sofas (110" Sundance and 84" Sundance); Garfield Mocha on the Author chair; Nile Croc Burnished on the two Author ottomans, on top, with either the Garfield Fawn or Mocha on the bottom.

Any thoughts from anyone? I'm thinking of doing the chair in two colors...Garfield Fawn and Mocha. Not sure on that. We've ruled out the Nile Croc on the back of the chair. We'd love to add this, but the chair will sit in a corner so we're going to save a few $'s.

Duane...I have a few questions for you on the Garfield:

Is it an aniline leather?

Will it adjust to room temps and be comfortable (not too hot in summer or cold in winter)? I think I've read that only the cheap non-H&M leathers have this problem, but want to be sure since Garfield has waxes injected and is a bit slicker.

I understand the Garfield will be a bit shiny/slick. Will it be as slick as a protected leather?

Do you think we should add any welt trim or gimp to the Author ottomans to go better with the Sundance sofas, or to break up the two leather colors? Or would you leave them as shown on H&M's site?

Also, if you can give me your opinion on how best to tie in the three leathers, I'd really appreciate it. The sofas in Garfield fawn are set....but I'd like to do the author in Garfield mocha or mocha/fawn combination. Thoughts? What would you suggest on the ottomans with the Nile Croc on top?

Thanks,
Amanda

[drcollie]

Yes, Garfield is an aniline, and has lots of color depth.

Yes, its usually as slick as a protected leather in my experience.

Any leather that has a topcoat is going to be colder when you touch it than a non-coated leather. Hard to say how much on Garfield, it tends to vary quite a bit on top coat (it's Italian, and with Italian leathers you never know quite what you're going to get until you open the box).

I like the gimp, but you have to do it on both the chair and ottomans I think. If you decide to do it, use the Nikle Croc for the gimp as well as the tops, that would look sharp. I'd not 2-tone the chair in two Garfields myself, just do the whole chair in Mocha and ad the Croc gimp if you like.