Advice Needed!

[ldematte]

Hi Duane,

My husband spoke with you this afternoon (yesterday too) - I'm hoping to put a sofa & loveseat order in with you soon -hopefully this weekend to take advantage of your black friday specials, and to ease my husband's misery as I'm making him crazy

I'm sure you've taken many, many phone calls these last few days, so to refresh your memory I'm strongly considering purchasing the Sundance sofa (4716) and loveseat in the promotional leather (Portfolio Tobacco). The (very valid) issue you raised today with my husband is that my room is on the smallish side 13x17 and these two pieces may be too big for the room.

The other sofa that I really like is the rugby sofa (5261). Of course, I'd have to go with a custom loveseat as I see H&M doesn't make one standard. Again, not a small sofa- but I'm sure you're getting a feeling for what I like - comfy with a lot of style.

I'm attaching the layout of my room. If you could take a quick look and give me your opinion on both the Sundance & Rugby pieces, I'd be very grateful. I'm also open to your suggestions. The structure on the left wall is a to-the-ceiling stone fireplace, the tv armoire which we'd like to keep is opposite the sofa, and the "wall" behind the loveseat is not really a wall, but totally open to the rest of the house, specifically our kitchen. You'll notice 2 chairs in the room as well- they'll come later after I see how much 'space' the sofa & loveseat take up in the room.



Thanks so much for your time.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[drcollie]

Yes, and I advised against the Sundance when he told me the room size. I think that's just too much furniture in the room, even your room layout shows only a few inches between the pieces and each other or an obstruction. Some of this is personal taste, but in general a room that is over-crowded seems claustrophobic and small. I like to preserve free space and keep things more open, which means in a 13' x 17' room you want to consider lighter appearing pieces that have less visual bulk and are not too deep.

The area behind the loveseat is open to the kitchen, yes? I think that is what your husband told me?

I think the Rugby series is too large, too. We need to scale down....

The one chair next to the sofa has to go - no room. The loveseat has to go too, no room. That leaves us with (1) sofa, (1) chair in the corner opposite the sofa and perhaps a single chair where the loveseat now is and that's about it. Since the sofa is going up against the wall, we don't need a decorative back like the Sundance and it would be better to get out of the deep mid-40' class pieces and into something like one of these for the sofa:

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...?productid=975

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1934

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=2060

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=2143

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=2137

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=2057

Notice all the sofas I selected have depths in the 40" or less category. Then I might go with a pair of swivel chairs in some manner such as these:

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1608

And nice ottoman for the sofa:

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1608

Less is more!

[ldematte]

Thanks for your advice, Duane!

Ok, looks like I'm going to give up on both the Sundance & the Rugby and I do like some of the other sofas you've suggested.

The room does open up to the kitchen (on the left)... and where I've indicated a "wall" is really just as far back as I'd pull a loveseat. There's an additional 4+ feet of space behind the loveseat which is still technically family room (carpeted area) then the hardwood begins (kitchen). It also opens to the entry hallway (next to what is the basement door in my plan), so it gives a bigger feel than 13x17.

I really need to go with a sofa / loveseat combo although it may not be ideal from a design standpoint. We're a family of 4- 2 teenage boys (fun!), my husband, and I, and everyone wants to lounge. So I need to go with comfort over design here. We have the standard sofa/loveseat setup now & with the smaller sized pieces, while not ideal I think it can work. I've attached some pictures of how the room looks now (apologies, I should have done this in my last post). We're getting rid of everything behind the loveseat (sofa table, small wooden chair).

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Is it safe to assume that any of the sofas you've suggested can be made into a loveseat as well? Also going to rely a bit on you regarding comfort (although I've read enough on the forum to know this is very subjective). We really liked the Sundance feel - I believe you've said it has to do with the pitch of the back - and wouldn't want anything that sits too upright.

Again, thanks so much for all your help. We'll get there! (hopefully soon)

[hglaber]

It almost sounds like you're thinking of this as a more formal living room, while in reality you are using it as a more informal family room. If that's the case, and you need that much seating, perhaps a sectional would be better? A single sectional looks less cluttered to me than a sofa and loveseat sitting arm to arm with a table in the corner. The Campaign sectional is only 36" high so would not block the view from the kitchen, and only 38" deep outside (but 22" inside which is a pretty decent seat depth for horizontal work) so would not take up the whole room.

The Campaign also has a matching bench (large ottoman) that could accommodate a pillow-toting teen depending on size. It would also provide "feet up" lounging, which you don't currently have. Throw a tray on it and it's a coffee table when you have company. If you slide the wardrobe over a bit so it's more centered in front of the sofa instead of centered on the wall you should be able to sneak a smaller chair in where the plant is with no problem, moving the plant to where that chair is now. If there's a game console hooked to that TV the kids could then sit on the bench during game play as well.

However, I admit I am far from being an expert decorator like many on this forum, and have neither seen nor sat upon a Campaign. It's just a brainstorm. Many others here on the forum are better able to visualize things from photos and diagrams than I ever could. That might be too much upholstered surface in that room. One of them can probably chime in to refine/reject this plan as an alternative.

[organic_smallhome]

I agree with hglaber: a sectional would be far more appropriate and less cluttered-looking, in my opinion, for the space (which is really nice, btw).

[drcollie]

I think the sectional will be the best bet as well, after seeing the room photos. The Campaign will be the best fit:

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...?productid=848

The Sundance sectional *might* work, it will come off the wall at 8 3/4 feet. You'd have to walk around it for sure, might want to lay it out and see how it looks. Here's a photo of one I did for a customer locally:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...Kipling-Cognac

Know what would look really great in that room? Some custom 'soffet' lighting the length of the wall above the sofa shining up towards the ceiling.

[hglaber]

Know what would look really great in that room? Some custom 'soffet' lighting the length of the wall above the sofa shining up towards the ceiling.

If you move the plant to the left of the fireplace, you could put a cheap uplight on a timer on the floor behind it to blow out that corner of the ceiling if you can't swing the soffit lights just now. Not as good as soffit lighting, but no wiring required and the shadows you get on the ceiling are pretty cool with smaller leaves like that (ficus?) plant. I use a small CFL (you don't want it too bright) so it costs little to run, and being on from 5 to 11 it also provides a nice night light effect so I never come home to a dark house.

A large piece of framed artwork with a picture light over the sofa would add to the effect, but I'm afraid you'd get unpleasant reflections in the TV. Unlighted, however, it would help balance the height of the wardrobe on the other side of the room.

We probably should have warned you that posting pics will cause the rest of the forum members to completely redecorate your whole place.

[ldematte]

LOL.... that's ok, hglaber. I asked for your opinions- bring them on. I love the lighting idea and totally agree that we need something above the sofa. We recently had the room painted & I didn't want to put in any new nail holes until the new furniture is here.

A sectional is a good idea, makes a lot of sense. However, we had one years ago & for some reason my husband is really against it- wants the sofa / loveseat combo instead. We'll have to give it some thought.

Duane- we liked the Ashmore sofa that you suggested earlier today. If we decide to go this route, would H&M do it in a loveseat for us? In your opinion what's the comfort level on it?

Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[drcollie]

Ashmore will work, for sure, and H&M will make a loveseat. Everything is kind of closed up now at H&M until Monday, so to get a quote on it might not happen right away. Best guess? Add about $ 700 to the price to cut down the sofa to Loveseat size (don't hold me to that, but experience tells me I'm probably in the ballpark). That would work pretty good right around 60" wide, too. And they do make a chair if you're interested in that.

The reason the sectional works better is the loveseat has to be so tight to the sofa, that the table becomes wedged behind the arms of both. One thing you can do to help that 'look' if you go that route is use a round end table, or a drum table, rather than a square. It really helps to cut down on the boxy look..... Like these:

http://www.endtableshowroom.com/end-...ductItemsImage

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Birch-Drum-E...#ht_883wt_1165

Ashmore sits good for me! Can't say it will for everyone, but I like it.

[ldematte]

Hi Duane,

Apologies for the last-minute questions... I'm sure you've had a very busy weekend, leading up to a very busy Monday. Time is running out...lol.

Could you please do a quick compare of Equestrian Walnut and Portfolio Tobacco for me? I know that one is GR 3 - unprotected, the other GR2 - protected, but more specifically, is the "look" very similar and how do the colors compare - is one lighter or darker? We received the samples we requested and the Portfolio sample scared the heck out of us. I'm telling my husband that it's going to be just like the Portfolio Claret we sat on in the store, just a different color, but the sample has him convinced otherwise.

Also still considering Atticus. We have the Chesnut sample, but we're looking for something more in the brown tones. The sample of the Saddler Chair in Atticus Chestnut on the forum appears to be slightly orange to us. How does the color of Atticus Java compare to Portfolio Tobacco?

We're going to go with the sofa / loveseat combo for sure. Definitely replacing the heavy, wood square table in the corner with a round table - possibly glass-topped to lighten the overall effect.

As always, your help is most appreciated. I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving!