Looking for sofa for vertically challenged-me!

[earlyriser]

I am 5 ft. and in the market for a leather sofa. My husband and I have been doing some trial sitting lately. The two sofas that were the best fit are the Austin by H&M and the Kenilworth by Classic Leather. Both of those were still an inch or two too deep for me. We are considering a reclining or inclining sofa. We also want something with a higher back that we can rest our heads against while we watch TV or fall asleep, in my husband's case. I am in the Raleigh area of NC and am having a hard time finding a retailer that sells H&M at a reasonable price. I got a price of $5000.00 for the inclining Austin sofa, #8032-80. Seems kind of high to me. I believe I got a good price on the Kenilworth. $3300 for the motorized #11868MR and $2900.00 for the manual (I am not sure of the number). Any suggestions would be welcomed.

[Leslie]

I am only 5' as well and my feet NEVER touch the floor...I feel like the Lily Tomlin character "Edith Ann" sitting on most furniture I also have had some hip and knee issues that kept me from sitting "tailor style" on my sofa, which has been my default position for over 50 years. When we were sofa shopping last year my husband recoiled loudly at the idea of buying a smaller scale sofa that would fit my body better. Recently, at my chiropractor's suggestion, I bought a wooden footstool (found a hand made one at a local antique store) and it has made a lot of difference. I can sit on my sofa like a big girl.

I realize this post has nothing to do with H&M leather sofas....my point being that if you are like me and buying Barbie furniture is out of the question the footstool might be something to think about!

[drcollie]

How tall is your husband? Women's legs are almost always shorter than a man's, so what feels comfortable to one may not to the other (Mars vs Venus, eh?). So compromise is the order of the day on sofas. First question I ask is "Who is the primary user of the sofa?" If the answer is 'both', the compromise is DEFINITELY in order, but if you husband is using an adjacent recliner or chair more often then that changes the mix.

For someone your size at 5' tall, you would really want a sofa that has an 18" seat height and 17" or 18" seat depth. And those are hard to find. Now, companies like H&M will customize (I've done it many times) in stationary pieces, but the mechanisms in incliner and recliner sofas prevent that. So we are back to compromise once again.

Big difference between Classic Leather and H&M. Classic is 100 % plywood frame, and H&M is solid maple. That right there is a huge difference both in rigidity and cost. We can get you in that 8032-30 for less than $ 5K in a GR 1 leather, I'll PM you a price.

Now for the cheap solution. If you go with the 8032-30, have one of the three lower bustle pillows overfilled and that's where your spot will be. No cost to do that, and you won't even notice it when looking at it. That's where you sit, and it will bring the seat depth forward 1" easily, maybe even 1.5"

[earlyriser]

Leslie, how about trying reach for the can on the top shelf at the grocery store?!?...... I tried the footstool solution. It didn't really work in our house. Everyone was tripping over it. But thank you for the suggestion. I like Duane's idea of overfilling one of the lower bustles on the sofa. You should have seen my husband's eyes light up.

[Leslie]

Whatever I need to buy is ALWAYS on the top shelf! I am a climber....

And at my house I now have 2 90-something inch sofas and my husband sits in a recliner. I sit on one sofa and my 3 year old grandbaby, who for the time being is even shorter than I am, sits on the other. Maddening.

My sister in law, who was in charge of furnishing a river condo that we bought together, bought an "apartment" sized sofa with me in mind because I have had so many hip problems. Everybody hates it but me and I can sleep on the thing. I'm just happy that somebody cared

Leslie

[drcollie]

If your husband uses the recliner, then why not get the sofa made to fit you? Doesn't mean he still couldn't use it, but it would just be a little tighter than he would normally want.

About two years ago I called up H&M's CEO and said "Why not make a sofa that has one seat and the center fixed, and then the other seat adjustable as to height and back depth. Like a car seat is? That way it can be made to line up exactly with the rest of the sofa or lowered and the seat back brought forward when petite ladies are using it? It would sell, and I'll buy two right off the bat."

As you can see, there is no such thing in the line two years later, but I tell ya - I STILL think there's a market for that. All the motors and mechanisms are there from the auto industry.

[Leslie]

Well Duane, that is an idea whose time has definitely come!

Reality--what a concept!!

Leslie