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Thread: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

  1. #1
    anaye Guest

    Default Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    We have a very small living area for which we would like to replace the 2 chairs and couch. We recently remodeled our house and now it's time to replace the furniture. Our style is kind of the mountain classic rustic/traditional side. Our current layout (which we will be using with the new furniture) is with the couch against the stair wall (as shown in the pics) but with a chair on each side of the couch and angled toward the TV and windows. The 32" TV (shown in pictures) has been replaced with a 55" flat screen allowing more floor space and we will be getting a TV stand like the one in the attached pics. The distance from the stair wall (at back of couch) to the windows is about 11 feet, so we have very little room for a coffee table but we are looking at a small ottoman.

    The styles we are considering is....The H&M Author Chair 4691 in leather with a smaller Footstool 099 to match. Then for the second chair we weren't quite sure what would compliment the Author chair but we also liked the Newton Tight Back 5782-1 or the Wing Moore Chair 5390 in leather. Then a cloth couch similar in style to the Evening Sofa 1667.

    So what I need help with is...

    1) We really love the style of the Author chair (I've been looking for one for several years)....so what other style chairs would look good with it?

    2) We liked the Author chair in the Weston Cain Burnished for it's classic rustic look but the leather has the same tone as our wood floor only with a little more reddish color. So we don't think our small room would look good with that leather since it would blend right in with the floor and we think we need something darker that would create more contrast and stand out more (like the darker leather couch in the pics). But we are thinking the leather needs to have a rustic look with lots of character for the Author chair, so maybe a burnished or a pull-up leather.
    So we are looking for suggestions on which leathers you think would look good?

    3) Then for the second chair we were thinking of a leather that's probably similar in color to the Author chair. So we are looking for suggestions on a 2nd leather that would look good with whatever is used for the Author chair?


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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    Now THAT is a challenging room layout. That is not easy to work with, and the real key is to not over-furniture the room, you need smaller scale pieces. Personally I'd skip the Author chair, its too large for a compact space in my opinion, and go with something smaller scale such as an H&M Tannery or Princeton or Leslie Chairs, and then use a Boot stool instead of an ottoman. For the sofa, something like a Carmen or Princeton or Leslie would look good in there. If you really like the Author style, consider the Wallace chair which will give you nearly the same look in a smaller footprint.

    If you like the burnished leathers and Weston Cane is too light, consider Hand-Antiqued Sunset Burnished. That would be a great color in there.

    Other quick tips. If the 55" Flat Panel is going against the windows, install functional wood shutters on those windows so you can cut out the background light glare. Also, consider running some molding like what you have around the stereo setup around the all the window frames. It's easy and inexpensive to do and will really finish off the look for you.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #3
    anaye Guest

    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    Now THAT is a challenging room layout. That is not easy to work with, and the real key is to not over-furniture the room, you need smaller scale pieces. Personally I'd skip the Author chair, its too large for a compact space in my opinion, and go with something smaller scale such as an H&M Tannery or Princeton or Leslie Chairs, and then use a Boot stool instead of an ottoman. For the sofa, something like a Carmen or Princeton or Leslie would look good in there. If you really like the Author style, consider the Wallace chair which will give you nearly the same look in a smaller footprint.
    I agree with you that the furniture can not be too big, but the problem is that I am 6'2" and my wife is 5' and comfort is very important. We had bought a couch earlier and instantly returned it because it was too big. The leather couch we have is 89x39 and club chair is 40x39 (which we feel works), then the big green chair and a half is 58x41 (way too big). The room is actually 22'x11' so there is plenty of width. What we have found is that the couch is the main piece that cannot be too big as it pushes the chairs out with it, so we are looking at something that is slightly smaller than what we have now. The side chairs will both be floating and there is more than plenty of room to walk around them. So the Author chair is only slightly bigger than the club chair and way smaller than the green chair so we are good with it's size. The ottoman that comes with the Author chair is huge (31x27) which makes the chair feel really big but we were planning on doing a smaller ottoman 20x20 to match the seat width.

    I do like the Leslie but I don't feel it has enough seat depth.
    Do you think the Leslie style would go good with these other pieces though?


    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    Other quick tips. If the 55" Flat Panel is going against the windows, install functional wood shutters on those windows so you can cut out the background light glare. Also, consider running some molding like what you have around the stereo setup around the all the window frames. It's easy and inexpensive to do and will really finish off the look for you.
    The windows have shades inside and we have an electronic exterior sun shade that blocks the sun but not the view, so we can watch TV during mid day with no problems.
    During our remodel I tried talking the wife into letting me replace all the doors and window trim with Alder but she wouldn't let me spend any more money. But the windows themselves are going to need to be replaced soon so hopefully it will get done then.

  4. #4
    anaye Guest

    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    So here is a layout of our living area that I had done before. Yes our house is very small (approx 24'x24' as shown) but it's just the 2 of us and for us it's all about location as we overlook the American River Canyon with trails right out the front door.

    I inserted new furniture pieces using the sizes of the Author chair (40x43), ottoman (20x20), Newton couch (87x40), and Newton chair (36x40).
    Let me know if you think this is still too big for our area.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5
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    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    I think that's as good as you can do for a layout in the room without moving the wood stove...and I'm sure you don't want to do that. It's not an easy space to layout and that seems to work.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  6. #6
    anaye Guest

    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    So if we were to do the Author chair we were thinking about a smaller ottoman/stool, what would you suggest?

    Taking into consideration we were thinking about getting a second stool or a longer bench that we could use to sit in front of the stove or move for more seating , not that they have to be the same but maybe it would be better if they were. What do you think?

    Also, can leather handle being left close to a heating source like a wood stove?

    Thanks for the help, can't wait to get the leather swatches!!!

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    Actually I'd stay with the Author ottoman if getting the chair, its a good combo and nothing else is going to look as nice or be quite as functional. You can also run it over to the sofa as needed. You don't want to over-ottoman a smaller space, but if you did want something in addition to the Author set, take a look at this (or similar) as they have a compact structure and are 'low profile' so to speak:

    http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1706

    The wood stove won't bother the leather at all, there's always more issue with sun fade than heat on leather.

    Full Set of Samples on the way - should arrive UPS no later than 01/08. Hope that helps!!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #8
    anaye Guest

    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    We received the entire leather collection a few days ago and I have to say that this is the way to go, having the entire collection in your homes natural lighting for viewing is way better than viewing them in a dark fluorescent or halogen lit room show room. Thanks Duane for providing this!

    So for the first round we just picked out the ones we liked and out of about 50 or so all of them were an unprotected leather, which is what we figured we would be leaning towards from reading all of these forums. We have 2 cats, no dog at the moment, no kids, occasional snack on the sofa or wine, so an unprotected leather seams to be our thing.

    We then narrowed it down to the following leathers....
    Darker Chocolate Colors:
    Tuscany Saddle, Harness
    Stampede Harness
    Scout Clove
    Brigade Saddle

    Light Tan Colors:
    Capri Birch
    Mesquite Saddle Light Burnished
    Equestrian Desert
    Native Butternut

    We really like the look of the leather in the following photo which is the Buckingham Walnut Burnished on an Equestrian Sofa. The sample we have of Buckingham Walnut Burnished and all the pictures we have seen are darker and way more red, so I'm figuring the color in this picture is a ways off (but that is what we want). So is there a leather that you would recommend that would give us this look, to compliment something like the Tuscanny Harness?
    http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...t2012080-1.jpg

    Same with this photo of Mesquite Saddle Light Burnished, we love this but the sample and most of the pictures I've seen look more red. We want this look with no reds.
    http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/...Oct2012056.jpg


    We are still undecided about going for 2 leather chairs and a leather couch or 2 leather chairs and a upholstered couch.


    A few questions:

    1) Do you think 3 pieces of leather would be too much in our room?

    2) What would you think about putting 3 pieces of leather furniture in our room that have the burnished or antiqued look, is that too much?

    3) Any pros and cons on the above leathers?

    4) There is only one sample on your rings and it's called Mesquite Saddle (no burnished), H&M's web site shows Mesquite Saddle twice (but no burnished), but all the pictures with tags on this forum I've seen all say Mesquite Saddle Light Burnished.
    So is there a Mesquite Saddle and a Mesquite Saddle Light Burnished, or are they one in the same?

    5) Can we specify the amount of burnishing?

    6) Can all leathers be made with less of a sheen?

    7) How does a tight back compare to a pillow back for comfort and puddling (i.e. 5781-1 vs 5782-1) ?

    I'll PM you a request for some leather samples later.
    Last edited by anaye; 01-11-2013 at 07:12 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    32

    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    I cannot agree more about getting the whole set of leathers. So many to choose from. My favorite samples are very close to yours. I chose Brigade saddle for the sofa and capri birch for the recliner (almost going with Native butternut).

    I can say the brigade does scratch, but the scratches can generally be rubbed out and those that don't are just thin lines that blend into the overall look of the leather. It is rustic. I posted pictures of the sofa on the site.

    We don't use the sofa that much and never eat on it. However, I chose Capri over Native for the recliner since the recliner gets much more wear and tear and we eat in it occasionally. My guess is that body oils will quickly patina Native Butternut since it is about as naked a leather as available in the sample collection.

    Motley

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Suggestions needed for chair style and leather

    Burnished leathers are like commissioning a painted portrait, whereas non-burnished are like a photograph. With the painting, you never know exactly what you're going to get - but often you get something spectacular rather than ordinary. Other times it may not turn out just how you expected. There is more 'art' in the painting than the photograph, however. And such with burnished leathers - no two are the same as they are hand-done and not for those desiring accuracy in color or effect. You can look at the photos and try to average them in your mind, but there is no way to pin it down off a sample or an image...you just can't do it. If that's a concern, then move into one of the more standard hides is my suggestion.

    I have four pieces of leather in my library and family room at home, both. So I obviously don't think its too much. My wife and I really don't even look much at fabric for a new piece, we both prefer leather and with all the combos and cool hides, you can make up some very interesting pieces. One of the things I hear time and time again when people come in my store is how much FUN my floor samples are, because I like to tweak them up rather than ordering a box-stock ordinary brown sofa on every floor model.

    H&M does not swatch all hides. Some of the burnished they just 'make up' which is why you won't see samples or listed on their website. For example, you can burnish most any of the colors of Weston (and I have for customers) but again - its like Christmas Morning opening a present to see what you are going to get!

    You cannot really specify the amount of burnishing, its like telling the painter how to paint. Sheens are actually topcoats to seal in the burnishing, you can't adjust them. And sheens cannot be adjusted on any of the leathers.

    Tight backs sit firmer and keep their shape better.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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