If you want to stay in a standard finish, take a look at Sandalwood. When I buy floor stock in Capri Butternut, that's what I spec for the wood.
The premium finishes are 'high gloss' piano finishes, its not the color - its the sheen!
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Great. Thanks! I'm actually not so fond of super-shiny finish on wood...
Guess who's arrived? My recliner! The delivery was scheduled for tomorrow but I got a call that they could deliver tonight and they just did. All I could think was Duane's post about accepting the delivery even if it's a weird hour. As it turns out, this works great because I have all day tomorrow to make sure the dog doesn't eat the chair
My only regret is that I couldn't take a good photo of the recliner in natural light outside. I'll try to post some photos soon, when the living room is better lit.
Otherwise, wow, just wow. The leather is like buttah. At=t the risk of having to watch some of the debate, I'm going to go sit on my new chair.
My impressions so far:
- not having buyer's remorse, but thinking that I may have been happy(er) with a tufted back or smooth back (whatever thats called) vs. the bustle back (fluffy cushion on top). I sleep with what barely passes for a pillow, have a firm mattress, so the big fluffy thing behind my head feels weird. But the leather is divine, and I expect I'll get used to it.
- learning to sit for shorties -- land then scoot back a bit to make sure shoulder blades land on the top cushion. Otherwise, see above re: pillow
- smooth operation: oh bliss, it slides like a dream. No clunkiness, no squeaking.
My living room is a dungeon so pardon the crappy light conditions. Here's a shot of my leather samples on the chair.
I'm very pleased with how capri butternut turned out. It has sufficient hi/low lights so to me it reads more like the imperial whiskey burnished (that I would have gotten except I don't like the high shine).
Duane has warned us that aniline-dyed leathers aren't perfect and there's variation. Here's a couple shots of that. One is on the top back cushion (you can see some of the nails for scale) where there's an area (I'd say 4" x 2") where the dye seems to not have taken and it looks like the surface is scratched. If there's a touch-up for this, I'd like to know (before I take matters on my own hands). It's not terribly noticeable but I know me, I will mess with it. I'll use the conditioner first to see if that darkens things a bit.
Here's a shot of one of the arm rests. One is led to believe it's made of some sort of animal skin
Another thought about this particular recliner, the wings. When fully reclined, if you happen to curl your arms behind your head, the wings hold your arms in. Cozy! If I had gone with a wingless one (like the Zach or Manning), I would have missed that.
As Duane suggested, I do not miss the rolled arms. Perfectly comfortable, the armrests are where my elbows are. I can see how these areas will have more skin contact so will make sure to "take care of the cow" with emphasis in those areas.
Nice review! Take a bit of leather conditioner and rub it into those 'dry' areas and they will look much better. I will often put two to three applications over a day's time into those spots and just massage them in - see what you think after that.
The bustle back cushions will relax with time and break-in, takes about a month's worth of use.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
And of course you were right, the conditioner did the trick. I'll check again in case it all got sucked up and dissipated but last I looked, it was looking good. Thanks!
Lay in multiple coats on that conditioner, try to work in three to four into that dry area over the next few days.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
I did, I'm up to 3 now. It's looking "healed"