H & M questions

[mcarey]

Duane-
I am interested in the 9844 City Sofa and searching for a recliner that would compliment this transitional design. Considering the 7044 Winston but would opt to switch out the leg for the block style as seen on the Ivanhoe. *I currently have the Austin Sofa (for 17 years ) with nails, so I am looking for a change. I've had the opportunity to sit in the Journey recliner and it was very comfortable and was wondering how the 7044 would compare comfortwise. Considering style and comfort, can you please recommend other recliners that might work? Thanks very much for your help!

[drcollie]

The # 7044 Lounger will sit much like the Journey you sat in. Its a tall recliner at 42" height, so its suitable for tall men. Leg swaps are do-able (sometimes carries and extra charge) but we do have to look at what that does to the chair height as well. Some legs can add or delete and inch or even more to the piece, so if that would be a factor its something that needs to be looked into before the modification.

Perhaps just go with the 7036 Founders Recliner and get the leg you want in design that's just as clean and not quite so large? It will proportionally match the CIty series better.

[mcarey]

Thanks so much for your response – I have really appreciated reading all of your advice on this forum…What a great resource! I was so concerned with the style of the lounger that I hadn't even thought about the size in relation to the sofa. Your suggestion of the Founders Lounger with the City sofa is an excellent option that I hadn't even considered and I’ve been working on this for so long that my head hurts…months and months! We think this might be the last family room furniture we buy given our age (50ish) and past experience with the life span of H&M furniture. Just hope what we pick-out will fit in our room at the nursing home!! This stuff just doesn’t wear out. The cushions on my Austin feel the same as the day we bought it 17 years ago! I’m just ready for a new look so the Austin is heading to the basement rec room… I hope you don't mind, but I've got a few more questions:

1. Is the Founders Lounger a good fit for someone that is 5'11" and 170lbs?
2. Do you have the Founders in your showroom or have any photos of this piece in a darker leather…online it is only shown in white/light colors. IMO, the lighter colors shown give it a more formal appearance and I am having some difficulty visualizing this piece in our family room.
3. Can you recommend a leather for the city sofa in a class 2 or 3 that would be durable, comfortable and work up well on this style. I prefer a dark brown leather with a low sheen and slight undertones. The Austin Sofa that I currently have is in an unprotected leather and I don’t think I want to go that route again. *I have a golden retriever that gets on the sofa when the lights go out, so I do have concerns about scratch marks. He isn’t destructive and doesn’t intentionally dig on furniture, but he is a dog so he’s got a set of 5 pointed objects on each paw that could inadvertently cause marks on leather!
4. I realize that comfort is very personal, but can you give your opinion or comment about feedback you’ve received regarding the comfort of the larger 9844 vs the smaller 9840 City Sofa? I am considering the 9844 because it has a deeper seat (though I would prefer that it be 21”-22” rather then 23”) and appears to give an overall larger appearance (in photos). *I’ve sat on the 9840 and felt that it looked a little small and the seat was a tad short in depth for my comfort.*I am 5’4”.
5. We were also considering purchasing the City 9842/9841 chair and ottoman or would you recommend another option style wise? I don’t want to be too matchy-matchy but I do get a little nervous when I step out of that comfort zone! Personally, I would have gone with the Journey line because it’s a no-brainer…comes with the sofa-lounger-chair-ottoman. Unfortunately, all of those pieces would certainly overpower our 13’ X 20’ family room!

Thanks again so much for all of your help.

[drcollie]

Glad to help...

The Founder's Lounger is excellent for anyone up to 6' 1" tall with that back height, and definitely will accommodate a 170 lb'er. It is scaled to the City series a better than the other one. Sorry, no photos of any of this piece and I don't have one on the floor at this time.

I personally like the larger City Sofa, the # 9840 is too short-seated for me (I'm 5' 11" and 220), so the # 9844 gets the nod.

Dark Brown leathers? Well, most protected hides and even semi-protected will have sheen to them. That's the protective topcoating that puts some level of sheen on the hide. To go low-sheen, you have to get into the unprotected leathers.

My current favs in the leathers that have some or are all protected:

Grade 1: Columbia
Grade 2: Kipling and Fenway, Upton, also Weston
Grade 3: Garfield (colors vary considerably), Antelope, Milan

As far as matching, that's ALL personal preference. And you are right, the Journey has all the components for a set. The Journey series is built for comfort and is more $$$$ than the City series by a considerable amount. I think the City pieces with the Founder lounger makes a good combo .....

[mcarey]

Hi Duane-
I’m beginning to have second thoughts about the City Sofa because of the limited choice of lounge chairs that it would coordinate well with and not sure that I like the looks of the Founders. I’ve begun to look again at sofa styles that I had decided against early on in my search! Are you familiar with the H & M Quincy Sofa? If so, do you have any info regarding the comfort and/or any other opinion/feedback regarding this sofa? What's the price in a class 2 leather? Also, what lounger/recliner can you recommend to go with the Quincy? Thanks again for your help-

[drcollie]

I've never sold a Quincy. Seems that September, Clivedon and Evening are the ones that edge that out in that general form. Looking at the frame size I would expect it to sit similar to the Clivedon and Evening - which means roomy, emphasis on comfort, soft but not mushy.

That one sells for $ 3,647.

Recliner/Lounger that I might use for that model would include # 2057 Grainger, # 7038 Campbell, # 7061 Eddington, # 7095 Regan

[mcarey]

Thanks very much for your advice-

I like the Evening and (Quincy) so I will look around locally to see if I can locate those to check out for comfort. Do you have any nail option ideas that might give a sofa such as the Evening a slightly more transitional look? As I had mentioned before, I currently have the Austin sofa so I was looking for a different style which is why I had originally considered the City Sofa. I feel like I’m back where I started… Thanks again-

[drcollie]

You can do a few things to change the overall style of a piece without getting too radical. Nails are one option, as is lacing or stitching, or using two different leathers on a piece to create a more designer-look (on the Evening for example, using a decorative leather on the vertical panel below the cushions and the arm insets).

The City series is very plain. Its a mainstay sofa, but has no nail trim on it and few curves. That's also how they keep the price low on that series. Curves cost money in the furniture business.....

[mcarey]

Beyond the task of selecting one class/color of leather, I think I would need to limit changes to the nailhead design...more then that could quite possibly put me over the edge...I was thinking that perhaps the design of the nail could influence the style...I just can't visualize these changes, for example the 'E' nail v.s. the smaller 'A' nailhead. Was wondering if you have ever seen anything interesting in this way that you felt gave it a more transitional design. Thanks again-

[artielange]

A nail design that I like for a more transitional look is to space the nails out instead of the traditional close (almost touching) line up of nails. A 1 1/2 to 2 inch spacing gives an interesting look. Duane had a sofa in his store in Kipling Whiskey like this and it looked really nice.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/showthread.php?t=204