Building dream house, need help on selecting sectional -first real furniture purchase

My wife and I are building our dream house and are ready to get out of our just-graduated/just-married hand-me downs. We have two kids in elementary school and a dog. We definetely want a sectional with a real curved corner over a square. We'd prefer one with a chaise on the long side and a recliner on the other but two recliners is doable. More importantly, it needs to fit my wife who is 5ft and if possible fit me as well (6' 3") ... I know I know, not an easy task.

Here is the layout of the family room with the kitchen to the left. The room is 14' 9" wide and I need to leave sufficient room for the busy kitchen-family room path so I'm reserving 42" leaving me with 135" on the long/TV viewing side. On the short side my desire is for a sectional that is no more than 105" so I won't encroach in front of the window next to the fireplace (but I can if need be). The sliding patio door is 8ft and I don't mind the sectional blocking the permanently closed portion (there's a 16ft deep screened in porch which will protect leather from direct sunlight). I'm notionally showing the Zeus sectional by Palliser which is 123" x 100" which would leave room for a small end-table for the person on the chaise.

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O yeah, and we're trying to do it for around $3K. I love leather but my wife has reservations, mainly because most of what she's sat in in deep/plush and she gets swallowed up and can't even touch the ground (again on the size thing). I could spend more since this is our dream house and we're not going anywhere for the next 50 years, but it would have to have a strong justification because with custom construction everything is costing more than budgeted :(

I'd really love some suggestions on pieces to look at, I've visisted most of the stores in my area (Virginia Beach) with only mediocre results, most of what I've liked has been on the internet and this is one area where I'm not as familiar with what I should be looking at. I haven't visisted the upscale (out of my budget) stores that seem to carry the lines I've found recommended on this forum and elsewhere.

Here are the ones that seem to meet our requirements:
Chicago by Flexsteel in leather for $4.8K [$3.6K in microfiber]
Zeus by Palliser in grade 3000 leather for $4K [$2.5K in microfiber]
Brandon by Flexsteel Latitudes in leather/match for $3.3K [$2.7K in microfiber]
Drew by Bassett for $3.3K in leather/match (bonded?)
CU.2 by Bassett for $2.6K in microfiber
601 by Seven Seas in leather/match for $2.5K

The Chicago felt tall, the Brandon and 601 were a bit deeper but not so tall but the leather was only so-so. Bassett has a cut-away showing their construction which seemed good but the CU.2 was definetely more of my wife's style and only in microfiber while the Drew felt more like bonded leather. The Zeus seems to be a great fit for my wife dimensionally and their grade 3000 leather swatches were impressive, but it doesn't recline and its the only one I haven't sat on.

I'd in desparate need of advise/ideas, especially with Labor Day sales coming up! (I know Flexsteel will be 10% off)

Thanks everyone,

-Scott

A couple points for you to consider.....

Think long and hard before buying a L-shaped sectional with a built-in chaise. That becomes a walk-around obstacle and I think you will tire of it relatively quickly. Its much better from a practical standpoint to buy a cocktail ottoman that you can move around. Additionally, if the cocktail ottoman is 2" less in height than the seat height of the sectional its going to be more comfortable to use.

You aren't going to find anything that will fit your wife at 5' 0" and you at 6' 3". Too much difference. As its better to have the sectional too large than too small - get one that suits your frame. OR - skip the sectional idea and get a sofa loveseat of two different styles, one that is compact for her and a large sofa for yourself.

The brands and models you mention are middle to low end. Under moderate to heavy use (daily) you will probably not get much performance longevity out of them. That's not much budget for such a large piece. Absolutely stay away from bonded leather, that stuff is the worst product on the market for a covering.

Good luck!

I couldn't remember if the Drew was real or bonded leather, I agree that bonded is not an option ...

On the size issue, I'm a lounger so I'll always either be in the recliner/chaise or laying longwise in the corner with my feet by the fire (why I don't want one with middle arm-rests). I have tried offering up getting a sofa/loveseat (with the possibility of mixing leather/fabric) but she really wants a sectional, it has to fit her since she'll use it during the day ... and she's the boss!

For the chaise I understand it creates a minor traffic flow issue but it also gives us more of a U-shape enabling someone sit on the end and be able to converse with someone sitting by the fire and still interact with those in the kitchen (we're really informal). Again its not a hard requirement, but if it doesn't have a chaise I'd really want it to recline.

I'm doing my best to avoid low-end but we're going from 1000sqft to 4000sqft and being a custom built house we have a ton of other expenses. I'm a woodworker and can accept certain tradeoffs as long as I know what they are (ie, quality laminated hardwood with 7-plys over solid hardwood) but my concern is brands where I cannot see where the tradeoffs have occured. Cheap chinese plywood is almost as bad as their drywall (another woodworker found a basketball shell between plys once!)

I would like to reach for high-end but you don't know what you don't know (hence my post). I've seen mention of tons of other brands (Hickory White, Temple, Clayton-Marcus, etc.) but don't know which are actual NC made or if they're completely out of my price range.

Most of this forum seems focused around HM and BY, doing more searching around here it seems even the HM-TC sectionals are too expensive (over $5.5K) but there seems to be some possibilities in the BY line from some older posts with prices though I can't always locate the exact dimensions of those lines (some seem discontinued, and the reclining BY 912 looks like its near $5K for married leather).

I'd like to know if there are any other mid- to high-end I ought to be considering because right now my best options seem to be Palliser or Flexsteel but leather still pushes me $1K over budget. The Palliser microfiber would come in under-budget and made in Mexico is better than China, but with no stores nearby carrying anything other than their home-theater line and I don't know how I can order something without ever having sat in it.


Thanks again for any input, I'll keep searching this forum during my lunch break!

Your room layout is similar to my living room. I went with a two love seat sectional (H&M September sectional - like your plan minus the chaise) and a separate recliner. From a design standpoint, you could put your recliner angled near the arch facing your fireplace and TV. Also, the recliner could be a different scale and design (comfortable for you) in complementary leather or fabric so it doesn't all look like one huge massive piece of furniture.