Sofa for someone aging? comfortable sofa bed?

[Monique]

This is just to bring anyone interested up to date.... as you know we placed our order pending approval of a cutting of the actual leather H & M would use on our pieces. We rec'd the cutting of Antelope Nugget and while is was a gorgeous piece of leather, it was too dark for our room.

We called Duane right away so H & M could release the leather they were reserving for our order and asked what's next! Duane knew we were close to Hickory and suggested if we had the time to go up for a tour and look at the leathers there and bring samples home. He set it up for today and we did just that.

Mr. Moore (Jimmy) took us on the tour. What a great guy he is too. His enthusiasm and dedication to his work IMO is what makes H & M. He is a positive person and has a CAN DO attitude. He knows every employee by name and most of their family members too. The employees are like a big family. The attention to detail at H & M is quiet impressive. You can tell the employees enjoy their work and want to turn out a great product.

We saw a City Sofa being made up in Antelope Chino. It was gorgeous and we thought it would be just the right leather for us. We pulled several samples to bring home though just in case the Chino did not work out.

Back home, the Chino looks darker than we thought it would. The Antelope Harness looks good. I still prefer the browner tones instead of the rustier tones so we are going to let it settle for a day or two and look at the colors in various lights and then decide.

Mr. Moore told my husband that he has protected leathers in his home because of so many grandchildren plus they have a poodle like we do. My husband was leaning toward aniline hides before that but now he is convinced to use the protected hide.

The tour was great! If you ever get a chance, take the tour. I do not know another factory of any kind where the owner of the company takes you on the tour. Meeting Mr. Moore, alone, would be worth the trip but you will be amazed at the lengths H & M goes to make the pieces almost perfect. All of those little things add up.

M

PS Duane, we did give Gloria big hugs for you. She is a lovely person and had good things to say about you as well.

[Monique]

We've pulled the trigger! We want to put this baby to bed. We're going with Antelope Chino. Many thanks to Duane for his patience with us.
M

[drcollie]

Isn't Gloria great? She has been there so many years - almost as long as the company has been in existence. There is NOTHING that she can't handle. When the going gets tough - she's my go-to person. Her daughter works there too, and does the web site for H&M and Jessica Charles as well as the national ads, etc., and I think the web sites are excellent. Lots of family members are at H&M, its a good place to work.

[Monique]

I love it when a plan comes together! We are so happy with our new H & M CIty Sofa and Roy Lounger. The experience buying from Duane was all good. He is good at "hand holding" as I tend to become anxious when spending this amount of money because of previous experiences buying since the furniture industry moved most production to China.

This is a rather long post but I hope it will help someone else in making their selections.

My husband picked up our furniture yesterday at the H & M factory in Taylorsville. We arranged for movers to be here when he arrived to bring the furniture into our home and take our older sofa to our daughters. That sofa still had lots of life in it, just too low for us now as we age. (We used guys from Two Men and a Truck. They will send two guys for $100. per hour in our area. They always have done a great job for us.. come just to move furniture. Like Duane, I offer cold drinks and a bathroom break when they arrive to get us all off to a good start and then a nice tip when they finish....always works for us. PLUS Two Men and a Truck has workman's comp which covers the workers if they are injured-told you I was a worrier.

The movers took the Eames chair and ottoman upstairs. The recliner my husband decided on will replace that in our main living area. The Eames chair has a new home by my piano plus it will be a comfy place for our older daughter to sit and read when she is home. It is in an alcove just outside the guest bedroom.

Back to our new furniture! We love the pieces we ordered. The look is entirely different than what I started out looking for. Once my husband decided he wanted a recliner, I had to change gears a little. I had seen the Roy Lounger on this site and it looked like it would be a good fit with our decor which tends to modern and Craftsman. My husband found a recliner at Duane's store that he just loved but it would not have been a good fit for the City Sofa or our decor. (My husband is interested in "function" while I am interested in aesthetics and function...like most couples, I guess.) We checked the dimensions of the Roy Lounger and they were similar to the chair my husband liked.

Getting the Roy Lounger pushed us more to Craftsman decor instead of Modern but that is fine with me. In fact, after the furniture "settling in" over night, I truly believe this is an even better look for us.

We added nail head trim to the City Sofa which I must say gives it a much better look. (My husband really chose the City Sofa too. I had not liked it thinking that I did not like the back of it but it is fine.) At Duane's suggestion, we repeated the same nail heads the Roy Lounger used on the bottom on the City Sofa. I knew nothing about which nail heads to choose so went with Duane's suggestion and they are right on.

The City Sofa is a perfect sit for both of us. (Husband is 5'9" and I am 5'5".) We got the smaller City Sofa, not the larger and deeper one. This one is just the right depth for both of us for sitting. I do not need a pillow at my back at all. The back is high enough for me to slouch if I want to relax while watching TV. It is long enough to lie down on and very comfy.

The pieces are gorgeous. The workmanship is mighty fine too! I never dreamed the Roy Lounger would fit me too but it does. I've had a virus for a few days and my husband has not been able to get me out of the chair since it came. I wish we had room for the Roy Chair and Ottoman.

We chose the Antelope Chino and I'll just say we nailed the color. It is perfect in our room. There are not lots of choices in the Antelope which we wanted to use because of it being a protective hide with a sharp look. Some were too red or too rusty. Chino would work about anywhere. It has tones that would work with reds, browns, and golds. Our room is painted a soft gold. The trim is white. The Karastan rug is green/brown/gold/ blue.

I will post photos when I'm feeling better..might be a couple weeks..vacation coming up next week.

Duane, thank you for all of your help and recommendations. Thanks to everyone on the forum who helped me out. It was great to have all of the feedback. The information gleaned is invaluable.

[wintersummer]

Monique - this is such great news! I bet you feel great getting your new furniture and have the major decision making process behind you - and you're right there sitting on your new furniture. I'm still making decisions but hope to be in a place to order soon. I can't wait to see your photos.

PS - I'm the poster who is also downsizing and moving into retirement community, also in NC. We'll have to talk sometime. I bet I could learn a lot from you!

[mfabian]

Monique,
sorry you are under the weather but glad that you are so happy with your selections.