Newbie Trying to Decide: A Familiar Tale

[crunchysue]

Hi All,

I've been lurking a few weeks here, reading up and gathering all the information I can about Hancock & Moore sofas. What a fantastic resource you all are; I've learned so much!

So here's where I currently am in the process: I know I want an H&M sofa, probably in a medium to dark brown GR3 unprotected leather. Two people and 2 dogs will use it for lounging and watching TV. We like to sit with our feet up on the coffee table or couch, and we like to lie down. There will be little to no "sitting up straight." There may be some napping now and then.

There is one local H&M retailer here in Portland, OR. We've been in a couple times, and, much like at a car dealership, we've been assigned a salesperson who seems hell bent on getting us to buy something as quickly as possible. Well, I want to take my time and make the best decision I can, which is difficult (as everyone here knows) when buying sight unseen! We did sit on the City 9840 and found it comfortable, but we both hate the look of the rounded corners on the back cushions.


Judging by online pictures, we like these:

Lynne	5483
Leslie	4651
Member	4701 / 4107
Martini	5736
Emilio	5712-3
Kodiak	9503
Charter	1694

I'd love to hear from anyone who's sat on the City 9840 and any of the others on my list. How do they compare? I know that comfort is a very personal thing, and I'd still like to hear any opinions you all may have. I'm also curious about the pitch of these models, too - some look like they lean way back and some look like they sit more upright, but it's hard to tell in a lot of the pictures.

Thanks so much for everything y'all have already shared, and I look forward to the day when I finally have the sofa of my dreams and can help the newbies myself!

Sue

[Daisymarie18]

Newbie here too, I'll add my VERY limited first hand experience...I've sat in the Kodiak and its super comfortable, good angles, etc. My husband loved it too. I've sat in the Leslie chair, the pitch was slightly more back leaning than Kodiak (not sure if the chair and sofa would be the same? ) it's pretty comfortable as well but it appears that the seat depth on the Leslie sofa is several inches shorter than the chair. I personally prefer a 23-24" seat depth because I like to curl up, lay down, etc. I'm in the market for a sectional ( I think, lol) and the Charter was on my short list, but have never been able to find it in a store to sit on. I'm leaning more towards the Lacross now because from what I've read the Charter is kind of "heavy" looking. I bet it's comfortable, though! I really doubt there is a bad one in the bunch, it's just so hard to know without being able to try them all! Good Luck!

[Snappy]

I've sat on the 9840 City sofa and the 9503 Kodiak from your list, but both of them were too small on the inside (interior dimension) for us, so we quickly eliminated them from consideration. I remember both of them as comfortable sofas, that many people could enjoy. We wanted a sofa that would allow my 6'2" husband to stretch out without having to rest his head on the arm of the sofa, but we also didn't want a sofa that felt huge or that had big poofy arms. We ended up getting the 5261 Rugby Club Sofa from Duane, and we love it. While that information doesn't help very much, I do suggest that you consider your heights (and the sofa arm height) and look at the interior dimensions of the sofas you're considering, given how you'll use your sofa.

[crunchysue]

Thanks for sharing your impressions, Daisymarie18. Good to know that the Leslie chair is more back leaning (would we say, then, that it has more pitch?). And I know what you mean about the heavy looking pieces. The Kodiak is probably the heaviest of them all. I have a very small living room so super heavy may not be the best. The Lynne seems like a good middle-ground in that regard. I like the Lacross, but it's too long for my wall. Good luck to you, too, and keep us posted!

[drcollie]

The 9840 City sofa is a small-sitting piece. Its a very popular model, but for big men like myself I can't get comfy on it. The Kodiak is very much like an up-sized City, so that would absolutely be my preference. But, as you can see it depends on body size as to what makes one sit preferable for a given person and so its really not applicable to say 'this one is better, etc.'. The Member series sits lower to the ground than the Kodiak, so that would be great for a woman, but again a guy my size wants to be up higher.

As far as seatback pitch, all the loose pillow sofas have velcro backs, so you can change and vary that by where you lock them into the velcro.

If its any help, there are currently only two H&M sofas in the entire line that I think sit poorly. One is the # 5843-3 Buttoncraft and you can tell from just looking at it that its not a lounger, and the other is 5784-3 Window Seat that has those horrid arms and just hits me all wrong. The other 98% of all their pieces pretty much come down to personal preference.

[crunchysue]

Good tip about the inside width, Snappy. Our current couch is 77" inside, and we like that, but I don't love its track arms. We're both pretty short, so we're flexible on the inside width; I'm 5' and my partner is 5'3, but more couch means more room for dogs, so it's all good.

A question about the Rugby Club, which I actually like a lot: how do you the way the back cushions leave part of the back exposed? Do you notice it when you're sitting or lying on the couch? Here's an image to show what I mean.

[drcollie]

That's a design feature called a "Picture Frame Back", and expensive to do. Several H&M sofas have that, and they are very sharp looking.

[crunchysue]

Thanks for your thoughts, Duane. Somewhere on the forums here I read where you described one sofa as "you sit on it" where the other in question, "you sit in it." I think I would like sitting "in" more that sitting "on." Is anything on my list a "sit on" type? Maybe I could rule some out that way.

Oh, and regarding seat height, our current couch is a Marge Carson from the 70's and sits super low at 14.5" - I'm getting too old for that! (I'll be 50 soon.) The coffee table is 16" high.

[drcollie]

Most the H&M's you sit 'in', brands like Leathercraft you tend to sit 'on'.

Seat height - industry standard is right around 20". 14.5" is REALLY low.....

[Snappy]

I think it's a pretty detail. Here's a picture of the corner of ours, from lower down.
You see the back more clearly when you walk into the room, rather than when you're sitting or stretching out on it.