Great Room Layout and Picture

[aluebcke]

We love the Equestrian! But I'm sure the Ryan will be awesome, too.

Thanks for your comments!

Sofadoo....I really want to like the rug in there, but I think you're right that it just doesn't mesh with the furniture. The best part is that my husband pointed it out first, so I might as well jump at the chance to change it now.

[drcollie]

My only complaint is that H&M missed the custom size on the Sundance....it should have been an extra 12" wide and an extra 4" deep. They got the width right, but not the depth. I called Duane right away when I noticed it.....he checked the paperwork, and confirmed that it had been ordered correctly, and he called H&M right away. H&M has agreed to fix the problem, and I'm now deciding what I want done.

I've spent the last three days chasing this problem down for Amanda, and finally after about 20 phone calls to H&M have figured out what happened with her order.

(1) Sundance sofa was made to a standard dimension, the depth of which is spec'd at 46" overall

(1) Sundance sofa was made extra long and spec'd at 50" in depth.

The sofas arrived, and the custom-framed one was 50" deep as written on the order, but the seat cushions swapped in from the standard sofa for a perfect fit! That meant if they made the custom sofa deeper, they put the extra depth BEHIND the back cushions into the meat of the frame and that didn't make sense. H&M went back to the plant foreman and they sweared they measured the custom sofa many times and it WAS 50" just like we spec'd on the order. This made things most curious. If they made it to 50" - 4" Deeper than standard - why did the cushion from the 'regular' Sundance fit?

At this point, H&M began pulling regular Sundances off the line and measuring them, so we could find out what was going on. Turns out that several months ago the Sundance sofa series was modified and the standard depth was changed to 50", while the catalog and web site say 46". They changed the frame for more comfort, but didn't notify the dealers or change the catalog/web site specs. So, since the custom said 50" deep - that's what they made. Now Amanda has her custom sofa 4" less deep than she wanted and H&M admits the mistake was theirs.

We're going to offer Amanda a large discount on the custom sofa if she wants to keep it, or else remake it for her, whatever she prefers. One thing about ordering from H&M and The Keeping Room is we do the work to find out what's going on and make things right when they were not done correctly.

[organic_smallhome]

Gorgeous furniture, beautiful house. Are both the sofas currently there the same size? If so, I honestly think changing out one of them to a larger size would make the room look imbalanced. Totally agree about the rug. What you have is nice and obviously good quality, but you need a rug to make the furniture pop. Good job.

[MJM_CA]

I would get a rug in greens, golds and reds to tie in your wall color, curtains and proposed accent pillows. Nice looking furniture. Love your hardwood floors. One critical comment: I liked your TV under the window. To me, it looks like you need something to anchor that window height down into the room.

[aluebcke]

Duane,
Thank you for all your hard work chasing down the sofa size issue! You've been unbelievable, and have definitely gone above and beyond. I can't say enough how much we appreciate it. You're definitely the hardest working guy in the furniture business....and go that extra mile for your customers. Your service has been above expectations.

We'll definitely be buying more furniture from you in the future (especially if I can convince my husband we need new bar stools for our kitchen counter) I'll be recommending you and H&M to others. They really came through for us, too.

To update everyone: we decided to take the discount and keep the sofa. I'm happy with the decision, and we love the furniture.

Thanks again Duane!!

[drcollie]

Hi Amanda,

Glad to do it! Thanks for your patience while I sorted it all out. That one really had me puzzled and left me scratching my head. Customer Service is what sets one dealer apart from another. I 'go to bat' for my customers when they have a legitimate grievance and that's what sets me apart from the other stores. Sounds like a cheezy self-plug, I know...but I put myself in your shoes and say to myself "What would I expect if I were the customer?" And then go from there.

Everything looks great in your home, and I was particularly impressed with how the finishing department was able to nail down that burnishing to blend perfectly on your order. Triple Aces to Melissa at H&M for getting that one perfect.

Appreciate the kind words and THANK YOU for trusting your order to my store.

[simplyjeff]

It's amazing what can go wrong with an order. Can you imagine trying to straighten that out if the factory was in China?

Jeff Frank
Simplicity Sofas

[drcollie]

Things that go bad from China are pretty much hopeless to fix I think Jeff, not only because of the distance but the language barriers. My understanding of the typical Chinese market for products is that its difficult to stay on top of the quality control in the product build. As its been told to me by others who do this sort of thing, the Chinese start off building an excellent product for a U.S. buyer. The initial batch meets all the specs. Even the second, or third batch meets all the specs. But its not too long before shortcuts creep in and they make substitutions and cuts. Its a chore to stay on top of the quality control and difficult to do. Most deals are brokered by special 'go-betweens', agents that speak both Chinese and English. They are not always the best at helping assist with Quality Control issues as their focus is setting up initial contracts.

My Brother-In-Law owns a very successful company dealing in specialty hydraulic hoses for mining companies and oil drillers. OEM parts were very costly, so he went to China and had knock-offs made on the hoses to his specs. Recently he got a $ 50,000 container full of hoses from China that all failed a specific Ultra Violet test. The Chinese maker switched the build of the hose to a cheaper rubber and them stamped it with the UV-passed label. However he's smart enough to test each batch in a lab and this one failed. The Chinese supplier has his money, the communication is broken down and the supplier wont make good on the order, and the Chinese legal system won't support my BIL's fraudulent build case. His only solution is do dispose of the load or sell it to a third world country that doesn't care about the UV rating on the hose and just wants it cheap.

That's the problem with Chinese goods.

[aluebcke]

To answer the questions from above:

organic_smallhome: the sofa with the back to the kitchen is 96" wide and the other is 84". You can't really see the difference, but it's nice to have the extra length on the 96" since we're so tall.

MJM_CA: thank for your suggestion about the TV....but we love the current layout. It's better for having friends over, and I don't have to look at a huge TV as soon as I walk into the house.

Thanks for your kind comments. I love the way the room looks now!

Now I'm obsessing about the rug....I promised my husband I would narrow the choices to a few before I asked for his opinion.

So, need your opinion on the following (I've narrowed to five):

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...9/product.html
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...2/product.html
http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock-...tml?cid=123620
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...1/product.html
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/...key=cwool-rugs

As MJM_CA notes, we need something with reds, greens, and gold/ivory to tie the room together. Definitely needs to have the green, or I think we'll be repainting the walls (don't want to do that with 13' tall ceilings).

Since we use the room a lot, and the kids are still pretty young, we don't want to spend a lot. We're targeting about $1,000 (or less would be even better).

The current rug is 8x10....any thoughts on the size. I'm thinking either 8x10 or a bit larger at up to 9x12.

[drcollie]

You have cool furniture, now you need a cool rug.

http://thebookofwovenlegends.com/car...hirvan_wl/P20/

::::WARNING:::: These will blow your budget and are like crack cocaine. Once you get started on the really good stuff in the world of rugs, everything else looks like a mud room mat. I have (8) of these in my own home About $ 70 per square foot. Art for the floor that lasts for generations.