Thursday, January 10, 2008

Help me too!

So I'm totally copying my sister Ruth, but I need a little help. We both are looking for new living room furniture, and she had the good sense to ask her friends for help. And woah, the response was amazing, so I'm thinking, what was I doing, trying to figure this out by myself??? Let's see what YOU ALL think!

First of all, we are wanting to buy new living room furniture in order to have more seating in our living room. We have a couch and a chair in there right now, plus a tv, and Dave would like it to be a more comfortable room for fellowshipping with our friends. A room that invites people to stay and talk. We have a Bible study here too, so comfortable seating for that would be nice too. So the tv is going, and we'll cram as much furniture as we can without it looking too crowded. I am thinking maybe a couch, loveseat, chair and ottoman. Maybe even 2 chairs. Thoughts?

My style is Pottery Barn look-alike, I think. I don't want to spend nearly that much money, but I like the relaxed, traditional style they use. I am not a huge fan of exposed legs on sofas, but I have seen a few cute ones...and I can always paint them black, right? :)

So here are some that have caught my eye.

#1 - The leather-look-alike, microfiber, I think. Ruth has this one on her list too.


#2 - I liked the fabric on this one, but isn't it strangely similar to what I currently have?


#3 - This is some kind of faux leather too - not my fav


#4 - I hadn't seen this option until tonight. On the sales floor it was only shown in a sectional, so I pictured a couple angles here. It is available as a sofa, loveseat, chair, etc... and has lots of microfiber color options. And I like the tiny, black legs on this.



#5 - I love this set. It's in a fabric that is similar to what we have now, woven chenile. Warmer tones though. It also has a chair and ottoman. You can see better pictures here and here.


#6 - The beautiful (expensive) leather set. This was my favorite of all the leather I've seen.


#7 - Design my own. Tonight I looked through a Flexsteel catalog at the furniture store and found a few options. Here and here and here
and here too. There are tons of fabric options for these, microfiber, velvet, cloth, etc... Shawna has agreed to help me, if I go this route, so never fear, if you send me in this direction, you wouldn't be setting me up for failure. :)

So there you have it. Any advice for me? What would you do?

27 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Rachel said...

And within seconds I had a spam comment???? That hasn't happened in awhile. Wonder what word triggered it?

Shawna said...

my fave is the havana, but it could be trumped easily by the design-your-own...especially if they have some fabulous fabric.

I like the leather, but it just doesn't say warm and cozy to me..not sure if it is the color or what. Did you see the leather couch tim and lydia have there? I love theirs.

bandanachick said...

Nate says, #1 or #6. Loves the leather, imagine that.
I think #5 or #7...create your own. Since you already have furniture and don't have an empty living room (like me) you can afford to wait on special ordering something. That would be fun, and I am sure Shawna would be great help!
Thats funny that you are doing this too, I just wrote you a comment on my blog saying you need to post some pictures!

Anonymous said...

Rachel-

Go with #5 or #6, at least in looks. I think the leather or chocolate-tones go really well with your black accessories. I use these same colors, so I am speaking based on personal experiences. I think darker, deeper tones look more balanced with black, and then pops of color in reds, greens, blues can look gorgeous and dramatic.

Maryanne, www.happyhelms.com

Reagan said...

I liked #1, #5 (were 2 & 5 really similar?) and #7 (the second "here" just reminds me of you for some reason) I like the idea of that soft faux leather and the chenille is nice too.

jenica said...

I will look at them a little better later. But have you checked out the furniture at Costco or Sams? I know Costco has a gorgeous leather couch.

Eryn said...

what is it with guys and leather? james would prefer leather too. but i do feel they are too formal and cold for me. i love microfibers and suedes. your favorite is mine too!

Rachel said...

So, of the 4 "choose your own" sofas I linked to, which do you guys like the best?

Is #4 totally out? What if I choose a darker microfiber, like chocolate or a deep grey-green?

I'm excited that others of you like #5 too...it is the cheapest, but I love it. I guess that is the real reason I am unsure about it, b/c it is pretty inexpensive. Does this mean it's not as good of quality???

bandanachick said...

I agree with Reagan that if you do the #7 the second "here" looks like you.

bandanachick said...

I like #4, I think it is just hard to visualize what it will look like in a couch and a different fabric. I think it would be really pretty in the chocolate. Love the little legs.

Rachel said...

yeah, and I'm not sure if I could even GET a picture of it??? Maybe I can find out.

So, do you think the second #7 is basically the same thing as #5 the Havana set? If you were me, would you go #7 and choose microfiber instead of the chenile of #5?

bandanachick said...

Yeah, they are really similar. I would probably choose #7 and go with microfiber, just because it is really different than what you currently have.

Rachel said...

So what color microfiber? I definitely like darker couches. But I should I go warm or cool tones?

bandanachick said...

I think warmer tones go better with your house. Right? What are your color options?

Rachel said...

My color options? Hmmm....well, the dining room is a dark grey-green with a black table and chairs in it. Those are cool tones, for sure. But I am looking to change the living room's feel a bit, so I think I need to warm it somehow, either the furniture or the walls.

Grace Powell said...

I like the leather best, and #2 for cost/style.

comment: you want more seating in your living room. buying an oversized sofa will not give you more seating, only less space. most of these seem to be oversized. Have you measured to make sure the pieces you are thinking of purchasing will fit comfortably in the room?

The arm style in particular can eat up a lot of space in the room without adding any usable seating space (unless you want people leaning on them)

My suggestion, rethink your style and go smaller scale. Most of these sofas are made for enormous great rooms. I'm not saying you can't make it work, but it may not be quite what you think it is.

Grace Powell said...

On closer evaluation, I think #5 is a good option. It looks somewhat appropriately scaled. I doubt it is really poor quality, probably just very mass produced.

make sure the chenile weave is firm and ask if it is backed or has been treated as chenile naturally stretches a lot which can leave you with lumpy cushions and snags. If it is backed or treated you shouldn't have a signifigant problem with it.

Rachel said...

Thanks, Grace. That was helpful to think about. Everything seems to be large, out on the store floor...and I did think that #5 seemed smaller. I never really thought of that as a benefit, but now I can see what you mean. We do have a smaller room, so maybe we should aim for smaller scale furniture.

You've been here, so what do you think? Can I fit more than that couch, loveseat and chair? Can I do two chairs?

bandanachick said...

I would be really surprised if you could fit more than the three pieces in your living room. I guess it depends on how large the pieces are. Could you get two smaller chairs? Are you taking out the TV cabinet?

Rachel said...

Ruth, yes, we're taking out the tv cabinet.

bandanachick said...

Yeah...I think you already told me that. :) Sorry!
Here is what I think you should do. Get measurements of the pieces you want to buy and then tape out those measurements on the floor of your living room. Does that make sense? Just use like painters tape and make a box around where the furniture will be placed. That way you can see how things will fit, and you will know for sure if you should buy 1 or 2 chairs. We would have done that too, but we only purchased two pieces and we know for sure they will fit.
I can't wait to see what you choose!

Arlice said...

I always thought if I get a new sofa I would have to go with this one:
http://www.furnature.com/arlice.html

Here is one with your name on it:
http://www.clubfurniture.com/raslso.html

(Tim's mom)

Eryn said...

when i get couches, i am SO asking grace's opinion!

Grace Powell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Grace Powell said...

Thanks Eryn!

Rachel, I would be shocked if you feel comfortable with a couch, loveseat and one chair in there. One thing I often recommend is to consider not getting a full size sofa and doing two loveseats. You would be surprised how seldom people use the third seat on a couch and you can really make the room feel more spacious. It may make room for two chairs and will give you more flexibility if you need to rearrange.

Caleb and Anna said...

I would have to say I like the first "here" because that is what our set looks like =) I am not sure if it is the same brand or not. Also, we have a couch, love seat, chair and full size piano in our living room (which is smaller than yours). We would not have room for an ottoman. I guess it depends on how much space you want in between everything.