Tag: sofa

Granted, this customize-it-yourself mockup from the England Furniture website doesn’t do justice to any of the fabric colors and textures.

But even choosing them live under the furniture store lights, my sales guy, Darius, did everything he could to get us to go in a different direction.

Here’s a closer look at each print we chose (two 20-inch pillows in each). Chaco Jewel was my favorite, and hubs loved Triplett Party. I wasn’t so sure they worked together until I unfolded the TP sample and saw the orange and goldish continuing colorway. The longer I looked at them, the better I thought they would work together.

Darius was uber-polite but unconvinced

He took both samples and draped them over existing pillows to help us see the light. And when we didn’t budge from the “dark,” he provided what he thought were more “suitable” samples to combine with Triplett Party–mostly solids in burgundy tones, much too tame for me. (Chaco Jewel was a write-off for him, I guess.)

I tried to reassure him we both liked lots of color and pattern, and it was, after all, a plain gray sofa we were purchasing, albeit it one with streamlined midcentury modern lines. And the patterns were midcentury, like the sofa. And midcentury was a bit of a smashup as an era anyway, so it would all work in the end.

He gave up after that, but not without a perplexed look, and wrote up the sale. I would have preferred more focus from him on the sofa body fabric, which we were clear from the beginning had to stand up to two cats with intact claws. We unearthed this fabric ourselves–actually a low-pile velvet with a tightly woven back, though it presents as ultrasuede.

The sofa was, after all, what we were spending all that money on, and the pillows were just lagniappe–something extra that may never get used at all. (Point of fact: I NEVER used the two pillows that came with my current sofa ON that sofa. They did get used on our guest bed for a few years, but most of their lives have been lived in the back of a closet.)

Perhaps Darius thought the four pillows he sold us would be the only thing on the sofa and so wouldn’t look very pulled together. I suppose that is how a lot of people decorate, but not ME.

Currently NONE of my living room throw pillows are identical, so having two pairs of matching ones will be something different for me. I hope I can stand the repetition, LOL! I plan to retire the five Nouristan pillows pictured above, as I’ve used them more than five years and they’re starting to look a bit worn. The orange tubular Carpettee cushion in the upper left I just received as a Christmas gift from my daughter, though, so I will add it to the mix for the new sectional.

And surprise-surprise!! I already found and purchased additional pillows I want to mix with the lagniappe ones. They’re part of the Opalhouse Jungalow collection from Target. Aren’t they fun? Decor should be fun in my book–hence BoHO HOme, LOL–but pillows MUST be fun.

But wait, there’s more–pattern, that is…

This is not all the pattern going on in the Lawson living room. Don’t tell Darius, okay? I think he might hyperventilate.

We have existing chairs positioned on the opposite side of the room from the sofa, upholstered in each of these prints, and no plans to redo them anytime soon.

.They still look great, and I think they’ll be just fine with the new patterns. They are, after all, on the other side of a 15-foot wide room.

But they don’t look half bad with the lagniappe pillow fabrics, so I may use some of those cushions on these chairs, after I take them apart and kick them up a notch with some brush fringe that picks up on the goldish tones. Which do you like better–a different fabric on each chair pillow or TP on both?

It’s a big room, and these two vintage midcentury chairs sit in a separate conversation area in a corner. I do plan to have these reupholstered very soon. Haven’t picked out the fabric yet, but it will be either a plain solid or a solid with a subtle texture. Maybe teal or raspberry? Maybe ultrasuede? Maybe welted in a contrasting color? Not sure yet.

I’ll keep the same little needlepoint pillows on them, though, because those were my mum’s. I bought them for her one Christmas long ago, and she treasured them and saved them to give back to me after she passed.

This round area rug is only months old and will continue to define this additional convo area.

There’s also this area rug in the great room, under the major part of the room where the other two chairs are and the sectional will be. I think it does a great job of pulling everything together, but I doubt Darius would agree. Unless maybe he saw it, which isn’t likely to happen.

So what do you think?

I am, I confess, an avowed maximalist with a color and pattern addiction, which may not be your thing. My daughter is into neutrals and solids and sometimes leaves our house with a migraine, so it’s not for everyone. The important thing is that YOUR home makes YOU happy, and the hell with everyone else.

All that aside, the big thing for us was to get the sectional picked out and ordered because–and this is the killer–the wait time is four to six months for a custom fabric choice! Too bad that pretty tweedy one on the showroom floor, which they stock in the warehouse, wouldn’t work for us–too loosely woven and susceptible to kitty claws. I managed to snag the sample with my fingernail. And I fear it would have been one pattern too many anyway.

When it all finally gets here, and I put my great room back together, I willl post the result. Chaco Jewel and Triplett Party may indeed have to take up residence at the back of the closet, but I’m hoping not (it’s getting a bit crowded there).

Ahhhh…the things we do for our fur-babies!!

Just look at that gorgeous guy relax after a taxing game of foil-ball hockey! Mr. Scout’s only a minor-league scratcher though–usually uses the scratching post and often gets after his big sis, who is the household deconstructor, when she is working her anxiety out on the sofa or a chair.

Here’s Miss Maisie “loving on” one of our dining chairs, long since reupholstered in more durable stuff. You can see how that story turned out HERE.

We’re actually considering removing the well-scratched arms of our existing sofa and making them into some sort of scratching post for her in an effort to keep her off the new sectional. If that comes to pass, I’ll post a photo.

In the meantime, it’s freezing rain here for the next few days–hopefully, the last vestiges of winter. Wherever you are, take care and stay well!