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Sofa SO Good

June 22, 2009 By Paola 12 Comments

So we’ve made a decision.

We’re going with the Deep sofa below from Couch Seattle, though we’re going to switch out the wooden plinth underneath for mid-century style cone feet and the whole thing will be in buttery soft ivory leather. The leather was a bit of an indulgence, and in all honesty I’m not really a leather sofa person at all, but it did seem the most supremely practical option with a Minx in the house – our existing white slip-covered sofa really does look horrific nowadays.

We partly made this decision because this is one of the few sofas we were able to sit on and test – and goodness me is it comfortable – but also on the basis of a long email discussion with Ameer at Couch. That man knows his couches.

I’m reproducing one of his emails here as I believe the advice he gives might be useful to anyone else currently buying a sofa, but also because this sort of exemplary and helpful customer service really needs to be celebrated.

Over to Ameer (the below is his email in response to my previous sofa post). I’ve included mini-pics of the sofas he is referring to, so we can follow the argument.

‘It seems you want a modern or mid-century sofa that sits like a big lounger – which is a bit of a challenge.

Mid-century styles like the Petrie and Jasper are a bit more upright. Not familiar with how the Jasper sits but it mimics the depth and geometry of the Petrie so I assume they sit the same-which is to say well, but hardly plush, which is what you liked about my Deep model.

For reference the Deep is 40″ while the Jasper and Petrie are both 36″- and the Deep features down blend in the back and seat while neither the Petrie or Jasper do. Styles like that are both all about the straightness of the line, which down would compromise.

As for the 51 , the other style you scanned, I dig it but simply don’t dig it as much as the Deep. Seeing both in person in California the Deep was a fair bit more modern and eye-catching. I don’t think it’s necessarily rounder by any means than the Deep.

The Rae and Nina are both nice looking but the Nina is only 75″ wide, while the Ray looks from here like it sits stiff (and being only 32″ will sit quite shallow).

The Danner is pretty (but again shallow) and undoubtedly well made but you’re paying maybe $1,500 to get the Adler label. I could do the Nina and probably the Danner as well. But since you’ve mentioned you want loungy comfort I might encourage you to look at options that include back pillows.

Byward is an awkward knock-off of a B&B Charles. It looks awkward because the seat cushion is too fat by about an inch – and the back cushions need a touch of space between them so you can see the frame. The Charles needs to be knocked off perfectly to look good. An inch off here and an inch off there and it’s not so very pretty at all

Movie sofais good but CB2 quality isn’t quite the same as that of the CB main line – and the problem with a sofa like that is that you NEED lots of cushions to put behind you and while lots of throw pillows are nice to look at, they can drive one crazy trying to find the right arrangement on dvd night. Sleek yet plush is really kind of a difficult thing to do.

The Frigerio line at Limn is amazing yet Italian made with prices to match. Restoration Hardware has some great designs, but perhaps a little too traditional for your taste and they’re overpriced and Chinese built. Kasala and Alchemy are always options for some contemporary styling, but you undoubtedly visited since they’re both on the same street I am. Hmmm. Given your parameters I dunno where’d I’d get a sofa if I didn’t get it from me.

If I didn’t have 10k for Frigerio (which I don’t) I’d probably go for a Steele from CB (whic h would fit with your room aesthetic). It’s got a nice sleek look and in my opinion sits better than the Petrie.

I’m also of the mind that the aggressively mid century style of the Petrie won’t age as well as a more updated style like the Steele. You could also get the Steele in time for your parents in a suitable fabric since it’s stocked in a nubby polyester. The Petrie is stocked in a cotton which just isn’t the right call for you given the Minx. To change out the cotton to the leather on the Petrie you’re going to be waiting till well after your parents have come and gone.

I’m going through my databanks here for a good source for a deep, stylish, plush, sofa and coming up blank.

Best I can do is the CB Lounge which is stocked in a stain resistant poly velvet. Yup, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it – though that one is 46″ deep so will have a large footprint in a not so very wide room. I really did try!

To answer your question I’ve got the exact spec for both the Petrie, Jasper, and Movie but I’m not in love with any of them. I’ll take another look at my resources and see if I can’t suggest a couple others. For a really progressive piece that looks fantastic and sits well, I really am a big fan of the Deep. I think it would look right at home in one of my neighboring boutiques at 3x the price.

ameer

Cherries

June 17, 2009 By Paola 12 Comments

The good news. THIS is what you get when record-breaking rainfall in the early part of May is followed by a month of continuous unbroken sunshine and temps in mid to high 70s.

The bad news. These pics were taken from an upstairs window and the tree is so big we will hardly be able to get any of these. Any ideas on how to get these little beauties down and into our gaping mouths?

Sofa, So Very Not Good

June 15, 2009 By Paola 15 Comments

The inlaws have booked their flights out to visit us this August and we are now panicking because our crummy thirteen-year-old sofa is in a state of severe delapidation and is hugely uncomfortable. I suspect rather too much of this is to blame.

So, a new sofa must be procured.

This Saturday we went along to Couch in Seattle, whose owner Ameer was really helpful and incredibly passionate about sofas (see also this write-up on Apartment Therapy ). He has a range of sofas which are eco-friendly, completely customisable and competitively priced, plus he can get sofas made ‘inspired’ by those at the big box stores, but again customised to your own requirements.

So here are some sofas I like. I find that I’m drawn to a sort of mid-century vibe (definitely want feet) but it needs to be incredibly comfortable and relaxing and not the sort of sofa that makes you sit bolt upright. Any other ideas? Are there any other aspects I should be taking into consideration? Anyone got any experience sitting on any of the below? I’m thinking of shapes at the moment rather than upholstery colours/fabrics/prices, though if anyone knows of any mid-century styled slipcover sofas I’d be all ears.

Jasper at Room & Board, $1,299

Movie Sofa at CB2, $999

Byward at Velocity, $1,800

Petrie at Crate & Barrel, $1.499

Rae at Chiasso $1,598

Nina at Maine Cottage, $1,700 – $2,590

Danner, at Jonathan Adler, $3,800

Finally, here are a couple of ideas they had a Couch, both of which can be made up in a gorgeous buttery soft ivory leather, which I’m very drawn too due to the practicality aspect. (Excuse the quality of these, they’re scans of scans). I’d get the feet changed on both of these though.

Oh and here’s reminder of the room it’s going in. An no, we still haven’t painted the walls.

Abigail Percy’s Hyacinth Watch

May 13, 2009 By Paola Leave a Comment

One of our very favourite suppliers is Scottish jeweller Abigail Percy, who makes, among other things, our very popular Sweet Horse Chestnut Earrings.

She has a wonderful blog detailing her inspirations and the creative process in her tiny studio and has recently been taking us through a project she calls ‘Hyacinth Watch’.

Together we’ve watched her hyacinths grow, seen her sketches, marvelled at the limited edition jewellery she created from the sketches of hyacinth blooms, and you can now buy her photo postcards, wrapped in a brown paper band printed from one of her hyacinth sketches.

Do yourselves a favour, wander over to her blog and see the process for yourself. Or, even better treat yourselves to a necklace or a set of postcards.

All photographs copyright Abigail Percy. Find her Flickr here.

What A Difference Some Stain Makes

May 12, 2009 By Paola 4 Comments

When the landscapers were doing the hardscaping for our back garden we asked them to build a fence in order to corral the Minx.

They left us with an large orange structure which we naively believed would soon fade to an attractive weathered grey.

I don’t know what the wood was treated with, but we waited and waited. And the other new wood such as the trellis faded. But still the fence glowed orangely in the corner. (And as you can see it didn’t even do a very good job of corraling the Minx).

So about a month ago we bit the bullet, dodged the Spring rain showers and attacked it with the dark brown stain we’d used on the deck. It took forever – it needed two coats and it was a pain in the behind getting under the chicken wire. But in the end it looked like this. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes to the whole garden.

Here is a somewhat random picture of a raccoon in the garden at the weekend admiring the fence. (You should have seen us all marvelling when we saw two raccoons – we are SO British).

The Garden in April

April 22, 2009 By Paola 1 Comment

Well I couldn’t be bothered to do a post for March. Due to the incredibly cold spring temperatures, the garden really looked hardly different from February – mostly hellebores and some rather sorry looking daffodils.

But then sometime last week Spring came along and this happened. I can’t begin to tell you how much pleasure this tiny plot of land gives me sometimes.

The Dilemma of the Sh*t Brown Stairs

March 23, 2009 By Paola 21 Comments

Slowly but surely, the colours for the main room are coming together (yes, I know it’s been ages but I’m still searching, vainly so far, for the right pink- and yes, I know you told me to paint it green).

One question on my mind at the moment is what to do with the stairs, which face directly into the main living room and are currently painted the most revolting shade of diarrhoea brown.

I’ve posted up a couple of ideas here and here with other staircase inspiration, but was flicking through an old Livingetc yesterday and came across this picture of Orla Kiely’s staircase in London which I rather like (though it is intrinsically a much more beautiful staircase than ours). Though not in red.

What do you think? Have you seen any other good painted staircase ideas anywhere? I’m worried that painting a stripe will add an extra layer of complexity that the room doesn’t need, but it IS much more fun than just painting the stairs white. The other option of course is just to find a door to replace the one which is currently missing, which we may still do whatever we end up doing with the stairs.

It’s About Time

March 19, 2009 By Paola 1 Comment

FINALLY I get to pick some daffs out of the garden. It’s been a long, cold winter here in Seattle.

Adventures in Crochet

March 9, 2009 By Paola 8 Comments

Holly at Decor8 has been writing a fabulous series about unleashing your creativity, which has made me decide that this is the year I learn to crochet.

I have a couple of super scary projects I’m contemplating (to be discussed when they’ve percolated a bit more) but have told myself that I can’t buy the yarn for anything big until I’ve finished the incredibly tedious blanket of doom. In the meantime I’m attempting a few simple projects, so I can see what this crocheting lark is all about and whether it really is for me.

My first project was a cover for the orchid the Minx gave me for Valentines Day. I adapted Erika Knight’s bottle covers from Simple Crochet and used some string I found in our useful drawer and a length of fine chartreuse ribbon I found at the bottom of my knitting bag which I must have bought for some project I can no longer remember.

It wasn’t difficult, though string and ribbon are not the most forgiving of media, and has encouraged me to persevere, though the Husband did take one look at the finished article and said, “Isn’t that all a bit macrame’?” and I couldn’t really disagree.

Here’s some crochet that actually looks good. Found via the Style Files and available here if you can read Dutch, these are all crocheted in polyester so are good for outdoors. I’d love some for the deck.

More details in my Ravelry notebook. Come and find me there.

Public Service Announcement – Matte Stephens Giveaway

March 4, 2009 By Paola 6 Comments

When we were talking paint colours recently (still dithering about that and waiting on a couple of samples) a couple of you mentioned my little Matte Stephens painting, which I picked up when Matte gave his talk at the Lab last year. It was originally intended for the Minx’s room, but I’ve decided that I love it far too much to waste it on her.

I bought the picture because, although it’s supposed to be a picture of Matte’s wife Vivienne, it reminds me of the Minx, and the fir trees and umbrella are just SO Seattle.

Those of you who spend a lot of time in the American blogosphere will certainly have seen Matte’s work before – much of his talk at the Lab was about how he had been quietly plodding along with his art for years, before becoming something of an overnight sensation, with lots of interesting projects in the works.

However, for those of you who don’t know him so well he has an Etsy shop here full of prints, and a blog here. You can also buy original works here at Velocity. And as of today he is giving away these three new pillows on his blog.