Hi there, thanks for your question! Both the Melrose and the Hillandale are great choices and are handmade in the USA as you may know. They are very similar in many ways but the Hillandale features a more low-profile design than the Melrose; both are low profile but Hillandale is preferred by customers looking for a little extra touch of mod low profile design.

Also, the Hillandale frame is the exact same height as the arms (picture the arms wrapping all the way around the entire sofa, height-wise) whereas the back of the Melrose comes up 4" above the arm height (you can sort of see that on the left side of the image above). Here are some measurements that may assist you in visualizing more clearly the differences in height and style:

Melrose: 18" seat height, 27" frame height (floor to top of the frame at its tallest point in back) and 34" pillow height (floor to top of the back pillows)

Hillandale: 15" seat height, 22" frame height (floor to top of the frame at its tallest point- arms and back) and 28" pillow height (floor to top of the back pillows)

Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any more questions ;) We look forward to assisting you further!