OMG, valinsv, where do you live, and when can I come visit? I'd chew off a limb for those Craigslist options. Nothing remotely like that ever appears down here. Wonderful cozy FR setup, and I love the "bones" of your LR -- those Ebay chairs will look great.

All that said, I vote against the sofabed option. We have one, and it gets very little use. People hate them. If you do get one, be sure to buy the kind that has a layer of air-mattress on top of the regular sofabed mattress, but even that doesn't always protect you from feeling those metal bars holding up the mattress. (and the good sofabeds are super-pricey and limited in look/style, I think)

I would vote for an Aerobed, the kind that's raised off the floor at the height of a normal bed. Those are really comfortable, and you can put them away when your guests leave.

Never cared for the sofa bed idea ;) You go girl!

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents regarding the Aero bed, as suggested by walkin. My son used an Aero bed in his apartment for his entire senior year in college and said is it was very comfortable. I think that would be a much better alternative to a sofa bed.

You made a wise choice not getting the sofa bed IMHO. They are not comfortable.

LOVE #5!!!

I really like the clean lines of #2.

I have slept on Aerobeds as a guest and found them to be very comfortable. My SIL has 2 of them. One packs up like a suitcase to a raised bed.

Our Craigs list in Philadelphia and New Jersey do not have any pieces similar to what you are finding. Lucky you!

I like the idea of vintage, but none of those pictured look right to me. I think it is that the chairs have so much wood on them that the wood framed sofas seem like too much of a good thing. Also the chairs look like they need something chunkier to balance them. I like the look of the bergere-type chairs with a really over stuffed English style sofa. I'm thinking something Chanel-like.

I think the sofas pictured with the chairs will make it start to look a little grandma's parlorish. But, as always, just MHO.

I love # 2, it reminds me of Chelone's stunning sofa. Some of the other ones are just too fussy. There are comfortable sofa beds, but they are extremely rare and hard to find. Better to just buy the aero bed which is more comfortable, then have them with legs that lift them up off the floor more like a real bed - like jerseygirl says, it packs up like a suitcase.

Sky

Wow, I never of heard of an aerobed before but they sound great. I'm going to check them out right now as DH's BIL, wife+ 2 kids and mom are all coming to visit over Christmas for almost 2 weeks. That might be just the solution!

budge1 brings up an interesting point about looking like Grandma's parlour. I guess that has been my hestitation all along with this. My taste has undergone a transformation these past few months--have I discovered my style or is this a craze? Is it possible to take a vintage look and bring it into present life without making it look overdone and fussy (what I'd asssociate with "Grandma's parlour"? The overstuft English sofa, however, does not appeal to me personally, though I know others love them. Part of the reason I am considering a vintage sofa is because of the wood reveal--otherwise I think I should stick to the plan with the herringbone new sofa (bed or not).

While these are on local CL--some of them are over one hour drive away and would also need to arrange a time when DH can go as well to help load the car so I want to be pretty sure which one before I start going on a wild goose chaise. I'm going to include the links so if any of you don't taking a closer link and at least help me narrow down or rule out any possibilities that would be helpful. I think I'm taking out #4 as the lines are a bit too fussy for me. #3 I like, but is more than I wanted to spend. I don't mind getting a bonus arm chair, but don't need it now I bought the arm chairs--so will put on the back burner.

couch 1:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/fur/489818310.html

couch 2: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/fur/488845641.html

couch 3:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fur/488827864.html

couch 5:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/fur/487440699.html

couch 6:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/fur/488590798.html

There is one more possibility I found on CL, couch #7. (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fur/490416180.html ) This one a smiliar to #5, but local and much less at $700 and includes a matching chair. Advantage would be I could reupholster myself later on in whatever fabric I choose--which has a certain attraction to it since I have 3 kids ages 14, 12, and 6.

{{!gwi}}

I'm considering #6--as it seems to have similar lines to the french arm chairs chairs and also like #5 as it's already restored and has the nail head trim and bet I could negotiate a bit. I liked #2 as it's a Duncan Phyfe style and matches the end tables; however I'm also planning a coffee table along similar lines and am wondering if that'd be a bit too much of a good thing and the back doesn't look that comfortable. Couch #1 is a possibility with less wood reveal.

Thank you for all votes--it will really help me figure out which ones to follow up on/eliminate.

As the owner of a several pieces that have "antique" value, I was councelled to NOT reupholster before offering the pieces for sale. Why? SIMPLE! no way will anyone be able to anticipate the taste of the prospective buyer.

Better to offer the frame with tattered upholstery than offer it with "over $2000 invested". Nice try, LOL.

Start with the basic FRAME you love. Get a ballpark estimate from a local, trusted upholsterer. Buy what you love and DON'T look at upholstery... look at LINES.

I do most of MY shopping kerbside, thank you! most of what I've seen above is still available for free around here. JMO

Budge brings out a good point about too much wood. I have to agree with her. It may be a good idea to soften the room with a completely upholstered sofa.

I still like CC tweed neutral fabric. JMHO

A good mattress for a sofa bed is a kingsdown spring mattress. Everyone who has used ours raves about it (and believe me these are not people to blow sunshine). But if your sofa is only 4 months old, I'd be inclined to get the aerobed or similar. It is less expensive too.

I have to comment on the sofa bed. My mom had two, well has two for sale, as DH and I would sleep on seperate couches than pull out the sofa bed. As would my sister and BIL. My brother even brought a camping mat. The only people that liked them are the 3 and 5 year old kids. They love the sofabed's for some reason. I would much rather sleep on a air bed, but prefer two twins next to each other vs a full/queen to share.

val -
I tend to agree w/budge Re: too much wood and gm parlor -
the other concern I would have is comfort of the sofa -

Love the tables & the chairs but I don't know how it would all pull together

You have a lot going on right now - perhaps a breather may help give you the perspective you are needing right now.

good luck!

Those are pretty sofas, and I really like #2 the Empire one. I would wait til your ebay chairs arrive to decide on anything. I also think you might not want too many leggy wood upholstery pieces in one room.

I have no idea where Chelone lives, but you would never come across something like those sofas sitting curbside where I live! Must be nice! I curbshopped way back when in town, but now we live in a more rural area - still even in town, nothing like that.

Val,
OMG - you have a great Craigslist in your area!!

My sitting room is probably to "leggy" but mine is out of left-overs. I had the 2 arm chairs and found my settee in a back room clearance = very good price. I had the side table and sideboard already. However, I do not get a "grandmas parlor" feel from my room.

Still a work in progress....
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I would get your chairs upholstered and wait to see how it feels in your room with your new drapery. Cost wise you'll probably be about the same by the time you get a vintage piece upholstered and buy fabric.

Can't wait to see your room come together!!

SMiles:)

#6 first choice, and then #1 for the sofas, very elegant looking! The others look maybe a bit too overstated?

johnatemp: Your pieces look lovely together. I think the oversized decorative cushions help to balance things out. THe sofa I lean towards (#6) is actually quite similar to yours--with different fabric.

jenny_from_the_block: No one leaving anything like out curbside in my neighborhood either.

kim2007; I think I agree with your assessment.

jejvtr: You have a point. I'm still open to the herringbone sofa from CC. It's hard as I don't really have a picture of it to show everyone; but it's one of these custom sofas where you get to choose the options (arm style, cushion style, skirt or wooden legs (and the style/color of leg). I was planning to do a 2-cushion roll arm with skirt--perhaps mahagony stained legs would be better for a touch of wood? I do think this would give me the most flexibility--and would be more of a backdrop for other focal points instead of being a focal point. I do have a lot going on in the room already with the stone fireplace, vintage chairs, piano (more wood). Their sale is a good one ($75 off each $500 spent) and no others planned until spring. It will take 8-10 weeks to arrive so for multiple reasons I want to wrap it up by the weekend. We have three kids and it is difficult to have friends over with only the family room for seating. If you see my other thread on sleeping for over night guests, Dh and I just decided to furnish it temporarily with a couple of cheapo used futons on Craigslist--with the metal frames so will be easy to transport in the back of my van. His brother and family will be spending 12 days with us over Christmas. I'm actually quite excited about it--2 futons for seating and sleeping with the Christmas tree and fireplace--and 5 kids in the house, plus 2 grandmas. Then when we are done, I will either resell or donate--all for the cost of 1-2 nights lodging in a hotel. And by the end of Jan, my formal living room should be starting to take shape.

Are you ever going to want to slipcover it? If yes, avoid the wood across the top of the sofa. Mine has the wood and a slipcover on it hangs like an old potato sack. I folded a blanket across the top even, and it didn't work.

Yes I think you can incorporate antiques just fine without coming off like grandma's parlour. Johnatemp's room is a beautiful example.

Many of us share your love of antiques, Val. Go for it! I think the aerobed is probably the answer...but the best answer is sometimes send them to a hotel - haha!

Hi- have not read every post but hate sleepers. My DH has an EZbed. It has moved 4 times with her and is in its 3rd year of nightly use. It is up off the floor and is the one that folds up by itself (gobs of fun to watch) into a suitcase. You can find them on line and even watch a video. We put a memory foam topper on as she uses it every night and it is very cozy.
I did like the arobed and laid on both for a very long time (became friendly with one of the clerks who stayed and chatted with me ) at BBB as they carried both at that time and decided on the EZbed

Where did you get those scrumptious curtains, please?

Was flipping through magazines last night for ideas for my own antique strewn home, found this and thought of you.

Probably more English Country style than you are going for, but thought it might help you visualize. I love this look - the mix of elegant and shabby is so comforting some how.

oceanna: Were you referring to my fabric swatches or johnatemp's lovely curtains? For my WT, I am pairing Resotration Hardware's silk tafetta in inverted pleats with custom roman shades by Calico Corners. Let me know if you need a bolt # or anything.

budge1: How can you DO that -- after your comments (and a few others agreeing with you) has 98% convinced me to stay with the CC custom sofa?? :) :)

I went ahead and took some pics of the sofa I am considering. Perhaps there is a negative stereotype about what sofabeds look like. I did not see any I liked at any furniture stores as they were not dressy enough for me. However, both Ethan Allan and Calico Corners make these design-your-own sofas where you get to combine different styles and that is what my plan has been (until I bought the chairs). With this option my sofa would look something like this:

{{!gwi}}

Though I can change it to my specifications as I have all these options:

{{!gwi}}

ANd here is the info about the sofa bed part--it seems it comes with an air pump to inflate the mattress so it should be more comfortable than the garden variety sofa bed.

{{!gwi}}

My original options where for a recessed panel arm, knife edge back, 2-cushion straight with a dressmaker skirt.

NOw I'm leaning toward changing it to just like the picture I posted that shows the turned legs and the T-cushion. My herringbone fabric would make this sofa more of a neutral which the more I think about it, the more I need someplace to rest they eye. I will dress it up with fabric coordinated cushions using the following fabrics:

{{!gwi}}

I think I should just stick with my plan--with the change to just reupholster the chairs I bought on eBay instead of purchasing new.

Sale goes off Dec 1st. I know some have advised waiting--but we really need to get some furniture put in the living room. It's already been 6 months without it--and another 2 months to wait for sofa to be built.

Just my .02, but I love the sofa pictured (just as it is - I'm not a big skirt fan). I wish I had a place that would make a sofa to my specs like that - what a dream! Also envy your ability to put in a white sofa. I love that herringbone fabric.

You probably know this, but the t-cushions will make the sofa deeper. I find this more comfortable, but someone shorter or elderly may find it difficult to get in or out of.

Just to confuse you some more, here is another pic with a similar sofa.

budge1: Glad you like it. I was looking for some online pics on CC, but they didn't have any. Believe it or not, this is their "budget" sofa--but I like it as I can choose exactly the features I like, plus it has the sofa bed that would be nice as well. I think I will change to the turned legs--and they can stain in mahogany as well. I'm not too crazy about the back legs which is why I think I was considering the skirt. We were also first going to do the triple cushion like you pictured, but we find sometimes when we sit on the edge of a cushion, it goes down in relation to the adjacent one so decided to stick to two. Also, I would plan to have CC make three decorative cushions to dress it up more; but if I want a different look in the future or for a change of season even, all I need is to have different sofa cushions made.

Thanks for bringing it up yesterday. One thing I like about this forum is people give their honest opinion--even if their opinion is they don't like something. And in such a nice way also so no feelings are hurt!

I remember that pic from another thread about recovering armchairs. Is that you? Sorry, I'm still getting to "know" everyone here on this forum. Did you ever decide on a fabric? Is it the brown floral?

Yup, that was me. I'm glad you took the comments in the spirit they were offered. I too appreciate honest opinions (when offered with tack ;-)

I sent pics of my fabric choices to my best friend in Europe who shares my strange design style. She emailed me back saying to go with any of them EXCEPT the brown floral! Guess what I had just ordered that morning. I decided to stick with it - altho some days I just think it is going to look ridiculously horrid (talk about grandma's parlour) and other days I think it will look like a lovely English country room.

I posted on your other thread about the bergere-NOT chairs. The sofa I bought for my family room is very similar to the CC one you are considering. I went with King Hickory (a three cushion model) since I have little kids. So I like the combination of chair style and sofa! Since we seem to have similar taste --got any ideas for a recliner?? LOL

Val
I feel for you - I know it's not easy trying to get the whole room pulled together -

Have you heard of or tried Lee Industries for sofa - I lurked on furniture forum & here 1.5yrs ago and went w/a Lee sofa for my sunroom - It is the most comfy sofa I have ever sat on, well constructed hardwood, hand tied - down wrapped cushions etc... I found one on clearance in a local furniture store - so reasonably priced they have lovely options for fabrics, styles etc...

I love they are made in the USA as well - not too much is these days

Another recommendation would be Hancock and Moore - may be more pricey than Lee - I purchased a large leather sofa (dh insisted) - and got it 1/2 price - it really is quite a stunning piece and extremely well made & comfortable - this will likely last a few generations

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/category.asp?categoryid=FS

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: lee industries

Oops forgot - val I do like the lines on the ?CC sofa I don't know the company/brand - and will say again what ever you do decide - sit on it for awhile

gl:>

Val, I love the fauteuil chairs and vintage tables but do prefer the original CC couch you were considering. I think the more ornate couch would really compete too much with the other pieces. Also, I imagine you will be gradually adding other decorative elements, so I think the simplicity of the largest piece in the room would allow for better balance. Regarding the comfort of the sofa bed, you could always consider a memory foam topper. I bought my son an inexpensive (too inexpensive!) mattress for his college apartment and when he complained of being "tortured" nightly I purchased the topper for $100. He loves it!

Can't wait to see those gorgeous chairs!

budge1: I like the brown floral. In fact, after your post I started looking at a few similar fabrics for myself. I think I need to just place my order so I can stop agonizing over it all. I was the same way with my kitchen. I kept tweaking the design for over 6 months and drove my DH and KD nuts. I love my kitchen, though even today I see someone else's kitchen and think, hmmm... maybe.... so that's why I frequent this board now over kitchens.

jejvtr: Thank you for the other suggestions for sofas and glad you like the look of the CC one. I had picked that out over a month ago--it was the side chairs that I was in a delimna what to do regarding style and fabric and once I made my choices, I started to wonder if the chairs would go with the style sofa I had picked. If the decorating experts say this one goes, that is enough for me. I'd rather stick with CC at this point since I've already picked all my fabrics, sat in the sofa and found it to be comfortable, maped out the dimensions in my floorplan, etc.

teeda: That was the conclusion I came up with also so no more looking for me on CL at vintage sofas. When we remodeled our house we lived in an apt for 7 motnhs and my poor DS actually slept in a sofa bed in the living room the entire time! After that, the sofa was not the same so we had to replace it with the sectional. The sofabed will only get occasional use and I think I might get an aerobed down the road so guests can have a choice and I have more options for additional guest sleeping since neither DH nor my family live locally--wonder if you can take them camping?

Tommorrow I'm going down to CC and place my order--for the WTs, the sofa and 3 sofa cushions. The associate is busy getting a quote for me on reupholstering the chairs as I FAXed her a picture and dimensions which she sent to their workroom. I'm thinking of using the floral on the fronts and the green velvet on the back and arms. For the sofa cushions I will do 2 in the pink diamond fabric with fringe and a center cushion with the floral and green velvet combo.

I'm in New England.

I have a pretty good "eye" for furniture. And a better than basic knowledge of furniture construction and upholstery (I work in a related trade). I own a station wagon, I know what day is "large item pick up" for each part of my own and many surrounding communities... lol. And I know that many nice pieces wind up kerbside because reupholstery is expensive! I "go for a ride" (without the dog) the night before or early the next morning... .

It takes work to "score" big, jenny., I've been at it for the better part of 15 yrs. now and have returned more than a few "scores" kerbside in that time! :)

Thanks, Val. Your fabric is lovely. I was asking Johnatemp about her curtains.

I wish you good luck with finding just the right sofa. I love my matching antique sofa and chair, and they are out being reupholstered right now. But there are times I wish I could just slipcover them because I'm in a different mood, or because of dogs or whatever, and I found out that slipcovers look awful on a wood-topped camel back. So if you're choosing, I vote no wood on the top of your sofa for that reason. If you can do slipcovers you always have fleibility for some time in the future, should you want it.