Hi Sammy, I've been listening to too much NPR today, lol.
I thought perhaps you were part of the Russian hackers, conspiracy theory.
I know they are just dying to hack into Houzz design dilemmas! So much valuable information.

All I know is, I hope Hamma is okay. Something always felt a little off about this post.

First and foremost, I wanted to thank each and everyone of you who helped me in reaching the decision about the colors for my new chairs. I'm extremely grateful for all your time, expertise, critique, suggestions and the like. For some reason, I got hang up on this color issue (well, no wonder! It could have been ~$700 mistake, a lot of shoes can be bought for this money :) and if it wasn't for Houzz, who knows what I would have done :). Isn't it what most people come here for...?

I think Houzz is a wonderful website and a terrific resource for professionals, homeowners, renters and enthusiasts. I also think that we should try to keep it light and positive. Keeping that in mind, I am not placing blame on anyone for anything and I'd like for all of us to move on from here. Let's just say this dilemma is solved (at least for now) and this is where the story ends :).

P.S. Without going into any personal details, my education and professional background, I'll only say that I speak several languages and I have been blessed to have the opportunity to live in different countries around the world.

Hi Hamma! So nice to hear from you. Oh, I hope you'll post pics when the chairs arrive and chat about pillows and such. Sounds iffy, but I hope so.

Too bad I can't invite you all over for some friendly chit-chat, I just finished baking a bundt cake. Yum! :)

One more comment. I respect that you want to keep it light. But, if you want to keep it light and still keep a Houzz dilemma going, it works to completely ignore the people posting that are just there to be critical of you or your choices. I've run into that before, but I don't want to give up on Houzz because there are tons of wonderful, helpful people, so, at times, I just choose to proceed as if the negative comments aren't even there. They go away eventually.

Oh my, look what you miss when plagued by contractors in the house and a rush writing job! I had just settled in with my iPad and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to catch up on design dilemmas when I opened this thread. I laughed so hard at several things that I almost aspirated my wine. I'm sorry that Hamma is MIA but I sure enjoyed loads of the comments here. Love the limericks and memes. Thank you, dear Houzzers, for the belly laughs, I neede them!

Hamma, I am also glad to hear from you. I agree with Ann about ignoring the negativity (though I have to admit I've had to apologize myself a couple of times). I don't even know what is in the comments above that went off the rails because I never read them all, but if you want to do pillows or other decor, just start another dilemma and put this one on ice.

Whooo HOOO Hamma is back in the Houzz!!

cupcakes for everyone;)

Hi Ann! I truly appreciate all your support. It's not unnoticed! R & B have been most wonderful in letting me keep these chairs until I get the new ones (sometime in October). I just have to return them in the same, i.e. new, condition. Of course, I've been itching to get some new accessories and such, and I already bought a couple of things. I will most definitely post the pictures as to how everything will turn out. After all the help and advice that I received on here, it will only be fair!!!

I really want to try and stay positive and just let all the negativity "be" without becoming negative myself, so I certainly agree with what you're saying.

Bravo!

Hooray Hamma! Glad that you are all set. {{{{Raising her second, and last for the night, glass of wine in a toast to all here}}}

groveraxle, I don't know how you do the things you do, but my most sincere "Thank you"!

Hamma, glad to hear from you. The slate chairs will be wonderful. Thanks for being so polite and humoring us.
Most OPs are not nearly as gracious as you.

I still don't know what the heck happened, but I'm glad all is well in the land! Lol

Welcome back Hamma...The storm has passed...

Glad you're back Hamma!

its wonderful that R&B will let you keep those chairs till October, but are you totally comfortable with that? If I had a toddler and a 4 y.o. I think I would be kinda (ok VERY) nervous about light coloured fabric chairs that had to be kept in "like new" conditions for 3 months. Yikes.

drdeb1234, thanks so much :)! You made an excellent point. After my phone conversation with R & B regarding the exchange, I received a confirmation e-mail from them, and the instructions on Returns & Exchanges were included. They advised that I should cover the furniture either with a drop cloth or a sheet of plastic, not expose it to smells, etc. So, I did cover the chairs and I put them away. Luckily, we have a lot of space here. But I thought it was nice of them to arrange the delivery and pick up at the same time, i.e. I won't have to have two separate appointments for that, waiting for the delivery truck, etc. - a bit of a hassle! Considering how far I live, I'm always last on everyone's list, and the delivery guys are notorious for showing up here just as I'm putting my children to bed :).

I'm not exactly sure what they do with the returned furniture. I assume they sell it back? I wanted to be conscientious about it. Also, if there's a problem with it, I won't get 100% refund, something to keep in mind, just like you said :)

Dear Hamma, I am so happy you came back! Please do post when you want help - especially pillows! but post the results even if you do not need any more help. trust yourself you have great tastes and enjoy yourself!

You know who! I am signing back in now!

Hope to hear from you soon hamma.

Margo & Rox: I just let out the biggest "HA HA HA!!!" belly laugh at your pictures, and it felt GREAT! It was much needed, so, thanks!

Sandy: While I did experience--for a very brief moment--that unpleasant sensation in my gut which I remember all too well from adolescence (you know, the one you'd get when you knew people were whispering about you at the lunch table), all is forgiven. Judging by the good-natured tone of your subsequent comments, I'm pretty sure those two comments about me were innocent goofs on your part.

Hopefully this will serve as a reminder to us ALL that we must carefully choose our words--especially in online forums, where our audience doesn't have the benefit of reading our body language or hearing the inflections in our voice to help them interpret the intent behind those words.

Thank You, and God Bless America!!

: -)

Hi Sammy, thanks for the great comments.
We must choose our words carefully.
This is all in fun. Anyone wanting serious, professional design advice would not be here on Houzz IMHO.
It's free advice, more like a design by committee, lol.

Enjoy your day!

Hi sammy, though i caught nothing really off about you. you have to understand, many of us are just a little paranoid at the moment, so if people overreact it is just a part of that scenario and not you personally. i still trying to see what people thought was off about the thread. i only noted when our "pal" showed up and started to spread their charms. but you know, i am not going to bother to figure it out. i would much rather play with pillows. dive right into those marshmallow guys!

Havingfun: You know, I was kind of anticipating there being a little confusion about my identity when I changed both my name (went from my full name to my shorter nickname) AND my profile picture at the same time, so I tried to go back to my old picture. But once I became Jessica Fletcher, my previous profile picture was gone, so I just said, "Oh well!"

And I don't know what was "off" about the thread, either! And unless I see something that I feel is just wrong (or see my name mentioned), I keep my eyes on the ground and on walkin'. ;)

P.S. Who/what are those marshmallow guys?? Am I gonna feel dumb if you have to explain it to me?

pillows. Pillows, pillows, whats not to love about pillows! i have a warehouse or 2 of my favorite pillows. good thing i am a cheap date - <$25. otherwise i would need a train to get through all the pillows!

SandyC, i know this is all fun, but i also take it seriously. I think most of us do, we genuinely wish to help with the dilemmas.

Yes, most people take it seriously, but often I think the Ops humor us at times as to not hurt our feelings.

yes, i am pretty sure that 90% of the time when they do not comment on what you put up they are too nice to say they hate it! lol

First, be glad your husband is cares what you like enough to let you decide.

If you don't like the FEEL of the furniture, return it right away. (Next time sit on any sofa and chairs w/bare skin before bringing it home.)

If you don't like the LOOK of the furniture, return it right away.

Yet again, be glad your husband is cares what you like enough to let you decide.

Any new developments?

Well, I didn't think it would be a possibility, but my chairs are supposed to be here ahead of the lead time, yay! I will post an update. Or perhaps "Before and After" will be better suited, to avoid confusion.

Hooray!!!! Please do post before/after pics. WTG : )

Hip hip horray!

yeah!!!

I received the chairs. "Revere Slate" turned out to be a gorgeous fabric! Very multi-dimensional, so to say...Not "flat" at all. Which I knew was going to be the case, but even more so in person on those upholstered chairs. Also, a true chameleon in terms of the color; nearly impossible to photograph.

I really like how the new chairs anchor the space, since they are a little on the darker side...How do I say it? They are not "floating" in there, you know?

I bought some new accessories as well. I think the room came together quite nicely. I will try and take some photos shortly.

Hope everyone is having a nice day!

Can't wait to see your new pics! So glad you love them!

Yay!! Sounds fabulous. Eagerly awaiting pics...

yay! i think you just made our days!

Awesome news! So happy for you.

I've been trying to chase some good light, which hasn't been easy, since the rains really settled in here... Here is my best attempt:

The color is really difficult to capture. It's just so tweedy & multi-dimensional, it even has a distinctive green tint to it, in a certain light. I'm afraid I didn't capture it very well, but I hope you all will get an idea. I have posted pictures of the updated area on here, and of course, I had to write a little story to go with them, (doesn't every Houzz tell a story?):

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/mommy-look-the-mountain-is-broken-dsvw-vd~4243029[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/mommy-look-the-mountain-is-broken-dsvw-vd~4243029)

This has certainly been an interesting dilemma to solve! I wanted to thank everyone for their time, expertise and the willingness to help. Houzz is a community like no other :).

Very nice.

Love the fabric and the slightly darker color. You are right, they do not appear as heavy. Slow and sure is the ticket. Congratulations. It has been wonderful watching the process evolve and your feedback was enjoyable.

absolutely lovely hamma, see you had it all along.

Gosh, the new chairs look great Hamma!

Perfection! Love them. New pillows? Other accessories? So happy for you! And hubby too!

Hi Flo! Thank you! Yes, I got all new pillows and a couple of other new things for the area. I updated my "original" pillow thread:

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/i-refreshed-my-mantel-decor-and-im-looking-to-update-my-pillows-dsvw-vd~3985742[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/i-refreshed-my-mantel-decor-and-im-looking-to-update-my-pillows-dsvw-vd~3985742)

Husband is quite relieved that he doesn't have to accompany me to the furniture stores at this point. Until further notice, that is :).

Awesome. I know it has been a "ride", but you hung on and have a terrific room!