Furniture Shopping 3/27/10

As planned, Stacey showed up bright and early on Saturday morning and we were women on a mission.  Carefully reviewing the floor plan, measurements and traffic flow first, we reaffirmed our plan and hit the road. 

Arriving at Young's Furniture in So. Portland we headed straight to the red leather sectional that is pictured below.  It was about 36 inches too long, so we immediately inquired as to the various configurations the sectional was available in.  Answer: "One- and you're looking at it.".. no way to section it out, and make it work with our space, so off we went to see other pieces.  :(

The second leather sectional we looked at was 'ok'- I mean... I liked it- for someone else, but I really didn't love it.  It was a bit too contemporary for me and had some funky legs, but Stacey was hard at work tracing the various sections and seemed to be pretty happy with the results.  I am determined to listen to her advice and was willing to make it work until...... what the sales woman called "the price point" - Um, I'm sorry but it was almost twice my budget for the sectional and I just had to say "ahhh- no". 

Off to leather sectional #3- which was surprisingly a lot like #1 only in white.. Now, I had walked by this sectional several times while out doing my preview and it must have been the color that threw me initially, but .. I just couldn't visualize the soft white leather transforming into a warm, welcoming leather sectional- but after looking at the various pieces and configurations, guess what?  It was exactly what we wanted to begin with that the red one couldn't offer.. Thank Goodness #2 was outrageously priced and I had the courage to say so! We found our main piece, #3- leather color "Bordeaux" -- simply yummy! (yes, I know this is a sofa, but it is available in sections, also)

Now- all we needed were a couple of comfortable, cozy chairs to place under the new window area- This proved to be a bit more difficult than I initially thought.  My plan was to get matching swivel rockers - easy enough, right?  Well, no.  After Stacey reminded me of how many times a day I would have to straighten them, the possibility of the mechanisms breaking etc, we ended up with small, rounded, tufted chairs that are sweet, sweet, sweet!  (Stacey is really pretty bossy, actually) Just Kidding!! 

only in this fabric->>

Now, I really don't want to give you too much information because I want the final product to be a surprise, but -- coming soon...... paint colors!  Are you starting to get a visual, yet? 

Week 1- "The Results Show"

After just one week- well, actually just a bit more than 3 days of work, there is significant progress to report.  Three pieces of the project have been started.. Pantry- -removed.  Wall-- lengthened . Sliding glass door- -gone. Windows- moved and maximized. 

What a difference those  design tweaks make in the overall layout of the room and the optical illusion of additional space.  I did have to admit to both Stacey and Denis that I was having significant anxiety about closing up the wall between the two rooms.  Having lived with so much open space and sunlight for almost 10 years, I was worried sick that I would regret that decision.  Luckily, I didn't have time to change my mind as that was the first thing they did- and I love it!  Moving the opening up closer to the kitchen allows even more sunshine to come in through the front windows and makes the traffic flow much more reasonable from kitchen to dining room.  but..I can't show you that feature until they pull down the plastic walls. We should leave something to the imagination for a while anyway, right?!


Here is a sneak peek of the before and "in progress' shots- hope you are having as much fun as I am watching this transformation!

before- short wall and large open entry

before w/pantry and large open wall

after pantry removed and wall extended to new entry

before - double window -slider

before- with sliding glass door

after- windows replace slider (*that's Denis out in the 20 degree weather)

Well, that is the progress thru Friday, March 26th

Note to readers:  At CDC's  prompting-I watched Julie/Julia last night and was laughing out loud when she commented to her colleague that she didn't have any comments/fans- It was deja vu of my own conversation last week with my work friend.. so, throw me a bone and leave a comment. 
After all- Most of  my readers are family and they aren't usually so shy to offer feedback?? xo