apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

storage.. just don't let the boyfriend know

keep hers....
or better yet - keep his, and let me buy hers for my own place. sweeet sweet taupeness.. hahah :)

Keep YOURS. Since there is dark wood and a lot of exposed brick I think the lightness of yours would work the best.

Hers.

I love love love your sofa.
I say use that one, and ditch the red...

Hers.

Sell His and buy him a recliner.

Hers. It's amazing. And it will work with some of his other pieces if you find some ways to pull it together.

hers. I had a sofa like his and when i wanted to change up some of my decor I had a hell of a time working around it.

The first just seems easier when you want to change

"hers"

I think you could make a valid case that the red leather would clash with the exposed brick.

you both have good taste so hopefully whoever loses out on the sofa will have other furniture included in your new combined home

Hers for the reasons craefish mentioned.

Yours. The texture will go so much better with the exposed brick and dark wood floors.

Hers, definitely. The simple, light palette will be endlessly flexible given the right throws and/or pillows. Red leather? C'mon...

Keep the one that is most comfortable. Seriously.

they are both gorgeous sofas..really! but, i have to say- keep yours---it's flawless..it's an iconic piece- i love it! can you throw his in a spare room??? mix it up halfway through the year and do a switcheroo?

HERS..its just lovely and great looking!!!!!

Yours is a timeless piece, his is way too modern and... red. Ugh. Haha.

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

thanks, everyone for all the quick feedback... the problem is, we can't really get rid of his (long story, involves my future mother in law...). if we absolutely have to put them in the same room, can you think of any ways/colors/changes/arrangments that could work? thanks again!

Know all about the mother-in-law and furniture saga. Pick the most comfortable one, because when he's in the dog house, that's where he'll be sleeping ;-)

get rid of the blood red sofa, why why why would you want such a color in your living room

Keep yours. Let the MIL keep his until you get a place of your own and can put his in a spare room.

That red sofa is definitely grounds for a break up.

Hers. The single seat cushion is superior to the three for his.

hers hers hers hers hers. way nicer.

Yup. Definitely keep the hers. It'll work well with dark hardwood and exposed brick.

your sofa is a classic. elegant and simple. love the red sofa, for the color. not so keen on leather. (ugh)
if you can find a good upholsterer you could get a well fitting cover to put over his (not those hideous dangling to the floor kind, something made specifically to cover the sofa tautly) in a gentler color. then if you end up buying a home together he can reclaim it's redness and the mil won't get bent. but yeah, change up the legs on his. screamingly ugly.

His. Whatever a man wants, he should have!

I LOVE your taupe sofa!! If you prefer to put both sofas in the living room, maybe you can cover the red sofa with a big neutral color throw.

As much as I love reading "hers" because I do agree, I don't think the issue is which sofa, but rather how to make the red one work. After much thought about this, here are my thoughts: 1) change the legs on the red sofa to mid/mod wood legs, like on hers-- this way the couches now have something in common. 2) place pillows with accents of deep red on the cream sofa, and likewise pillows with touches of cream on the red sofa. Now they have things in common and look less like compromise gone wrong. Another thought- is it possible for one of the couches to line the wall across from the kitchen and then the credenza could separate them? If all else fails either storage or the clashing story would be my plans B and C.

Hers. I don't like the red, I don't like the leather and I don't like the style. It's "your" place (meaning yours and your boyfriend), not the MIL so I'd choose what looks best in there. Also, if she was involved, let her store the sofa at her place.

To make things go over a little smoother, you can wait until you get to the new place, try them both, then select which ones looks best. Yours will of course, because of the dark wood floors. Done deal.

KEEP HERS!!!! His is just awful in comparison!

(I have almost the same sofa as "hers" in a lovely Olive!!) I agree with other comments- "hers" - classic lines, light with the dark wood- lovely.

I suspect that "his" was likely more $$, and very likely part of the reason he wants to keep it. if you compromise- DEFINITELY change the feet out.

hers

The red sofa will clash a bit with the brick walls, but I don't think it will be that hard to incorporate both. (assuming you have the space for two sofas in your living room) The red sofa isn't that bad, it's not one of those pouffy ones, so its boxy shape will work with your MCM piece.

Follow what Emily B said about switching out legs and getting accents. You could also always put a throw over the red sofa.

Picking the right coffee table and other livingroom furnitures will be more difficult. Make sure you mix in both MCM and modern pieces.

why am i not really all that surprised by the general consensus here? LOL

Hers. Prefer the shape and color and will give you more possibilities for matching things with it then the red one.

keep hers. ditch his.

Oh my, I love this coach. This has been my dream coach for a year now. Does anyone know where this coach is available for purchase? For under $2,000 please LOL

Oh and I am speaking of HER couch

You are moving in together! I think a major plus factor in couples' homes is the way they make their lives and furniture work together.

If you have the space, keep both, put red pillows on the light couch and a off-white throw on the red one. And if you don't have the space, do keep the more comfortable one and make it work with the brick. (And if it's his: Red leather and dark red-brownish brick are in the same color family, after all.)

@Maybert: Yep... I think asking a question like that on apartmenttherapy is actually pointless as it is bound to get 90% of the votes for MCM anyway.

I have the exact same couch (yours) in black and white houndstooth, which would definitely work with the red leather. But if you can't reupholster, I would certainly change out the chrome legs on the leather. One option for pillows: Thomas Paul produces his patterns in several different colorways. Maybe a print in red and white on your couch, the same print in black and white on his?

Botany, I got my couch through a local retailer, and do not know the manufacturer. But it's under $ 1,500 depending on fabric choice.

Hers! Quite chic.

Can you put the red sofa in another room? Bedroom perhaps?

Can you use his couch to create a banquette in the dining area (assuming you have one)? Red leather booths are fully compatible with MCM.

Just as a side note, telling your new husband, "My couch is in better taste -- look, all these people agree with me" is not a good way to start a happy marriage. Find a way to make it work, especially if he'd be in the middle of you and his mother over the couch.

If you have to keep his do what Emily said upthread. I like the idea of keeping both if you have room. The more for friends to sit on. Your couch is absolutely lovely but I don't see why you can't make them both work. It's a given we all love design on this blog but it's not the end of the world if you keep both. If it's cramped, sell one.

Lisa - thanks for making this point. My question isn't who's couch is in better taste. That would be an entirely pointless question to post on AT where everyone loves MCM. The question is how to make it work? I definitely want to incorporate dark brown accents because it's the most obvious color that both sofas will go with. I also was thinking about putting some tall wooden bun feet on his - a sort of 180 from the piece itself. Either way, thanks everyone for the feedback.

And as far as my sofa goes, I bought it at Domicile and it wasn't too expensive. They closed their city store, but I think they still have one in Lincolnwood.

*whose (it's early... no coffee yet)

What about light blue and chocolate accents?

why not sell both sofas on craigslist, and buy one new one that's right for the space, and that you both love?

Why do men ALWAYS want leather?

As for the MIL, I wish I had had the confidence when I was young and newly married to stand up to mine. She was awful, and my husband and I did all kinds of things to please her or avoid her wrath. It was never enough. Getting "divorced" from her when my husband and I split up (amicably) was the greatest feeling.

You are a big girl now, and your fiance is picking YOU over continued life with his mom. If you and HE can work out what you want to do--whether or not it involves the red sofa--you will be off to a better start than if you worry about what SHE wants.

Were it between the two I'd choose his.

Yours is not by any means 'classic'.

But in any case, I can't see why you couldn't do them together. Both are designed to be simple and airy.

I also suggest selling both and buying a new sofa that you and your boyfriend agree upon (with no input from mom) or take the legs off yours and put on his :)

Her sofa would look great next to the chairs shown in the photo next to his sofa.

His.

Hers is rather generic/boring and she has lots of other things that she's "not willing" to give up.

So compromise and combine her other things with his sofa.

(No, red leather doesn't "Clash" with brick - and no, don't change the legs)

My first piece of advice: Show your mil who's boss before setting a really bad precedent. (Trust me, I know.)

That being said, I'm not quite sure how you can even fit two sofas into a long narrow room. You can't really el them, can you? However, if possible, perhaps you can set up your main furniture arrangement around your sofa (meaning, no red pillows, no trying to make it connect in some way to the red leather). And then, if you have some random paintable wall somewhere, even if it's at one end of the long living room, you can paint that wall the exact same red as the leather sofa, and then put that sofa on the wall. Above the sofa, you can hang a really large piece of art to alleviate some of the red. It might actually be a really cool tone on tone thing, while at the same time, completely camouflaging a not very pretty piece of furniture.

By the way, I'm not saying you shouldn't use red accents in your living room. I'm just saying that shouldn't ruin your gorgeous (light colored) sofa by loading it down with (red!) pillows just to tie it in with another sofa that you didn't even want in the first place! Unless of course, you like the idea of red pillows. But my guess is that you really want to use brown.

If you love your sofa put it in storage or let a friend keep it for you. If you are still with your boyfriend after 10 years then bring it back into the house.

I like hers more, but only because the red one looks like its trying so hard and it looks like it was from the eighties.

Get rid of both and buy an 'ours'.

Yours.
Find a space for his.
Be flexible. It doesn't have to be perfect on day one. Keep trying things. It's a process. How deep is your love? Barry Gibbs hired a decorator.
Don't make the mistake of unloading all of your stuff. I did that and ended up living with bad outdoor wildlife art (my X's idea of good taste).
It will all work out Fowl Erin.
Your couch rocks.

Storage unit for his? Then maybe one day you can pull it out again should you want to re-edit? Your's looks cozier. Red is just such a committed color, is that what he really wants in the room or is it just sentimental? Maybe you could take a nice picture of it and integrate that into your room... that way both couches are sort of in the same room. Just ideas to keep both parties happy.

I like the "hers" sofa, but I also think it's cool how she posted a GREAT photo of hers and one that barely shows his! Talk about subliminal biasing! lol

One way to make the red sofa work with the lighter one is to drape a large creamy-colored Moroccan rug over most of the red sofa.

GIVEN: you're keeping both, right? SO, why not get two sets of throw pillows that tie them together. Red-based pattern pillows for her couch, and cream-based pattern pillows for his couch. Maybe some brown in each too. Then, have an accent table that is metal, and one that is dark wood. Just keep doing the combination whenever possible, and it will all look on purpose and fine. I actually think the lines of both couches have a lot of similarities when all is said and done.

Sorry, but I'd go with His. Blood red leather is awesome.

the "hers" sofa looks like the Bantam from Design Within Reach. As someone who once worked at design Within Reach I can tell you the quality of the "hers" sofa is not great and when it begins to wear, the cushion across the seat will pucker, pull and begin to look really sloppy. Its an issue that is really common and a lot of people complain about it. DWR is great and their stuff is great, except for their cheap stuff ( sorry but the bantam is the economical sofa DWR sells). Keep that in mind when you are making the decision.

It's hard to say without seeing photos of the sofas in context and what else you have to work with, but I imagine that with a lot of brick and dark floors, you might be leaning toward a light color palette everywhere else (i.e walls, window treatments, etc.).

If that's the case, I would try to create a color block for/with the red sofa by placing it against a dark wall. That would sort of "contain" the dark. Otherwise, let's say you place it against a light wall, it will stand out and become ultra prominent and all of a sudden it becomes super obvious that there are two distinct "looks" battling it out.

And ditto for changing the feet on that sucker. :)

Hers. Like His, but Her's is more versatile.

basically i agree with creative license.... :)

Is there an office in the new place? A red leather couch says "office" to me. Similarly, is there a guest room for the MIL? Wouldn't she love to see the couch every night before she goes to sleep?

If both have to be in the living room, they could face one another with a great MCM or Danish chair forming the perpendicular part of the U that you would be creating. The chair could be reupholstered in a fabric that blends the two couches.

Also, I have the Corona couch from Macy's, and while not as high quality as the real deal, it looks almost exactly like the taupe couch and costs about $600 (or less, as Macy's is always having a sale).

I'm 50....so I'll give you some age old advice. Sell BOTH of them and chose a new couch TOGETHER that both of you love. That way....nothing is mine or yours.....it becomes ours.

I love Hers and dont care for His at all. But for the sake of the relationship and based on my own experience I have to agree with balleyb and others: Get an Ours sofa.

I like hers/yours better. But I understand the need for compromise. If you can change the legs as you'd suggested, that would be a good start. I'd try to make sure that the seat height is similar so that when you're sitting on one and someone is sitting on the other, one of you doesn't end up feeling perched up too high by comparison. But I don't think you need to get super exact.

Another poster suggested throw cushions in red on the taupe sofa and taupe cushions on the red one. I think that's a good idea, but I'd try to layer the effect so as not to be all red cushions on taupe and all taupe on red. Know what I mean? I'd only put one or two on the taupe sofa, and on the leather sofa I'd layer a few on there along with a throw. The leather could use some softening/warming up, so I'd try to select cushions with nice soft, cozy textures for both tactile and visual appeal.

And I'd be careful about positioning so that the red sofa is opposite the exposed brick. The taupe will stand out better against brick (assuming it's that classic mixed red and browns), and the red will provide some nice balance (hopefully).

That red couch doesn't actually seem that horrible to me. Of course, I haven't seen the red in person. But I'd be careful to pick some legs that complement what's going on with your sofa and not try to make the red one something it's not. It might look like it's teetering on the same style legs you've got on yours. So I wouldn't try to make them match, just see if you can get them to work a bit better together. And maybe the original legs will end up being the best ones for it.

Sounds like this is a sign of things to come with the future mother-in-law, so I wish you luck.

I like the red one.

If you plan on having kids while still owning these sofas, yours is gonna get wrecked. Leather has it's strong points.
I like both sofas.

I like his. It's a bolder look. And honestly, if she's got THAT many Mid-C pieces she's not willing to part with, you need to mix it up with something that isn't hers and isn't Mid-C. And taupe isn't a hill to fight for.

I'm sure the Mid-C furniture can stand up, aesthetically, to one contemporary interloper. And really, do you want a home with only one style, or a fusion of the two of you? And if you want the taupe sofa what other furniture is making a not-neutral Mid-C statement in that space, because, to me, narrow and brick with lots of beige does not sound that fun.

If the future MIL is so attached to the ugly red sofa, then why doesn't she keep it?

I think hers....the red sofa is nice, but I like the look of the beige. And it will probably be much easier to decorate around since you two have to inevitably figure out who has to rid of what.

And with the mother-in-law, I deal with that one too. For the most part, we make the changes and tell her to deal. She will - the most she can do is get annoyed and not talk to you for awhile. But if you want to go down the road to please her, then well expect her to do this for most of the time you are with the guy - stand up to her NOW, not later.

Hers, definitely.

His is too modern for all that dark wood & exposed brick, especially with the chrome legs, whereas the wooden legs and color/texture of Hers is just right, yet still modern due to the shape and cleanness of the soda...

Hers, definitely, absolutely, because of the color clashes in my head when I read the description. But I like the idea of selling both and getting a new one together.

MIL should be excluded from any and all decisions, right away. If, say, this piece is a family heirloom (which seems unlikely), then she is obviously welcome to have the sofa back, no?
A gift is not a gift if it comes with strings attached, then it's just a bribe and a way of controlling people.

Botany - the sofa is from Younger Furniture
http://youngerfurniture.com/Our%20Furniture.htm

(I almost bought that exact same one! The one reason why I didn't was because I was then laid off...).

As far as price: there is a store close to me in brooklyn that sold it for 899, with choice of fabrics. and there is another store in another neighborhood that sold it for double that.

and I personally don't like the red sofa. Screams contemporary bachelor pad.

Hers. Without a doubt :)

His. The leather is red, not black. Red is sexy, black can be too "bachelor pad."

I have no advise of how to deal with mother in law. I generally don't give personal advise without knowing more than a couple of details.

sell both and with the money that you get go buy a new sofa that you BOTH love...

I agree with puddle, a different kind of therapy is needed here. Boundary setting, separation, growing up, etc.... Your space together isn't about on how he feels about his mother.

thanks, again, everyone for all the great feedback. i really like the idea about painting the wall it goes against (red or brown?), or even turning it into a banquette by the dining area.

i do however feel i need to make a clarification because the conversation has turned into one about personal relationships rather than sofas.... the sofa was a gift from his mother. i don't want to just throw it away any more than i'd want to throw away a gift from my own mother.

>>the sofa was a gift from his mother. i don't want to just throw it away any more than i'd want to throw away a gift from my own mother.

I have to say, although that's a nice sentiment, it's a really terrible idea. If his mother DESIGNED the sofa, maybe you would need to be careful, but if it was a gift and you want a home of YOUR OWN (not everybody else's) you should consider whether every furniture gift has be be maintained and why. I agree with everybody else who says sell both sofas and buy something that is yours together. (If Mom loves the red sofa, sell it to her or give it back to her.)

Relationships are full of compromise. Parents are not in charge. If she is trying to control the sofa, my suspicion is that she wonders if you two will last, and she wants her investment protected in case you break up. Either you believe in the relationship or you don't. This is all symbolic!

But it's your life and your living room, so it's your choice, too.

the situation really isn't half as dramatic/interesting/complicated as it's been construed to be in this thread. it's just sofa ...

i think his is more fun! HIS wins in my book! Can you imagine having people over to watch a movie or hang out on that? or if children come to visit? i guess it depends on what the couch will be providing for you. the HERS soaf does not seem inviting and doesn't provoke me to sit on it (looks hard and uncomfortable). HIS works on so many levels.

Thankfully some people have used this question to be constructive and help the poster. But what is with the rest of the MIL dirty laundry assumptions and ridiculousness? Imagine if you posed this question and received such responses-- how are they at all constructive? She asked for advice about a couch, not about a potential MIL or life.

leather sofas are gross. Hers

Emily - Honestly, if a mother-in-law is freaking that much over a sofa, she's a very controlling person - and that type of person is the type you have to deal with in the beginning of the relationship or ultimately it will fail. There's no way around it.

keep both, store one. switch them out and use the one that looks the best.

When my husband and I first moved in together we were the first couple to have a large enough pad for the rest of our entourage to hang out. I strongly recommend that you consider using his sofa for that reason alone. My vision for our new love shack was going to be sofisticated and "grown-up". His vision, "Alllrighht! My friends can come over and play video games, drink beer! Think of the fun we'll have honey and the money we will all save by not going to the bar! Whoohoo!" Um yeah. Believe it or not he was worth it, we did have a ton of fun and in the end and I now have a "grown-up" gammer-free sofa. Cheers!

Emily B - thanks for the insightful post. I mean, really, my poor future mother-in-law paid for something my boyfriend picked out all on his (misguided) own and now she's turned into a controlling witch with whom I will have a lifelong struggle...

Missbetty- you're absolutely right. and i love entertaining, so thanks for pointing out the obvious thing that we all missed here!

Maybe a couple of sheepskin over the red couch would work too.

It's tricky. I had the exact same situation with an oriental rug my husband picked out with his mom, and which she bought him (several thousand dollars). It's now in her house.

There is nothing sexier in interiors than a well-worn leather couch or club chair. Keep his as your main piece and be the envy of everyone in 30 years.
;)

But seriously, I "gave in" to a leather couch and am happy to now have a space that dogs and the neighbour's kids with generously-frosted cupcakes can sit on that only requires being wiped with a damp cloth.

"Keep his as your main piece and be the envy of everyone in 30 years." That's quite a long time to wait - LOL.

Normally I like leather furniture myself - it's just that it stops looking good after you go past white, brown, or black. Like Lisa said above, let his mother have the sofa - then she can't complain -- she can store it in case he ever needs it back.