By conservative estimate, I've visited 30 sofa stores in the last week. It's kind of embarrassing that I only discovered Carlyle yesterday. Part of the reason is that I was steering clear of sofa beds. The weight. The metal bar. The agony. So, I was somewhat unprepared for how much I liked their stuff. Many good looking couches, all available in every possible permutation.
Carlyle, it seems, would be the Cadillac to Jennifer Convertibles Chevy.
I got the pitch from Jack Sonshine, an impeccable, silver-haired Upper East Side salesman, transplanted for the week to their their Chelsea showroom. They're an on old school New York operation (40 years.) The factory is in Jersey, and they'll get the sofa to you in less than six weeks -- that is if you are not buying one of the pieces off the floor. Sonshine handed me a catalog which details their patented "Steelweave" mechanism, and includes a very satisfying primer on the vocabulary of base finishes, arm details and back styles -- diagraming such terms as "knife welt cushion" and "camel back." These people obviously care.
Check out their web site: they even have a showroom web cam! And take their policy on getting the couch into your home, which is often a serious problem: "At Carlyle, if we can't deliver it, we own it."
Naturally, you'll pay more for all this authentic local passion. The sofa I liked was discounted to $2395 in Chelsea, which also doubles as their "clearance center." Uptown I imagine prices start around $2500 and proceed upward. Clearly, if you want a sofa bed in New York, you must stop by Carlyle. OHR
(Edited from original post on 2004-06-09)
| Location: |
122 W. 18th Street (& 1056 3rd Ave., btwn. 62nd & 63rd.)
New York,
NY
10011
|
|---|---|
| Phone: |
800.634.6647
|
| Website: | www.carlylesofa.com |
| Categories: | beds & mattresses |
|---|
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
A re-post from Feb '04 ? Please. Yeah, Carlyle is great (and still around) but I wonder how many of the other places visited still are. I can think of at least 6 in Soho alone ( Portico, Sofa So Good...) that no longer exist. Seems to me it's time for another expedition.
i've had my carlyle sofa for about 8 years. i just love it. it has a very square modern design and it's exremely comfortable to sit on and i hear the bed is really comfortable, too.
the material has held up very well.
i would definitely buy from them again. it was approx. $2500 eight year's ago. but, worth it.
so, more importantly...has anyone checked out my brother's website?!! http://www.brosterman.com/
pass it along to all your art loving friends. thanks all!!
Al, what is your point? We have more on the site. Do you have a recommendation??? We want those. Indulge us. best, M
Maxwell- So maybe my post came out a little bitchier than intended (My apologies). But the point is that the furniture/sofa buying experience in NYC is constantly in flux. Places open and close, experiences range from great to horrific (even within the same showroom). Delivery times, prices and quality go up and down. So to say that 30 showrooms were visited but only 1 was featured was a tease. It would have been nice to see something written about some of the other showrooms visited, especially after seeing the posts about the experiences at the showroom on 21st Street. And as for reccomendations, Classic Sofa is at the top of the list. I have a sofa and chair from them. In terms of construction, comfort , custom sizing and showroom experience, they were the best I've ever dealt with. I also have an American Leather sofa I purchased at Scott Jordan Furniture. They are a close second in terms of quality and showroom experience. So the point was that I would have liked to have seen a more current and wider scoped post about upholstery buying in NYC. Thank you. Al
Carslyle is indeed one of the best - great looking - great construction BUT great big prices too. I hate to admit it but I sleep on a sofa bed every night and I like the one I have from Crate & Barrel. The mattress is nice and thick, although I have been told that sofa bed mattresses should be changed once a year. My only regret about it is that I can't turn it over the way you can a regular mattress. Plus Crate & Barrel has great sales.
PS - MAYBE CARLYLE WILL GIVE A DISCOUNT FOR POSTING THIS AGAIN! THEY SHOULD....
Click on Carlyle link. Get bombarded with right wing pro-war message. Ok, I know, but... Buddy, I just want to see your furniture--save the politics for its time and place.
funny. i just discovered carlyle myself, this weekend, when admiring a fetching sofa at a friend's party. he apparently slept on his for a few years as well, when living in smaller quarters -- it has held up beautifully, is spare clean and modern -- and he got it off the floor at a price 1,000 less than list. i have my eye on one right now (as i need a sleeper) and will report on the sales experience, sticker shock and any pro war propaganda.
another friend swears by Classic Sofa as well -- which has sort of a drippy name but apparently great stuff.
My in-laws overbooked guests last Christmas and I had to sleep on the Carlyle sofa bed in the den, and it was a hundred times more comfortable than the bed we had been sleeping on in the guestroom for years. The bar in the middle of most sofa beds is up by the shoulders in the Carlyle. I was so excited when my mother-in-law decided to redecorate and we got the three-year-old Carlyle late last year. I love the look and can't wait to have guests.
I've walked by this place so many times, and due to my design-snobbery (as hobby + profession), I cringe at the typeface and treatment of such, therefore have turned a blind eye. Just got into the same old fight with 6'4" boyfriend in C&B and R&B this wknd, who wants a deeper, taller couch. Out of disgust, I searched this site, again, for a sofa solution. Finally forced myself to read up about Carlyle. I think I'm a convert. However, on a random note, in reference to the "Bombarded with Pro-War message" comment posted by Richard at 02/09/06 10:33 PM.... maybe I'm missing something, I've been on the Carlyle website for an hour, and the only mention of anything "Pro-War" is a blurb about supporting 1. God Bless America (nothing pro war there) 2. God Bless this Great City (hells yeah, we rock!) and 3. God Bless our Troops overseas (umm, no matter what your political affiliation is, you'd better support/bless the guys who volunteer to do the dirty work that NONE of us want to do -- myself included. Cause seriously, they need all the help they can get. We're so F*#@ed right now, politically, how can you NOT say a little prayer). Amen. Namaste. Geeeeez.
Received my sofa bed yesterday morning, nov. 21st, delivered by the rudest delivery men I have ever encountered. I would have been better served if I paid privately for delivery.
These two guys showed up 8:40 am with a big chip on their shoulders, obviously in a rush to be elsewhere, and intent on dropping sofa off and leaving as fast as they could get me to sign off on delivery.
I was not particularly enthused with this purchase and if my castro wasn't in such bad shape, I would have told these men to take the carlyle sofa back.
I really miss the castro sofa bed co. and was very sorry to see them close business.
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