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When buying a sofa, is it too matchy to buy the matching chair to go with it? My husband and I are thinking of buying a sofa from Room & Board and we can't decide if we should buy the chair as well. There's also a chance that the sofa/chair style will be discontinued, so we're afraid that if we change our mind later on and decide we want the chair, we won't be able to go back and get it later.

I don't think its necessarily a bad thing. It really depends on what else is in the room - how many pieces and also the colors present.

Good luck.

so it appears that a layer of our tub is peeling off. i have no idea how to describe it other than that. it is revealing the layer beneath which is rusting up... how do we replace the 'skin'?!

Do you like the matching chair better than what you've seen as alternative chairs? The prime reason to buy both pieces of furniture is that they're both your best choice. If that's so, they'll work.

(A sofa-chair suite is inherently not as LOOK MA, WE MATCH! as a pair of identical rugs, which I've objected to in the past.)

Well, this is the first time we're buying real (and by real I mean not Ikea) furniture and we actually have a bit of space. We don't want to spend tons because we're trying to save, so, in our price range, the matching chair has been one of the best options. We were thinking of going the vintage/Craigslist route, but we're worried we won't be able to find anything better. Also, the chair will probably be the only other seating besides the sofa in the living room - at least for now. The fabric is pretty neutral, so there's no real issue with too much of one strong color or anything like that.

Sasha, if it helps you at all, I recently had a superior customer service experience ordering furniture from Room Board -- super nice and helpful salespeople, as-promised delivery (like within five minutes of the promised time) and considerate deliverymen (wiped their feet and took extra care not to scratch my floors). I don't work for them or anything, I just think it is important to give props when companies do stuff right.

4 pictures, 2 sets of pairs. should i place them 4 in a line or 2 and 2 above with the pairs together?

Treasure hunt? Last year (I think...) there was an article about a young new male design that just moved to NYC and it showcased his apartment. He had painted his closet doors a very shiny enamel dark dark dark blue (with a tiny hint of plum/purple). It was breath-taking. Is this ringing a bell for anyone? I can't find it anywhere. It may have been Domino, Blueprint or Elle Decor (my usual haunts).

I'm trying to find an online ressource to buy Mebox boxes, can anybody help? DWR used to have them but I can't find them anymore. Am I not looking at the right place?

Eve,
Their website mentions stockists, but all the online retailers seem to be UK companies. They list a US distributor though, so I'm sure you could email them (mnorthrop@thestarrdesigngroup.com) to find out US locations and/or websites.

Oops, forgot to include the link to the website - http://www.mebox.co.uk/

Sasha -

Wende's right again, if you ask me. For instance, when I bought my current dark brown leather sofa, the matching chair was actually barely less, or possibly more (I forget which), and actually for a chair I didn't quite need the hefty scale in a chair.

So, I ended up buying TWO smaller similiar-shade-of-dark-brown-leather-clad chairs at The Door Store which I still love. Some people think they came with the sofa, even though they didn't. They have rounded backs, which relate to my oval coffee table, so it all hangs together, even though they were all bought separately.

Now that it's all together I'm REALLY glad I didn't buy the matching chair. But that's just how it worked out for me.

Sasha, Are you thinking of buying the couch and chair in the same color? I would maybe pick different colors--a neutral for the couch and a more exciting color for the chair, say. Maybe a different fabric, too, if it's available. That way they'd look coordinated but not super matchy.

i love upstate,

that's nate berkus' apartment! my brother was a subcontractor on the job so we've got the O at Home magazine that features his place.

here it is online:

http://www2.oprah.com/presents/oathome/200703/spaces/spaces_101.jhtml

The chair/sofa only has two or three color options and I'm not too keen on the other two, so I don't think getting the chair in another color is an option. The chair isn't exactly cheap either, so it'd be nice to find a less expensive option. My other concern is that when we eventually get another chair (my husband wants a leather chair, but that's not in the budget yet) everything will be too random and not matchy enough.

Ugh! I don't know why I'm agonizing over this. Thanks everyone for your help!

It's easy to agonize over spending a lot of $$!

I know R&B offers "custom" upholstery in a wider variety of fabrics, but I don't know how much more it costs.

I agree with Wende that if the chair is your favorite option, get it, but if you'd really prefer something else (less matchy, cheaper, or just different), I would hold off on the chair and not worry about the risk that it will be discontinued. You can leave the space empty for awhile until you find what want. (On the third hand, though, if you know yourself well enough to know that you'll run out of steam and just leave the chair-space empty forever, then maybe get the chair now.)

Sasha -- You're agonizing because you don't love any of the possible solutions, and the cost of a mistake is too high for you to write off easily, but you'd also like things to settle down and look "nice."

Speaking as someone who pretty much hates everything that's in the stores at any given moment (this is not a sign of taste, just a sign of cranky eccentricity)... if you can afford R&B and you're not looking at a shape or scale that's unique to their line, you also have an excellent chance of finding a chair that thrills you. Even I managed in a single six-month period to buy both a chair and a sofa. If I can do it, anyone can.

There's also the question of how much matchy-match you like. If you haven't done so, go through magazines and pull the photos you like. Are they the ones that show relatively matchy furniture and/or furniture where the upholstered pieces are extremely neutral and unobtrusive? That'd be an argument for going with the matched set. But if you're attracted to more eclectic rooms, you'll end up resenting the matching chair.

hey sasha,

get 'em both and then if they annoy you with their matchymatchyness, move the chair into another room and create a reading nook! no big thang :)

Sasha - thanks, I already went that route and they never replied :(

sasha--

I've always liked the look of the chair from the same set, but upholstered in a complimentary fabric (so, sofa in chenille, "matching" chair in leather, for example) if that helps.

Otherwise, unless you are getting a "suite" price, there is no real reason to opt for the matching chair, per se, unless you love it, or are looking for a very cohesive, minimal and perhaps more formal look.

I personally like the chair to be a little more unique than the sofa so I wouldn't get the matching one.

As of last night I can't see any photos on this site. I haven't messed around with cookies so I don't know what the solution is to this problem. Is anyone else having the same issue? How do I fix this?

Kdkaboom - You are super-fab! Thanks so much!

Now I have to track down the paint and attack my cabinet.

i love upstate,

you are so in luck. my bro has some left over, stored in the closet... so i looked!

Farrow & Ball, Railings No. 31, Oil Full Gloss.

i called him to ask about it, so here's his advice:

he says it's very hard to work with, you have to sand between coats... and it's not black, it's like some weird dark dark dark greenish thing. but it's really nice.

he says if you're painting over something that's been urethaned in the past, watch out for the, heh, "paint memory" - a drip from previous urethane jobs (which might not be noticeable to you) will cause this paint to follow that drip! so be sure to sand really really well.

you also want to paint things flat - so lay the door flat on the floor. also, follow the instructions with dry times and coats.

good luck!

katy

ok, i'm going to need to send my first born child to you now.

:)

Is this triple-back-click thing driving anyone else crazy, or is it just me?

ok, so we just bought the le klint 172B for our dining room, now we need to replace the existing sconces which are in the same room. I have no idea what would look good. Does anyone have any suggestions, please? thanks in advance!

ZZZAp --

More than likely the "peeling" is an indication that the tub was previously refinished, and the finish is peeling. The new finish is not nearly as durable as the factory finish, and abrasive cleaners will wear it over time (and should not be used).

You can refinish the tub again. It can be a DIY project, but it is quite a bit more involved than simple paint. There are lots of companies that do this and it is not that expensive (probably a few hundred), though they likely will try to upsell you to redo walls and other things.

The project involves a lot of sanding, odor, multiple coats of a brush on finish, and the loss of your tub for two days. When done, it will look good as new.

cat - me too with the triple click back ... I thought it was my computer.

I have a question about uplights. I want to get some to put behind my couch to highlight art on the wall above the couch. has anyone done this and have recommendations for particular brands, models, watt bulbs to use etc?

Thanks!

lightenup - thanks for the info. we're in a rental (charming east village one at that). our landlord is ok, but i feel like they don't deal with 'little' stuff. probably not worth it to spend couple hundred to fix it up, but would consider DIY. i'll stop by a hardware store and see if they can suggest something. figured i'd hit up AT first :)

my next home project will be my kitchen. I don't have a lot of money to do a lot to it so I'm thinking I may just replace the floors and counters and repaint my cabinet doors.

My kitchen is pretty small... 11x7 for the whole room. I'm wondering if it would be horrendous if I made the predominant colour red to match the red in my dining room (they are separate rooms). Anyone have any inspirational pictures of small red kitchens?

zzzap -- They sell the refinishing materials in a kit. Not sure the basic hardware store will have it, but the HD on 23rd street does. It requires some patience, and maybe a day when you have plans to be elsewhere for the weekend since you will lose the bath for 2 days. If the bath is otherwise in good shape, you can also find repair kits for fixing the chipped area. Make sure that you clean well and remove any still attached loose coating. Probably can find this at HD as well, and maybe at the local hardware store (in the EV, the one on 1st and 7th and Brickman on 1st & 2nd).

Sasha,
I have also been looking at buying a chair from R&B (the Leonardo) and one thing that I learned that's so great about R&B is that even if it's a custom order, you can return it, and the only cost is 10% of the cost of the chair (and shipping). Yes, to some it's a chunk of change, but it's nice to know you wont be out hundreds of dollars!!!

KDKABOOM..
I am in desperate need to find a decent contractor who can help me out with a kitchen renovation. I have a tiny kitchen and I was just given a quote for $27k..ouch! Do you think your brother might be able to help? Pehaps he has recommendations... Thanks!!!

bohinks, his website is petermaslow.com. his email addy is on there, so feel free to get in touch with him. his site also has some photos of previous jobs.