The Contender

I've owned a number of sofas, I think they may be the single most difficult piece of furniture to choose. I've never owned one I really loved, but I've learned along the way. Rolled arms take up too much room. Slipcovers always look like an unmade bed. Dark brushed fabrics fade and show stains. Chenille fabrics look and feel good as a swatch but don't live the way you'd like.


Which brings us to the sofa above, the Beckett sofa by Bernhardt Interiors.


This is a contender. First and foremost is the look, kind of a streamlined chesterfield. Next and just as important is the size. At 83 inches it will center nicely on my 9 foot media wall.


I know I've bitched about the cheap furniture wasteland that is Nebraska Furniture Mart, but knowing their Design Gallery carries Bernhardt we went to take a look. They didn't have this frame on display but there was a similar one and it sat nicely. There were a number of good fabrics to choose from and strangely they're all one grade and price. And finally was their price, which was shockingly less than I was expecting.


I also learned that they sell American Leather. I had her quote the Rex bench that I'd like in front of the fireplace and they're about 400 bucks under the quote I got from Black Bamboo. Yes, I'd prefer to support the independent retailer, but I need a house full of furniture so I've got to save where I can.


The only sad news was that Henredon's Warren dining table appears to be discontinued and I haven't seen anything else I like as much.

So, has anyone owned a Bernhardt sofa? I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say.

What it looks like

Just in case you're interested, this is the view from our new lobby looking out from the receptionists desk. My boss picked the finishes and did a beautiful job. The white wall is a wood panel product of undulating waves with a glossy white finish. The wall behind the receptionists desk is this too, with verticle glass panels on either side and our logo in steel embedded in the panels.

Exhausted

My office moved this past week, and as I work in Operations it was our big show. Think about your last move, only imagine there are 130 people in your family, and you lived in your last place for a decade.

Back with something interesting as soon as I'm recovered.

Wall tile

We started on wall tile today! Had we remembered to buy a rotozip to cut some holes for those pipes to slip through we might have more to show, but I'm thrilled that we made the progress we did.

Colored Ceilings

We're going with a very pale grey for our ceilings throughout the house, but in the entry and dining rooms we have some very cool old backlit coved ceilings. I gave this pale turquoise a shot and we really like it. (pardon my tape there) I can't wait to do the dining room now.

I'm very nearly floored

Bill was here yesterday and today, and fingers are crossed that he'll be back tomorrow. He goes back to work on Monday so his availability is about to plummet. Flooring has hit the home stretch! Here's a shot of what we started with. Sad old, worn parquet with a bit of old termite damage over in the corner by the patio door. And now, oak plank running continuously from the living room into this room!
Yes, there's plenty left. We've had one floor finishing quote and Tuesday afternoon the cute french guy who redid the bedroom floor is coming to quote . Also Tuesday a window guy is coming. If we can resolve the replacements for the patio door and awful picture window then this room will be close to done.


I can't wait to be paneling free.

China Black

You thought we abandoned the bathroom project didn't you. Turns out it was a good weekend for getting things done. While I was priming and painting new drywall Brett was slaving away mixing mortar and setting floor tile. And that green is waterproofing, not a wall color. Originally we'd planned to lay this on a 45 degree angle because I think that usually looks better. As we were measuring we got to looking and decided that with the black tile and black grout it wasn't going to make all that much difference. Now that theres a big spot of it down I like the way it looks and I'm glad we switched gears. More to come!