Well I have ordered the "Piper" chandelier from Mitchell Gold: I really like this chandelier--modern and trad. at the same time. I think I might have preferred the polished nickel finish, but from what I understand, this style has been discontinued and they only have the natural brass left. I still like it and I hear brass (especially natural brass) is coming back. Also, it was on clearance for only $150!!! with tax! Didn't know you could get anything from Mitchell Gold for that price. It should be here in about a week or 10 days. I'm excited!

I own some Klaussner pieces and have been very happy with them. For a long time I only considered pricier upholstery but I fell in love with a K. piece, a sofa called "Fifi." No, we didn't name the sofa, that's the name of the style. This sofa was very well priced. It is in our den where the kids watch TV and it is WHITE. Yes, white. Then I found a Klaussner piece, a daybed called "British Isles." It was exactly what I wanted and again, a great price. It is in our kitchen and everyone loves it. In Philadelphia there is a Klaussner store and I've looked over all their stuff. Some things did look "cheap" with overstuffed arms and overscale sizes but I think the pieces I chose did not. I also sat in some of their recliners and almost bought two but decided not to because they didn't work well enough in my floor plan. I have bought more expensive pieces of furniture over the years but I am VERY happy with my Klaussner pieces. I have noticed Christopher Lowell used quite a bit of their stuff on his most recent show. The cost of upholstery has gone up SO MUCH lately. I bought a $2500 Rowe sofa for my living room last year, had the upgraded down filling, etc. It is beautiful and all but I think the Klaussner stuff is fine too and at a price that if you move or decide to redecorate you won't feel too bad about switching it out. I should add that I knew about the company's reputation and had in my mind the thought that "this is 5 - 7 year furniture." For what I paid, if that happens, I'm fine with it. Also, styles change and my taste changes and I was tired of buying costlier pieces that I felt I had to keep forever and ever because the initial investment was so high. I DO NOT feel that about the K. pieces at all.

I think i may have found one that might work. He also told me he not only wanted a leather recliner...but a rocker recliner. Pain in the neck he is :) I did find this one from JCPenney...it actually doesn't look bad and it comes with all the different options rocking, swiveling, reclining and all of the above together...so I might check this out. A little more than I would like to spend with little kids all over the furniture but I can't seem to find anything we can agree on and it's literally right in the middle of our home as our family room opens right to the kitchen so it's not like it's stuck in a basement or a private family room so it's important to me that it looks good... The only issue is that I don't know if they have this specfic chair in stores to try out. I hate to spend so much $ on a chair that is custom and not be able to test it out... This one comes in fabric, leather or fake leather... Here is a link that might be useful: JCPenney chair

I recently bought mine from LazyBoy. I never thought I'd buy a recliner again because, like you, I don't like that "puffy, typical recliner look" in my decor. But, this looks ok, it's a smaller recliner and goes all the way back. And you have a choice of hundreds of fabrics. Plus, it was a very fair price for a decent piece of furniture. My husband LOVES it and it looks nice too.