I sold my leather sofa last year and I had a couple people come out to look at it. I remember one woman lifed the cushion to verify that it was the manufacturer I said it was. Now your first thought might be, why not believe what the seller tells you? Well, you'd be surprised how clueless some are, if not downright deceptive. And not till it happened to me did I take that seriously. I asked one woman who I was considering buying a piece of furniture from who it was made by and she gave me a name...but she was wrong, she only remembered the first letter and then made the rest up according to whatever famous name she had heard of! I thought it was a big name brand and then came to find out it was a no-name. Ok, getting back to my sofa...the woman checks the tag (make sure it hasn't been cut off). I thought she was only interested in the label but she was also looking for a leather swatch they sew into the sofa seat. She compared that swatch with the cushion to make sure it was the original color (no one had tried to dye it) and to see how much it had faded. Then she asked if she could have a tiny piece cut from the swatch so she could take it home and see if the color worked with her decor. So you might try that IF you find a sofa you like but you're unsure of the color. Had she asked for a cushion to take home of course I would say no, I may never see that cushion again! Once you buy it you can't return it so you have to be certain the color will look good in the light of your house. Lighting plays tricks on color, it could appear different in your house. Companies like Ethan Allen don't use 8-way hand tied anymore so don't think you're getting an inferior product if that's not how it's constructed. I remember when I was shopping for the leather sofa one of the marks of quality was how many pieces were sewn together to make the sofa. Cheaper leather sofas have what looks like a patchwork of strips sewn together. This probably goes without saying but people who looked at my sofa didn't do it....sit on all the cushions, not just one, because owners tend to sit in the same spot most of the time (especially in my house where one cushion offers best TV viewing!). It's the only way to know if one of the cushions has been "broken down". This is why I periodically swap the cushions around so they get uniform use.

PennyLaney, I'm a little late on this input, but I'm wondering if in real life there is more contrast between your beadboard and window trim. Because in the pics it seems like your window trim gets lost. You don't like the green idea, but with the red tones in your cabinets it would be complementary. A red backsplash with your granite would be nice, but probably too dark with your cabs. A mid tone gold or brown/tan or coppery color may work, though golds could be tricky with your counter. If you can find one to pull from your granite, it would need to be overall darker than the granite and then all the elements would pull together and the white trim would pop. My suggestion (got this from a decorating show and it works) is to go to a paint display and grab as many samples in the colors that appeal to you, don't over-think it. Once you are at your house start putting chips against the granite. Don't spend much time deciding, just yes-no. Then with the yes pile, do the same with the cabinets. If there will be any paint near flooring or other elements, do the same process with the yes colors and don't go back to your discard pile. You may have a clear winner at this point or several to pick from that will work. If not, go back and tweak your color selection with more chips, either darker, lighter, more brown, less pink, etc. and you will get to the right color. Jill

I have pillows that are covered with faux leather. Looks like leather, but has a nappy surface, almost like suede. They seem to "stick" to my leather sofa pretty well. I would guess that suede or faux suede would work even better. I think I got my pillows at JC Penney, probably in early 2005. If you don't want the whole pillow covered in suede, perhaps you could make covers that are mostly fabric but have a suede stripe, to help hold the pillow in place.

Sheels, for a not-plushy sort of sofa (you don't sink in and go aahhh) it's comfy. We have the same in a love seat size in the next room, which actually seems more comfortable to me but I think it's because it's older and this new one has that new-sofa stiffness. I want to hire a bunch of big burly men to jump on it and sit on it for a while to soften it up! The big pillows are 20" I think. Lo, it's a Lee Industries sofa from Crate & Barrel.