I ordered my Lee sofa from AF in NC. I didn't price it at Crate and Barrel because everyone said that NC was so much cheaper than Crate and Barrel. There is, however, a sofa in the Crate and Barrel catalog made by Lee that is very similar to the one i got in NC, and the price I got in NC is not that much better. It may be different for different models. You do not pay tax if you order from NC and don't live there. However, the shipping from NC was outrageous... $350 for a couch and a loveseat. I also ordered 2 other couches from Crate and Barrel (furnishing a whole house) and they only charged me $99 for both. I also felt that the whole shipping process was so much easier with Crate and Barrel. They gave me a date, a time window, and they stuck to it. My stuff was sent from NC with some independent mover who "ran late" (6 hours), had no map, and ended up needing us to go and lead them to our house. We do not live in a rural area! It just ended up being a huge hassle. I love my furniture, but if I had it to do again I would definitely go through Crate and Barrel for the Lee.

Has anyone compared prices on Lee between Crate and Barrel & purchasing from North Carolina? I'm looking at the 3341-03 sofa in a grade O fabric (Midge Navy).

tigerdunes -- thanks for your input! Much appreciated. That is the direction I'm heading, subject to final price, warranties, etc. (The last quote from Company 2 had the Infinity furnace with the Comfort A/C.) The tendency here seems to be the "1 ton / 500 sf" approach. I've been pushing the final two dealers to really be sure about their sizing by giving them as much info as possible (the number of windows in the house, no insulation, orientation, etc, etc.) vyasmk9 -- I'm on the Peninsula -- as are all of the contractors I've contacted. It just seems that people around here seem to service a smaller area (although I could be wrong), plus I like to support local biz whenever I can. Just FYI, I started by selecting a couple of well-known brand names (Trane and Carrier) and looking on their websites for local dealers. Followed that up with searches for reviews of those dealers on local.yahoo.com and yelp, as well as checks on the BBB. Also asked my electrician and utility company guy for their thoughts/referrals. Not sure what the forum rules are for recommending contractors, so I'd rather ask before naming names. Anyone want to comment?

Thank you all for weighing in on this. I agree with all the posters...Yes, I LOVE Chair B. It is cool. It goes very nicely with the couch. And yes, it is too fancy for the look I am going for. If I wanted a sophisticated room, the couch and chair, along with some glass lamps with silver shades, etc. would look amazing. And I do love that look, in my decorating fantasy life. But this is a casual home and what I'm really trying to do is take the modern Crate & Barrel couch (that my SIL gave to me and I love the color of) and make it fit in somehow. So I guess the question then is, can I make it work, and if so how? I was going to change out the more formal curtains with the more casual curtains and then try to incorporate burlap, iron, black, lamps, a desk chair that would work with everything and little touches, like the little saying sign that's sitting on the desk. Also a photo collage wall above the desk, similar to the Pottery Barn one with the blue wall that so many people are talking about this year. 3 questions. Will I be able to pull off a more casual look with this couch? Any ideas or comments on my ideas for keeping it casual? Will the Chair A work, or should it go back as well? I apologize for not describing my "style" to you all in the beginning. It would have probably helped everyone to know where I was coming from before we started. I have lurked here for years, and I feel like I know all of you, but of course, you don't know me. :) I have to say you all are so fabulous with your help and I thank you! Just, here is another picture of the front of Chair A for you...