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Home Decorating

Fancy, chameleon sofa

6 years ago

I was perusing Craigslist, and for 12.5k you can get this cool iridescent sectional. Waterloo Iowa no less. I'm not sure how such a fancy sofa traveled there (I used to live by Waterloo, and it's very sleepy).

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/fuo/d/circa-1960-ed-wormley-dunbar/6375596010.html

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Comments (8)

palimpsest
6 years ago
This is a decent price, because the retail antique price for this is between twice and three times as high. So the Craigslist price is about right on for that type of transaction.
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deegw
6 years ago
What a find! I'd love to see the rest of the furniture in the house. It's a well done CL post, I wonder what the story is behind it.
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Not sure what you have going on there, but I sell about three hundred leather pieces a year and never come across peeling like that. Usually there are only two things that can cause that. 1 ) Something was applied to the leather that caused a severe chemical reaction and the topcoat is stripping off 2 ) This is common to see on bi-cast or bonded leather. Let's explore what bonded / bi cast "leather" actually is: When leather upholstery is produced at an upholstery maker they save the hide salvage. Appx 1/3 of the hide is scrap on a build ue to wrinkles, scars, marking, or being on the edges. If they can. they make swatch samples out of the remnants. Otherwise, they all go in the "Bins" which are in the cutting room of factories. Here's a set of "Bins" at Hancock and Moore's factory in Taylorsville NC. These are sold to a company that goes around to all the leather upholstery makers in an area and bins are picked up every two weeks or so. They are then put into a container and shipped to China for processing. Once they arrive at their destination, they are chemically melted into a leather slurry and bonded to a polypropylene sheet, then embossed with a grain pattern, painted and topcoated. These are then sold as either bonder or bicast leather. There is no benefit of real leather any more as the cellulose structure genuine top grain leather has been destroyed in the melt process. Bonded and Bicast leathers don't have much longevity and tend to "Strip" away like you are seeing in your photos. Neiman Marcus is a reputable company, I would suggest you start by contacting the Store Manager in person if possible. If these units are only two years old they should go to bat for you, they are the selling agent and have a duty to respond and interact with the manufacturer on your behalf. Find out what you really have for a cover and then what they will do for you. As long as you did not' apply something to the units that would cause that, they should take care of in some form or manner. Good luck
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So glad you bought this piece and I like your analogy. I think small solid accent pillows would work but would hide the cutwork. However for comfort they may be necessary. I certainly wouldn't reupholster until that fabric wears out or you tire of it. I think the art works well as that settee might have been in a farmhouse with such a view. I also think that the juxtaposition of the more rustic pic and frame with the formal settee is wonderful and the colors go well with the upholstery fabric, the stained wood, and the walls. The best decorated rooms IMO are those which have the unexpected rather than the 'safe' and sometimes boring choices. I like your choices and look forward to seeing what else you do in your decor. Have the confidence to do what looks right to you.
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@Sarah Much of the wood furniture in our house are pieces I ‘inherited’ (since they came from relatives who were still alive at the time, it was more of me being the sole person who expressed interest when the opportunity to get the furniture came up) some is over 40 years old, the newest is around 20 years old. Pretty much all will make it to the age where they will officially be considered antiques with my efforts to keep them cared for and clean. Upholstered furniture is slightly different in what to look for to get a long lived piece, and as many are featured in prominent areas (read: people see and use them a lot) it’s commonly these items we frequently want to replace/redo with something that suits the latest trends. The sofa with chaise that is in our main floor living room we bought in August 2017 (special order fabric so it wasn’t actually here until late September) wasn’t terribly expensive at around $700, but it fits the space and our 4 foster kiddos watch tv/play downstairs in the basement family room area that has the ‘wallhugger’ stationary back wood frame futon. The futon mattress is relatively inexpensive to replace, dark gray in color, so if it has to be replaced we’re totally fine with that! The sofa+chaise is a lovely sapphire blue, a nice place to seat guests and where the mister placed the GIANT fancy new tv (the only furnishing that he really wanted to pick out, was that tv - everything else he has put in my hands to decide on!) so he can watch it, and I can simultaneously cook while watching the news/whatever tv show I’m binge watching. Do I expect the sofa+chaise to eventually be a 100+ year old family heirloom? Of course not. But it will make it at least 8-10 years before I’m itching to replace it, and that’s okay. The mister isn’t creating a dented area in the shape of his butt on the thing even though he usually sits in exactly the same spot and the exact same position. So far there hasn’t been any stain-causing mishaps by anyone, all I can ask for really. :p
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Iowacommute
Original Author
6 years ago
I do like it and had to post it because it is so different from what usually is om our local Craigslist.

I've seen many sectionals copy this style and higher end ones with the extra wood on the back like this.

Waterloo is a ways off of a major interstate I-35) but it's a rather quiet drive this time of year with the cut fields and not much traffic.
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palimpsest
6 years ago
Waterloo still probably had some doctors, lawyers and businessmen, especially 50 years ago. The hours from everywhere small town I grew up in --still 35 miles from the nearest interstate--had some very well furnished houses and a few kitchens with Sub-Zero refrigerators and things like that.
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robo (z6a)
6 years ago
How much does the worn arm degrade the price? Seems like it would be an almost impossible repair?
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Iowacommute
Original Author
6 years ago
Palimpsest, yes Waterloo/Cedar Falls is the largest city in NE Iowa. There are still big, beautiful old mansions scattered throughout the area (you can always tell where the county seat is driving through).

Oldsmobile and the railroad were very big in the area in the early 20th century. It turns out when they (Oelwein Iowa) said no to Oldsmobile plants and the RR they moved to Detroit.

I can't imagine the house this sofa was imagined for.
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palimpsest
6 years ago
Most sofas are not going to be affected negatively price-wise by reupholstery. That said, I think some people are interested in buying pieces in their original condition--even if they end up recovering them themselves. They can control how it's done, and they know there has not been any previous intervention, and they know they are are not paying in part for a new upholstery job. It's possible that the arm wear might not bother some people who want the piece in original condition, too. Personally I would reupholster but in something that would have been appropriate when the sofa was new.
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aprilneverends
6 years ago
it's a very cool one

thank you for sharing
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