Thanks francypants and marlene! Marlene, I bet your LV luggage is just gorgeous, especially with the patina! BB, for some reason I have always been drawn to the "saddle" color of leather. I see it as more neutral and kinda like a little of the "sloppyness" look of it. I have one similar I got from JCrew a couple of years or so ago, but it's suede and at the same time, I got a new SUV with black carpet and it rubbed off on my new purse and I can't get it off! I literally got to carry it one time. I just looks dirty now! This one isn't suede, and now that I know to keep my purses on my seat of car, I shouldn't be a problem.

We have a long narrow living space and went with a sectional, but one custom made to fit the space just right. I'm only 5'0 and didn't want a big bulky one that would swallow me up or make my legs dangle when sitting upright on it, so the seating is deliberately designed to be low and not too wide. As someone with short legs and stature, I am never all that comfortable even in most chairs due to dangly leg issues and distance from back of my knee to rear, which is shorter than most chairs these days. I'm more comfortable when I can pull my feet up under me, and that tends to work better on a sofa. So custom made was the way for us to go, as-- for once in my life-- I wanted furniture that was comfortable for me to sit in!! Our kids are grown and gone though they do visit. And we entertain a lot. No t.v. in our house. When it's just us, we do spread out and lounge on it/ take naps in front of the fireplace. When we have company, there's plenty of space to sit upright and converse without it being awkward. As you can see, we also have a pair of chairs, and an ottoman that can be used for additional seating. Not shown is the kitchen -- sorry the lighting isn't that great in this photo -- you can just barely see in the foreground one of the four chairs at the kitchen island. These are counter height and provide additional seating. Because of the position of the island we thought this arrangement flowed a lot better than having a sofa acting as a barrier between kitchen and LR, which is what we had before (sofa and loveseat -- brought from our previous home). Also not shown is that the living space extends beyond the pair of chairs. That's where my home office is, so there's an additional two chairs there as well. If we want to watch a movie, we use my computer monitor to stream netflix, hubby turns around one of the chocolate brown chairs to face the screen, and I sit in my comfy office chair (a DWR recliner). When entertaining there's tons of separate conversational areas, even though the space is not enormous. People on the far sectional end / people perched on the near end conversing with those in the chairs / ottoman can be moved around closer to the sectional / people on the island stools, which can be optionally turned around towards the LR and the view / people in the office / people in the DR which has a table and 6 DR chairs / people out on the deck. Lots of flexibility. We figured someday when we sell future owners will probably want a flat screen t.v., so we did wire for that in multiple places. Future owner could put the t.v. above the fireplace, or on the back wall near the sliders where we have the art now. I could see a future owner flip-flopping this arrangement with a t.v. and console on that far wall. For us that was less than ideal as the best views are from the sectional, and we'd rather have the views than a t.v.

I don't have the Holt but I do have pieces from the Eliot, Eastwood, and later this week a Calhoun piece. The Holt is 2.0 high density foam and the pieces I own are all 2.8 high density foam. My furniture is all very firm (too firm for some people) but because of that we've had zero butt indents or sagging in the 2+ years we've had it. Personally I'd be afraid of the softness of the cushions, especially depending on the fabric you choose. I can say we're very happy with the furniture though!

@Ashleah Courtney - how is the Burrard couch holding up? Article tells me this is a "medium" comfort Article sofa, they have "soft" sofas they have that let you sink in and let the couch take you (Sven is soft).....but, did you consider the softer (20% down feather- 80% foam mix on cushions) Article leather Nirvana Dakota sofa, and choose Burrard over it?.....and what was the vibe/ consensus regarding the Rivet Damien that was on your original list? Thanks for your responses!