I'm just wondering what you decided to do with your Italian leather sofa. I have an American made leather sectional with attached cushions, top grain leather, heavy frame, but it's two years old and the cushions are sagging, the leather creasing, and I'm afraid I'm going to have tear in the leather sooner or later. It's a bear trying to find info on re-stuffing a couch with attached cushions, but from what I have gleaned it involves disassembling the couch, separating the seats from the backs, cutting the dust cover, removing and replacing the seat cushions, re-stapling the dust cover, and re-assembling the couch. I've been unable to get anyone to come to the house to take a look, let alone give me an estimate for the repair. It sounds way too complicated to DIY, but I believe I'm going to try it anyway. The leather is great, the frame is great, but the poor quality foam is going to make it unusable, so why send it all to the landfill without even trying? Of course my fear is that I won't be able to put it all back together again!

Live_Wire_Oak,thanks for responding. I certainly value your opinion. I'm well aware that EA sofas today are not at all the same quality and had no intention of ordering from them, but rather from a higher end manufacturer. In fact, when my sofas were new, I was somewhat disappointed with how these cushions sat compared with what I had been accustomed to with my other sofa. I want sofas to last through my retirement years and am willing to pay to get that quality. The concern is that our family lays on these sofas often to watch TV or rest. I already know that the proportions of the loveseat, including the T-seat cushion allows for comfortable leg extension and all the padding on the rolled arm rest works well as a head support. And the dimensions work well in the room even though I have downsized to a smaller home. I should add that my ID is self-employed and charges by the hour so it financially makes no difference as far as she is concerned which direction I go. Also, the style I like is frequently available for customization by some of the major sofa manufacturers such as Henredon, Massoud, and Hickory Chair.

Hi My3dogs.. well, I will be starting pretty much from scratch with the living room. As I said, I am leaning towards a gray-taupe with green undertones (tavern taupe) for the walls but I havent tried a light beige-gold yet .. I'd be happy with either but I suspect I'll go with the tavern taupe (or similar). I have photos of it in this house--but it photographs much darker than it is in person. Most of my current furniture will be going into the basement where we plan to make a large lounge/media room, art studio and office. The weight and footprint of my furniture is really too much for the room. I have a medium tone drum table and wooden bookshelves. The light brick fireplace is probably going to be painted off white with a yet-to-be-purchased rustic wood mantel. I will purchase (new or craigslist) chairs and case pieces. The look is flexible but I want to stay in the "comfy traditional" mix and match range. I have a few options for rugs.. but I'll probably use this one in the living room. (it is a little more muted IRL with browns, green, blue, pumpkin) I have a few options for coffee tables and will select one when the room is done but I am leaning towards one that is not very visually heavy. I do hear what you are saying about waiting for the room to pull together.. and I am living with it now so that is an option.. but since we'll be painting walls and refinishing floors before I move in, I am thinking now is the time to start looking at fabrics and lining up an upholsterer. I am looking at fabrics online but we do have a great fabric outlet in the next town over. I hope to narrow in on a few colors/types of fabric and then go find a bargain there. I'd love to hear your thoughts.. I love all your projects and respect your ability to see a beautiful swan in the broken ugly duckling pieces on CL. I definitely have an ugly duckling here.

Ok, so here is a real ghost who was mad at the owner story my friend told me. She and her husband and kids live in a pretty old house. It's at least 100 years old but could be older. They know there is a presence in the house who throws toys and laundry around the basement (crazy stories). Other people in town who looked at the house while it was on the market have also said that there was a feeling that they were not welcome in the basement. My friend was at a party one time and received a call a few days later from another party guest. He then went on to tell her that there was a ghost/presence with her at the party. He then went on to say that the ghost wants "the brick put back". He actually accurately described her house layout and led her to the back wall of the house where they had recently ripped out the brick patio on the other side of the wall. I guess the ghost wasn't happy even though they had meticulously preserved most of the original details of the house.