Comparing IKEA to Lee is not a fair comparison. Lee sofas are my favorite brand stylisitically, but they are very pricey -- around here they are more expensive than PB. IKEA sofas are dirt cheap. I've owned several and some hold up better than others. Right now, we have the Karlstad line of sofas in our basement - a corner sectional and a loveseat. Both are going on 2 years old and still look brand new in spite of being in my kids playroom where they serve as trampolines and forts just as often as are sofas. But I owned a different IKEA sofa (the Ekeskog) where the cushions slid off the thing every time someone sat on it. They are also suprisingly comfy -- some IKEA sofas are not, so I would recommend sit-testing something in person before buying. If you want to go IKEA, I'd stay with a darker color (to avoid staining). I wouldn't count on washing the slips regularly because they can be a pain to get on and off and they can shrink. The upside is that IKEA tends to keep the same styles forever, so if your cover gets dirty (or you're just in the mood for a change), you can buy a new one for not a whole lot of money. If you've got the money for Lee, it's definitely a better sofa, but for a the size sectional I have in the basement, you are looking at $800ish for IKEA vs. at least $4K for Lee. Even if the IKEA one dies and I have to replace it, I can do so 4 times before approaching the cost of the Lee.

OK, so this is kind of embarrassing, after all my debating about what color Peytons to go with.... We were in Boston last weekend and went to a Pottery Barn and bought one panel in the Peyton Chestnut and one panel in the Clay silk dupioni. When we brought them back to Florida and hung them on a pole side by side in our family room/sunroom, the Peyton just seemed too heavy for the room with a texture too similar to our cream-colored sectional (see photos above). Also, we want to be able to push the panels as far out of the way during the day and the silk really seem much lighter and fold up much smaller. So after all this, it looks like we will by going with the bronzey-looking clay silk dupionis after all! Now our big dilemma is whether to go with the 84 inch length panels, which means with the pole and rings they will aang 5 inches above the 82-inch windows (including trim), or spring for the 96-inch ones and go to the expense of hemming them, just to get a few inches more in height. Oh decisions, decisions!!! (yes, I am looking for advice, f anyone wants to look at my photos above.) Thanks. Mollie, can't wait to see how your drapes look -- please post pictures!

From the picture it looks like the sheets are shrinking and the embroidered part is gathering as a result. I would give their customer service a call and tell them about the problem. I sure hope they offer you some kind of a fix. I have two solid percale cotton duvets, in the same print and have been very happy with them. Although I have to admit both the duvets as well as several decorative pillow coverings have a problem with buttons falling off. There have been times when they've come out of the dryer very wrinkled but to fix it I stick them back in on a lower setting with a wet towel. That does the trick to my satisfaction but they are still some what wrinkled. I've been told that with percale cotton there will always be a little bit of wrinkling. The thing is I love their pretty prints as well as the weight and cool crisp feel of the sheeting they use so I guess that's the trade off. I did buy a set of their Classic Sheets about 4 years ago and while i really liked everything about them including the truly extra large pockets on the fitted sheet, they didn't last as long as I would have expected a sheet set in that price range to last. Within a couple of years, I started seeing tears in the fitted sheet and they were done. Mind you we change our sheets weekly alternating between two sets, I wash them without bleach and in a front loader which is less harsh on fabrics. So in reality they only lasted about a year, maybe a year and a half at best...haven't bought them again for this reason. I think like everyone else PB's quality has dropped considerably and sadly their stuff is no longer worth the prices they charge.

I'd second Les's suggestion of having them pressed, given you have so many panels (I don't love to iron LOL) But, I iron dupioni all the time so don't be afraid of it...just be afraid of all that work :P I make sure my iron is on silk setting with steam, and make sure not to start ironing until the iron is up to temp (or the water will spit). Then I iron on the face of the dupioni with a quick brush over the fabric, no liners etc...I do it all the time (I sew quilts out of silk instead of cotton). Silk satins are a totally different ball game, but dupioni is very durable. One thing you can try to help now is to pull your panels all the way back on their rods to the fully folded position. Finger gather them as they're supposed to be (I don't know what your headers are) and then SOFTLY tie a large ribbon or piece of cotton around them to hold them, use 3 per panel if they're less than 9' long to hold them in place (your drycleaner will return them to you like this). If the wrinkles are going to drop they'll do so better tied up like this and the drapes will lay on the folds better in the future. If you go the professional route, when you get them back they'll be tied like this anyhoo. Hang them with the ties still on and leave them be for a couple of days to drop out any wrinkles that you get in transport. It would be my guess that you will have to iron...dupioni from a retailer always needs it. Ohhh and ladies, if you are ironing on your dining or kitchen tables, or even your bed, (which does not work well because it's not hard) buy a cheap blanket, like a boiled wool looking cotton or synthetic with a tight weave, thick....use that to iron as it will buffer your table from the heat and moisture of the iron. And don't go nuts with the steam....that never works well even with the liner.