The clutter gave me the heebie-jeebies! I actually thought that chef has one of those compulsive hoarding conditions, cause that's what rooms look like of people who have that. I know a professional chef who is the chef for a high-end french restaurant. His home kitchen is very orderly--frugal even. He has two sizes of Le Creuset pots that he uses constantly, 2 or 3 sizes of fry pans, a saucepan, a mixer but no food processor (he likes to chop by hand and I think is as lightning quick as any machine!), and he always tells me that one needs only 4 different knives (paring, boning, bread and Chef's). His kitchen is spare, yet he can cook anything there. I also thought it was ironic that the author of the article starts out by saying how some kitchens are designed to be places where family and friends congregate--yet from what I can see, the featured kitchen could definitely not be that, cause there's no room to congregate.

thanks for the alert--we haven't been lookin at the papers much lately, so I hadn't seen it. That guy lives 2 blocks away.

We have a sectional with hide-a-bed. No, you can't tell the bed is inside. If anything, the part where the bed is looks better than the other one after few years of use, because the leather there still seems new and less saggy. You also can't feel it when sitting. The sectional is nothing special but is not bad either..if I'm not mistaken, it was made by Natuzzi's cheaper line. As for the quality of a bed inside-it will work fine for young and healthy. All the other guests, I try to accommodate differently, unless they stay only for a night or two. Although truth must be told-also because of privacy issue..the sectional is in the family room, so naturally it is less convenient for a guest/s to stay there for more a couple nights in a row.

You mention you are looking for a “L” shape sectional sofa. Your price will depend on the dimensions of the sectional. Your links shown show varied sizes and number of seats in each photo. First you must determine the seating space you need. How many people do you want to sit comfortable? Does quality of the leather and construction matter? Your price will be determined by number of seats you need along with construction and leather quality. There are a few manufactures I can recommend that will fall within your price range and look like the styling you are after. If you don’t mind being made off our shores, I would look at Palatial. There are a few styles that fit well with your budget and looks you will like. I would also suggest Omnia Furniture, made in CA or Mckinley Leather made in North Carolina. Omnia will price lower because they are not a true 8-way hand-tie construction line like Mckinley. Both do however use top grain cowhide everywhere on the entire piece. Both companies also go the extra mile with attention to detail. To get the Mckinley to fall within your price range you will need to shop for stores that are offering sales or a discount. One more to look at is Palliser Furniture. They are based in Canada but manufacture in Mexico. They also have the style you are looking for that will fall within your budget. I am not familiar with the line from Canada you have listed or the other brands but I do understand what Costco offers and all companies I have recommended are much higher quality both in leather and construction as they do not use 100% top grain leather everywhere and that is why the price will be higher on the lines I have recommended, but still within your budget. It comes down to you get what you pay for. I think your price range is reasonable and think you can find the perfect sectional with a little investigation.