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miranda_selwyn

C&B Axis in Douglas Pumice or Camel?

Would love advice! About to buy Crate & Barrel Axis sectional in either Douglas Pumice or Douglas Camel, but having a hard time deciding on which color will look best because the swatches are so small. Has anyone bought a C&B piece in either color of Douglas fabric?

Our house is mostly BM Simply White, white linen curtains, brass hardware, light neutral pillows and blankets (ivory, natural), walnut peg&groove floors and wood furniture. Lots of plants. Airy neutral vibes.

Even though I tend toward warmer neutrals, I’m concerned the Camel ( which is warmer than the two) will look cheap in a bigger piece. On the flip side, the Pumice (the more greenish-grey of the two) is slightly darker.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Comments (42)

  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    last year

    First I always want to know why a sectional at all. IMO they ae the most expensive way to buy the most uncomfy seats. Arm rests = comfort so 2 people have comfort. As for the color I need to see your space with all the other stuff in it. Also is this the space where you have a TV? I would not do a fabric sofa in a TV space and if I did I would be looking at Sunbrella's indoor fabric .So post apic of the space please .

  • cawaps
    last year

    I don't think you can go wrong either way. I have a slight preference for the camel (probably in reaction to too much gray over the past few years).

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    last year

    Thanks for your input Patricia. I’ll post a pic later, but right now my mother-in-law is sleeping on it ha. Hopefully the description we gave gives you some idea.

    The configuration of sectional we chose is a sofa with wide chaise so there are armrests and it works best for our room that’s long and thin. And it’s one of the most affordable options at C&B. Although we had considered a sofa with a love seat, my husband and I love to cuddle with our pup on the chaise! It’s perfect for us and our room.

    The fabric we chose (Douglas) is indestructible for that very reason (TV and we often eat on the couch and have a dog).

    Alas, our main concern is the color and would love your take on the swatches.

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    last year

    Thanks cawaps!

  • pricklypearcactus
    last year

    Have you tried holding the samples up against your wall color, curtains, and wood furniture to see if either one seems to really stand out (in a good way) to you? When I was choosing between some fabric samples, I wanted to see how they would work with other elements in the room throughout different times of day (as light changes). In my opinion either options will be a lovely neutral.


    Personally I love a sectional because it allows multiple people to lay down or multiple people to cuddle (with pups or other humans). They are very large so they will be one of the dominant colors in the space. You should definitely be choosing the color you like best and that will work in the room with other elements you're keeping.

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    last year

    This isn’t really the question I am asking. The configuration of sectional we chose is a sofa with chaise so there are armrests.thanks prickly pear cactus!

  • mmagner022
    11 months ago

    Hi miranda did you end up going with one of these colors? im interested in

    pumice and am dying to find a real picture !! thanks

  • Nikita Michaelis
    7 months ago

    Hi! did you ever pick a color? im between the same two colors and would love to see what you ended up with

  • Moe Tayel
    7 months ago

    Hey did you pick a color. I’m in this dilemma myself right now

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    7 months ago

    Hey all! I ended up going a totally different direction. Got the C&B lounge (custom l-shape sectional in the smaller depth 41”) in Tate pearl and love it!!! Couldn’t get past my hatred of microfiber and glad about my choice

  • Nikita Michaelis
    7 months ago

    Thanks for the update - tate pearl sounds lovely! i personally ended up picking douglas ice - we needed go stay in microfiber wince we have a cat. couch will arrive in october!

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    7 months ago

    That’s a great choice Nikita because the pattern will camouflage the fabric! We have a dog so I hear you but we took our chances!

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    7 months ago

    I did find a blog with the pumice on the axis and it looked really nice in the bright and airy room, so was leaning that way, but who knows with all of those filters these days!

  • mmagner022
    7 months ago

    Yes the filters kill me! I ordered the Douglas pumice. I’ll share a picture when it arrives late September.

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    7 months ago

    Please do!!

  • karin3823
    3 months ago

    So grateful for this thread. Currently deciding between Pumice and Ice in the Axis. Thank you for sharing photos. Also, what is the downside of microfiber?

  • karin3823
    3 months ago

    Also, mmagner022- does the Pumice look like a light gray to you?

  • Nikita Michaelis
    3 months ago

    un styled photo but heres the ice in semi low light


  • karin3823
    3 months ago

    Beautiful. Does it pick up light gray as well as light beige sometimes, depending on lighting?

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    3 months ago

    Crazy! The Ice looks so busy in the swatch but this reads as so nice and neutral

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago

    Wanted to chime in on this thread as I am also considered getting either the Axis or the Lounge in Douglas Pumice or Douglas Camel. With my rug and walls, I need a fabric on the warmer side.


    I’d love to go with Douglas for maintenance/durability reasons, but it’s hard for me to envision what it would look like. If anyone has a photo of the Camel on an actual sofa, I’d love to see it! Or additional photos of the Pumice. In the photo above it looked quite gray but it may have been the lighting (I think it’s more of a greige)?

  • mmagner022
    2 months ago

    The pumice is more of a sand, I did not want grey and I don’t think it is in person at all

  • mmagner022
    2 months ago

    With natural light, it’s the perfect neutral, earthy tone I was going for. Here it is next to my grey bar stool

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago

    Wow, it’s amazing how different it looks in the two photos. I am also going for more of a sand color. I’ve been comparing the pumice and camel, and to my eye (which is admittedly not very good) the pumic looks more like a greige while the camel has warmer reddish tons.


    But of course I’m working from tiny swatches so it’s hard to have a good sense. Did you consider the camel as well?

  • karin3823
    2 months ago

    I'm going through this exact scenario but after bringing a large fabric sample of the Camel home, I thought it looked a bit too yellow in my space, so I'm back to Pumice or Ice. I really like how the Pumice looks in above photos. I was concerned there might be a tinge of green. I'll share my photo of the Camel sample against my current light greige sofa.

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    Agreed! Have to be careful so eh any tan that is fabric. Or can often look very unnatural and yellow. I think pumice is a safer choice!

  • karin3823
    2 months ago

    Camel fabric in center

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    I think that camel looks super nice in that room and adds some light!

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    I also love the pumice in the above photos. I like how it feels like a nice neutral taupe

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago

    Thanks so much, Karin! A couple of questions: 1) How did you get a large sample of the Camel? Did they loan it to you, or did you purchase it? The store I went to said they no longer allow loans. But, my experience is that sometimes different stores say different things, so I haven’t given up. :-) 2) If you did purchase it, what was the price? 3) Did you get a sample of the pumice too? If so, I’d love to see a photo with them both, if you feel like trying that. :-)

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    I took a couple of pics with the small samples, on top of my rug along with some other fabric samples I am considering using for chairs (and, if I don’t, I will bring the colors in with pillows etc.) I also included some decor items.

    Note that the colors in the Pottery Barn samples look a little different in this light than in real life. The two on the left are two different shades of a muted blue/gray, one lighter and one darker. Second to the right is a camel, and on the right is a kind of rosey rust color (stock on one of the PB swivel chairs that I fell in love with).

    What I don’t love about either Douglas sample in these photos is that they both look pretty one dimensional to me - in this light you can’t see the herringbone at all, which gives it texture. But I guess one dimensionality is the price you pay for the ease of microfiber. (Not a fan of the microfiber look, but it fits my lifestyle so I’m hoping to make it work.)

    Anyway, based on these photos I’m prefering the Pumice (the one on the top - you can see I handwrote ”Pumice” on it). I think it is a better match to the neutral color in the rug. I actually have been struggling to even figure out what that neutral color in the rug is - in some lights it looks dark tan, and in some lights it looks gray. But these pics make me think it is a taupe/greige, and thus a good fit for the Pumice.

    Let me know your thoughts. So pleased to have comrades-in-arms for this dilemma! I’ve never taken a design decision to Houzz before, but I’m glad I did.





  • karin3823
    2 months ago

    Funny story about the large fabric sample. The lady that is helping us with our sectional/room, told me to discretely roll it up & just walk out of the store with it but to bring it back the next day. They're not allowed to loan them out, which I find ridiculous, as it's the only true way to get a good idea of how it will look in a space. She said she couldn't give me permission to take it but to do it anyway while she wasn't looking. I felt like I was shoplifting lol, but I really wasn't. Took pics and brought it right back the next morning. Better than making a $6,000 mistake! Those tiny swatches did not help me out at all. I'm torn over the color decision.

  • karin3823
    2 months ago

    Based on your samples, I really like the Pumice also for a sectional. The PB camel color almost looks like it pulls a touch of pink, which could be nice also. I like the idea of the swivel chairs being a darker shade for contrast, you can't go wrong with any of those. I'm trying to incorporate more color in my space as well, but for the sectional, I want neutral. Glad to have found this board as well!

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    That is hilarious about your ”shoplifting” episode! Apparently it was a recent decision by CB management to no longer give the larger samples out even with a deposit, because a lot of people were not returning them. But - the deposit should cover the cost, right? Such a dumb business decision, especially since many other retailers do give out the samples. I’m glad the salesperson was more sensible and willing to take a risk to do the right thing.

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago

    Thanks for your input on the Pumice! I am actually doing a sofa not a sectional, and will be purchasing two chairs as well (not sure which yet). My room is very open with a lot of windows and a fireplace, and very little wall space, so all the furniture will be floating. We felt like a sectional would interfere with being able to walk through well, so I am just going with a sofa (either the 88” Axis or 93” Petite Lounge).


    Here is a pick of the furniture layout CB did for me. Ignore the rug - the rug I actualy bought is totally different (its the one in the earlier photos). And I’m not necessarily getting the specific pieces of furniture in this design - we were just using placeholders to get a rough idea of layout and what fits. Very helpful service on their part!



  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    Allie p! For what it’s worth, if you are set on the Axis sofa check out the option to get a bench seat. The one cushion rather than separate ones looks so much more modern and stylish to me on that style.

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    I do prefer the style of the lounge, and that’s what we landed on. It’s quite comfy!

  • Miranda Selwyn
    Original Author
    2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    I will also say that the Taft Pearl (which is the fabric we got on our Lounge sectional is like a white ivory) def gets dirty and spraying cleaner on it leaves water stains. Although I hear the Taft Cement doesn't have that problem but it was just too grey for me and I'm so over grey. I sometimes wish we just got the douglas fabric! We ended up getting those Nolan sofa covers which are kinda cheesy, but fine for everyday when we're like eating in front of the TV with our dogs paws all over the couch. The bubble of my fantasy of white/light colored everything and the sales people talking about the stain resistant blah blah blah gets bursted everytime! If we switched the Lounge to Douglas fabric tho it would've been thousands of dollars more b/c it's not the stocked fabric so we never would've done it, but every choice has its drawbacks.

  • Allie P.
    2 months ago

    Thanks, Miranda! I’m so sorry to hear the Taft Pearl isn’t working for you. I too have been suspicious of the ivory/white sofa claims. I have been shooting for a light beige/greige or taupe but not cream or ivory.


    I don’t have kids or dogs, but I plan to entertain a lot in this room and I don’t want to be terrified my friends will spill something. That was a factor in my rug decision too. I love the ivory trellis rug look but was worried about a rug that was too light.


    I will take a look at the Axis with a single cushion - thanks for that tip!


    I like the style of the Lounge better than the Axis too. But the Lounge in a Douglas fabric is $900 more than the Axis in a Douglas fabric, as it’s stock for the Douglas. So I need to decide if the Lounge is worth the extra money to me.


    Btw - I am going for a roughly 90” sofa. So it would be 88” if I get the Axis and 93” if I get the Lounge. So that is a consideration too. I’m going to cut out some butcher paper to put on my living floor to see if 93” feels too big.

  • Kate DuPont
    last month
    last modified: last month

    This is CAMEL!


  • Allie P.
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Thank you Kate! That’s really pretty - looks nicer than I had expected. I had ruled out camel for my sofa but now will reconsider. Photos of material on actual sofas are SO helpful!


    Ps: To clarify, that is the Douglas Camel, correct?