Our California Model: Contemporary Exposed-wood sofas, Loveseats & Chairs

We don't just sell furniture, we sell happy comfort. Isn't it nice if the kids can enjoy themselves on the furniture without mother having to worry unduly about its being stained or worn out prematurely, since it's so relatively easy and inexpensive to get new covers for this furniture?

Customers expecting heavy use often order an extra yard or two of fabric, to be able to replace individual covers without having to re-cover an entire sofa; with most fabrics, one yard of upholstery (54"-wide) fabric is sufficient to replace a pair of covers for our padded arm wraps; arm covers for the Virginia models require 1-1/4 yards for a pair. One yard is sufficient to re-cover one cushion in all but our widest sizes, and in most fabrics; some fabrics require more, for matching a pattern or for turning a pattern in the desired orientation.

In addition to ease of replacing covers, the life of the fabric on our furniture is enhanced by the fact that all cushions can be turned, to present a second usable side. And the padded arm wraps on our California or Maryland models can be switched, left to right, in about 20 seconds, so that a worn or soiled front end can just go to the rear of the opposite arm.

See how perfectly our furniture can fit into a sunny room. Since long-term direct sunlight can cause fading (and even disintegration of the fabric in the case of cottons), ease of replacing the fabric on our furniture is an especially important feature in such a room. (Drapes and/or protective film on windows or skylights can also substantially reduce problems from sun exposure.)

The delightful picture above was kindly sent to us by a customer in Wisconsin, who wrote, "...Thank you so much.  We love it!  You can see that our children love it too. ...  It's everything we expected and more.  I easily put the loveseat together by myself before my husband got home from work!..." Shown here: 58" loveseat in standard 31" height, with our Golden Oak finish. This fabric is one of our stock patterned fabrics, which are available at little or no charge above the base price.

For pricing of this model, scroll down to just above the bottom of this page.

Just as a frame enhances a picture on a wall, our custom-finished hardwood frames add contrast and appeal to a sofa.

If it's important to you to have the right colors or the right pattern or texture in your fabric, keep in mind the benefit of our essentially unlimited fabric selection, compared with the smaller selections available with most furniture; our wider range of choice is especially important if you aren't content to limit yourself to the colors that are considered to be in vogue this year. And if you want to change your decor a few years out, consider how easy, inexpensive and environmentally responsible it is to just change the covers on this furniture, compared with the very great expense of re-covering (or replacing?) typical furniture.

All three pieces above are in our medium russet finish and standard (31") height. The fabrics are brushed cottons, which, like velvets, corduroys and chenilles, show natural light-dark variation with use.

It's hard to tell that the 76" sofa above was about four years old when the picture was taken; our satisfied customer ordered the 64" loveseat and the chair a few years after the sofa. Some of our customers say that our furniture still looks brand new even after ten years of heavy use, but that's usually only if they chose one of our extra-heavy-duty fabrics; with lighter-duty fabrics, it would often need replacement covers to make it look brand new after ten years. Also, keeping it new-looking depends on rotating and turning the cushions occasionally or frequently, depending on use.

Cat owners, notice all the places in the picture above that would be scratching opportunities on normal furniture, but not in this case. Cat owners usually choose the optional all-wood back, as shown, if the furniture will be away from the wall. If you look near the left side of the picture, you'll see the tail end of a frustrated feline, making his exit. Poor thing. Maybe the scratching post will have to suffice.

(The photo above was kindly taken and sent to us by one of our North Carolina customers. What a pleasure it was to receive this in the e-mail one morning and to be able to share it with the people who make the furniture.)

 

Shown at left: 58" California model (62" including the outside of the arm padding), with the 33" height. People with active pets really like the practicality of this furniture, because the locations that are most vulnerable to wear are either solid oak with hard, smooth, well-finished surfaces or are relatively easy and inexpensive to re-cover. If a dog's rubbing against your furniture causes the fabric to soil, think how easy it would be to keep this polyurethane-finished hardwood clean, by comparison. And with our huge fabric selection, it isn't hard to find one on which a pet's hairs will be less conspicuous, or less likely to stick. Because of the ease of re-covering, people sometimes feel free to choose one of the softer, more decorative (and less durable and cleanable) fabrics even when their furniture will be exposed to heavy wear.

 

 

This Sacramento, California multi-pet owner chose the all-wood backs and a heavy-duty, darkish, randomly-patterned floral from Robert Allen for best hiding the expected soil from her animals. The chair with its back to the camera is in our 40" width (44" including the padded arm wraps), which is just wide enough for two average people with no space between them, with a 27"-square ottoman.

 

Practicality and heavy-duty construction don't have to compromise aesthetic standards.

Practicality with dogs was especially important for the Maryland couple who bought this set, including an 85" sofa, 58" loveseat, and 28" chair, all with the standard 31" height, plus two 18" x 24" end tables, with our dark russet finish. Their fabric choices were two of the many colors in a faux suede pattern (from Duralee) that is unusually heavy duty, stain resistant, and anti-microbial (but also rather expensive -- it adds $368 to the price of a sofa).

 

Just because your dog plays in dirt doesn't mean he has to be banished from your sofa . . . if you have the right sofa.

(Our hats are off to our customer for taking and sending us these nice pictures.)

 

 

 

Simple lines, unlimited fabric selection and ease of re-covering allow a flexible fit of this sofa model into Southwestern, Mission, Shaker, Arts and Crafts, or almost any decor that doesn't require fussy ornateness. If you anticipate re-decorating, or eventually moving to a place where a different style will be appropriate, keep in mind the adaptability of this furniture, resulting from the ease of changing covers. (The fabric shown here, in an Atlanta-area customer's home, was found by her in a local fabric store, and is used for a second set of covers on top of her basic covers.)

If you want ordinary furniture, go to normal stores. If you want something different, please consider what we have to offer. In addition to the appearance, the couple who ordered this set also liked the good support and the fact that its non-bulky dimensions fitted well in the limited space of the condominium to which they had recently down-sized. About six months after receipt, this Maryland customer wrote, "Your furniture is great! Both comfortable and attractive."

Our heavy-duty fabrics come in a good selection of colors and patterns; but if medium- and lighter-duty fabrics are OK for your needs, there is a huge range of fabrics available with interesting, colorful patterns and pleasing textures. You can find a vast arrary of fabrics at stores or on the internet, any of which can be sent to us for making your furniture, as long as they are at least 54" wide and suited for upholstery use.

The California model is solid oak at all the high-wear locations and at the structurally-important places. The panel that fills the space between the front and back posts, below the arm top, is oak veneer on 3/4" hardwood plywood.

 

 

At right: 28" California chairs with casters, allowing them to be brought up to a dining table or card table, as well as being used as lounge-type chairs. Our chairs, being solidly made, are fairly heavy (about 65 pounds each), and so are not easy to move, once assembled. Casters can take care of that possible problem for a total surcharge of $35 to $45 per chair (depending on load-bearing capacity). The casters come in a "bright brass" finish to go on a rug, or with brass metal parts and black rubber wheels to go on a floor. We don't recommend them for sofas.

These chairs are obviously bigger (as well as more expensive) than normal dining chairs. But they could be ideal for relaxed dinners and after-dinner conversations, and for serving two purposes in a living/dining area with limited space. (The setting above is in the San Francisco bay area, where space is at a premium.) The chairs shown above are in our standard 28" width, but we can also make them any amount narrower at a modest surcharge; as well as wider at higher prices. To see one of our extra-wide chairs, click here.

If you look closely at the picture above, you might notice wrinkling at the corners. This customer had us over-size the covers slightly, to make it less difficult to remove the covers and replace them. (She planned to wash the covers, which is NOT recommended for most upholstery fabrics.) We are happy to over-size the covers at no additional charge, but be aware that some wrinkles will be inevitable, and that it still won't be very easy to remove and replace the covers, because of the substantial, dense cushion filling. Also keep in mind that, if you wash or dry clean the vast majority of upholstery fabrics, it is at your own risk; the recommended cleaning method in most cases is to use upholstery shampoo while the covers are still on the cushions, or to have it done by a professional cleaning survice.

People often aim for contrast between their fabric and their choice of wood finish. The greater the contrast (our blonde finish is shown here), the more striking the furniture will be. Sometimes people prefer low contrast, on the other hand, for a more understated look (see the chairs in the picture above this one, or the sofa at the top of the previous page).

Shown above, in another San Francisco-area home: our 94" length in the standard height, becoming 98" with the padded arm wraps. A month after receiving it, our customer commented in an e-mail, "my new sofa is a big hit with the family! ... This one is warm and inviting.... The red simply makes us feel chipper!" We can satisfy your desire for bright colors or almost any color, in a way that most of our competitors can't or won't. And we have a very good selection of fabrics in almost any color that are also heavy duty (as determined by industry standard tests) and soft. But we offer all kinds of fabrics: many of them are not heavy duty, and some of the most durable ones are not soft; we select swatches to send to customers based on the preferences they express, and we try to indicate wear-resistance and fiber content in notes accompanying the swatches.

Q: Why should we pay more for this than for normal furniture?
A: These products will usually be less expensive than ordinary furniture in the long run, especially if they are given heavy use, because they don't wear out like typical furniture. With solid oak at locations where ordinary sofas usually wear out first, and with our wide selection of heavy-duty fabrics, our furniture will usually look good long after ordinary furniture has become shabby. When our furniture eventually needs new covers or cushions, replacing them is relatively easy and inexpensive. Also, the very extensive customization and hand craftsmanship that goes into this furniture simply can't be available at costs similar to those of mass-produced products. For more details on this subject and on the costs of our small-scale custom manufacturing, click here.

 

Pricing of the California models: (Keep in mind that the overall lengths quoted would increase by 4" if you choose the optional padded arm wraps):
Base prices: (10% Discounts are available: See below. Also, if these prices are outside your budget, keep in mind that our Florida model is just as practical as the California model, almost as durable, has similarities in appearance, and is much less expensive):

Base prices: (Note: The distance between the arms is always 4" less than the dimension quoted.)

Three-seat sofas: 76" - $3250; .. 85" - $3480; .. 94" - $3740.

Loveseats: 52" long - $2865; .. 58" - $2975; .. 64" - $3095.

Chairs: 28" wide - $1995; .. 31" wide - $2105; .. 34" - $2225; .. 40" - $2375.

Four-seat sofas: 100" - $4200;... 112" - $4470;... 124" - $4780

These prices include 10 to 15 base-priced fabrics, a fabric-covered back of the frame, the 31" back height (measured floor to top, shown in almost all of the pictures above), the 33" frame depth, and any of our standard wood finishes.

There is a huge selection of high-quality fabrics available within $220 above the base price for a sofa, or within $170 above the base price for a loveseat. When we send you samples, we will indicate pricing information for those. If you provide your own fabric, the price would be reduced by $40, $30, or $20 for a sofa, loveseat, or chair.
The 2"-higher back adds $2 per inch, a 4"-higher back adds $4 per inch, and a 6"-higher back adds. $6 per inch.
A webbing suspension, for softer support, adds $1 per inch. (For detailed information about our standard and optional heights, cushion types (including "puffy"), firmnesses, seating dimensions and frame depths, with information about price effects of the various options, click here ).
An all-wood back adds $4 per inch of length. Note: If you want the added practicality of an all-wood back but don't like the additional cost, keep in mind that we offer a matching leather-imitation vinyl-covered back at no surcharge; the faux leathers these days are often hard to distinguish from real leather.
Toss pillows or arm pillows are $40 per pair, plus $0 - $20 or so for fabric.
Non-standard dimensions: Special lengths: Add $150 to the price of the next longer length, or (for extra-long) add $400 plus $20 per inch to the longest standard size. For a 30" frame depth, or a 36" frame depth, or for having the entire frame made higher or lower, click here.

Delivery in the D.C. beltway-Charlottesville-Richmond-Annapolis area would add $100 to $150, packing and shipping to the U.S. west coast would add 22% of the base price, and delivery or shipping to other locations in the contiguous 48 U.S. states would be somewhere in between depending on distance.

Discounts /completion times: Our standard completion time, for orders at the list price, is five to six weeks.* If you can wait as much as six months, we deduct 10% off the base price of the furniture. But, to repeat, our standard completion time is five to six weeks. Since our sales levels fluctuate considerably and unpredictably, we offer discounts to customers who don't expect their furniture soon. This provides a backlog of orders to keep our people working during lulls in sales levels; and it allows easier handling of the full-price orders when we have a surge of them.

Questions? Call 1-800-659-0436 or email us at info@comfy1.com.
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*Our "normal" completion time is subject to change if we receive a surge of orders, which can happen at any time (but we would make that clear when an order is placed); this tends to happen especially in the last months of the year. If you can plan farther in advance of when you really need the furniture, it's better.

To see pictures of our next design, the Virginia model, click here. To see pictures of some of the fabrics that are available on this furniture, click here.

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