pottery barn carlisle sofa review

Pottery Barn Carlisle Sofa | THE PLACE HOME

I have gotten several comments/questions about how we are liking our Pottery Barn Carlisle Upholstered Sofa that we purchased back in December. The quick response is that we are very pleased with our selection. The more detailed answer - should you be interested - is outlined below.

To refresh everyone's memory, we purchased the grand Carlisle sofa with upgraded down fill and single bench cushion in Sunbrella's Sahara Weave ivory fabric. The sofa was ready for delivery back at the beginning of February but due to our construction we delayed its arrival until the first week in March. It then sat covered in plastic for roughly two weeks while the project dragged to the finish line. And while it was frustrating not to get to use it, this actually proved to be a good thing as it somehow trained the dog that he wasn't allowed on it. I then put some sheepskins on top of it for the first few weeks of official use just to be safe.

In terms of aesthetics, I love how it looks in the space. I thought it might be a little big but the curved, classic lines and minimal amount of cushions (two back, one seat) prevent it from being too bulky. The fabric is a really nice white - not too bright and not too cream. And the pattern adds some texture but is pretty much indistinguishable.

 In terms of performance, I find the sofa to be very comfy. Although it is definitely a lounging sofa as its really too deep to sit up straight. My one complaint in this department might be the armrests. While I like the look of the low profile, its not the best for resting your head. I think this could be remedied with a different throw pillow situation but we just haven't gotten around to it.

Most questions from readers have been specifically about the fabric which looks as good as the day it was delivered. Like I mentioned, we had it covered for a few weeks but now we enjoy it au natural so to speak. We have had no major spills but I have wiped off a few dirt marks very easily. I have seen no pulls in the fabric or any other sort of friction markings and it really doesn't seem to be too susceptible to this particular type of wear and tear. I have noticed that the box pleat on the front of the cushion has slipped a little out of place but otherwise, no real stretching or lose fabric. The one criticism I might have of the fabric is that it could be a bit thicker. I don't notice it now but when the sofa was delivered in bright morning light, I could make out some of construction of the cushions - seams, a tag, shadows of darker feathers etc. I don't see it now and I don't think it would be an issue in any of the darker fabrics but it could have been an issue if the sofa was in super bright light all the time. 

I hope this helps some of you readers out there thinking about making a similar purchase. Please comment or get in touch if you have any other specific questions.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

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nursery series | inspiration

I didn't want to really start planning the nursery until after my first trimester. And considering how tired I was it wasn't all that hard to resist the urge to decorate. But I did know from the start a few key things:

1. The room shouldn't necessarily look like a "nursery". Knowing how much it can cost to redecorate a room from scratch, I wanted a room that would grow with our baby into childhood. This meant investing in furniture that would last and picking colors that were not all of the pastel variety. It also meant nothing very cutesy. 
2. The base pieces and colors should be gender neutral. At the beginning of my pregnancy, we were unsure if we were going to find out the sex of the baby so not too boy and not too girl was important. Also because we are planning on having more than one child, I wanted the flexibility to switch rooms or even have them share.
3. There should be a designated spot for Mom and Dad. I wanted the baby's room to be a place where the whole family would be able to hang out i.e. a comfortable spot for both Jeff and I. In our case, the baby's room is quite large so we were able to keep a full size bed, get a comfortable chair and have a crib and dresser. We also wanted to keep the option of the baby's room transitioning to a second guest bedroom.
4. Maximizing storage is key. When we were first planning the nursery, we didn't know we would be creating a playroom on the first floor (more on this later). So I figured the bedroom would be where we would need to keep the majority of all the baby's stuff. And it seems even if you try to do it as simply as possible, babies come with a lot of things. I also didn't want our whole house to become over run with baby/kid things so having "put away spaces" was important to me. 

In addition to forming my general design criteria, I also just looked for images of nurseries/kids rooms I really liked. Favorites included...

via Lonny | THE PLACE HOME

home of Molly Sims via Pop Sugar | THE PLACE HOME

home of Lulu DK via Lonny | THE PLACE HOME

by Animal Print Shop via Lonny | THE PLACE HOME

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big news

Its been roughly three weeks since my last blog post and wow how the time has just disappeared. Because.....SURPRISE we welcomed our little girl Jane Elizabeth into the world on May 4th! She came just 24 minutes before her Cinco de Mayo due date and we have been in baby bliss mode every since. I had grand intentions of getting this post out at least a week ago but between being on the newborn time warp machine and Jeff getting appendicitis its been quite a busy May.

Leading up to Jane's arrival, I had been working on preparing a back log of posts to share while I slowly return to our new normal. About half of the posts center on the design of Jane's nursery which is just about finished. The other half of the posts detail my SECOND SURPRISE - our first floor renovation! That's right we actually did it and it turned out even better than I had hoped. I will be sharing the play by play phases of our renovation - demo, framing, paint etc. - concluding with a grand reveal! It might still be a little slow around here for the next couple weeks but hopefully you all will enjoy these two special series I have planned. 

Happy May!

via THE PLACE HOME

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