Home & Real Estate
A Fresh Look Selecting a new sofa
Picking the right couch
by Kit Davey re you still hanging onto the expense of a your threadbare Chesternew sofa, confield because you are afraid sider purchasof making a serious decorating ing ready-made faux pas? Feeling dread and anxislipcovers from ety about replacing your couch is catalog or Internatural. After all, when you pick net companies one that isn’t right for the room, it’s such as Sure Fit glaringly obvious, and you could (1-888-SLIP 1 be stuck with your “mistake� for ON), Home Decorator’s Catalog years to come. (1-800-245-2217) or Pottery Barn (1-800-922-5507). Reupholstering your couch may also save you Before you decide Before you make up your mind a little cash and be better for the to replace your couch, ask yourself environment. Consider whether you really if you really need to. If you are just plain tired of it, rearranging the need a couch. Conventional living furniture or replacing the accent and family rooms usually have a pillows and adding a soft throw love seat or sofa, but yours doesn’t blanket may give it new life. Hav- have to. Would you really prefer a ing it professionally cleaned and pair of comfy, overstuffed readpainting the wall behind it could ing chairs that share an ottoman? If your home has a cottage- or also give it a fresh look. If you like the size and shape of garden-style, why not use a garden the couch, and don’t want to bear bench or wicker pieces instead?
A
442 Lowell Ave. D. S. Brown, replace kitchen windows and cabinets, $20,000 950 Page Mill Road Drawbridge Reality Trust, tenant improvement, new partitions, doors, finishes, millwork, plumbing, mechanical and electrical, $650,000 3903 E. Middlefield Road Unit E J. Gottheiner, remodel kitchen, bath, add wall, move subpanel, upgrade electrical, $31,000 1040 Emerson Ave. M. Bucker, remodel bath, plumbing, fixture, add window, fan, light, tile and paint, $5,000 460 Matadero Ave. S. Fuery,
remodel two baths and kitchen, reconfigure laundry and bath, relocate water heater, $43,661 460 Cambridge Ave. A. Orcivoli, install electric water heater, $2,500 3500 Deer Creek Road Stanford, add two walls and doors for office use, $4,000 2080 Channing Ave. HO Holdings #1 LLC, tenant improvement for “The Fresh Market,� $995,000 2475 Hanover St. S. T. Bartlett, revise ceiling, lighting, mechanical, $24,000 435 Sheridan Ave. Silverwood Homeowners Association, exterior repairs, replace siding, window
If you’ve made up your mind to replace your couch, decide how much money you are willing to spend. Invest in the highest quality piece you can afford for a family room that gets heavy, daily use. A living-room couch with oncea-month use only needs to “look pretty� and does not require premium quality. Next, establish the best possible seating arrangement for the room and know exactly where you will place your new couch. It takes muscle, but you can prevent errors if you test your ideas before buying. Move the furniture in every possible configuration, given how you plan to use the room, and including all the pieces you want to integrate. Ask your children and friends for their space-planning ideas. If you do not have an old couch to place in the arrangement, cut out the footprint of a sofa (approximately 3 feet wide by 6 to 8 feet long) and use it instead. When you are 100 percent sure of the location of your couch, measure the minimum and maximum
refinishing, $1,200,000 1840 Hamilton Ave. M. Ni, remodel entry, living room, kitchen, bathroom, $115,000 4186 Manuela Ave. J. Canderle, new pool with auto cover, spa, $75,000 2475 Hanover St. S. Bartlett, tenant improvements to convert two larger offices into three smaller offices, $24,000; add new exterior door and hallway, $99,000 772 Sutter Ave. MAK, in ground swimming pool and spa, $48,000 628 Forest Ave. Unit G A. Baldua, replace all windows, remodel kitchen and bathroom, $24,936
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amount if space it can occupy. Jot this information down so you can refer to it when you’re out shopping. Next, to narrow down the style and detailing of your new couch, assess the room’s design message and consider the style of the major pieces. Create a list of adjectives that describe the look and feel of the room, such as informal, comfortable, airy, natural, country, folk-arty, etc. When you are out looking for sofas and see one you like, compare your word list with the “message� of the sofa you are attracted to. Analyze the room’s predominant colors and textures and jot them down. Take photos and assemble samples to take shopping with you. To pick a fabric that harmonizes with the rest of the space: s 'O NEUTRAL )F YOUR FURNISHINGS are in the cool colors, select a gray or blue-based white, a solid gray or black fabric. If the space is predominantly warm-toned, go for a golden beige, creamy white, khaki or light-brown fabric and add colorful pillows. s 3ELECT A SOLID IN THE MOST PRE
754 Ashby Drive K. Blobel, replace siding and wall, $5,000 151 Churchill Ave. P. Gur, replace fireplace and install mantel, $8,000 3000 Hanover St. HP/Stanford land, tenant improvement of seating area, new walls, ceiling, lighting and electrical modification, $250,000 235 Hamilton Ave. Dahl, repair to deaden sound transfer between rooms, update electrical outlet, $60,000 2170 Princeton St. K. Johnsson,
dominant color in the room. For example, if the room is decorated in forest green, navy blue and burgundy, with the green being most present in the space, select a green fabric for your sofa. s 3ELECT A PATTERN STRIPE FLORAL plaid, etc.) that reflects the same proportion of colors in it as the surrounding room. If the fabrics in the room are 45 percent gold, 25 percent orange, 30 percent olive, look for a patterned fabric that has colors in approximately the same percentages. Take your dimensions, the word list and your colors with you when you shop for a custom couch. Buy during seasonal sales to save money. Or, if you don’t mind putting in more legwork, try shopping at consignment stores, estate sales and in the want-ad section of your local weekly newspaper. N Kit Davey, Allied Member, ASID, specializes in re-design, staging, design consulting and professional organizing. Email her at KitDavey@aol.com, call her at 650-367-7370, or visit her website at www.AFreshLook.net.
renovate kitchen, move bathroom, update windows, rewire, $95,000 180 El Camino Real #124 S. Overlock, tenant improvement in retail shopping center, $542,000 886 Ilima Court B. Daiuto, replace damaged wall foundation, $28,850 3097 Stelling Court B. Marcum, remodel kitchen, $30,000 2710 Ramona St. DGB Investments, new two-story house, $660,000 1111 Harker Ave. C. Callaghan, new pool, $80,000
1157 Harker Ave. D. Martin, remodel kitchen, $12,856 2710 Ramona St. DGB Investments, new detached garage, $12,000 623 Guinda St. P. Renaker, replace gas fireplace insert, $n/a 3103 David Ave. D. Sun, construct new two-story house with garage, $514,000 2928 Bryant St. The GFL Group
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Trusted Real estate Professional Kathleen Wilson 650.543.1094 kwilson@apr.com ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ >ÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 37