To be or not to be. That is the question.
For me. Not to be. But I understand just how useful they are. For me, it's a room swallower. It's the anti-symmetrical demon. It's the awkward coffee table placer. It's the chair upstager.
But I found a Neo sectional for a mere 1500 USD. I don't think I can do it.
What is your general opinion of sectionals - not the frumpy, ugly ones - even the nice modern designed ones.... Do you use them? Did you have a fear of sectionals and overcome it? Do you fear them and stand your ground?
Is it the fanny pack of sofas? The hummer?
And what a bitch to recover later.... $$$$
I love my Neo
Whitespike, knowing that you and I have such similar tastes, I'd say go for it. I've had a Neo since 2002 when DWR first started carrying it. I also have the matching club chair. The version of the sofa I have is identical to the photo, except my chaise is on the left. I don't find that the sofa eats up a room since the profile is low and it has nice slim legs and a good lift off of the floor. I have no problem placing a coffee table within the 'L' of the frame.
I am also quite pleased with the quality. The frame is sturdy as all get out, and I know this because My 300+lb 6'8" brother in law has flopped down on it many a time and it's never even creaked. I've filled it up with 5 big adults as well and it's been fine. I also liked it because although it makes no claims to being a green product, it's made with sustainable materials such as natural latex, goose down, birch, and stainless steel. I like that the cushions are a foam core with a down batting. The foam helps them keep their shape and the down gives them that nice soft 'cush for the tush'.
As far as the reupholstery goes, this was one of the deciding factors for me. The units I have are covered in 100% cotton, which I knew from the start was going to have a short lifespan in a house with a big southern exposure and two fully clawed cats. I was right and the cats have clawed at them and the sun has faded them. But...all the upholstery is in straight lines and is velcroed to the frame. That means I can actually reupholster these units myself and, with a solid color fabric, it won't require buying a lot of extra yardage to fit a pattern around curves. A professional should be able to whizz through re-doing these.
So there's my 2 cents. I think these are well-made, sturdy, simple but attractive, and units that will stand the test of time(and toddlers!).
Love
Love my Neo. For style I think the sectional is a nice way of adding a modern touch to a Modern home (note the uppercase). Modernism can often swallow any sort of personal style, or feel like a time warp if everything is period. A sectional with decent proportions can be modern, without being period. And, as Olive notes, the Neo is fantastically well constructed and wouldn't be that problematic to recover.
Haha. I don't think that I...
Haha. I don't think that I revealed that my wife wants one. Marriage = trading in the car for a minivan and the sofa for a sectional...
Well, I appreciate all of the opinions. I have a couple of pieces on eBay that have to sell first, but if this sofa is still around after that I'm gonna take a look.
It is a really good price, and for a sectional it's handsome.
I don't like most sectionals...
I don't like most sectionals but there are a few that are nice and in the right room they can be pretty much perfect.
This is a 50s sectional that I got at auction and reupholstered for our house for a room that had yet to be finished. The room was long and narrow and I wanted to put the sectional along the long wall for TV watching. Alas, when the walls were studded out and insulated and drywalled, we lost nearly another foot of width and the short part of the L just stuck out too far into the room. It pissed me off no end because it was SUCH a comfortable sofa, and I'd put a lot of work into it and had gotten an incredible deal on the Unika Vaev fabric for it.
It is now in my daughter's basement boomboom room where it's perfect! The room is huge and square. The sofa can seat ten or more people sitting up or two or three reclining. It's 15' long, I think.
At least I still get to sit on it.
considering scale, will the neo sectional fit visually?
We're getting closer to needing to make a decision. I am a little worried about the sectional swallowing my living room, so I drew up (to scale) what the dimensions would be. The sectional is the red shape (obviously) with the other furnishings in green.
Please ignore the bad quality. Also pictured is the actual space.
The living room is 14.5 feet wide while the sectional is 9 feet wide. The sofa would be anchored to one side of the room about 6 inches from the wall leaving about a 5 foot entrance into the seating area...
It is a left facing sectional, so it wouldn't work on the left wall ... because the chaise would end up running into the wall unit where the TV will live....
One more thing to consider is that the ceilings are vaulted and are pretty high....
Thoughts?
If this proves to be too claustrophobic we will go with the last sofa pictured.... but don't know whether it will float or live on the left wall...
Like it
The Neo is broad and low, so it won't impede too much of the vistas between rooms. However, the size of the piece will provide a clear delineation between the rooms. The only thing that might be an issue is if you get the sofa with a dark slipcover, it might be sort of heavy and massive. Your space is bright and airy, so a lighter fabric would work better.
You will probably also find that you have a bit more leeway to float the sofa further from the wall. Jamming items against the wall can make spaces feel smaller - because it feels less thought out/planned. Giving pieces space to breathe is essential. Even a 48" entryway into the seating area will be enough for people to navigate.
(beautiful cabinets btw!)
I pretty much entirely agree with Lucifersum
the only difference our opinion is that I think I would prefer the darker color as it would ground the space. As for it feeling too heavy, I doubt it. The Neo is very light on its feet. It has a good amount of clearance from the floor and doesn't sit up high either.
I truly think that the Neo is just about the best built unit of its type you can get for the price...and yours is a very good price. The hubs and I considered the Charles by Citterio from B&B Itallia. $16,000 for the unit we wanted, which looked nearly identical to the Neo. Got the Neo with chaise, a club chair and delivery to Mass from Cali for $6000. BIG difference!
PS: Whitespike I looooooooove your home!!!
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com