Changing Seasons, Changing Sofas

As the seasons change, many of our customers at House of Oak & Sofas find it to be a good time to purchase new upholstered furniture. One of the most dramatic effects in seasonal change that I notice first each summer is the variation in lighting hue due to the reflectivity of light off everything green in the outdoors. In late August and early September, I am suddenly struck by how golden the sunlight is and now realize that the ever so subtle slowdown in chlorophyll production, the process that makes leaves "green" all summer, has begun, and within a month the gold's will dominate over the greens.

Not only do these color changes affect our perception of colors outdoors, but the light filtering through our windows affects the colors in our interior spaces. In addition, as we spend more time indoors during the cooler seasons, we come to notice the fraying, fading, (and in my case the cat affected appearance) of our upholstered furniture. With these effects in mind, House of Oak & Sofas kicks off a Fall Upholstery Sale in mid September. Although we sell six different brands of sofas, with starting prices in our Ashley brand sofas, House of Oak & Sofas features the high quality special ordered sofas manufactured by Norwalk and Flexsteel. We are a Flexsteel Signature Gallery dealer as well.

Norwalk Furniture

Many of our customers realize that although Norwalk Furniture, based in Norwalk, Ohio, suffered a major financial setback in 2007-8, they have reorganized as an employee-owned company and once again are leaders in American-made sofas. However Norwalk's brand was strong enough to keep Canadian designer Candice Olson in the Norwalk fold, and at House of Oak & Sofas we are proud to continue selling her designs. We recently added 4 new groups to our Norwalk lineup and those are already helping us furnish homes in the Valley. The Horizon model from Norwalk has always been one of my favorites. With its compact arm and minimalist styling it is perfect for smaller apartment and condo living, but since it is also available as a sectional, the Horizon also finds itself in great rooms and larger spaces.

Flexsteel Furniture

In our Flexsteel lineup, the Brandon sectional continues to be a strong choice for leather, especially due to the glide/recline mechanism in the loveseat. This sectional demonstrates a new feature in reclining sectionals that we are seeing from a number of our manufacturers. Instead of the three pieces of upholstery being connected by visible attachments, all three pieces are finished off on the ends so that the sofa and loveseat can be used independent of the corner piece. This makes it possible to transform a room and lose one piece if you are planning to entertain and need more standing space than seating. The corner section can simply be removed for the event and the loveseat and sofa stand on their own.

On a smaller scale, the Digby sofa group features some of the same minimalist features that were mentioned in regards to the Horizon, but also is available as a recliner. The Digby continues to be the best-selling frame in Flexsteel's lineup and is also available in the Kashmira fabric. Kashmira is a 100% nylon product that is the strongest fabric we sell. In fact Flexsteel has such great results with Kasmira that they give it a 5-year guarantee--(compared to 1-year warranty on all other fabrics). If you are looking for a kid or pet-proof fabric, Kashmira is the best we have to offer and is available in more than 20 solid or stone-washed colors.

Finally, if you are a fan of changing styles and brighter colors, you will want to pay attention to the "Color Outside the Lines" leather lineup that Flexsteel introduced last year. Over a dozen frames are available in brilliant colors ranging from red to orange yellow, kiwi green and ice blue. You may have to see it to believe it, but these colors really can add just the right amount of "zest" to accent your room.

Yes, it might be time to finally make a major change to your decor. Next to your mattress, the sofas and chairs we sit on daily in our family room, can add considerable comfort to our daily routine. Sofas that have good interior support springs, quality foam and fabric, as well as pleasing design, will add to the experience of enjoying our home. Stop by House of Oak & Sofas soon to enjoy the latest additions to our lineup.