Poodle Mom's Profile

Really Pi? I got a storage bed purposely so that my small dogs couldn't hide under there(and drag treats and toys under it) at all - same issue, completely opposite take on it lol!

Ok, I submitted the following review to AT with pictures, but apparently they did not think it worth of publishing, but still wanting to help out the consumer who is searching the internet to see if Carlyle is a worthwhile investment, here is a copy of my review - sorry that I can't post pictures, it is REALLY pretty!

My number one rule for NYC apartment living is that not matter how pretty, only furniture with storage space enters my apartment, so while looking for my next replacement storage sofa , I carefully laid down a pile of soft pillows to protect myself from the nails that had begun protruding through the seat of my last "dream sofa", gingerly balancing my weight on the crumbling plastic legs and sat down to ask for help from the Apartment Therapy Community - and the result was - my real dream sofa - the beautiful, truly comfortable, in leather to withstand the poodle traffic, diminutive, yet using every square inch of it's valuable real estate for storage, and finally something that would not start to fall apart before it's paid for, just did not exist...

So I decided that it was time - instead of spending $1,200 - $2,500, living in misery with yet another uncomfortable thing that doesn't fit my space and falls to pieces around me, this time I was going to go for it - get that "investment piece" that will make my dreams come true, and last a lifetime. Yes, it would be a huge investment all at once, but with the fortuitous arrival of a nice "no interest" credit card deal, I thought maybe this would be a good investment as the years pass and I don't have to keep replacing it over and over again, but with that decision made, my next worry was - does the merchant who can do that for me really exist? In this age where so many want to just take my money and give me little or nothing in return, could I find a place that would give me the actual value of the largest furniture investment that I would ever make?!

The short answerer is YES!!! Carlyle Custom Convertibles gave me my money's worth - a dream sofa that will last a lifetime! Now for those of you who are interested in the details, read on...

What I got :

A custom sized (not an inch too much, not an inch too little) leather sectional with storage in all 3 pieces. Since it's currently living in front of some free standing wardrobes, I got recessed locking castors which are substantial in appearance and make moving the 500 pound sofa as easy as pushing an empty shopping cart, and yet the sofa stays in place without even locking them. The storage is great open storage with completely removable, very sturdy covers that form the base of the sofa and do not impact the comfort at all (though I should point out that after seeing how heavy the cushion on the Chaise is, I decided that the piece is for out of season clothing only, but the ottoman and the chair are easy enough to access and hold everyday items).

The Comfort - Outstanding - Couldn't be happier - better then my great mattress, and after several months there is absolutely no sign of cushion smooshing ! I am comforted that they have reasonably priced cushion refilling service available, but I think it's going to be a very long time before I need to take advantage of that!

The Quality - Outstanding - on their website, they show a guy walking on a bare frame, and that's no joke - this thing is so solid, you could jump up and down on it and it has no more give then the sidewalk in front of your building would!

Sales :

I had looked at their website, didn't really see anything exciting in their basic models and pictures of previous customer's work, but what did intrigue me was that this place goes far beyond the typical definition of custom - when most sofa sellers say "custom", they mean you can choose your fabric or leather, but with Carlyle, custom means - you dream it, we build it - shape, size, stuffing, covering and details.

I still hadn't decided that I was ready to pull the trigger, but passing by their Upper Eastside location after a doctor's appointment, I decided to stop in and have a peak, maybe check out the leather samples, and there I met Warren, the Store Manager, and the nicest, NO-PRESSURE salesperson that I have met in a long time . I had two, hour long visits to the store, made multiple "just one more question" calls both before and after the purchase and he never lost patience with me - I truly believe that he wanted me to be 100% happy with my purchase - even when I finally had decided upon every aspect of the sofa, and had it down to a choice between 2 leathers, and was completely ready to sign on the dotted line - Warren said, no," take the samples home and look at them in your light, then call me when you have decided, and I'll mail you the contract".

And let me tell you, thanks to his easy going and gentle manner and not rushing me through this decision, this was the first large purchase that I've ever made that I did not have even a twinge of buyers remorse - I had just bought the most expensive piece of furniture of my life, and I felt great about it!

Turn Around Time : So short, I don't remember how long it was - maybe 2 -4 weeks? First they get in the leather, and mail you a sample of the actual leather for approval (it was exactly the same as the sample, but nice that they make that extra step to insure it's to your liking), then they build, and they do their own deliveries so in most cases it will be scheduled for the same week that the furniture is ready.

Delivery : On time, and very skilled - no worries about your space or belongings being damaged by these guys - they handle those 500 pound pieces like they were new born babies!

Customer Service on "Issues" :

Yes, like most things that involve human beings, there were a couple of small problems, but their Customer Service person Tina is wonderful - always available or quickly returns phone calls, most importantly very kind and never made me feel like I was imposing or overly demanding, and she got the problems fixed to my complete satisfaction!

In fact, I am so satisfied, I was not sure if I should tell you about this because I don't want you to think badly of them, but then I figured that the savvy consumers who frequent AT are smart enough to know that it's not a perfect world and would appreciate knowing that this is a company who won't let you down, that will keep going until they make your purchase perfect!

The Problems:

1) Arrived with small cut in the leather on one of the cushions - picked up, entire section of leather replaced, and back to me in a week.

2) It took me a couple of weeks for me to realize this, but when I noticed that the 2 pieces of the sectional were not lining up perfectly straight in the back, I called Tina, and immediately they sent a repair person to look at it, and get this - they did not try to give me the old "your floors must be tilted" line - they took it back, did a total rebuild, and had it back to me in a week , and to be brutally honest, it wasn't fixed the first time, yup, we had to repeat the same process a second time before it was perfect, but I really do give them credit for not giving up, not trying to somehow "make it my fault", and still standing behind their workmanship with integrity.

The Bonus:

You may have noticed in the pictures that the ottoman changed from fabric to leather, and here's how it happened -

Although they certainly had many nice lower cost leathers to choose from, I fell head over heals for one of the most expensive ones, and after much soul searching, I decided that if I was going to buy a piece that lasts a lifetime, might as well spend the extra to get the leather that makes me smile every time that I see, but I got stuck on the ottoman because the leather for that simply took me past the highest price point that I could live with. Warren suggested doing a cube ottoman which uses less leather, but I said nope, I can't violate my "every piece of furniture that enters must have storage" rule, and so I decided lets make the bottom fabric, and throw in some matching pillows on the sofa to pull it together.

And yes, I was happy with the look, but part of me still lamented the fact that I got this lifetime set, but the fabric ottoman surely wouldn't last as long as the leather sofa, and I did happen to mention my feelings on this in one of my many nice conversations with Tina (customer service), so, after ultimately fixing the problem with back of the sectional lining up, guess what Carlyle did to apologize for the trouble - they made a GIFT to me of re-covering the ottoman in the matching leather!! How awesome is that!!!

Summary

A very smart investment which will begin to pay for itself every year that I get to enjoy it instead of replacing it!:

I could not be happier with the company, and am thrilled to finally have a sofa that incorporates every aspect that I ever dreamed of, fits my space to perfection, and will be happily and comfortably enjoyed for decades!

Can somebody please tell me how to get rid of the one that I have without damaging the paint. I am so tired of it, but have been afraid to try and get it off for fear of having to repaint the entire wall.
Thanks!

Well, there is one thing that I can add on the allergy side - ask your sister if she has had her TSH (thyroid) tested, because new hypothyroidism can present with severe allergy symptoms, which have nothing to do with the cats.
As for placing the cats that she loves very much - if she cannot find a great home for them - I would find a reputable rescue organization, and offer a large donation (if possible commiserate with an estimation of what the lifetime care of the cats might be), as these organizations do have good foster homes, and do, with diligence ultimately place fosters in well screened homes - the problem being that there just isn't enough for the amount of cats that need homes. So if it were me, I would offer up all of the funds that I possibly could in order to make my cats the ones that they choose to help..

Just got the Zero water recently and the awesome thing about it is that it comes with a separate tester that you can use to measure the dissolved solids in anything - my tap water measured 27 - water filtered by my old pur water filter measured 25, so it was doing almost nothing! Bottled water, and seltzer that I had in the fridge measured around 75! But of course the Zero water filter makes my tap water measure ZERO! These filters are costly, but because my tap measure reading of 27 is relatively low, one filter lasts me for 3 or 4 months (that's with 2 adults and 2 dogs drinking nothing else - we even make the ice with zero water, and got a nice Sodastream machine and also make our own seltzer with it).

Just beautiful!
Please tell me where to get the fluffy pillows!

Now this is a great and fresh idea for small spaces with high storage - a step ladder that is pretty enough to leave out and handy!

How about getting a platform storage bed, and hanging cabinets or shelves on the wall above it? I think that in a space that small, every single piece should have some sort of storage function!

I regret everything that I ever bought in white.
I regret buying for price instead of quality.
I regret buying tons of accent pieces just because I loved them before I had a design plan - I finally have a plan, and am tossing things that I still adore, but just don't fit the plan...

@lvzink Check out the canopy shag rug from Walmart of all places - got a few in runners for my dogs, and so impressed with the quality/price ratio that I ordered a larger one for the living room (at least until I see one that makes my heart race:-)

My dogs have a white leather Le Corb, but of course they never use the darn thing!