The American Leather is high quality. I like that you can choose the arms and get the profile you want.
I plan on having one when we move someday.
My D had an EZ bed and slept on it for 3 years. We bought it from Frontage. A friend just purchased one for her guests. It stores in a duffel the size of a suitcase, had an electric pump and is very comfortable because it is at the height of a normal bed. I have slept in the queen with D.
You do have to have the space to use it so for a small home the couch may be the best choice.
The apartment we are renting is pretty dated. So the rent has been very reasonable considering that we have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, around 1,400sft and we have a nice water view to boot. Now the landlord wants to take advantage of the crazy Seattle housing situation. They want to move us out, remodel and rent it with outrageous amount. To kick us out, they raised our rent for 30%. It’s either we pay 30% more than now or we have to move to a smaller unit with a little higher rent than now (That unit has already been updated. Thus the higher rent.)
So, we are moving to 2 bedrooms-2 baths unit soon. Just moving downstairs so we don’t have to hire a mover, which is a plus. Also, we don’t have to pay down payment or last month deposit because we are just moving in the same building. That’s also nice, too.
We had been talking about downsizing anyway, since our D2 moved out for college, but we didn’t expect that our downsizing would mean higher rent.
Now my dilemma is if I should keep the piano or not. I don’t play that much anymore because it’s an apartment. I’m thinking about switching to digital piano if I really want to keep playing. How much would it cost to hire piano mover in the same building? Is it a right time to just give it away? I’m very attached to it emotionally.
Sorry about the rumbling. To answer OP’s question, I would want at least 2 BR. 1 bedroom sounds just too small…
Sorry to hear that you are forced to downsize @HiToWaMom. It just happened that your landlord is on the hook for 30% higher property taxes this year compared to 2017. No wonder the rent has gone up (although I think 30% is excessive unless they have not hiked the rent at all in the past).
I’m living in a Seattle apartment where the rent was hiked and the current tenants mostly moved out last year. It was still cheaper than where I was living, so I moved in. Now if the landlord would only do some yard work.
@BunsenBurner I didn’t think about the property tax! I guess there are some sympathetic reasons for the landlord’s demand… @intparent I know!! Seattle area is crazy!! It’s scary that most tenants moved out. When will this housing/apartment hike burst?
We kept a piano in our living room a couple years past anyone playing it. On one hand, I wanted it gone so the living room wouldn’t be so cramped. On the other hand, it was sentimental (but not valuable $$) & I thought the kids would be disappointed I got rid of it so “quickly”.
I thought on it, and then decided to donate it to a local piano shop. The shop moved it out of our house at no cost. In turn, they gave it a tune-up and then offered it for sale at a low price for families looking to get an affordable student piano. I was satisfied. It felt like a win-win.
And really, once the decision was made and the piano was gone, it’s as if I forgot we ever had one. The hurdle is making the decision to get rid of it.
@VeryHappy I just bought an American Leather sofa/couch queen size for my pied-à-terre 8 months ago. It is a very heavy couch and the mattress which I upgraded is very comfortable. However, the cushions don’t bounce back much after you sit on it like a cheap mattress. I am under 100 lbs and after I get up, the seat cushion sags. My lazy-boy sectional at home is 20 years old and the cushions look newer than my American Leather sofa. After much googling, I find many people have the same problems. I complained to my dealer and American Leather sent a tech to come look and later they sent me brand new cushions (seat and back) to me. I have a neighbor put them inside my apartment.
I haven’t been back to my apartment yet so I can’t tell you how they are working out.
The sofa/couch is quite expensive and this type of problems shouldn’t occur because I have read complaints all the way back 5-8 years. You would think they would have changed the materials in making the cushions.
@Midwest67 Ooooh, you got rid of it. Same here, though. Sentimental item but no value. Lots of dings here and there. I just talked to two Piano movers. Their estimates to move one floor down was $220 - $300!!! I think I will do what you did - find a local piano store, church, organization who would move it free of charge.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Good luck finding someone to take a piano – even for free. It is not easy. In the first half of the last century, every mile class home had a piano. Nowadays, no one wants them.
Those American Leather couches aren’t cheap. The one I had my eye on looks to be around $4,500. And if the cushions don’t bounce back after a 100-pound person gets up, I wonder what they’re made of.
We have a console piano. Both of our kids want the piano. It’s nice, and they both play it when they come home. And I keep swearing I’m going to take lessons!
It’s our too much furniture and stuff that will need to just go when we downsize. We will keep the five or six things we really like…and the rest will go.
I work at a charity thrift store…and know well what those heirs don’t want…because they donate it to us. Some of t sells…but even WE can’t give away sets of dishes and the like. No one wants them. And I’m talking Limoges, Haviland, nice stuff in its day. But no one wants it.
We get tons of small furniture, wall art, collections…like hummels, and the like. Lots of those collector plates. No one wants those either.
We had my H’s grandparent’s piano for years and the kids learned on it, but eventually stopped playing altogether. it was in perfect condition, always kept tuned - carved legs, with real ivory and ebony keys…I couldn’t find anyone to take it as a donation. Someone told me about a company that takes away pianos for a small charge, so I called them to arrange a pickup. Once they had the piano out of the house, from the window, I saw them smash it to pieces in the driveway before loading it up on their truck. I couldn’t believe it - made me feel sick.
@Gourmetmom, how sad. I can’t imagine having to see someone smash my piano, even though I didn’t have use for it anymore.
We want to downsize when the last kid graduates high school… won’t need 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 2 bedrooms should be fine but we’ll have to get rid of a lot of furniture first. Must have a master bath, though; I’m not ready to give that up. I would love a townhouse, easier to maintain.
We had regular movers move our console piano when we moved. It wasn’t any extra and it went smoothly.
We have room for it now, so we’ll keep it. Pianos are a great instrument for children to learn on. Families with young children usually find them difficult to afford, so we will keep it until someone near to us needs it.
@HiToWaMom I don’t think it will burst. Growing population, more high paying tech jobs every day, and constrained by water/geography. I’ve resigned myself to renting as long as I live here.
When I moved a piano store came and got my piano to sell on consignment. It took them 2 years and I didn’t get much. It was the store where we had originally purchased it 15 years earlier.
@HiToWaMom I don’t think it will burst. Growing population, more high paying tech jobs every day, and constrained by water/geography. I’ve resigned myself to renting as long as I live here.
When I moved a piano store came and got my piano to sell on consignment. It took them 2 years and I didn’t get much. It was the store where we had originally purchased it 15 years earlier.
@HiToWaMom I don’t think it will burst. Growing population, more high paying tech jobs every day, and constrained by water/geography. I’ve resigned myself to renting as long as I live here.
When I moved a piano store came and got my piano to sell on consignment. It took them 2 years and I didn’t get much. It was the store where we had originally purchased it 15 years earlier.
