Sofa-Bed
Our first living room couch was really a sofa-bed – we bought it thinking when it wasn’t being a living room couch it could double as a guest bed – and it did, legions of our friends have slept on it over the years with no complaints.
And as I remember it was originally covered in a navy blue suede and was very well-made – and understandably so as we got it at W & J Sloane’s, at the time a successful New York furniture store.
Opened in 1843 in lower Manhattan by William Sloane, a Scottish weaver, and his brother John, the store became known for tapestries, carpets and finely-crafted, upscale furniture.
But we weren’t so upscale ourselves at the time and so we bought the sofa-bed on the installment plan, agreeing to make monthly payments.
We made the first month’s, but after that we never got another bill. I guess somehow our account was lost!
I kept meaning to call Sloane’s to ‘fess up, but it kept slipping my mind, and by the mid 1980s the store had fallen on hard times and closed, and so then it was too late to make amends.
And by the way as is my wont, I’ve had that Sloane’s sofa-bed reupholstered more than once. It’s now beige corduroy and has been relegated to the den.
But bless W & J Sloane’s, that sofa-bed is still comfy after all these years, and worth every penny we never paid!
– Dana Susan Lehrman
Dana Susan LehrmanThis retired librarian loves big city bustle and cozy country weekends, friends and family, good books and theatre, movies and jazz, travel, tennis, Yankee baseball, and writing about life as she sees it on her blog World Thru Brown Eyes!
www.WorldThruBrownEyes.com
I once slept on that sofa-bed and can attest to its comfort, as well as your skills as a hostess. You and Danny put me at my ease on a very difficult evening. I continue to bless for that.
It was our pleasure Betsy,
Having slept on a quality sofa bed in the months when I didn’t have a bed, I can attest that a good one is worth reupholstering, Dana. Love the photo.
Thanx Mare, and yes I am a big fan of reupholstering!
It’s still got “it”, Dana, and it looks eminently lounge-able. I have never heard of a loss-of-account like yours. Truly a gift. I am sure W&J Sloane’s did not go out of business because of your sofa (!).
Thanx Susan for freeing me of the guilt, but I do miss the store, they had lovely stuff!
We also had a couch that was a sofa bed in the living room of our second apartment. My parents bought it for us so they didn’t have to stay in a hotel when they visited. It was not at all comfy and hard to dispose of down the road because it was so heavy. But it did the trick for them, and it was their dime.
Thanx Laurie, I know sofa-beds are often not so comfortable so it does pay to buy top quality, even if they are a bit more pricey!
I love this story of a sofa-bed that is truly comfortable (they so rarely are!), and the loss of your account so that you never made more than the first month’s payment. It wasn’t your fault, but if that happened with multiple customers, it probably WAS the reason Sloane’s went out of business.
Oh dear Suzy, hope not!
It was a lovely furniture store and as I remember also sold fabrics.