Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Taking care of Thom

Dear Thom,

As you very well know, we don't have a guest room. That's because we don't often have house guests. At least down in the Bay. We have them all the time at Tahoe but that's another story.

You are the only house guest we've had in many years. And until now we've ousted Eldest Daughter and put you in her pink, lavender and turquoise room with Marabou boa valences. As the father of two daughters, you are quite at home in there.

However, this is about to end. After a long and arduous hunt, we now have a sofa bed in the family room. The Pinks call it Thom's Room. I know you are a tall man so it's queen sized. Very apropos in our house of girls. Look very carefully at the luxurious brown fabric, Thom. I picked it out knowing how much it would make your baby blues pop. Please let me know what kind of bedding you want for it -- thread count, colors, pillow density, down comforter vs electric blanket, etc. We want you to be as comfortable here as possible and look forward to your return soon.

Love,

Leslie

And now, the shopping ordeal story.

Until last week and the arrival of the sectional with sofa bed, the five of us could not sit together in the family room to watch a movie, the Olympics or have a family discussion. Several months ago I began the quest to replace our existing furniture. And I hate shopping for this kind of stuff.

I looked at all the usual stores: Crate & Barrel, Macy's, West Elm, Room & Board (even venturing there during their sample sale). Nothing seemed quite right. I dragged the entourage down to Eastern Furniture on Superbowl Sunday. Nada except me owing Dave. Have I mentioned how much I hate picking out furniture?

And then we were at our neighbor's place in Tahoe and they had a comfortable, modern sectional with a sofa bed. Which they bought at a very competitive price through our condo's management company along with easily 100 other condo owners buying sectionals. My nightmare was soon to be over!

The office manager was happy enough to get me a quote once I picked out the pieces and fabric. But she reneged once I asked her to have it shipped to our home in the Bay. Nope. The special pricing is for use only up at Tahoe.

So then I had to find a manufacturer's rep in the Bay and start all over again. By the way, I hate this stuff. Tara was very patient with me as I took fabric samples back and forth, had her price upgraded cushions and seats, and a mattress. Unfortunately her price was nearly $2K more than the quote I got for Tahoe. Ouch! I considered having the sofa shipped to Tahoe and then hiring someone to move it down to the Bay.

Fortunately my husband is a smart and fair guy, having spent 18 years in sales and sales management. He told me to give it to Tara straight: You earned this business and I want to give it to you. However, I have another quote for $2K less. Do you want the opportunity to match it? I am happy to fax it over so you can renegotiate with the manufacturer.

And she did!

So now the new sectional is in our family room and the kids spent the better part of one day last week watching TV on it. Tori even spent the first night sleeping on it. Bring on family movie night!

3 comments:

Paige said...

And Thom, we put it in the family room because a few girls get up early at our house and they will keep you comfortable bright and early. So early you probably won't last more than two nights. Not that we planned it that way. Oh no, we like houseguests to stay a long time.

thomsinger said...

I am so excited to have my own bed in the Morris house. I cannot wait for my next trip to the Bay area. And yes, I am sure my blue eyes will look good next to the brown, but since I have not yet had Lasik, I wont be able to see anything when I wake up until I find my glasses. :)

Sara said...

Leslie,
How thoughtful of you to accommodate my husband during his travels to the Bay! That you and your family can now all sit together is nice too. Don't worry about what kind of pillows/blankets/sheets to put on it for him - once he's horizontal he's asleep before you can blink!