Our Living Room

So, as promised here are more furnishing entries!

This is also sort of a review for our furniture provider, Mandaue Foam.

Tada! Here's our living area. Still a work in progress.

We got the couch from Mandaue Foam Furniture Store. The design is from their product catalog, called Savannah, but the size was made to fit the space we have. We wanted an L-shaped couch since the beginning and we're very happy we did.

Fabric Design

Much of your decisions on this aspect will be dictated by the available fabric with Mandaue Foam. Yes, there are a lot and it can be quite confusing to choose, but we you have to be careful and have it marry to your existing color scheme. 

I think it's key to manage your expectations about the fabrics on the onset. We all have that perfect fabric design we've been dreaming of for our space. But you can't have it if it's not on their swatches. You can search elsewhere, yes, like Shell Canvas and other fabric stores. But most of them are too expensive; and Manduae Foam only takes off a P150/meter deduction on your total tab. The other fabrics are usually P1,000/meter. So, obviously it's not a very good option to buy fabric outside--unless you have lots of money!

I got quite frustrated as we were choosing the fabrics. There were some swatches in the catalog that were actually no longer available. Imagine the frustration when after leafing through so many fabrics, getting that triumphant moment, and you find out it's no longer available? Argh. I told them they should fix their catalog to prevent customers from getting frustrated. 

For our couch, we decided to have a two-toned design. We chose a mid-brown color for the base so it's easy to match with other fabrics. Then, the seat and pillows just mirrored each others' colors. 

The fabrics for the seats and pillows are replaceable, of course. We plan to have replacements of these done after a few months. This gives us an opportunity to have a new design element in our home just by simply changing the seat cover colors, design, etc. And not to mention we have to wash the covers too, right?

Delivery

Ordering from Mandaue Foam is easy enough after you get past the slightly frustrating part of choosing your fabrics. Different payment schemes are available too. Now comes the waiting game for the delivery. 

For couches, they promise to deliver 3-4 weeks after your order has been placed. Tip: Give them a call 5 days before your promised delivery date so they are reminded of your order, and you are one of the first on the list for the delivery time on the specific date you agreed on. For us, they delivered on time, no problem.

BUT, they delivered the wrong item.

Like I said above, the couch we ordered was resized for our space. This was not done. The first couch they delivered was too big, had the wrong color on the legs and had 1 throw pillow wrong. They left the unit with us so that we have some seating, but of course we didn't use it. 

Two and a half weeks later, they delivered the replacement couch. This time the size is correct, the color of the legs are correct, the pillows are correct, BUT the L was on the other side! It's much bearable than the first couch, but it was not what we ordered! We wanted the L against the wall so our space feels free flowing. And so again, the couch is incorrect. 

At this point, the waiting game has been going on for 6 1/2 weeks--already twice the original sked. Good thing they managed to replace the couch (again) only after one week, due to my insistent prodding and complaining. As they say, third time's the charm--this time it is correct, finally!

I think our experience is an isolated incident, really. Hopefully this will not be the same for others. I especially liked how Mandaue Foam was very apologetic and took all the blame for their errors. There was no bickering, no blaming us and they just replaced the items until they got it right.

Despite all the bruhaha with the delivery, we love our couch. It's sturdy and the foam is so good. The fabric is great and lends itself to some wear and tear.

And yes, our decorative grill!
We got this from SM North Interior Zone.

Some books and a turtle.

And our accent light by the opposite wall. :-)

I hope you liked it!
Leave a comment if you did. :-)