Customization!

Don't worry; this blog of mine doesn't dig into any controversial topics. However, some words carry profound meanings and implications, and 'customization' is one of those.

Recently, we visited our hometown—both mine and my husband's. His parents reside there and occasionally stay with us. Given their advanced age, they prefer comfortable seating while watching television.

There is a kind of cute quarrel over who gets to lie down on the couch. Of course, my mother-in-law wins every time. As a result, my poor father-in-law has to sit most of the time while watching their daily soaps and back-to-back news programs.

_{edit: I forgot to add this picture earlier, it was sitting idle in my gallery}
I never understood their passion for watching those political debates - that often resemble a street fight, with a group of overwhelmed and hyper women at the forefront. It's a spectacle that never fails to amuse and bewilder me. All in all it's a good entertainment.

Anyways, for some time now, my husband has been persuading them to part ways with their old sofa set and invest in a new L-shaped one for enhanced comfort.

So, we started looking around for the said sofa style. We had limited days, and kind of one working day due to holidays; shops were closed. So, we were looking online. I don't know why, but when it comes to calling and dealing with people online, all fingers point to me. I mean, why? But my husband says that I have a talent for bargaining, and, well, to put it nicely, I'm very persuasive and can ask for all the details, which he fails to do.

I say, the customer has the right to do so—don't you agree? After all, it's an investment for the long term. So, I have to cover durability, texture, and color of the upholstery, and most of all, comfort. I'm not ready to compromise on any of these. And then there is the issue of space. It's a small lounge and we have doors on both sides.

We couldn't get any reasonable response; either some were very big, some had the odd L shape alignment, some were very cheap, and others very expensive.

After the nth number of very frustrating and unfruitful phone calls, my father-in-law suggested that we should go for a custom-made sofa according to our requirements. The only problem was the limited number of days. Our folks are old and can't go through the hassle of ordering and tracking. So, we planned to look for the nearest workshop.

My husband drove them (the workshop guys) home. They took measurements, discussed the design, and negotiated the price. Somehow, my husband didn't see it fit for me to talk to them then. He kept coming to me in the other room and discussing. The price was negotiated but was kept fluid. Why? I'll tell you why. There was a plan to visit the workshop again the next day (on our way back home) for choosing the fabric and color, and this task was reserved for me for the final negotiation of the price. Me? What, me?!

I didn't take any picture of the workshop but it looked somewhat like this, only much smaller.

Source: Dawn News

I met the main guy; we discussed the fabric—quality and colors. He was adamant regarding the price. So, I asked him to add the stools' upholstery and make two pillow cushions along with it. And yes, I was able to cut down the price by some 5k. It was a successful trip.

He guaranteed the quality and standard of the finished product. I made sure that he only uses the black-colored variety from Molty Foam and not the Dura Foam, which he said was of superior quality. I said no; I want Molty Foam in black color. I had once heard my mom telling the same to some furniture guy when she was getting some furniture made a long time ago - the perks of paying attention. ;)

We set course for a long journey ahead towards our home, happy and satisfied that the deed had been done.

We reached home after a long tiring day. After we were done with dinner and everything, I noticed my husband was nowhere to be found. I found him in our own drawing room taking some measurements of our sofa cushions - As the cushion size is standard. It turned out to be 22 inch. He told me that there was something wrong with the guy's measurements; we don't have that much space. We can't have a six-seater, let alone a seven-seater as calculated by the sofa guy---- Ugh

_{FIGURE: 1 - Template, we made after rethinking the calculations, for the understandability of sofa guy, our folks and of course you Steemians}

As I mentioned, the standard cushion size is 22 inches. And then there is a margin for the back and arm-rest of sofa at left side. This leaves us with a space of 14 inch on the left and & 7 inch on the right of the sofa, as there are doors on both sides. Remember, we had the room measurements the previous day! When we were customizing and discussing with our sofa guys.

The previous design (not shown here) finalised by sofa guy was not practical due to the space issue.

So now the design will have three four 22-inch cushions and an additional 12-inch cushion space on the left side of the L, and two one 22-inch plus 4-inch cushion space on the right side of the L. We can't let the extra space margin that we have go to waste. Hence the title CUSTOMIZATION of my blog.

_FIGURE:2

I had designed something like the following, but now it has to be changed according to FIGURE:2, in terms of lay out.

My MIL wants a sleek design for practicality in terms of moving around the sofa and for accessibility during cleaning. So, the final product will be a hybrid of these two designs:

_{I don't remember the source of these images; rest assured they are not copyright. I selected these two from nth number of designs. You can also find these images on Pinterest}

The bottom of the final sofa will have the design of the upper one, the layout will be of the down one. And the measurements of cushions/seating space will be that of FIGURE:2

I have yet to call that sofa guy again. I hope he understands the influx of information and design by me.

Please keep tuned for the final product. All fingers crossed!

Part II of this 'sofa saga' will be coming in after some fortnight, as the guy promised us to deliver the product in some 10-12 days.

Till then, no more customization—I have my glass full to the brim!