L Seating Soon to Be History!

[BAB]

After two weeks in Florida with this abominable "sofa" I am ripping it out. While it looks very nice, the height/width is just wrong....and the cushion inadequate for more than about 20 minutes. Like several others, I am installing two of the Villa Lift Recliners from Villa Intl. AT $750 each, these are not cheap, but will make a world of difference in livability. After pulling out the sofa base, I'll decide what else might have to go (under the short side of the L is the water heater, electrical panel, subwoofer and inverter). I may turn this into a cabinet. Will do this in stages as the mood strikes me. I have enough FLOR carpet tiles left from the rest of the flooring to match.. Will post photos of "before" and "after".

[LiLNomad]

As someone considering the 28 or the 30 im very excited to see how this is going to look. Ive been talking to Colonial trying to figure out whats located under the sofa in each model and what the options were. I know you can get recliners in the 30 but theres wiring or something under that table and i didnt want the recliners, the sofa or that lil table!
LilNomad

[BAB]

I really, really like my 28....I ordered it after tons of research here on A/F back in 2011. The storage under the sofa consists of three good size bins. I only use one of them. The space under the remaining two doors is used to store 4 PICO lawn chairs and my portable air compressor. The other bin is my "junk" bin with spare stuff that EVERYONE hauls around. I just bought a 2014 Ram 2500 CC and now have space in the truck bed for chairs and all the other gear that's under that miserable space. I know you can get the recliners in some of the 30's as an option. A/S does not much like changing anything -- you get an up charge to DELETE something. I've seen this same recliner set-up posted by another member here on A/F -- and they looked great....chairs are vinyl with leather seating surfaces in the same taupe ultra leather as the rest of my 28, so they should match well. They do not have an ottoman (lever cranks out the footrest). The guy at Villa International told me I should save the sofa after I pull it out so if I sell the trailer I can put it back in and get "sleeping for 6" again. Not likely!

[LiLNomad]

Im still torn between the 28 and the 30...im looking used and they dont come up often so I have plenty of time to ponder. I also like the location of the dinette on the 28 vs the 30. Will you do the 2 recliners or just 1 and lil bit of sofa?
LilNomad

[BAB]

There's room for two. That's what I'll install.

[Skatiero]

BAB, will you be selling the old L-shape when you're finished? I think your new design sounds wonderful.

[Lara Me]

Babs, this will be interesting to see. We got the 28 after sitting in the 27 and 30 over several weekends, testing by lounging on the extended bed and watching TV. With two younger kids, having the lounge into a bed option is important, but there may come a day when the recliner option looks more interesting. Until then, we are looking into replacing the foam of the bench part with something firmer.

[field & stream]

We have a 23' with the L-lounge and agree that it is not comfortable for any length of time. But, the storage under it is useful and it does offer another place to sleep. We put a 2" memory foam topper on it and with pillows to provide lumbar support it is way better. We don't have a lot of time with this "fix", but so far so good. Not trying to talk anybody of recliners, but it is another option.

[Suzzeee]

I agree that sofa is dismal - I'm going to have all new cushions made - slightly thicker and with much better foam and a nice fabric. In the process of finding the fabric right now so I can give it all to my upholsterer. While I'm at it, I'm going to make the back cushions look a bit more stylish - thinking tufted will look cool - we have a mid century decor thing going in so it will be perfect.

I love the storage underneath as well so don't want to lose that - just want a nicer sofa...

[jasperkins]

We are with you BAB on this! We just purchased 2 Lazy-Relax-R Recliner at about 1k each. We liked the wall hugging feature and this type for our 28' Eddie Bauer (27FB).

I have the same issue- what to do with the couch now. Under it against the exterior wall is the furnace. It runs nearly the length at 58" long and 12" inches hight / width. As we are now getting rid of our dinette in place for 2 recliners, I am leaning towards a setup that was performed in the PanAmerica. Have a less in depth couch with a small table in front that can be removed.

Example.


And the bed slides out:

[paiceman]

We removed the couch on our 2012 30' FC and replaced with two Stressless Recliners with foot stools. One is a large size one is medium, as we needed room between them for a dog crate (notice our signature - Labrador Puppy) and although she is all of 10 months she will still grab anything she can get. The chairs compared to the couch is a no brainier - any chairs are preferable to the couch.

[Al and Missy]

The original owner had this done at JC when he took delivery of the 2001 Safari 25 in 2002. Those are LaZBoy recliners screwed to the floor. JC built the oak storage on both sides and behind to match the cabinets and used a marine table mount for the table. The top lifts off and there is also a smaller circular table top just the right size for a couple of adult beverages. Under and behind the table top you may be able to see an auto console-like storage with lift top. There are two identical lift-top bins, one behind each recliner. The one on the left has a false bottom with a vented compartment for the converter.

The second owner, from whom we bought the trailer, replaced the carpet with the vinyl product you see. The wood grain imitation is so good a friend got down to feel the cracks between the planks to convince himself it wasn't wood.

It's got a late-nineties early 2000 feel that we like.

Al

[Tyvekcat]

Yeah, while the front sofa may not be Bob Williams/Mitchell Gold comfort or quality, I'm not ready to announce, 'honey, I am ripping out the front sofa on our new Airstream'. I'd be sleeping under the Airstream!

But If the thing(sofa) was about six inches shorter & with the wasted space next to the door, you could put in a nice cabinet with two good sized drawers under the armrest there. That's what I would like. Where bins are OK for storage, with a drawers, you have organization with easy access.

I have really filled up that monster bin behind the sofa with stuff, the one with the top lid. The cat likes laying there and watching the sparrows out the front window. Its good design, one of the reasons we bought the 28. I'd like to tweak it a bit. Will figure it out one day.
Have a good one !

[tsunami]

Owning a 23 foot Safari with the L-lounge couch, we have only once used it for a bed, but we enjoy the space to relax and watch TV. At this time, we are having new fabric sewn up for all the backs and seats and ordered very firm replacement foam for the seats. The original seat foam failed long ago and setting on it became extremely uncomfortable. I do like the idea of the recliners though, Good luck and please post photographs of your retro-fit.

[BAB]

I posted this on another thread when I finished it, but here it is....and I've had around 3 weeks to try it out. I wouldn't go back to the L seat for anything. Very comfortable, great for TV and makes the trailer more spacious.

[Suzzeee]

We finally got the new sofa done in our 2012 Serenity 28! I'm really happy with it - I got the fabric at Triad Fabrics in Roseville, CA (amazing discount upholstery fabric place -- they have it all - at great prices) and my upholsterer got all new foam and made these fabulous. I gave her a photo of a mid century modern style I liked and she made it happen. We only redid the cushions - I left the vinyl trim pieces in place and matched up a tweed fabric that coordinates super well with it - adds some texture. Now, we have a sofa that you can sit on for more than 5 minutes!! The fabric is also so much nicer than the vinyl -- I'm going to put a fabric protector on it before we go to the Lake next week as well.

She also put zippers on all of the cushions and made it completely reversible - she even put the buttons on the backs of the back cushions so twice the wear!!

[tsunami]

Originally Posted by Suzzeee

We finally got the new sofa done in our 2012 Serenity 28! I'm really happy with it - I got the fabric at Triad Fabrics in Roseville, CA (amazing discount upholstery fabric place -- they have it all - at great prices) and my upholsterer got all new foam and made these fabulous. I gave her a photo of a mid century modern style I liked and she made it happen. We only redid the cushions - I left the vinyl trim pieces in place and matched up a tweed fabric that coordinates super well with it - adds some texture. Now, we have a sofa that you can sit on for more than 5 minutes!! The fabric is also so much nicer than the vinyl -- I'm going to put a fabric protector on it before we go to the Lake next week as well.

She also put zippers on all of the cushions and made it completely reversible - she even put the buttons on the backs of the back cushions so twice the wear!!

Very classy look. Congrats!