You know the name Cameo as our own quality made-in-Montreal sofas and sleep sofas, well now they have a cool new product that they manufacture – upholstered bedroom beds.  When designing your personal space in your own colors and patterns,  you can now come here, pick your own fabric and co-ordinate your whole bedroom.

While we ‘re on the subject of Cameo.

Q3:  Sofa beds are a space saving option what are the things to check when buying one?

You have to know who you are buying it from and how it is made. When staying at relatives, we were the first ones to sleep on a brand new sofabed, and could not even lay down for an hour – our bodies flattened it right down to the wire frame which then pressed into us.

However here in Montreal, at Cameo, I learned that when buying them, you look at the mattress itself as the most important item. This is what is supporting you as you are sitting on it, since it absorbs all the weight. Many people go in to buy a hide-a- bed at a furniture showroom and don’t even look at the mattress, because “it’s only going to be used a few times a year when we have company”, but that is the wrong attitude. If you are sitting on the couch in your den, you are using that mattress every single day.

To compare the quality of the mattress, ask how many springs there are (it can range from 500 to 700, and the more the better) and especially what gauge or thickness they are. That can range from 13 to14, which may not seem like a huge difference, but at the14 end, it means the wire is as thin as spaghetti. You should also feel some resistance when you close the bed.

Q4:  But don’t you have to look at how the frame is made too?

Is the frame made out of hardwood or is it plywood or pressed board? Is the wood screwed together (better) or glued or stapled (both no-nos). If you can’t see the frame because it is covered by upholstery, remove the cushions and pull up the bed and look inside the front board (the one your calves lean against). There you can take a peek at the inside wood. The quality of the wood and method of construction is the first place where manufacturers cheat, because they are hidden.

Q:5 Where are they and  do they sell anything else?

Don’t forget to bring your teddy bear and take the time to lie down for a while.

If it’s sofa beds you want, then go to Cameo and buy direct for every kind, style and price of sofa (and chair) bed you can imagine. The couches can be made into singles, jr. doubles, doubles or queen size beds and can be made to fit through most any doorway.

You choose your own fabric to match your decor and budget, and they will turn it into a well-made piece of furniture as well as a comfortable bed with an extra firm inner spring or memory foam mattress. You can also order made-to-measure couches, sectionals and chairs.

Location: 7905 Transcanadienne
Corner: Boul. Cote Vertu
Phone: 514-337-2933
Other location: 1150 Union (514-861-0537).
Hours: Mon-Wed & Fri 9:30-6, Thurs 9:30-8  (eve only VSL), Fri 9:30-6, Sat 10-5, Sun 11-5
www.cameo-sofa.com

Jay Li Trade Net has low priced sales for women’s clothes and home items. The clearance sale has prices (including all taxes) starting at only $5 and nothing is higher than $25. Jewelry is $20. There are dresses, blouses, camisoles, pants, skirts and some curtains for your home.

Location: 4002 Bois Franc, Ville St-Laurent
Phone: 514-745-7578
Dates:  May 5-7,  12-14, and 19-21
Times: Th & Fri 11-6:30, Sat 10-3:30

Refurbishing giant, J. Sonic is holding a sale of electronics.  The enormous warehouse is full of such things as: 50″ plasma TV ($688.99), 42″ plasma TV ($488.99); 60″ plasma TV ($988.99), home theater system $218.99, 47″ LCD TV ($988.99); 52″ LCD TV (988.99), Sony 46″ TV ($688.99), Dyson vacuum $348.99) or a blu-ray player (88.99).

Location: 300 Montee de Liesse
Corner: Cote de liesse
Dates: Apr 15-17
Hours:  Fri 3-9, Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4
www.refurbished.ca

The best monthly sales of linens, etc. is the one held on Louvain St. in the Chabanel area. For bedding, curtains, carpets, comforters, pillows,  shower curtains, carpets, bath towels, mats, dishcloths, oven mitts, etc.

Location: 120 Louvain
Dates and times: Fri Apr 15: 11-6;  Sat Apr 16: 8-1
www.liquideco.com

At Centre de Plomberie LaSalle (LaSalle Plumbing), They have just added a liquidation area. You can buy sinks, bathtubs, showers, toilets, vanities, faucets at reduced prices. Just in time for moving season!

Location: 530 Lafleur Ave, LaSalle
Phone: 514-363-3637
www.plomberielasalle.com

Niche Decor and Mode had moved into new premises on St. Jacques near Greene Ave. This started out as  a household consignment shop where you could buy (or sell) nearly new and mint condition pieces of furniture and furnishings. It’s  cheerfully filled with great deals on good looking chairs, lamps, table linens, rugs and jewelry.

Now with the “Mode” in its name, it looks like you can dress yourselves and your home at the same time.
Tomorrow, Mar 24th, if you go visit between 3-7pm, you can join them for some wine and cheese. Bring friends.

3289 St-Jacques
corner: Greene
Date: Thurs, Mar 24

Mazekia is a bathroom supply store selling tubs, faucets, toilets, showers, sinks, tiles, vanities, hardware and the like. They are located in the Mega Centre  right off the Boul. des Sources exit in Pointe Claire and have decided to move to another location in the same complex. In order to make their move less expensive, they are holding a floor sample sale in their old location. The move will take place in June so now is the time to score a deal in you are thinking of renovating a bathroom.

Location: 2315D Transcanadienne, Pointe Claire
Phone: 514-426-3232
www.mazekia.com

Perfect timing to re-fresh your home in the Springtime, this manufacturer’s liquidation sale offers up excellent prices on bedding and some kitchen wares.

You will even recognize some famous names amongst the clearances: Quiksilver, Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne home Eddie Bauer home, Laura Ashley and Martha Stewart. Look for: 7-piece jacquard bed set $35, 4-piece sets $20, duvets $20, kid sets $10, 3 pillows for $10, sheets $5, curtain rods $10-$30, curtains $10 or memory foam pillows $10 and up.

In housewares: 40-piece white dinnerware set $30, glasses, cocktail mixers, wine glasses, coffee cups, serving plates, colanders, paintings $49.99-$175, bamboo towels $1.50-$15 by size,  bathroom curtains $15, bath mats $10 and  rugs $10-$100

Location: 181 Oneida, Pointe-Claire
corner: Tecumseh
Hours: Thurs & Fri 9-9, Sat & Sun 9-5

Q:1 – What is the cost of re-upholstering a sofa, let’s say compared to buying a new one?

Re-upholstering your furniture is not that much less expensive than buying a new sofa. Cost only 15% to 20%  less, however price is not always the answer when shopping smartly for this.

Q:2 – If it’s almost the same price, then why shouldn’t I just buy new?

Simply put, newly made sofas or chairs are not constructed as well. In older models, the skeleton,  literally what it all hangs on, is made out of good “old-fashioned” hardwoods (maple birch, etc.) which last forever.  Newer ones, perhaps the same price as having your  re-upholstered are probably made out of a manufactured pressed wood and could even be just stapled together, which will start wiggling and jiggling and sagging in a few short years.

Q:3 – And I guess if you really like the shape and comfort level, you should think about keep the old one.

Yes. Also current styles of sofas are designed for sprawling – they are built very deep. Older or shorter people find them difficult to sit on – their feet might not even reach floor putting pressure on their back – and they can be backbreaking to get out of.

If you love the way your sofa fits your butt, your taste buds or your room but the comfort level now disagrees with your body, that can be corrected by filling cushions to make them softer or harder with foam, dacron or feathers.  Re-doing beats buying new since you can make the choice of what goes inside your cushions. New ones might flatten out in months.

If it’s color no longer suits your tastes or decor, the sky’s limit with re-upholstering. You can pick any kind color or fabric your heart desires. When purchasing from store, you are stuck with whatever fabrics that manufacturer chose for this season.

Q:4 – How do slip covers fit in to this discussion?

If it’s just the look you want to change, you can have slip covers made – and you can even change the colors of your room for each season. Those of you with pets might like the ability to remove covers and have them cleaned – some slip cover fabrics are even machine washable.

Q5: Can you make some suggestions of who can make these magic transformations for us?

Four Season Slip Covers specializes in making – yep – slip covers. They have done furniture for Debbie Travis’s Facelift TV shows and decorators like Scott Yetman. This is a shop-at-home service. An arm chair takes about 5 – 6 yds. of fabric, a 2-seat loveseat needs 10 – 12 yds., 3-seat sofa 13 -15 yds. Dining room chairs take 2 1/2 yds. and can have pleats, bows, etc.

Phone: 450-465-0650.

Opened in 1903 Farrar – Daoust is still going strong in the third generation. Free quotes are given. They give couches a complet overhaul – stripping  pieces down wood, changing springs, checking glue, re-staining scratches. They offer about 3,000 fabric samples and can get drapes made. It all comes with a five year written guarantee.

Phone: (514) 768-6785 or or 450-671-6660

In the Elmaleh family, seven children (out of 10) learned the re-upholstery trade from their Dad and opened in a few places in Montreal. Specializing in custom-made sofas, chairs and chaise lounges, they are also furniture magicians and can cut up a sofa into three arm chairs or slice to downsize into a condo.

David, at this location, can re-cover your furniture and other siblings can add drapes, bedspreads and wall coverings to match. The showroom has imported chair frames in Chippendale, Louis XV, XVI, etc. for you to choose from. Antique furniture restoration and French polishing can be handled here as well.

Location: 1001 Lenoir St, Suite A408
orner: St-antoine 514-935-5944
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8-5, Fri 7:30-2
Location for Albert and other siblings: 685 Brunet (514-332-0516).

When you need a bit of hand-holding to get you through a room make-over, a move or a down-sizing, Kathryn Osborne Design is an interior designer who has the resources and 20-year background to make it all feel stress-less. When re-upholstering (or making slipcovers), you have to buy the high-end fabric from her atelier (Brunschwig & Fils, Robert Allen, Waverly, Kravet, Colefax & Fowler, Designers Guild).

She can design a whole new floor plan or suggest ideas for designing bed or window treatments, wallpaper or selecting furniture (custom-made sofas too).

Beyond the norm, she can arrange a move, then place the furniture, hang the pictures and even offers a lending library of 200 decorating books for you to peruse.

Location: 1357 Greene Ave, 2nd floor, Westmount
corner: Sherbrooke
Phone: 514-931-1357
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30, Sat by appt.
www.kathrynosbornedesign.com

If you have a small job, like a dining room chair, wing-back chair or occasional chair, Creations And Stuff By Me is an option. The main function of this company is to re-purpose furniture (turn it shabby chic, make a chest into a baby changing table, pad your headboard). You can look at her website to get an idea of the amazing transformations possible and what she has for sale.

You can also find her creations at Vie de Campagne in Westmount, Buk & Nola and Gilgamash Decor.  She can help you with: furniture painting and refinishing; light fixture rewiring (custom lampshades), and redesigning as well as custom furniture searching for the piece you want. It’s also possible to visit her workshop to buy directly from her.

Location: 705 Laporte Ave.
corner: St- Jacques
Phone:  514-707-2365
Hours : Tue-Sat 10-3, Please call ahead
www.creationsandstuffbyme.com