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Dan Mages
07-28-2010, 8:19 AM
My wife and I are starting to consider options for a new couch/ sofa set for our front room. I have seen too many at furniture stores that might last 5 years, if lucky due to shoddy quality. Does anyone have a recommendation for quality brands? What should I look for? Flexsteel is one brand that I am familiar with and fairly happy with the quality.

Thanks for the help!

Dan

David Weaver
07-28-2010, 8:27 AM
Don't know how much continuity there is in quality as the brands go overseas. Relative of mine sells furniture, and has for years. Flexsteel used to be one of the brands he liked, but I don't know what's good now, just know things change fast, and you're probably best off finding a lifer in the furniture business (not a salesperson, but someone who owns a store) and asking them what's still good and why.

Last I checked, relative of mine liked Berkline and Rowe, but that was 5 years ago. I get the sense from him that it doesn't pay to try to sell quality furniture anymore.

Belinda Barfield
07-28-2010, 8:34 AM
My wife and I are starting to consider options for a new couch/ sofa set for our front room. I have seen too many at furniture stores that might last 5 years, if lucky due to shoddy quality. Does anyone have a recommendation for quality brands? What should I look for? Flexsteel is one brand that I am familiar with and fairly happy with the quality.

Thanks for the help!

Dan

Dan,

I'll share something a friend shared with me many years ago. He had three children at the time. Don't buy quality if you have children, even if it is going to be used in a room they typically don't use. If you have children, your furniture will get trashed. Buy comfortable, but replaceable, every three or four years until the children are in college, then buy something nice! :)

Rick Huelsbeck
07-28-2010, 8:53 AM
I bought a la-z-boy couch that is a dual recliner. I'm very happy with the quality and I sit in it almost every night. Quite comfy too.

John Mark Lane
07-28-2010, 8:54 AM
Most of our house is furnished with Stickley furniture. Some of it is original, but most of it is from the modern production facility in upstate NY. They have a showroom in Binghamton and one in White Plains (where we bought all of our stuff). You're less than an hour from White Plains. There's quite a lot of good stuff on display there. It's a bit pricey, but we're talking heirloom quality furniture. They do have sales now and then, and you can sometimes grab a floor model for a reduced price.

Matt Meiser
07-28-2010, 9:29 AM
We had similar thoughts as Belinda when buying a couch and love seat for our family room, plus since we didn't previously have both a family room and living room we weren't sure how we wanted to use each. We went to Furniture Row and spent about $600 on the pair (which is "cheap".) That was 7 years ago and they still look like new. The TV isn't in that room so they don't get super-heavy use, but they do get regular use. This past winter when we decided to replace the 10 year old couch and recliner in our living room we went back to Furniture Row and bought a $700 couch/loveseat set which had just been put on clearance for about $500.

We've also had a mattress from Furniutre Row that we got good life out of. The main reasons we replaced it are that we wanted something softer and bigger, otherwise we could have easily gotten a few more years out of it. We shopped for the replacement there and came close to buying--just liked one somewhere else a bit better.

The ones we replaced were La-Z-Boy and were in fine mechanical shape but the fabric was starting to get a bit worn on the chair and the cushions on the couch were getting a bit stained and frumpy. The economics of having them reupholstered didn't work out and we wanted a little different style.

Dan Duperron
07-28-2010, 11:02 AM
Dan,

I'm with Mr. Lane on this. We have collected our furniture slowly over many years, and almost all of the new that we have purchased is traditional Stickley Mission (although they have many other styles). We decided early on that we wouldn't be one of those couples (like my parents) who bought some 'OK' furniture once when they were young, figuring they would upgrade later. In the case of my parents, later never came.

Yes, it's pricey, yes, it's custom made, and yes, it's a question of your priorities. We lived for many years - decades - with a random assortment of stuff gleaned from garage sales, auctions and the curb, some of which refinished nicely and we still have. I remember walking out of the store after ordering the first piece when we were in our 20's, thinking "I just spent more on a single piece of furniture than on my first 3 cars combined, what have I done?". But you know the day it arrived all my concerns evaporated. It's a beautiful piece made by woodworkers, who even paid attention to selecting and matching the stock properly to best show off the grain. As a woodworker who aspires to the level of skill and craftsmanship shown in that piece I am proud to have it in my home.

As to the 'don't buy good furniture if you have kids/pets/visitors', this is again a matter of personal preference, but I disagree. From the start we decided that this furniture was for living in, and we don't live in a museum. Things will get the random bump, nick, or scratch over the years, and that's OK. We bought furniture for us to use, not to worship or to impress the neighbors. You may have different needs, both practically and psychologically - if it bothers you to see a ding in a chair leg you paid lots of money for, or you regularly hold high-status fund raising events at your house you have to account for those lifestyle details.

Now one little secret - we bought from the Stickley store in the burbs outside Rochester, NY (I think it's in the town of Victor). We only bought when they had things on sale. Every year around thanksgiving they have a big sale with a significant percentage off, including on all special orders. If Stickley sounds like what you are looking for, I recommend you take a trip to your closest dealer, get a catalog, and get a card from the consultant who helps you. Take a look at the models on the floor. If you find what you are looking for, make some notes about the prices and ask when the best sale of the year will be held. If you can wait, purchase at that sale, again working with the consultant who helped you originally (that's only fair).

I don't know if the independent dealers operate differently from the factory stores, but it's possible you might get a better deal from a factory store.

In any case, buy what you like for what you are comfortable spending, and try to have some fun doing it. Thats my nickel's worth.

Prashun Patel
07-28-2010, 11:15 AM
I'm with Belinda.

Further, it's been my experience that taste and style obsolesces long before the sofas frame and springs and material and cushions go.

Matt Meiser
07-28-2010, 12:20 PM
Further, it's been my experience that taste and style obsolesces long before the sofas frame and springs and material and cushions go.

+1

Wood furniture in classical styles is different but even if someone wanted to give me a perfect, unused sofa from the 1980's, I doubt I'd want it in my house.

Belinda Barfield
07-28-2010, 12:48 PM
Just for clarifcation here, I was addressing the question of sofas as Dan originally asked. Styles and tastes do change as the years pass but there will always be classics. I wouldn't buy a "classic" sofa if the family is going to curl up on it for family night with the buttered popcorn and sippy cups. I would, however, buy other pieces of quality furniture.

Just don't want y'all to think I'm still living with my cardboard box dining table.

John Mark Lane
07-28-2010, 1:46 PM
What people like to "curl up on" varies and is a totally individual thing. Like Dan's family, we "live" with our Stickley furniture. That's what it's for. It's rugged stuff. It's meant to last, and it does. I have an original Stickley rocker in the bedroom that's 120 years old. It's in perfect original condition (other than a recovered cushion). Yeah, it has a scuff or scratch here and there, maybe, but you don't really see them.

Our couches are classic Stickley, and we find them very comfortable. We sit on them every night. We set up the projector and watch movies on the wall, with the family spread out on the couches with pillows and blankets, and a fire in the fireplace.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/jmarklane/IMG00086-20100621-1024.jpg

As Dan says, there are sales every year at year-end. I have found that once you get to know a sales rep, you can usually get "the sale price" any time of the year. Plus the floor models that are on sale (often with a minor scratch or whatnot) can be a great deal, and all of the Stickley showrooms have the ability to instantly check the other showrooms for floor models on sale. The sofa tables shown in the above photo (there's one behind each couch) were both floor models. One was in White Plains, one in Binghamton, and they shipped the one down from Binghamton at no cost to me (just took a couple of weeks to get it).

My children will inherit this furniture.

Oh, and fwiw, we've always had this stuff, from the time the children were born. They haven't harmed it (harming it is not easy). While most of ours has fabric cushions, some have leather, and the leather is very tough. Plus Stickley will come to your house and deliver new leather cushions and take away the old ones for a very reasonable price...forever.

Just more info to consider. Again, tastes and styles vary. Stickley furniture will never go "out of style". Never. (And if it does, I don't care.)

Dan Friedrichs
07-28-2010, 1:51 PM
We went to Furniture Row and spent about $600 on the pair (which is "cheap".)

Now there's a store I don't like. I just about bought a sofa from Furniture Row ($400), but decided to first check "American Furniture Warehouse" (a pretty sleezy "discount" furniture importer), and found the exact identical sofa there for $200. Obviously, the discount store won't haggle on prices, won't deliver, etc - but that just gives you some idea of how much the markup really is...

David Weaver
07-28-2010, 4:46 PM
Last I heard, it was in the 100% range for a lot of main line stuff, but it might be more from overseas stuff - substantially more.

If the discounter had it for $200, it's likely they either don't care that they're losing money on it, they got it after someone didn't pick it up, or they're not making money and they don't care.

Neal Clayton
07-28-2010, 5:25 PM
unfortunately from my limited shopping for furniture over the last couple of years, the few large furniture makers that made decent stuff for a fair price were the first ones to go bankrupt when the housing market collapsed.

i got a great sofa/chair from a company by the name of collezione europa a few years back, leather is good, cushions were all goose down and have held up well, no frame/spring issues, and when i went looking for a match to the chair google's first result was their bankruptcy filing :(.

Jim Becker
07-28-2010, 9:04 PM
Interestingly, I have two leather love seats that I purchased from Ikea back in about 1990...and outside of a few very small scratches, they are in excellent condition...and this includes kid abuse for the last four and a half years. Same goes for the matching chair that is fabric covered. The microfiber sleeper sofa we bought from Somnia about 5 years ago is also doing well so far...we paid about $700 and it has a surprisingly comfortable Serta mattress.

Dave Lehnert
07-28-2010, 11:39 PM
I just purchased a new sofa from Ashley Furniture today. Made in America.
It sits firm. How long it holds up, I have no idea.

Another store that opened here in the last month was Front Room Furniture.
Not sure if they are national or not. But they had EVERYTHING for a living room. Special fabric was no extra charge on most sofa styles. Prices were very reasonable. Only purchased at Ashley store because they had what we wanted in stock. But was impressed with Front Room Furniture.

http://www.frontroomfurnishings.com/

Lazy Boy looked well made but was about twice the price.

Value City has good prices but my last set came from there and did not hold up.

Jamie Buxton
07-29-2010, 1:36 AM
Um... Have you considered building your own? It is very rewarding, and you know you'll have a quality piece when you're done.

Dan Mages
07-29-2010, 10:27 AM
Um... Have you considered building your own? It is very rewarding, and you know you'll have a quality piece when you're done.

I lack four things to do it myself, time, tools, space, and more importantly, talent.

Dan

Benjamin Dahl
07-30-2010, 10:51 PM
I have a couple of couches by the Mitchell Gold company and they are very comfortable and should last a long time.
http://www.mgbwhome.com/
No relation to the company, just satisfied with the product. I think they are based in NC but have stores in CT.

Ruhi Arslan
07-31-2010, 1:13 AM
I could recommend to check out to see what your local Macy's Furniture store has to offer on sale. Their "regular" prices are just meaningless but almost always there are some sort of sales. Quality is good for the most leather items. Reasonably latest "fashionable" styles and Made in Italy items are in abundance. Had three sets of sofa/chair combinations so far during the last ten years. Last set had a few wooden feet split in less than a year. Since it was going to take too long to replace them, they replaced the entire set with a new one.

Peter Stahl
07-31-2010, 6:11 AM
We bought a Lazy Boy couch and chair several years ago. Couch fabric wore out quickly and Lazy Boy wouldn't do anything about it. Wife said she would never get another. We replaced it but I don't know the brand but we got it from Raymor & Flanigan.

Ron Jones near Indy
07-31-2010, 2:50 PM
I bought a la-z-boy couch that is a dual recliner. I'm very happy with the quality and I sit in it almost every night. Quite comfy too.

We, too, have been well pleased with la-z-boy products for years. They offer different grades of upholstery. Get a good one. The frame and mechanisms seem to last forever. My favorite chair in my office is 30+ years old. Still very comfortable and looks good.

John Coloccia
07-31-2010, 3:05 PM
Well, just how much do you want to spend? We have an Ekornes couch (a Manhattan if you're interested) that we love. It was in the $2000 range, I believe. Worth every penny, IMHO. There's a lot to choose from. You just need to stay away from places like Ethan Allen, Raymour and Flanigan, etc...

Michael MacDonald
07-31-2010, 11:26 PM
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/jmarklane/IMG00086-20100621-1024.jpg



looks like it comes out of a magazine... except for maybe the fluffed up fringe on the carpet. very nice indeed. so when is movie night?

as for me, I have purchased some relatively nice furniture, and I regret it. the living room we are keeping off limits to the kids, but I already have a few dings where I don't want them. I think our first expensive piece was a big entertainment center, and it looks awful now... the kids have beaten the heck out of it, and I consider it a $3k mistake. So far, our couches are holding up well to the beating.

My thought is that upholstered furniture holds up if you don't have pets...

Rick Potter
08-01-2010, 2:49 AM
We too, have had good luck with Lazy boy. Ours take a beating from 7 grandkids. We have three leather recliner chairs that are at least 8 years old, get heavy daily use, and look like new. The mechanisms are guaranteed for life too. We also have a love seat and a couple rockers also.

We also have a leather sofa from Living spaces that is of much lower quality.

Rick Potter

Matt Meiser
08-01-2010, 3:12 PM
If you buy La-Z-Boy, be aware that there are different grades of fabric. Obviously you pay more for a better grade. Our couch was a higher grade than our chair--the chair started showing wear at about 8-9 years, the couch had stains and the cushions were getting frumpy. Both hadn't really "fit" our house for at least a few years before that. Not sure it made a sense to pay for better fabric in the long run. LOML explained the codes to me one time--her first "real" job was paying the fabric bills--their corporate HQ is here.

John Mark Lane
08-02-2010, 6:38 PM
looks like it comes out of a magazine... except for maybe the fluffed up fringe on the carpet. very nice indeed. so when is movie night?

...My thought is that upholstered furniture holds up if you don't have pets...


Thanks for the compliment! Movie nights are Saturday nights. In the summer, we do it in the back yard, with a roll-up screen. In the cooler months, in the living room. Come on over! I'm well known for my margaritas!

Mark

Bruce Page
08-02-2010, 7:19 PM
We bought Lazy-Boy leather recliners and love-seat a few years ago. No issues with them at all.