Smith bros far exceeds Bassett quality. That said I did buy a smith bros chair and the upholstery was a mess. I had letters from two upholsters stating the fabric was not aligned correctly. Unfortunately the store I purchased from wouldn't back me. I had to return the chair to them...delivered it to their show room...and do a cc chargeback. That said I would buy Smith Bros again, just not from the same furniture store.

I just ordered two Alexandria love seats, two Madeleine chairs, ottomans and bunching tables from Bassett. The loveseats were very comfortable, didn't sag, etc. Two saleswomen spent quite a bit of time with me and were most helpful in coordinating fabrics. I'm very happy with my purchases.

I can't address Bassett cushions specifically, but generally the industry all uses the same basic format, and from your description you are telling me that you are looking to buy a down-wrapped cushion, not a spring down. Most furniture builder outsource their cushions, so they're pretty commonplace among the major suppliers. Down 'leaking' is a thing of the past, as any maker has down-proof ticking surrounding the actual down itself. As for 'packing down', it sure does take a long time for that to happen, I've seen down cushions routinely go thirty years, much longer than the coverings and frames in some cases. Almost all cushions are lifetime warrantied from all the major premium makers these days, thats not unique to Bassett. Cushion suppliers warranty them, so the furniture makers pass that along to you. Most the time, you only have to pay the UPS charge for a new cushion and they rarely want your old one back. Here's the three basic cushion types, simplified: Qualex (Foam): Just as it sounds, wrapped with a fiber ticking. Better foams can be quite durable and comfortable. For most leather furniture, this is the best choice. They retain their shape and form well. Semi-Down Cushion (Down Wrapped). You have the foam cores, and then 1" to 2" of goods feather down is wrapped in the ticking and surrounds the foam. Usually a nominal upcharge. Spring Down (Marshall Unit). A high tech cushion that replaced the full-down cushion in most applications. A Marshall Unit is a series of small grids (waffle-like) each with a small spring about the size of a pencil inside every individual grid. The down is them placed inside each grid with the spring in each one acting as a shock absorber. There are hundreds of little grids and springs in a typical sofa cushion. All is then encased and wrapped with another layer of down encased in ticking. Marshall units are expensive to make as you would imagine, and carry a premium upcharge. The benefit is all the comfort of a down cushion, but the cushion will return to about 80% of its height after being sat upon, and doesn't need to be fluffed back up like an all-down cushion. It always pains me to hear of an upholsterer throwing out a Marshall unit cushion to replace with conventional, unwrapped foam during a re-upholstery procedure. Rarely have I ever seen a Marshall unit break down, and you cannot simply go do the crafts store and buy one. Most will last through three or four upholstery jobs just fine. They are custom made and usually only available from the manufacturer IF they are still making that specific model frame. Hope that helps explain it some. Duane Collie The Keeping Room

I bought a custom sectional from Bassett 3 years ago thinking Made in America was the way to go. I have been very disappointed. It was an expensive piece, but the cushions are already looking flat and the fabric quickly pilled and looks much older than it is. Bassett replaced the seat covers and the pilling occurred again. The sofa doesn't really sit that comfortably, either. Obviously, I don't plan to purchase any other upholstered pieces from Bassett .