I am an interior designer and have recently been very disappointed with the quality of Norwalk upholstery and the unwillingness of the company to rectify issues. My client purchased a sectional and within 3 weeks of delivery a hole on each corner of the arm has appeared where the fabric has rubbed against nothing but wood. There is no padding in between the fabric and the wood and the fabric was not backed to prevent this. The other issue is puling of the fabric on the side of the sectional near the back corner creating a ripple effect. The company has refused to fix these issues. I have a very unhappy client and would not recommend them.

Our library (TV-room, but all bookshelves) sofa is Naugahyde and it looked fine when it was put into storage in 2013. It is sturdy enough that everybody stood on one of the arms and stepped onto the back in order to retrieve books from the top shelves. We were allowed to eat in there once we were old enough to eat without making a mess, but we had to use a little table . One cushion seam came undone and a button or two popped off the back and had to be put back on. But people hate naugahyde now because it's plastic. It's also indestructable and in the finish on this sofa doesn't feel that much different than leather. If I was starting out with young kids I would use naugahyde hands down. I have no problem with it being plastic. Our basement sofas were wide wale corduroy and my parents held parties where everybody ate and drank, sometimes to excess and then the grandchildren played down there with practically no supervision at all. One of the pair was fine from 1975, the other got a rip on the outside corner of one arm. These sofas had arm covers. I am going to recover the smaller one but really it's in pretty good condition. Both living room sofas are in perfect condition and both are almost 50 years old but both were reupholstered in 1987. We did not eat in there, but we were allowed to have drinks in there if we were using the room on holidays. The big sofa got a lot of use because people would read books or nap on it. I may not even recover these, and just use them as is. Kids were not allowed to use markers in the living room. The dog ruined the original crewel on one cushion of the sofa because he would sleep in that spot. No cats in that house. We used our furniture fully but they got vacuumed every week and if we got crumbs or spills we cleaned them up. I don't know what to say. A couple things got more damage when my parents were really elderly and didn't notice spills and things like that than they did when there were kids around, but in general we certainly didn't baby anything. One thing is though that every sofa in that house was heavy and sturdy enough that a adult sized person in our family could stand on the arm or the back without doing any damage at all and the cushions were quality enough that they did not crush. The living room sofa is also an extremely heavy cotton and silk tapestry flame stitch that would be very hard to snag or damage in any way during normal use. We also never kept plastic or a throw or a cover on anything. My parents said if you had something that you had to treat too carefully maybe you shouldn't have it, that most things were bought to be used, and not covered up until company came. They also felt the cover made people more careless. When my dad would see an expensive car straddling two spaces he would say "If you are going to own a Rolls, it should still be just a car to you and you should expect it to get dinged up like a regular car." As for cats: I think more people who had inside cats used to declaw the front paws more frequently and with less guilt than they do now. I personally would never declaw a cat, but then it is luck of the draw as to whether you get a scratcher or not.

RHM, I am not a designer, but own a Norwalk sofa (3 cushion) and arm chair, and thought I would weigh in. I ordered the sofa and chair last winter, and they were delivered last spring, so I have had them in my family room for about 10 months. I am very pleased with their appearance (they look beautiful) and comfort. Both pieces appear to be very sturdy. I ordered the firmer of the cushions available from Norwalk, and they are - indeed - firm but very comfortable. These replaced two Henredon pieces that I had (and was very pleased with) for over 20 years (!). Norwalk was one of a few manufacturers recommended to me by a designer with whom I consulted. And...I was happy to buy furniture made in my home state of Ohio!

Your comparing apples to oranges. The link is to a high-end reupholstery business. The manufacturers you pointed out are middle to lower end, for quality of materials including fabrics. A high-end upholstery shop will take days to build a sofa, using only the best materials and meticulously in every bit of quality. A sofa using Lee as an example will be built on a "paid by the production" line by trades-persons that specialize in each phase, from frame assemble - springup- cutting of fabric- sewing- inside upholstery and trim upholstery. If you add up the total price paid to these 6 different persons to build one sofa it will be around $100.00. They dont have time to spend to get anywhere near the same quality and attention to detail as the high-end reupholstery business will have. Their are less expensive upholstery shops in just about any part of the country and with purchasing fabrics from a local or online discounted fabric stores, you can easily get a much better quality sofa at a lower price when re-upholstering. Thats even comparing the fact that todays sofa frames are made from stapled together plywood. Your older sofa from 15 or so years ago will be solid hardwood frames with double-doweled construction. With much better spring construction. They dont make them like they use to is true for most upholstery manufacturers now.