Looks good

Thanks for the post. I'm shopping for several upholstered pieces and the Smith Bros sofas just seem to sit the best of the many mid-priced brands I've looked at. They also seem to be very sturdy and well made. I don't want leather, though. Still looking but they may get my business. I have also come across their stuff made up as a store brand.

Has anyone had one of their push back recliners?

We've been shopping for mid-priced sofas for some time now and haven't found anything we love. The only Mfg we've found so far that may be a contender is Temple, but, I just found the only Smith Brothers dealer in our area so I will visit them on Saturday. We are looking for a 3-seater, tight-back, fabric sofa, and may even buy a recliner. I personally prefer a 22" deep as I like the back of my knees to touch the cushion for comfy reasons. I'm, 5'4"

We don't want to "settle" on a sofa, we want to LOVE it. Hopefully, Smith Brothers has what we want since we are ready to purchase now.

Your sofa is beautiful. What is your height, and your DH's height, along with the depth of the seat cushion? Are your cushions 21" deep which seems to be the standard for Smith Brothers?

Have upholstered sofa and love seat which are now 2 years old, and used daily.

Just received our leather push back recliner. The recliner was spendy, but really enjoy the quality of Smith Brothers of Berne.

Business must be slow. Was advised of the usual 2 to 3 month manufacturing time yet the recliner arrived within 30 days.

I think quite a few manufacturers are producing somewhat faster than they have in the past. Which may or may not be a sign of business conditions. On the other hand Smith Brothers may have a quick ship program which you just happened to have selected.

Your leather sofa is beautiful! Glad you are happy! I take forever to make these decisions as well. I ordered a Smith Brothers sofa from a local store about 2 years ago and we love it! It is very similar to yours since it also has a tight back. Mine has an English arm style and a rolled back. We get compliments on the sofa any time people are visiting. I recommend this brand!

So glad you love your Smith Brother furniture. I redecorated my living room and library last year. I bought an H & M sofa, recliner, and a fireside chair covered in an H & M leather for the living room and two upholstered chairs from Smith Brothers for the library. I am as pleased with my SB furniture as I am the H & M furniture. My two SB chairs were less expensive than one H & M chair and the quality is wonderful. I chose a large pattern and the upholstery job was phenomenal.

I would highly recommend Smith Brother furniture to anyone who wants high quality furniture at a very reasonable cost.

whiteycat, I'd love to see a pic of your sofa. Sounds like the style I'm looking for. Can you post a pic? How are the cushions holding up with daily use?

What does "tight back" mean?

momrox,

tightback means there are no cushions where your back hits. Instead, the fabric or leather is pulled smooth with cushioning underneath it but no separate cushions. This just gives a more upright sitting posture since your back does not sink into soft cushions plus you don't have to keep fluffing up the back cushions all the time!

debi,

I just realized I screwed up. My couch does have back cushions! But they are sewn onto the couch and are pretty sturdy so they don't crush down.

We don't use the couch on a daily basis. We sit in our recliners daily. but I have been sitting in the couch more often recently and the cushions are very sturdy, yet comfortable. I went with their regular standard cushion. They also have a more dense cushion that you can order but I sat on a couch that had them in the store and I did not like them. They were almost hard! I love the ones I have - very sturdy but comfortable. I will try to post a picture if I figure out how to. I will read how to do that.

Ginny

Here is a picture of the sofa style I bought from the Smith Brothers website, smithbrothersfurniture.com. The sofa is style 388.

Very nice and looks comfy. I'm always skeptical of semi attached back pillows/cushions because of how they scrunch down even sitting against them for a short time.....like lose their shape where the top seam slouches downward - hate that. Perhaps the higher back pillows don't allow that to happen. Thanks for the pic.

I visited the only store anywhere near me that sells SB but don't feel comfy buying from them b/c they've only been there for 5 years. Should they go out of biz sooner than later, and my gut...which is usually right...says they will, I won't have a dealer to revert back to for potential repairs. This store sells no other furniture brand and they weren't too knowledgeable. I've read SM makes buyers deal with the store where purchased, not the Mfgr. directly for repairs/issues.

Deb just about every manufacturer requires that consumers work with the retailers where they purchased their furniture should they have a warranty issue. If and when a retailer goes out of business the manufacturer will refer you to another manufactuer or intervene themselves in finding a solution to your problem.

Thanks Freethinker. The only other store I found that sells SB is an hour from me and they have received horrible reviews on various websites for their customer service. The other stores are much further away from us.

Finding the exact SB sofa "on the store floor" that we want with tight back, boxed cushions, and an arm that works for us, is difficult to find to try out for comfort. Uggg!

I've always had good luck and long lasting furniture from SMITHE.

Just to ensure there is no confusion.

Smith Brothers of Berne is headquartered in Indiana and available in various stores.

Walter E Smithe consists of multiple furniture stores in the Chicagoland area.

This post was edited by billygoatjoe on Sat, Oct 25, 14 at 15:08

Hi Ginny(whiteycat),

I just ordered that same sofa this morning! I googled and googled and yahooed many a times to try and find someone who had a 388 sofa, and never had any luck. I'm glad to hear you enjoy the sofa, and would love to see an actual photo of your sofa. We have a few family members who own SB pieces, and absolutely love the look and quality of the furniture. Do you guys ever lay on the couch, is it comfy? How long did it take for your sofa to arrive? Hope to see a picture and I will pits one as well when my sofa arrives!

Pam

I have an upholstered Smith Brothers of
Berne tight backed sofa-sleeper. Have had it for 9 years I think. The sofa is awesome and cushions are still nice and firm and holding their shape. The sleeper mattress has been uncomfortable from day 1. The fabric is nice on the sofa. No pilling, no problems (other than dirt, which I have a hard time cleaning). 5 years ago we went looking for a leather sofa (to get rid of the dirt issue on fabric), and ended up with 2 Smith Brothers leather recliners instead. They have a sofa that matches our chairs, but I do love the current sofa and the chairs complimented it so nicely that here we are, 5 years later, with the same sofa. (None were cheap. The leather sofa was 4k and the recliners were 2k each, although we did choose the best leather because I like it very soft and we use them daily.) The chairs are great. No complaints at all. Will buy from them again in the future.

Whiteycat or anyone who has that sofa shown above (in fabric not leather):

1) Is it comfy to lay on?
2) How are of back pillows holding up?
3) Do the tops of the back pillows get smooched downward from people's backs against them?
4) Would you consider the comfort of this sofa both a "sit on" yet "lay in comfortably" sofa, if that makes sense? Some are only good or one or the other.

I generally like a tight back, but, can not find a showroom that has a tight back that I can try. I've never had a semi-attached and am afraid of the back pillows getting weird. I know they can be fluffed, but, that is not something I want to do, even occasionally.

Everyone seems to like this company and their products and feel they are a good value.

From someone who has been intimately involved with both companies. You bought the better value and quality in my opinion. Smith brothers sofas use a barber unit which sit kinda of bouncy... but are easier to get out of instead of the deep plush type of seating found on down etc. . They are individual units under each cushion. Now that being said I bought King Hickory for my own home which I believe is a better value than either.

@furnitureexpert

I was just wondering how you King Hickory sofa is holding up? Are you still satisfied? Is it a sofa or sectional and can you post a picture? I am considering (strongly) their Katherine or Julianna sectionals in a performance fabric. But can't find much about their quality here on the forum. I've seen their video but I don't know if the frames are solid wood or solid wood fabricated plywood. Do you know? Would you recommend I purchase this or keep looking for better. The price I was quoted locally in Houston,TX was around $7k for upholstery and $10,999 for one of their Great Room leathers. Am I getting ripped off? Help please!

Vivi,

I am about to order a King Hickory sectional, but have not yet. I have checked out the quality of their construction first hand though. You can see in the link King Hickory uses solid or gold standard construction techniques. But I test out the furniture on the showroom floors to make sure the construction is solid. Two tests (of many) for "solidness" of construction are:

1. Lifting the couch off the ground by one leg. The second leg should lift off the ground almost immediately (1 inch maximum). The King Hickory does as well or better than every couch I have tested, regardless of price. Layered plywood frames on some other manufacturers have to be lifted 2-4 inches before the 2nd leg lifts. This amount of flex is not good.

2, Wiggle the arms to see if they are solidly attached. Again the King Hickory does great. Kiln dried hardwood, double doweled, and corners braced makes for a solid piece of furniture.

I choose the loose box welted cushion. l wanted the flexibility of taking the cushions off the couch for more room when laying down on the couch at night when I have insomnia or when our adult kids come for a visit. Also the loose cushion allows you to easily have it refilled or reupholstered down the line without having to bring the whole couch or have the upholsterer make a visit. Flipping the pillow over is also a big plus if you have a tough stain.

I am not affiliated with King Hickory or the furniture trade in any way. I am just a working stiff who values bang for his buck and quality construction. I will say the Smith Brothers pieces I checked out also seemed well built but a bit more expensive and did not fit our space.

From what I read Lexington is rated A+ by the BBB and responds to all customer concerns. You will want to read and follow their instructions carefully before accepting or rejecting delivery (check for damage). The delivery company will reserve the right to fix any damage. Also their delivery times tend to be longer because they wait until they can fill a truck before they send one across the country. If you need a local store to hold your hand through the process they are probably not right for you. You need to know the exact model, fabric, options etc before you buy. But in my case they will likely save me $1,600 on a King Hickory factoring in delivery and taxes.

$7000 seems a bit high to me for upholstery. But perhaps the larger footprint of your sectional and the premium fabric bring the price up. We chose the Bentley which is customizable. For 3 pieces (sofa, curved corner and love seat) we are looking at $3,400 to $5,100 with tax and delivery depending upon the retailer.

I'm also leaning towards Bentley. Agree with loose back pillows in case they need to be 'adjusted', they're not attached to the sofa. How about upholstery. Looking for texture because I like it and it's more forgiving. Thoughts on olefin, polyester , etc

We just saw Smith sofas at our local furniture store and they seem to be of high quality. Google reviews are all over the place, however, with many 1 star reviews for "chemical smell," "pilling," etc. This makes me nervous. Could it have been because of the fabric chosen? What is the best fabric for wear and tear?

I have been looking at couch manufacturer reviews for different companies and all of them seem to be negative. Is it just complainers? How to get a reliable review?

I’ve tried to contact the company via email, but had to go through the retail store where I bought my sofa... that should’ve raised a red flag but I didn’t know this prior to purchase.

Buying a sofa from Smith Brothers was a mistake. I thought I was getting a quality made sofa from American manufacturing. It is poorly made—the cushions have a 3 inch gap & slide around unless I stuff a pillow in the side. I paid way too much to have to do that.

So, the retailer picked up my sofa and I guess returned it to the company for repair. Aside from having no sofa for 2 months, the sofa was returned & nothing was done!! Same problem. Nothing was done.

I have a $2000 new sofa with a pillow stuffed on the end to prevent gaps between cushions. I could’ve gone to Big Lots or the like, bought a cheap $300 sofa with better results.

We bought s leather sofa and loveseat and have been very unhappy with the fact that the color rubs off easily. We have had other cheaper leather that never did that but Smith Brothers refuses to accept responsibility. They seem to think that is normal. ??? I am not happy!

Same thing happened to us with the color rubbing off. Extremely disappointing.

I'm interested in purchasing a Smith Brothers sectional. All the retailers in my area won't negotiate on the price. Is this normal? I always thought furniture was somewhat negotiable. Are there retailers anywhere that will budge on the price or should I expect to pay what they are asking?