katie111, unless you have a walk-out basement, have you considered how you will get the sofas into your basement? Find a sofa for less than $1000 that has a solid hardwood frame; doweled and screwed together, spring seating and a HR high density foam seating, plus a lifetime warranty, covered in a durable and easy to clean micro-suede fabric is your best option. But this is a rare find! Here is a link that might be useful: sofas for less than $1000

CR LAINE is superb and I couldn't say enough about how nice the upholstery comes out. I think it's a hair better than Lee. I sell sets to my clients and everyone loves it. About 20 different craftsman touch each piece. I think you can get under $6,000 for a nice sectional. If you work with a designer, let them know your constraints and if they are like me they will make it work for you. A rules of thumb to avoid cheap or mass produced upholstery: High quality upholsters always offer highly customizable pieces (since they are bench made and are not pre-fabricated). It's a good sign when there are 3-4 options for cushions and cushioned backs and many finish options. Remember to ask who makes pieces since companies change the names to re-brand. Restoration Hardware for example has a lot of import upholstery. Crate and Barrel is Lee or Michael Gold typically. Pottery Barn is Rowe. CR Laine beats all of these. Another designer brand that's fabulous is TCS but it's only sold through designers.

After much debate between Century, Taylor King and Vanguard, we ended up with the Vanguard Envision. The deciding factors were mainly size and arm style, although comfort and fabric options also played a role. All three were nice to sit on but we preferred the sloped track arm that only Vanguard offered. The Century would have been our next choice but it was much larger, about 10" in each direction, and we felt it might overwhelm our space. We ordered it from Lexington Furniture, who beat local prices by over $1000. Total cost in a Grade 26 fabric (no decorative upgrades) was $5500. It arrived yesterday and we LOVE IT. Just need to repaint the room and get a new rug! :)

I just got back from Furnitureland South. I basically knew what I wanted and went with the intention of getting best pricing and ordering. I have ordered furniture from FLS 3 times over past 20 years and had great experiences and received lower prices than I could find anywhere else. While researching buying furniture this time, Lexington Furniture Company located in Lexington, KY popped up with good reviews and comments. I had them price the same King Hickory sectional and ottoman and they were $2,163 LOWER (including taxes and delivery). I also wanted Zimmerman Chairs and reached out to Zimmerman for local distributor and was given Cherry House Furniture Galleries in La Grange KY. Zimmerman said they would give me good prices and they did via submitting info via their website. The side chair, FLS price $1036 and Cherry House price $751.50. The arm chair, FLS price $1199 and Cherry House $870. When purchasing 6 side and 2 arm chairs, I am saving $2506.90 on the chairs. Anyone looking to purchase furniture and live anywhere in USA, try these 2 stores. I know for a fact the Lexington Furniture Company in Lexington, KY does sell to customers all over. FLS does have unbelievable resources on site and phenomenal showrooms, but pricing is not what it used to me based on my recent experience. Good luck furniture and shopping and buying.