Drexel is good quality; Henredon is better.

The depth of the sofa is very personal to you. If you're the one who will be sitting on it the most, go with what makes you comfortable. Your guests don't have to live with it; you do.

You might be able to correct for the deeper sofa with a cushion for the small of your back.

We have a Henredon sofa that was purchase about 3 years ago. It's very well made and comfortable. I also liked that I could customize skirt, arms, back cushions, etc.

My mom is about 4'10" She can't reach the floor when she sits all the way back. I'd have to pull my ticket and see which one so you could look up measurements.

Pulled the ticket (Aug 2007):

#2000 Sofa
Lawson arm
Loose back, knife edge cushions
10" K-Pleat skirt

The four toss pillows that came with the sofa are no longer used, but I got 2-20" and 2-22" which is too many - no place left to sit (but sofa came with four). I did use only 2 for awhile, until I purchased the Ikat pillows.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: great room sofa

I have a Henredon sofa that is 9 years old, my mom has 3 Henredon sofas that are 18+ years old ... my sister has a Drexel Heritage sofa that is 2 years old & is not holding up nearly as well as our Henredon sofas. xh9300-c is the style number on my old receipt, if that helps determine measurements - it is a single cushion, lawson arms, tight back & very comfortable.

I'm still using my mother's Henredon...she purchased it in 1970. I went so far as to have it lengthened. I love my sofa.

It isn't terribly deep, but my 6'2" son finds it comfortable to sit on.

Four Henredon sofas in my parents' house all 35-42 years old, all holding up well.

Thanks for all the good info. Thanks Allison and jen, for looking up your receipts, and Allison for posting the link to your lovely home. Your sofa looks great!

I am also looking at the Lawson. It is the smaller of the two. But I got out my tape measure and realized that it is the same size (depth) as my current sofa, which I have never thought of as "not deep enough" or too small for anyone in my family. Maybe the one in the store seemed a little bit smaller is because the back cushions were so new and big and fluffy that they were taking up more of the leg room than the flatter cushions on my old sofa?

I am glad to hear that (so far) people are pleased with the quality of Henredon.

susanjf, why do you wish that you had gone with a solid? Do you feel that your pattern has gone out of date? I suppose that is the worry, although a pattern would probably hide the dirt better I would think.

The fabric I am really liking is a very soft chocolately brown ultrasuede. Any opinions on that out there? :)

Thanks again and keep the input coming. :)

You're welcome.

Totally forgot to mention this yesterday - when I was looking, some lines let you select fabric from other lines. I believe Henredon was one of them because I went crazy trying to find pillow fabric in the feel that I wanted. So be sure to ask.

fwiw, I wanted a solid look, but something that wasn't totally solid - those fabrics tend to show every. little. thing. So I went with one that looks solid from a distance, but actually has texture to it.

Yes, I am thinking that the brown fabric I love might not be the best at hiding things. For some reason I can't seem to find the textured ones in the "right" color family.

The in store decorator mentioned something about mixing fabrics and manufacturers, but also led me to believe that could be quite costly.

Definitely want it to look like a solid from a distance. My current peach and blue plaid (what was I thinking?) sofa seems terribly dated to me and I think a solid looking sofa might not get outdated so quickly.

I have a 39-year old Henredon sofa that belonged to my mother. It is 86' in length. I am 5'8" tall and have no problem with its depth. It has only be recovered once, as my Mom used it in the living room and it was only used for special occasions. The quality of this sofa is unbelievable. I found the receipt and my mother paid 2K in 1972...a lot of money for a sofa back then.

This a great post! Has anyone compiled a list of the best quality sofas? I know I saw one for towels! I was looking at a Robert Allen sofa but it is so expensive so I switched to looking at Lee but I'm not sure of the quality of that line... I will now take a look at the Henredon as well.

I have a Henredon sofa I purchased in 1973, and it has moved around the U.S. every 2-4 years for the 31+ years of my career. This sofa moved at least 12 times, across country. The sofa has not only held up beautifully with all of the moving, but it is still wonderfully comfortable to sit on. It is still the LR formal sofa. I've had the sofa reupholstered twice, and have changed styling with each reupholster, tweaking it a bit to update. For example the last reupholstering done 4 years ago removed the sofa's skirts, allowing the finished legs to show.

The sofa's down cushions have been replenished over the years. And the sofa is still wonderful to sit upon.

Because the sofa is almost 40 years old, it does not have the oversize seating space that many of today's styles have. At 5'6", I find today's oversized sofas, chairs, etc. uncomfortable to sit in. I much prefer the older, "standard" sizes.

I'm a firm believer in purchasing top of the line furniture, taking good care of it, and reupholstering whenever the furniture needs it.

Here's a photo of my 38 year old Henredon sofa.....You'll note 3 other chairs. The tallest chair has only been moved once, as it was purchased 5 years ago (it is a Southwood). The other 2 chairs were purchased in 1973, and they've been transferred and reupholstered each time the sofa was. These 2 chairs are not Henredon. The overstuffed chair is a Clayton Marcus, which in 1973 was a high quality piece of furniture (although not as good as Henredon). I can't remember the maker of the occasional chair. But you can see how well these 38 year old pieces of furniture have held up with the demands placed on them. (In fact, when I had the overstuffed chair with its back to the camera reupholstered in 2006, I dramatically changed the looks of the chair to update it.)

My Henredon was my mother's...and she got it in 1970. I LIKE that it isn't very deep. Everyone seems to be able to sit comfortably on it...including my dear friend who is 5'2" and Elder Son who is 6'2".

is there another line of sofas that rivals the henredon brand? i need 2 sofas and am just looking for a slightly better price point.

I need to get my Drexel heritage sectional reupholstered. Any Recommendations or advise on where to start?