Where are you located?

Have you looked at Theodore Alexander? More traditional furniture. I have the Sedon chairs, linked below, around my kitchen table, which is also from TA. My style is more eclectic, but I had seen these chairs years ago and they fit this house well. The chairs are solidly built and very comfortable. You should be able to find a local TA dealer in your area. When I ordered I got lucky because they had the 8 chairs I wanted in stock in the warehouse, so it was only a few weeks for delivery, otherwise the wait would have been 6+ months. You need lots of patience to buy furniture!

Here is a link that might be useful: Theodore Alexander

Thanks for the link. I will check it out now.

We are in NE Ohio.

If this is a family room, comfort will be important and may undermine slavish adherence to a style.

I would think maybe a curved damask sofa would have the right note of formality?

It seems to me that, regardless of locale, we are often forced to buy furniture without seeing it. I would focus on a well constructed brand and try out anything in their line, then choose the style.

I would try Lee and Cisco.

Thanks for the Lee and Cisco suggestion.

It is a frustrating fact that we are forced to buy furniture without seeing it in person all too often.

We have a less formal keeping room adjacent to the family room
And already see that that room gets a lot of traffic. I don't foresee things changing.

Oh.my.gosh, I can't believe this post! Just 5 minutes ago I did an almost similar topic because I'm looking for 2 matching lounge chairs for the LR and I don't want the hassle of going from store to store.

But when I went to post the topic, it spazzed out! And then I see this topic. lol

I'll definitely be interested to see the replies. I'd like to find good online stores where I can be certain the furiture is top quality, just in case I order online.

Great topic... looking online is necessary for me as well and I've started the search. So I will be paying close attention to posts.

I remember Duane Collie's posts on quality furniture that always stay in mind. His furniture site was and still is (?) below....

Here is a link that might be useful: Keeping Room

I've found that because the only remaining large furniture stores are chains, what is represented in those showrooms is pretty limited or of questionable quality. I have found in my area that designers have started up small stores, but have access "to the trade" and nicer, traditional lines with limited distribution. Many of these are not sold online, except perhaps via North Carolina retailers. (BTW, years ago, colleagues would fly to North Carolina and visit the large showrooms and order a house full of furniture for wholesale prices. Does anyone still do this?)

I'm surprised there are not more suggestions, especially of the long standing names with traditional lines like Maitland Smith, Hickory White, Hancock & Moore, etc. Those can get pricey, so naming your budget range might elicit some more suggestions.

We are having a Hancock and Moore piece delivered for the keeping room tomorrow and have ordered a settee made by Lancer for that room
As well. That might help give an idea about budget. The budget for family room will be slightly higher, but not exponentially so.

three, I highly recommend Cisco, but their furniture isn't really Georgian! I have several of their upholstered pieces and will order a few more. I can easily drive to several of their stores here in CA so I'd be happy to take detailed photos of floor models if you see anything you like online. I usually deal with the owner's sister at my closest store.

When I googled Georgian furniture none of the sofas looked like they would be very comfortable for lounging in a family room.

I love pretty much everything in the Mr. and Mrs. Howard collection from Sherrill. Both the Parker and Fairfax sofas would look right at home in a Georgian! No froufrou-just elegant clean lines.

There are plenty of Sherrill dealers in the Cleveland area--maybe you could call around to see who has what on the floor from the collection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mr and Mrs Howard

Thanks, Chispa, for your kind offer. I will look around and let you know if I might need your help. I agree that the very traditional Georgian furniture doesn't look incredibly comfortable. I do think, however, that upholstered chairs and ottomans can be very comfortable if they are well proportioned.

Shanghaimom, thanks for the link. I think either of the sofas you mentioned would work.

I'm wondering whether one of the Chippendale sofas from Ethan Allen might be something I should seriously consider for one of the seating arrangements in the room.

In the past other posters have complained about Ethan Allen and their current quality. It seems they no longer manufacture their products in the US. I would google "EA complaints" and "EA reviews" to read more current feedback.

Thanks, I will do that.

Hickory Chair makes a Chippendale sofa, too.

Hate EA and have been boycotting them since they wouldn't send me a catalog (after spending thousands$$ on furniture). One of the chairs I bought from them has staples coming out from under the arm. They are not the same company the used to be (changed owners I believe, and now Abi-Habi-Sheek owns it).

I have a Theodore Alexander chest and it's very well made. Extremely heavy piece.

Another endorsement for Sherrill-both in comfort and quality. I am also quite pleased with my Hancock & Moore chair for the same reasons.

Thanks, everyone. I intend to go browse sometime soon and will post back any results.

To the OP: have you considered hiring a designer. The majority of high-quality furnishings are, "to-the-trade" only. Furthermore, a good designer will handle things like the damage issue in the other thread.

"colleagues would fly to North Carolina and visit the large showrooms and order a house full of furniture for wholesale prices. Does anyone still do this?"

Sort of. We weaseled our way into High Point Market with a friend in the trade. Great way to see and touch a lot of merchandise. Seeing the wholesale prices for everything may have been the biggest shock of my life.

whallyden, I did the whole to-the-trade-only thing with a designer and was not that impressed with the quality of the upholstered furniture. Cisco furniture quality is much better than the things I got from the "Exclusive" design center. As far as the damage, my designer HAD to take care of some issues, but she was not any happier to do it than threeapples' sales person is. It also cost me more money as I was billed for the hours it took her to fix the problem. As with anything, "buyer beware" and "the grass isn't always greener on the other side"!!!

I have hired three designers throughout the course of building our house. None understood my vision well enough to steer clear of transitional design suggestions, which are not at all what we wanted. It was too stressful to deal with trying so hard to get them in board with my aesthetic so we terminated relationships with all of them. After the third one I gave up and have been going solo. I have a high quality company nearby that will custom make anything we want and enough non to-the-trade options to be ok I think.

I think it is really important that you sit in whatever you choose before buying. Just choosing a high end company will not guarantee comfort to you in all their styles. We have always bought Baker furniture but not all of their pieces were the same comfort level. Size matters too. I have neighbors who are very small people and they only buy very small furniture, I am only 5'5" and I have a hard time sitting on their small sofa but it is perfect for them and it is their house.

And yes, many still do go to High Point to buy furniture, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of outlets open to the public. If you go the week following the Furniture Mart you can pick up samples at excellent prices.