There are a number of tailored slip covers you could try at prices under 300. Surprisingly mine have fit the sofa well with good measuring. And lasted through washings without any stains remaining. It might be worth buying one and seeing if they work for you. Ballard Designs, JC Penny are my go to. They offer a range of fabric and furniture design.

You can run a search on slipcovered furniture and come up with many options from good furniture stores. I can't remember some of the others that have been mentioned. There are some to stay away from due to the fabric and construction quality.

For the price you mentioned, an upholster could sew one for half the price depending upon fabric. I love the good tailored slipcovers and they do not look like bunched up covers. Also like the options to change out for the seasons.

I would look at the Alex by Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams. I have the Alexa (rolled arm, slightly less tailored than Alex's squared off arm) and it's still looking great after seven years.

They seem to be MGBW's "entry level" sofa. They have plenty of more expensive models. Alex and Alexa used to go on a deep sale once or twice per year. Might be worth it to find a store that has them locally to see when the sale is.

Alex II

Alex III

Alexa

Oops, I missed that you were wanting to buy a sofa with cover. Others will have better input.

Thanks, technicolor. Still good information to know--a temporary set on my current upholstered sofa could get me by until I make a decision on a new one. It's a very well-made sofa, but sinking in the middle a bit.

Jeannine, thank you for this recommendation. I see my nearby Bloomingdales carries MGBW, although the Web site doesn't list these sofas. I will have to check out in person.

If anyone else has recommendations for brands, I would appreciate it. I've had the good fortune to not have to replace furniture in quite some time that I'm finding the current variance in quality quite daunting.

We have a Lee from their cover-alls line. I'm in Canada, so not sure what the price would be where you are (I think it was about 3500 here). Ours looks quite tailored and not sloppy slipcovered at all. Where we are, it is the lowest priced good quality line available. We've had ours for maybe 2 years and are very happy with it.

Thank you, daisychain. I've come across Lee, but don't know anything about its quality. I browsed its Web site, and the cover-alls line offers some nice options. I appreciate that you noted yours doesn't look sloppy.

I've concluded that I need to increase my budget, unless I want to go the standard Pottery Barn slip sofa route (which has its merits, too). But when increasing budget, I'm trying to decipher what to focus on. Is it your fabric that makes the difference, or the sofa construction?

I was looking for a few things when we bought. I needed: a solid frame construction, down wrapped cushions, a good selection of fabrics in natural materials and I really wanted the English arm style in a deep sofa.

We went with a linen fabric. The store we bought from had a few of the slipped sofas in different fabrics and I could see that some worked better than others with slips. I didn't want piping for looks, but read that it really helped with wear to have it, so went with it and I think it makes it look tidier and more fitted (I like the sloppy slipped look).

Lee has different options of seating depending if you want soft or firm. Make sure you get someone who can tell you what is possible as they have many options in everything. The first salesperson I got was not as knowledgable and then the next time I went in I spoke to someone who was able to tell me more and I was able to get very specific details that I thought would be custom, but weren't.

We had a Lee Coveralls love seat for years and it held up really well. I even replaced the slipcover once -- not inexpensive, but nice to be able to order it easily through a local furniture store.

We also have the Bayside slipcovered sofa from Crate and Barrel at our beach house. It is so comfortable. Not sure if they actually carry it any more, but you might check.

Is there any chance you'd get leather again?

I have Ikea furniture with white slipcovers. I'm not going to lie-- washing the slipcovers is a pain. BUT, I like the fact that I can. We have upholstered sofas in the basement and I cringe thinking about how dirty they actually are.

My husband doesn't like leather and I'm a vegetarian (+, our cats would scratch leather-- maybe your dogs would too), but I think leather is such an easy option. No dealing with slipcovers (sometimes just getting them on is laborious) and you can clean it easily.

If you do get slipcovered furniture, take into account that it's much easier when you have a spare set. You may want to factor that into the budget, esp. if eating will be done on the furniture. That's the plus side of Ikea-- the white is $49 for an ENTIRE SOFA slipcover (in white or beige only). I have no idea how they keep the prices so low. I have never had a zipper break and the material is very sturdy.

Daisychain--thank you! My husband is attracted to the piping, so we will go with that, I'm sure. I appreciate the tip about the salesperson, too. Our Crate&Barrel carries Lee, but the salesperson with whom I spoke yesterday had to look up which pieces were Lee... so, yes, I'll need to source someone more knowledgeable.

Sue--yes, I like the idea of being able to replace the slipcovers, if eventually needed. I will check to see if my local C&B carries the Bayside-thank you!

Anele, we've had leather for so long that I just want a change. I really love the look of leather, though, so it's my back-up plan. It is indeed easy maintenance, and looks better with time. Our kids and dog added "character" and patina to our leather over the years. ;-)

MGBW.