If you're talking about ordering one online, wouldn't you rather sit in it first to be absolutely sure you will like it?

Or is there a store near you?

Yes, there is a store near me. I'm just wondering about durability and the standard fill vs. down.

I have a sofa by Southern and it wasn't too expensive. I bought it 11 years ago for around $1200-1500 don't remember exactly. It's well made and held up wonderfully.
I'll have it recovered someday.

Here is a link that might be useful: Southern

Please do sit in it and sit in the EXACT version of it. I bought an expensive Swaim sofa a few years back. The one I sat in was a 3 piece sectional. I bought the same couch. Guess what - I HATE the couch. The sectional was comfortable and soft the couch is hard as a rock. I even bought the exact same fabric. So please do sit on whatever you will buy first. Wish I had realized that

I have a love/hate relationship with my 6 month old Lee Sofa & Love seat. The frames are very well made. Solid. Great tailorship. Curl up comfy. When I lay down, it feels like a cloud! That said, we had an issue with the fabric/cushions. After sitting a short period of time, the cushion would smash down and the fabric would wrinkle up (and stay wrinkled)..the only way to get it to look anything near "normal" was to flip & plump. The cushions always looked saggy/sloppy. The piping didnt't line up after just a couple weeks of use. It requires constant fussing to look "right" and even then it isn't as "right" as you would expect a new couch to be.

As far as comfort, these things are almost too cushy. Hubby, who isn't a small man, can't sit in them without his back hurting. He sinks so far into the thing, he can barely get out.... He's sat in them 2x and now sits exclusively in our Lexington Swivel Chairs. There's no support. I am constantly adjusting too, as my back tends to ache as the night goes on.

The owner of the store where we bought ours came to look at them just weeks after we took delivery. He (and Lee) agreed something wasnt right about them. They felt the cushions were understuffed and took them to the local upholstery shop to get a dacron wrap. They are better, but I'm still unhappy with the overall look. The store owner, who has been great, is suggesting I look at Lexington since we are happy with our chairs. He feels the Lee's are a more casual (read slouchy) look where the Lexington would stay more tailored. I have mixed feelings. I don't know much about the Lexington and I did a lot of research on the Lee's. I wanted 8 way hand tied and the Lexington isn't, however he said they have had high customer satisfaction with Lexington but they also have that on the Lee's. Lee is their #1 selling couch, with the Lexington coming in #2.

My last Sofa was a Rowe, it cost about 1/2 what the Lee did, but was an embarrassment by year 2. I wanted a solid comfortable couch, I did my homework and decided for my budget Lee was the best choice. I wish they looked as good as they felt. The sloppiness is driving me batty!

I don't know which Lee's your considering, but just make sure you try them out....and ask about it if you are at all concerned with the sloppy look.

We bought a Thomasville Benjamin sectional about 7 years ago and found that the back cushions were way too mushy. One by one we took them to an upholsterer who made them substantially more firm. I love the couch now and the bottom seat cushions have held up wonderfully. The new style of the Benajamin couch lacks the zippers (to be able to remove them from back of couch) and what a hassle would it be to increase the fill!

janjan, it seems that the trend now is the sloppy look which I hate both visually and in regards to comfort. I do know that some sofa makers allow you to dictate the level of firmness when they build it to order. You might want to ask a furniture store that sells high quality sofas which manufacturer allows for this.

After years of thrift store furniture, we finally bought our "real furniture" when we bought the house. We bought a leather sofa, chair and two ottomans from Dania. Don't know if you have a Dania where you live, but everything still looks fantastic after four and a half years of heavy use. It wasn't cheap, but it was sure worth it!

I don't know about RH ... can you find out which company manufactures the sofa for them? That helps, IMO.

For anyone else wanting sofa advice, we bought a Hickory Chair Suffolk sofa about 15 years ago ... we are still using it -- and expect to for a while. It's still very comfortable, the cushions are still plump. It has gathered a stain here and there, but hopefully a professional cleaning will help.

It is sort of the style that isn't necessarily in or out of style ... ironically, ours is covered in a linen/poly blend that looks very much like the current Restoration Hardware stuff (but it's heavier). We bought it during the 90s as a backlash to all the huge sofas with huge arms, which I never really liked. I have never once wanted to replace it, really.

Here it is in our room ... I was experimenting with pillows, so ignore that ... and obviously someone was sitting in the cushion crack, lol

Oh, and the red chair is by Stanford, the Colville, I think. They still make it. Holding up even better than the sofa, same age. But we put cotton chintz on it, so it's a bit faded. (Getting to that cool look of faded, though.) I wouldn't hesitate to buy Stanford again, absolutely not. They did an amazing job with the floral COM fabric.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hickory Chair sofa

Thank you all. I have a few new brands to check out now. I am so nervous about having buyer's remorse after such a big purchase.

Segbrown, could you also tell us the manufacturer of your ottoman? It looks wonderful in your room.

Thank you.

I bought a sofa with down cushions. Never again! They don't hold their shape and it always looks sloppy/messy. I wish I had stuck to foam. It is super comfy!

I love my Ethan Allen couch and club chairs. Do you have an Ethan Allen near you? They are still good after more than twelve years!

Segbrown - your room looks gorgeous and I love your Bombay Co. ottoman - I have one just like it!!

Danielleg- Is there a RH outlet by you? We have one not far and they have tons of markdowns there. I'm constantly going there to "relax" on all their sofas.. LOL!

Lisamaria, anyhoo is right, it's a Bombay Company ottoman. Also about 15 years old. We have "upholstered" it several times, with different fabrics (just wrapped and stapled), but this is its natural state.

Also, our sofa and chair cushions are down-wrapped foam, which is great. It's a foam core, so it doesn't get smushy, but the down on top is comfy. Highly recommend it.

I have down wrapped foam too. It's like you describe. It's what I will always have.

anyhoo, I do have an outlet about 45 minutes away. I guess that will be my first stop!

pps7, that's exactly what I was worried about. I love how down FEELS, but I'm nervous about how it will look after a while.