I purchased a sofa from them about 3 or 4 years ago. The store was shutting down and I was able to get it for less than $400 (75%off original price) The sofa was great and probably one of the best ones I have owned as far as durability. I sold it when we redecorated about a year later- I would never hesitate from purchasing another set from them.

JC Penny is like any other retailer--they have more expensive lines that are well-crafted and they have budget lines that aren't as well-made. A lot depends on how the specific piece you are looking at is constructed. All hardwood or lots of softer woods? How are the pieces of the frame joined together, glue or doweling? Eight-way hand-tied springs or those sinuous steel springs? What's the upholstery fabric, thin cotton/poly or high-end microfiber or 100% wool or linen? Even Ikea has lower and higher priced lines of furniture. I wouldn't buy a piece of upholstered furniture without being able to find out what's inside it and how those pieces have been put together. There's a place for the lower-end furniture--as an occasional chair that's used only when there's company, in a guest room, etc. But if you are looking for something for your family room, that will be used daily and get a lot of use and possibly abuse from small kids or pets, I'd use that picture as inspiration. To me, it would be worth calling around and finding a store that has that sectional on the floor and driving there, even if it took 3 or 4 hours. I'd want to sit on it to make sure it was comfortable to me. I'd want to shake the arms to see how sturdily they were attached. I'd want to feel the fabric to make sure it wasn't scratchy or wrinkled easily. And I'd want all the information on what's inside it and how it's made. And if I ended up not liking the sectional at JC Penny, I'd take that picture to every local furniture store around and ask them what they had in a similar style. Granted, I'm very fussy about the upholstered pieces I buy. A table or desk from a catalog? No problem. Something I'm going to flop down on coming home from a hard day's work? That I want to test-sit and make sure it is comfortable and sturdy.

val - i like the look of the windows in that thread. i definitely want a twisted wood rod. you're saying to install the rod wider. you mean so that the entire window shows and the curtains are at the edges? i have those two smaller window panels on each side. isn't that going to look huge.? the sheers i have right now are not operable. holdbacks sound like a good idea. the only thing with those is i've noticed you end up with wrinkles. so you think i should permanently keep the rod at the height it is. not raise it? or just for now? i really need to make a decision on that. higher rod means longer drapes with means more money for drapes. i couldn't keep the ones i have right now because they'd be too short. which i'll probably end up getting new ones but i need to paint first. the other issue i'm having is the allen + roth rods and also the ones at linen and things only are 8' 2" or 8' my window (with trim) is 8' 3"/100". i thought they had longer ones at lowes but now i'm starting to second guess myself. i can't find them online. what do people do about this?? i can't imagine i'm the only person with a window this wide. i did see on the linens n things site it mentions "Use wood pole connector for wider windows" what's this? nothing showed up when i searched. i only need inches not 6' or anything crazy. (look in the scroll down description) http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1364039&cp=2167013.1331965.1334498&parentPage=family i could just buy an adjustable rod but if i'm going to buy another rod i want to buy one i really like. and i really like the wood ones. i'll need to keep it for a looong time. mitchdesj - thanks. i really was amazed at how squatty my window looked before. i also can see that i need a bigger rod. i tried to go cheap but as people say, window treatments are one thing you shouldn't skimp on. *sigh* hilltop - i never heard of that site. thanks!! looks like they have some nice curtains. We were originally going to put the thick, twisted wood rod in our bedroom but decided we're the only ones to see it. we installed another small one. i kick myself for not buying the bigger one AND for not installing the rod higher. It really looks funny to me in the bedroom. I always thought that was and looked the norm until i found this site. haha

Firt off, how wide is your window? I have an 8' wide window in my LR that I had custom drapes made by Calico Corners and a custom measure--paid way too much for them, but learned a lot in the process. They stack back fully on each side. I just measured and the stack is about 22" per side which I think looks about right, though at the base they fan out a bit since they are really full. They are fully operable, pinch pleats. Here they are just after installation: As you can see they are designed to stack back to the sides of the window--even behind the window trim, though in my dining room there was less room on the sides to accomodate the rod, so the stack only cleared the sides of the window (not the trim): Note they are also installed closer to the ceiling as they ceilings are 8' and I wanted to raise the eye. See the little silver things on the rod? Those are supports which I still need to paint the covers. Mine are that way as it's a traverse rod that I can fully open/close contrasting with fivefootzero's wooden supports (she has two). With the wooden ones you cannot pull the drape beyond the support, hence you have very important decision to make do you want privacy or not? You can still get privacy without going custom, but your response will help me better frame what to say next. Stationary panels are just that--they are dressed in attractive folds and left that way. You may be able to ope/close them, but they don't have that same look you see in the pics unless you "dress" them. Pinch pleated drapery are meant to open/close and the folds fall naturally withoout any "dressing." If you just want to do stationary panels with a really wide window some elect to install two shorter rods to either side of the window (there is an example above) instead of seeing the really long rod dividing the space. If you opt for stationary panels, I think this could be a good look for you. HTH