Good points all all. The problem with furniture, as I am starting to learn, is paying more doesn’t necessarily mean you are getting the quality sofa you assume comes with more money. Pouring over reviews and forums reveals a great many folk who spent what they thought was a great deal of money only to end up with a defective/inferior sofa.

That said, I’ll spend what is necessary and would like in exchange a good solid (hardwood or grade A plywood) frame, durable suspension, a long wearing fabric, and firmer cushions that dont break down after 2 years. It looks like pocket coil cushions could be good? but hard to find them. Finding a furniture website that easily and clearly filtered in this manner would certainly speed up the decision process. Certainly open to suggestions. Currently riding a Flexsteel Temecula sofa with droopy cushions and fraying fabric for context. Thanks in advance.

Please post what you end up buying!

The only sofa that I have bought and loved might not meet your requirements but my family loves it, Bought in 2005, I am guessing.
At a store called This End Up, a large sofa with rolled arms, two cushioned seat and two back cushions. It has a deep seat, too deep for some people, but I love curling up on it and laying down. So comfortable. The fabric is wearing so well. Many years now and I can’t give it up. I already told my husband that it will need to be reupholstered when the time comes.

It was not expensive then. Times have changed .

Check them out and see if, they have something that meets your needs. The first time I walked in their store I nearly walked out, they carry a lot of crate furniture, then saw this sofa.

If you loved the sofa you have now, maybe getting it reupholster and cushions redone, might be an option for you

Love to reupholster and re-cushion to save money but losing that battle.

Anybody with personal experience owning Simplicity sofas? So far, it seems to be Simplicity or Flexsteel. It looks like you gotta spend between $2,000 to thirty couple hundred to get a durable sofa.? Certainly still open to ideas. Limited locally to only a few furniture retailers.

I bought Smith Brothers of Berne Indiana furniture 6 years ago at a going out of business, small, family owned furniture store in Downers Grove, IL. Structurally, they are great. Well made, very comfortable. Only one problem on one of two sofas I bought. It came off the showroom floor and I had no choice of fabric. The polyester began to pill almost immediately and looks very bad. The other sofa was a different fabric and has held up with no sign of wear at all. I would buy from them again, but would choose the fabric myself.

I waited waaaaaay to long to replace two sofas because I was paralyzed and could not make a decision - we ended up buying both from a small NC company called Cococo (comfortable couch company). We could customize fabrics or leathers and style. BTW they have tons of gorgeous leathers to choose from - so we could get one that was super lux or one that was more inexpensive and uber durable. Once I was close to a decision - I called the company and a designer talked me through my choices and made some helpful suggestions on depth and cushions, definitely things I would not have thought about 😅

I will say this for customer service - when I received our velvet sofa the color was slightly off and turns out they had made it in the wrong fabric (it came mis-labeled from the mill in SC) but the company made it right and shipped me a new one in the correct fabric with me having to only send 1 email with a photo. A real person actually called me back and we talked about it - which never seems to happen these days....

Laura Grosmaire Which Crypton fabric did you pick? I am glad that you liked it

you should absolutely check out www.maidenhome.com --- think its exactly what you're looking for great service/designs, 8 way hand tied, made in nc etc

Great option we hadn’t considered. Moderate prices, mostly good reviews, 8 way most sofas….. Most certainly worth a look. Strongly considering.

karen paul interiors I found a chair with the right dimensions. I have been looking for a long time for two living room chairs. I found a Hickory Chair (Pearson) called Veronica Swivel, I have not seen this chair in person. I was so surprised and disappointed that this chair is around $4,600, the fabric choice could increase the cost and I need two chairs, I am in NJ, I am wondering if the price would be less in NC?

Do people really pay that much for a chair? Seems very high to me.

Pearson is high end ,mostly to the trade or high end retailers;custom upholstery. I sold Pearson for years and yes it is expensive but very well made; they have beautiful fabrics; can be customized with whatever type seat cushions you prefer as well as other design features such as welting or skirt style etc. frames are premium hardwood, bench made eight -way hand -tied springs. It’s the kind of furniture you will keep a very long time and would be worth reupholstering years from now!

Chisstack, did you get this quote from a local designer or design center?

I don't know what color fabric you are looking for but Crate & Barrel have a number of swivel chairs that come in a variety of fabrics. Some of the styles can even be ordered with special fabrics. See pricing below.

Maiden Home certainly does check most boxes. Not sure if they offer any sofas with 2.5 cushion foam.? Boy it’s very hard to find the combination of quality: frame, spring suspension, 2.5 density cushions, performance fabrics, actual seating depth, and price. Flexsteel stays in the forefront. Great forum for us crazy analytical furniture shoppers.

la_la Girl Very much appreciate your input. How have your Cococo sofas performed so far? Mrs. kinda liked their selection. Do you know what density foam they use in the cushions? Very difficult decision with so many options. Thanks in advance.

lynartist, the salesperson in the furniture store. I did not see the particular chair I wanted, same company, similar.

Christstack, I’m not sure if you have a designer who could help you with this purchase either through their design firm or a design center. It may help slightly with the price.

hi @Melissa Hetrick! We have loved the sofas (10 months in) - you can select your cushion type, which I appreciated. Each sofa is quite different - the leather one (Modern Slope) is deep & loungey, lots of TV time on that one. Our other sofa is more upright - it's a 90" green velvet English arm for a narrower living room - a firmer feel, which is what we were looking for - Gina Gunning is the company designer I worked with - she helped me with my final selections and tweaked the cushions a bit based on what we wanted - I had a great experience with them, HTH!

It sure does. Pouring over some velvet samples (leaning Como or Porto) hoping to make a durable choice. Never imagined we’d be considering velvet. English arm with cushion back for a less formal look. Thinking 2.5 cushions figuring they’ll only get softer with time. Are they any flexible on price? They won’t be if I don’t ask I guess. Appreciate you taking the time for feedback. Thanks a million.

Mitchell Gold/Bob Williams has a solid reputation for quality and value. They produce their own line along with private label for some retailers ( I believe this is how they got their start). And all of their line is made in North Carolina.

i'm not sure thats right about Mitchell Gold anymore - I do think a good chunk of their sofas are still made in the US but majority of their tables and other products i believe are imported.

Hi I am currently buying new furniture for my family room iam loving the century furniture cornerstone i like deep seating is it good furniture So many mixed reviews more good than bad also looked at vanguard and bernhardt

we have the leonard from maiden home and its wonderful. we searched high and low for a high quality, contemporary designed, american made sofa with quality fabric choices and maiden checked all the boxes and has had great service in our experience to boot

I've enjoyed reading this very old post. Let me add my two cents worth on decades of furniture shopping. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. The upper end furniture such as Hancock and Moore, Bradington Young, Century, Hickory Chair, Sherill, & even more expensive, Baker, are an investment, not a bargain. I have several of these pieces in our home and they've held up, most all over 15 years! When you buy Crate and Barrel & other low quality furniture, it's only temporary. Consider furniture from Ashley and the enormous furniture stores to be disposable furniture!! It will be falling apart on you more quickly than you anticipated. Even if you can only purchase one quality piece at a time, do it. Down the road you'll have furniture you're proud of as it has held up.

P.S. if you absolutely can not afford quality lines of furniture, there are sources most everywhere selling used furniture of folks who have moved into assisted living, moving out of the area, etc. Research what brands are quality, then shop resale furniture sales. It will be far better quality & hold up better than Ashley and big box furniture stores.

So true, nauna (as someone with a 2nd hand Hancock & Moore leather sofa and a 2nd hand custom design center sofa we purchased from CL), and also for the "green" aspect of it. All that junk furniture is going to end up in a landfill a lot sooner than the quality pieces. Although we could afford these pieces new, if so inclined, I have no problems with buying clean, high quality, used furniture. The designer sofa came from a top level Microsoft executive's home, and it looked like no one had ever sat on it = $300. Quality furniture ages better, as well. The tradeoff is time, but the payoff on multiple levels is worth it IMO.

The downside of purchasing the higher end furnishing pieces is that when your taste changes you’re somewhat married to the pieces.

Fortunately my taste has never changed!! Like my wardrobe, I love and stick with the classics and accessorize with the seasons.

I cant find many Vanguatd sofas on Houzz. I found a sectional that I love, but I am not famliar with the brand. Anyone have any firsthand experience with this company? How do they comoare to Arhaus?

Not high quality.

Vanguard will exceed Arhaus quality by miles.

This thread is ten years old. In that time? More brick and mortar furniture stores have disappeared than on can count.

Comfort is personal. Buying a sofa minus a test sit is always accompanied by risk.

NO sofa bought today, will last a lifetime. A lifetime is now ten years.

Why? Because even with eight way hand tie? Even with hardwood frames?

Springs are lighter, foam contains more soy. You will not get grammy's sofa and her marriage to death, five recovers in a lifetime, couch.

I care not how much you "love" a sectional. Avoid it please, unless you can show it is your only option. It will paint you into a corner, lacks flexibility, versatility and rarely if EVER is the correct size or configuration with a move to another space.

Vanguard.........

"Hardwood frames and a multi-step hand-finishing process create a solid and enduring piece that can be passed down for generations. Vanguard's skilled artisans hand-apply all finishes, taking careful steps to make sure that each piece has the care and attention that is required to enhance the natural character of the furniture. We use a tried and true 8-way hand-tied spring system that creates a flexible yet supportive base for maximum comfort. Each piece is then upholstered by hand — every cut, stitch, quilt, button, nail trim, and more; brought to life by skilled and practiced hands to bring your vision to life. No two pieces are the same — every piece of furniture is truly unique.

It might seem outdated in today’s world of automation, but our hand-crafted quality and craftsmanship simply can’t be matched. We take great pride in knowing the care and dedication we put into each piece translates to lasting quality and years of memories for you and your family. "

Jan - that is exactly the feedback I was looking for. We aren’t doing the typical “Super Bowl watching” sectional. LOL There is a piece offered through Vanguard that is more of a lounge than a chaise. They also offer an arm that I have never seen before. Let’s all be honest - we buy a couch in our 20’s and then realize in our 50’s that it is time for a couch that will probably last us until we all go into assisted living. 😂

Unless you plan on assisted living at 65? Plan ten years, with very good care of the piece.

Show a FLOOR plan of your space.... pictures, and I bet I can give you better ways to AVOID whatever "lounge thing" you're thinking of. : )

One thing we know is if someone is in the business of selling furniture, they're always going to favor the products they sell. (No, I'm not in any business.) Search onlline and every furniture company will tell you they're the best. 5 years later they're falling apart, Vanguard is most definitely a low midrange company. Arhaus is a step lower. If you truly desire a quality sofa, step up to Century, Sherrill, Stickley, Bradington Young, Hancock & Moore, or Jessica Charles. These are quality companies, sold in top quality furniture stores.

So if Vanguard is charging over $10,000 for a couch, I can only imagine how much the other high-end ones are. I think I will stick with Vanguard. Thank you so much for all the feedback.

A great couch- Read what I said : )

Vanguard is better than Arhaus.

I view all in this order ......

Leather? Hancock and Moore

Fabric?

Baker Furniture

Hickory Chair

Taylor King ONLY, (NOT THE LAUREN LEISS)

Stickley

Pearson

Cr Laine. Vanguard

Century ( NOT what it used to be )

Lee ( not what it used to be )

Sam Moore ......junk/ OK for a space hardly used

Bernhardt _____ PASS

Online? N.O.T.H.I.N.G Arhaus depending

I will repeat: Any sectional from anyone will be more $$$. And less versatile.

You are advised. Buy a good three seat sofa, ignore the huge cushion trend

Add a great comfy chair.

Show your room and all the dimensions

Finally? Ask yourself what you spend on an auto and how long you DRIVE IT.

Ask if you can buy it for the same price as you did in your twenties or thirties.

If you want to know why there is so much junk? It is the myth that a sofa should cost what it did 20 years ago that indeed got you a good one....

2k - 3k.......its no more, just as the auto.

Ship sailed. And the attempt to meet that pricing? What do you think is inside, that supports or leads to longevity? Basically? NADA

Agree with most, except Century and Vanguard. Century is higher in quality and construction and Vanguard isn't on our list of quality companies.

Paying $10,000 for a sectional from Vanguard is robbery. Keep shopping.

I just ordered two Hancock & Moore fabric recliners as we're maxed out on leather. Jessica Charles is the fabric provider.

Someone should say that not every piece in a quality line is a quality piece. They all have different batches of offerings.

Unless you”re young and bound to job and apartment hop, I think it’s super important to sit on something before you choose it. So many things look great in a photo but may not fit your body how you’d expect.

Jan, where would you put Sherrill in your comparison? I'm trying to decide between Taylor King and Sherrill for upholstery. Deciding on cushions may push me over the edge.

Could not agree more about Hancock and Moore; we have two sofas in our family room and they are amazing.

I haven't used Sherrill in a while so can't speak to these days. I can tell you I have chairs at a client twenty years old that look and feel as the day they arrived twenty years ago.

Is that still true................? Who knows!!?

So many mergers, factory merges and still a huge back log but USA made. Probably a tie in terms of quality,with Taylor King.

https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/sherrill-furniture-invests-new-upholstery-plant

Thanks, Jan. I appreciate your thoughts.

I've had luck with them in the past and may give them a shot.

I haven't ruled out recovering 20 year old Sherrill either. Maybe that is my best bet.

I love Rove concepts design... sure would like to know quality. https://www.roveconcepts.com/

It's made in China and Vietnam and sold online, except for one dealer in Vancouver. That is not the makings of a quality product.

This is all VERY helpful. Thank you! I’ve heard people mention Rowe is a good brand for custom sofas… thoughts on this?

Weve had Two Rowe swivel rockers for 3 years. excellent!

My 34 year old daughter is looking for a sofa for her new condo. She's finally through all her medical training and ready for nicer furniture and accessories. Where should she start looking for a sofa? There's so much great info on this thread, I'm not sure where to start!

On a trip to purchase a washing machine, my hometown store sold Lancer furniture. It looked ok and seemed comfortable enough. We did a little research, looked at the website, and ended up ordering a 10000 series sofa and chair (and a half maybe). We ordered the firmest cushion, upgraded support, figuring it’s only gonna get softer with use. So far, a couple of weeks in, it seems like a good decision. The upholstery finish is great, and the sit is nice and firm as we expected. For now, we would definitely recommend Lancer. Just gotta keep the cats from using it as a scratching post. Thanks all.

The cost of quality furniture today can be quite daunting! I know it isn’t always advisable to reupholster but when I was shopping recently I came across this chaise. I immediately recognized it as a Pearson and when I lifted the cushion it was indeed! The shop owner let me have it for a very reasonable price and it went straight to upholsterer! If you are sometimes lucky to find a great quality piece in excellent condition for a great price it may be more than worth it.

https://maidenhome.com/collections/the-sullivan-collection?color=Pearl&size=60&finish=Driftwood&currentFabric=performance-textured-linen&currentType=sofa

https://savvyrest.com/product/verona-sofa/

https://www.thefutonshop.com/organic-sofas?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgOeTk-Sd_wIVCijUAR1k0wbKEAAYAiAAEgJjnfD_BwE

https://medleyhome.com/collections/sofas?sscid=51k7_15m7b3&utm_source=ShareASale&utm_medium=314743&utm_campaign=1415533

!

I understand that you are trying to find a higher quality sofa or sectional with transitional look. These products could be find in California from a local store named ReModern Living in San Diego. The y carry a brand named Fama Living which is made in Spain and and has a great combination of transitional look and modern European quality.