I didn't know that, when I was shopping for a slipcovered chair I checked out C&B because I was told Lee made some of their furniture. This could be one reason why you see a chair on the floor that looks like something you saw on Lee's website and yet the name is different. I soon found out the chair (or sofa) is slightly altered when it's made for C&B. I just thought they tweeked the shape a little so they could rename it and prevent comparison shopping. After reading your post I have to say I'm not surprised there's more going on "under the hood" than I realized. Glad I didn't buy my chair from them. I ended up ordering from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic where they still use 8-way hand tie method and the furniture is made in the USA. Very expensive though. Ethan Allen has one or two slipcovered chairs but they stopped doing 8-way long time ago. I didn't find many slip-covered furniture out there in stores, it was slim pickens. Everyone wants leather and upholstered microfiber these days.

Mom270, When comparing Lee to McM their is a little bit more than just the spring construction. Overall Lee has better quality. Most furniture plants the cutters - sewers to upholsterers are on piece work, meaning their salary is based upon the amount of work they produce. Some companies have a higher rate on similar styles than others resulting in the extra time it takes to do a better job. And Lee pays higher rates than McM. However the 8-way hand tied springs are way over rated, its more a marketing tool now. Over that past decade they have found if you raise the height of the spring rails (wider rails) it makes it much easier and quicker to do a 8 way springs. But the results is, as I call it is that you are sitting on the strings and not the springs. Not nearly as comfortable and long lasting as a 8 way seat can be and should be if done properly. Actually sinuous wire springs that are spaced properly; no more than 4.5" apart, using 2 tie wires, and insulated clips that are screwed to 5/4" hardwood rails will outlast any of todays 8 way by a long shot and be a much better seat; a better ride is how I would put it. Also the trend with about every larger furniture manufacturer including Lee is plywood frames. Engineered because they are usually drawn using a CAD program, but the term engineered means really nothing when referring to any additional quality. So many of these frames are using poor quality plywood and only being stapled together. You really need to avoid these types of frames. The plywood should be all hardwood veneers of no less than 10 ply, with tight fitting notches, better screwed but everyone still uses staples. Still best to use stick-built frames with 5/4 hardwood (poplar) with double doweled (7/16") and glue in all joints with corner blocks in high stress areas. No foam used in the construction be less than 1.8 density and seats should be HR foam no less than 2.2 density. Their are still some companies that still build this way but you need to be careful as some have changed their construction method as per above recently and failed to update their marketing and website to reflect this.

In buying without seeing...if you can identify the weight it will tell you a bit about quality. I did this when buying extra covers for a slipcovered couch. The weight of the fabric was listed. Tighter weave also. Twills are an example, they can say twill but it could only be like sheet fabric. Mogator is right. Prices also reflect popularity. I made a big mistake on one fabric which pills like a sweater and saw it in person when buying it. I'd get samples first to determine what you are getting.

I think slipcovered would be more practical ..as it is washable...not sure white would be my first choice in your case....usually a pattern or color variations will last longer between washings...washing slipcovers is not a quick process and the size of the slipcovers can be a challenge in a regular size washer...depending on the style of the sofa it can involve lots of zipping and stretching to put the covers back on after washing..another observation...natural fiber covers usually feel much nicer to sit on than the stain repellant fabrics...if that matters to you ...look for a heavier fabric (like canvas) and find the right stain/spot removers to give you more time between washings...Folex makes an excellent carpet spot remover that works well for this...