I work part-time for a boutique furniture store. I do believe that price and quality go hand in hand. Make sure that the sofa is 8-way hand tied (if possible) has a hard wood frame. Also internal horizontal compartments on the back cushions that hold the filling in and up. There are fabrics that can withstand children like Crypton and Revolution. Jumping and eating on furniture takes years off the life of the piece. I vacuum my furniture twice a month and scotch guard every six months. I do not allow jumping on my furniture as I see my home furnishings as important, like my car I wouldn't allow anyone to jump in it. We get customers that ask for cushions that can be replaced if their dog chews a hole in it, or their kids rip it open, the store I work for doesn't offer any warranty for those types of damage I have heard that some stores do though.

Rooms to Go offers prices low enough that you might want to buy some items and then replace them when the kids are older.

If you want a step up from Rooms to Go, Craftmaster is a good option. They are well priced, mid range quality ( you should get some good years out of a CM Sofa) they have a customizable sectional called the F9 that allows you to pick the size and the options that you want including fabric (they have Revolution fabric), feet color, arm style, (get a welt it doubles the life of a cushion) welting/ stitching options. They have hard wood frames, 2.0 density cushions and horizontal compartments on the upper cushions. Don’t be afraid of light colors with the new stain resistant fabrics you shouldn’t need to be concerned. CM also allows you to pick from 1000 fabrics for throw pillows. They have Paula Deen fabrics if you like traditional and Rachel Ray if you want a more contemporary feel as well hundreds of other options. I am not a CM rep, I just believe that they are good quality for the money.

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions. We've been Bob's customers for years, but it's time to upgrade a bit.

What are people's feeling about Jordan's furniture (they're local to New England, I obviously don't know where everyone is from, lol)? Wayfarer or Overstock?

Thanks!

I wouldn’t purchase off an online site for myself. I want to know how a piece sits. Furniture is an investment, so to speak for a number of years like a car. If you really think about the large items you purchase: a home, car, boat, furniture - it’s a big deal and should be given much thought and research.

Very good point. I'm glad I'm thinking about it now. It's going to be a little longer before the room is painted, so I've hot some time. Thanks!! :)

I purchased a Pottery Barn leather sofa off Craigslist and my daughter purchased a CB2 sofa that is gorgeous off Craigslist. I also purchased all of my outdoor furniture off Craigslist. I had good experiences with Craigslist. With Craigslist it’s good to take someone with you and be extra cautious. I financed furniture at 0% for 18 months. It helped build my credit and made my purchases not so painful upfront. We have a lot of Bernhardt furniture in our home and my experience has been EXCELLENT with their durability and quality. Every piece that I own my bedroom set, dining room set and family room set looks like it did the day I purchased it, they are pricey though. I have had great experience with leather, durability and children. I don’t rep Bernhardt - I wish I did so that I could buy more of it!

I bought a cheap sectional. It lasted 2 years.

The expensive one lasted 17 years.

I have seen cheap furniture fall apart in the store. I haven’t seen that happen with a little higher quality brands.

Ditto, why is why we're kind of done with Bob's.

Whatever you do, get good quality and teach your children how to respect their home.

Another thing that I have seen that surprised me is the distressed wood furniture seems as though you can do anything to it and it’ll just take the beating but from what I have seen the integrity is compromised and not as strong.

He's a pretty darn good boy, but he is 3! Great listener :)

We have moved across the country several times and my Bernhardt handled every move and looks brand new still after many, many years.

You are a wealth of knowledge, sabbath. Very much appreciated! :)

Don't finance furniture. Buy what you can afford and make sure to get scotch-guarding for easy clean up when the kids make a mess. It is important that you shop for the furniture in person, try it out and look at it closely to inspect the quality for yourself. If you find several different brands/options that you can afford, then read some reviews before taking the plunge. If store prices are too high then shop around at thrift store, estate sales, and craiglist. Just make sure you know your room measurements and how big of a sectional you can actually fit in your room (and carry those measurements with you).

I think that most inexpensive furniture will fall apart quickly, but you can't assume that just because a piece of furniture is expensive that it is high quality. There are stores that price their items to give the illusion of fine furniture, but it's really poorly made imports. If you are going to splurge on something, make it your sofa! Look for 8-way hand tied suspension and you'll usually get a sofa where the rest of it is made well. Most high-quality sofas will have a lifetime warranty on the frame and suspension. Look for at least 5 year warranty on the cushions. I like Lee Industries and The MT Company. Both of these you can get replacement cushions after years of use and the sofa will be good as new. If you go for a slipcovered piece then you can replace that as well for 1/2 the cost of a sofa!

I bought a Norwalk sectional in the Revolution fabric. Almost like a sunbrella. I absolutely love it. I bought a Norwalk sofa 29 years ago and it was in perfect condition until I had to throw it away because of a flood 2 years ago. I went back to Norwalk. The sofa is the best piece of furniture I have every bought. I promise you this will be great with kids. Also, they use Syncrony (sp?) financing. Interest free for like a couple of years. I bought a regular sofa for the study in Norwalk also. Beautiful but almost too durable. Doesn't seem to want to break in. Almost overstuffed...but I am sure about the quality.

I've looked at Norwalk too, I'll have to look again. :)

I bought the Norwalk Linkin sectional. Love it! You don't want to get off of it. This is it before I finished furnishing the living room. Still need a coffee table.

What is your budget? An affordable and durable option is to buy a very good piece with old bones off Craigslist or Ebay and have it reupholstered.

One of my 84" long sofa's is from the free section of craigslist. I had it reupholstered with durable fabric by someone who redid the 8-way hand ties. Cost $800 total. When the upholster got down to the bones he said it was sold mahogany frame from the 1940s assembled rock solid joinery techniques. A sofa that is 70 years old and is still rock solid is going to last longer than any sofa you can purchase today.

A few years later I purchased a Baker 84" sofa, from the 1980s for $300 on Ebay. Had it reupholstered to match the craigslist freebee. They look amazing in the same room. For under $2,000 I now have two matching sofas that I intend to hopefully last a lifetime. They are tanks, no torquing on the frame, no wobble on the arms. I presume we will at some time reupholster the fabric.

That's a really good deal! I'm not 100% sure what our budget will be, but most likely under $2000.

Take a look at Flexsteel. I think for the price and my experience with this brand you would be happy with the guts of it. Made in the USA. Fabric is where you really need to educate yourself as that is where the wear will really show no matter how much $$ you pay for it if you don't select the right type for your needs. Read about upholstery "rubs" and what fabrics will wear the best. You want to stay away from anything with cotton in it. A lot of the manufacturer's now offer fabrics that resist most stains rather than Scotch Guarding but make sure you find out exactly what it doesn't cover. As none will be 100% stain proof. Most stores will offer some type of extended warranty but before you purchase these warranties make sure that it isn't overlapping the the manufacturer's warranty which is included in your purchase. Also, you want to find out the "fill" in the back and seat cushions when you talk to the salesperson. If the back cushions squash down, is it easy enough to fluff the cushions or add more fill by yourself. If the salesperson says "yes" make sure they show you by taking the cushion and zippping it open. Some cushions have no zippers so you can't get to the fill.

And don't buy anything on-line. You and your family need to sit in it and have the ability to talk to a person that actually sells furniture and can answer your questions. Plus, they will have tons of fabric to choose from if you don't see a fabric you like on the sales floor. Just be aware that ordering "custom" is usually a 6-8 week wait.

And you want to pick out your sofa before you pick out your paint color. You can always ask the salesperson to have the manufacturer send you a fabric sample before the arrival of the ordered sofa so that you can pick out paint colors.

We began our married life with two hand-me-down sofas ... and our first-anniversary gift to one another was a sofa and loveseat. Unfortunately, we didn't have the good sense to buy quality stuff, so after only six months or so we realized we'd made a mistake.

When we finally were ready to buy something nicer, we bought a sofa and love seat from Bassett. It cost a fortune, and now it's pushing two decades old and is starting to show some wear.

My advice:

- Given that your kids are still into couch jumping, do not buy anything new. They'll tear it up; it's what kids do, and you'll be upset.

- YES to the person who suggested searching Craigslist (or similar) for a used sofa. With small children, this is a practical choice. (Incidentally, the sofa in my den came to me used, and it's been serving us well for years.)

- NO to financing furniture. Financing luxury items is not a pathway to financial stability.

- I COMPLETELY understand the desire to have nice furniture chosen just for your place, but wait until the kids are older and you can pay cash for it.

It depends. Restoration Hardware is an example of high priced furniture that looks great but the quality is horrible.

Agree with the advice not to finance furniture... just buy what you can afford.

I am another Norwalk fan. Made in America, thousands of fabric choices, guaranteed, and a fast (under 6 weeks) delivery.

Zero percent financing is a way to ride their money and not yours. I can do that and still invest in a rate of return for MY MONEY. If you are going to buy the furniture anyway it really doesn't matter if you are not paying any interest does it?

Darn right! 0% is king. :)

0% interest loans ( actually just deferred interest on basically a credit card, usually approved for the amount of the purchase ) are just a gimmick to encourage people to buy things ( like furniture, jewelry, etc,) that they could not otherwise afford. They’re fine IF you pay off the loan ( or financing if that sounds better ) and you never miss a payment. The problem is that many do not have the discipline to pay them off during the time allotted or miss a payment. Life happens. Additionally, it WILL impact your credit score affecting any purchase of a home, car, or whatever during the time you’re paying off your loan.

Yes, you're definitely on the mark with that. We've done it before and never paid just the minimum, so a place like Jordan's that offers 0% for 5 years is an offer we'd take advantage of.

Here’s a different two cents. We purchased a mid to low priced upholstered (not leather) sofa about 15+ years ago, we didn’t know anything about furniture and could not afford more. It was comfortable, and we liked it. As it turns out, our kids (and us) are not hard on furniture (no food, no jumping) and the couch is still going strong. I would say it was a great deal. We did pay to move it once; if you purchase top quality furniture and have to move, you will probably feel obligated to pay to move it as well. Also,down the road if you want a change of pace, you may also feel obligated to reupholster or keep an expensive piece. I just think it’s hard to choose and pay for, a “forever” sofa; and even then it’s possible for people, pets, etc. to wreak havoc on it.

The store that you purchase from is actually charged a percentage on 0% loans. Some people do like to purchase less expensive furniture so that they don’t have to worry a few years down the line when they want something different. Different strokes for different folks. I don’t buy furniture often, so infrequently that when I do it stays for a long time. I have purchased a lot of used hotel furniture (8 chairs and a sofa and drapes) and it was of good quality. That could be an option for the OP as well. I have some chairs that were from a hotel that I might have reupholstered. The hotel furniture is made to withstand a lot of use.

I don’t believe that a 0% loan is veering a person off the path of financial stability. Many people need to build credit and pay those loans on time until they are paid off. My husband and I own an expensive home and have paid it off. We have also bought Several pieces of furniture on 0% loans and paid them off. There are many different roads to financial success and the very definition is different for different people.

The thing is: everything(well ok not everything probably, but most of it) that was made 15 plus years ago -was made better

that's why I highly prefer to hunt vintage(even though I'm more hesitant with soft upholstery, but did buy it couple times anyway-you can see the sofa, the house..you kinda rely on your instincts it won't have fleas or something)-they made it better. Whatever the price range was. 20 years ago-great. Fifty years ago-even better.

I agree with every comment made (yeah I know))-everybody makes a great point.

Yes there are new pieces that cost quite a lot-and advertised like they're so affordable-and I'm sorry but the quality nowadays is-mostly- not there, and the affordability is questionable too.

Might matter less with end tables etc, but is important when comes to upholstery.

I wait for sales with these..very patiently..I put it in my virtual shopping bag, and can wait for months, like a cat for a mouse, and the company might be tempted to give you your own special price, after all:) That's how I bought a daybed for DS on West Elm site..their cost was 1200..I bought it for 400..)) They delivered it(very nice delivery guys btw, nothing but compliments here)-and yes, it's great for 400 (I just want to remind you it's a daybed, so the whole mattress thing is still on you, which is partially good, that's how you control the quality), but if I would impatiently pay 1200$ they wanted, I'd be livid.

One can get very lucky with floor sales. I know I was. Entered a store by chance (had no idea at that time what it was but it seemed very upscale and was on main shopping street in Greenwich CT), fell in love with a bed that was a floor model, the price was reduced from 6+ K to 2200 I believe. It's still expensive for a bed by the way but I was smitten with it. I was smitten to the point I lost my marbles and we payed another grand to get it shipped to CA. Across the country. And you know what? That was worth it. That's a bed by Barbara Barry for Baker s Furniture(that's what the store was)-I bet I'm leaving this world before it does. The moving guys commented they never saw such well built bed in their lives. And they're movers, they see beds each day and have to take them apart, put together, all the shebang.

So besides CL, vintage stores, etc-I'd check local stores with good reputation, you never know what they might have drastically reduced, standing there waiting for you.

And another source that highly surprized me-Goodwill happens to have its own site. And it so happens that some very upscale stores decide to donate their floor models to local Goodwills. You need to pick it up at certain location, and these will be rare instances, and will be gone soon, But as I myself missed this opportunity to own Roche Bobois chairs etc for laughable money..log in and check your local Goodwill:) The website. You might be pleasantly surprized.

You can get very lucky with floor sales. My boss every few months wants to get rid of certain pieces that haven’t sold and marks them at cost plus shipping. It takes patience and willingness to possibly compromise.

0% interest loans ( actually just deferred interest on basically a credit card, usually approved for the amount of the purchase ) are just a gimmick to encourage people to buy things ( like furniture, jewelry, etc,) that they could not otherwise afford

Exactly. The store isn't going to give you a loan for nothing -- if they offer you zero percent interest, they're raising the items' price to cover what would've been the interest. Don't fall for this.

When you are checking out only cheap stores would haggle at the end to lower the price if you are paying cash. The price doesn't change at the time of purchase.

I just found home reserve online and the reviews seem surprisingly good. You design your 600 dollar sectional and pick the colors and they ship it to you. Then if your kids spill on it you just unzip it and launder it. Or of they deflate the pillow you buy a replacement.

Glassonion91168, I live in NH and have purchased many many furniture pieces from Jordan's over the years. Everything that I've bought from Jordan's held up very well and I never had a problem with anything (and most of my pieces endured kids and dogs). They have a huge selection with a pretty good range of prices. I consider Jordan's to be a much higher quality than Bob's. I'm currently looking to re-furnish my family room and will likely buy most, if not everything, from Jordan's. I was just at the their store in Reading, MA which is a giant store with tons of things. Another option in this area is Bernie & Phyl's, which I think is a step below Jordan's, but better than Bob's. Good luck!