Smith bros far exceeds Bassett quality. That said I did buy a smith bros chair and the upholstery was a mess. I had letters from two upholsters stating the fabric was not aligned correctly. Unfortunately the store I purchased from wouldn't back me. I had to return the chair to them...delivered it to their show room...and do a cc chargeback. That said I would buy Smith Bros again, just not from the same furniture store.

I can't address Bassett cushions specifically, but generally the industry all uses the same basic format, and from your description you are telling me that you are looking to buy a down-wrapped cushion, not a spring down. Most furniture builder outsource their cushions, so they're pretty commonplace among the major suppliers. Down 'leaking' is a thing of the past, as any maker has down-proof ticking surrounding the actual down itself. As for 'packing down', it sure does take a long time for that to happen, I've seen down cushions routinely go thirty years, much longer than the coverings and frames in some cases. Almost all cushions are lifetime warrantied from all the major premium makers these days, thats not unique to Bassett. Cushion suppliers warranty them, so the furniture makers pass that along to you. Most the time, you only have to pay the UPS charge for a new cushion and they rarely want your old one back. Here's the three basic cushion types, simplified: Qualex (Foam): Just as it sounds, wrapped with a fiber ticking. Better foams can be quite durable and comfortable. For most leather furniture, this is the best choice. They retain their shape and form well. Semi-Down Cushion (Down Wrapped). You have the foam cores, and then 1" to 2" of goods feather down is wrapped in the ticking and surrounds the foam. Usually a nominal upcharge. Spring Down (Marshall Unit). A high tech cushion that replaced the full-down cushion in most applications. A Marshall Unit is a series of small grids (waffle-like) each with a small spring about the size of a pencil inside every individual grid. The down is them placed inside each grid with the spring in each one acting as a shock absorber. There are hundreds of little grids and springs in a typical sofa cushion. All is then encased and wrapped with another layer of down encased in ticking. Marshall units are expensive to make as you would imagine, and carry a premium upcharge. The benefit is all the comfort of a down cushion, but the cushion will return to about 80% of its height after being sat upon, and doesn't need to be fluffed back up like an all-down cushion. It always pains me to hear of an upholsterer throwing out a Marshall unit cushion to replace with conventional, unwrapped foam during a re-upholstery procedure. Rarely have I ever seen a Marshall unit break down, and you cannot simply go do the crafts store and buy one. Most will last through three or four upholstery jobs just fine. They are custom made and usually only available from the manufacturer IF they are still making that specific model frame. Hope that helps explain it some. Duane Collie The Keeping Room

I have only had the 65" Hanover credenza about a month or so it hasn't fallen apart yet ;) but DH tells me he thinks the middle is sagging a little from the weight or our 46" flat panel TV. I didn't notice it but when he showed me the left door is harder to close with the TV on the credenza I can see a slight sag. This furniture is designed to have a large television on top of it, I don't know why Bassett decided to forgo extra support to accomodate this kind of weight. But it's OK, we can live with it, we rarely need to open that door anyway. I wouldn't compare it to Ethan Allen but it was the only piece I could find that accomodated all of DH's stereo/TV components so in that respect it was perfect for our needs. Before I ordered it from the San Carlos store I researched the company name online and found some pretty angry customers who complained about inferior quality, especially with the upholstered pieces. Sounds like Bassett's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. That made me nervous but I ordered it anyway and crossed my fingers. I breathed a sigh of relief when it arrived a month later with no defects. Yes, you only have to wait 30 days for delivery (which you will pay $75 for). That beats the usualy 3 months for Ethan Allen...but they deliver for free. I thought the price was very good and over all I got my money's worth. My salesperson was not a designer but that was OK because I didn't need the assistance of a designer. I agree with the other poster, don't buy anything unless it's at least 20% off. I got mine for 30% off but that was because of their grand opening. Since then I've received offers for 25% off.

To start, I am in Interior Design with 15+ of dealing with furniture as low quality as Ashley to some of the higher end pieces in the world. I have owned several Bassett Pieces thoughout the years and they have held up fantastic! Unlike some of the comments on here I'd like to state that rougher you and your family is on furniture the shorter the life span. It seems like common sense, but I've seen it all. Bassett has 3 quality levels: Entry (2-5 years), Medium (4-8 years) and highest (8-15+). so if you're looking to cheap out, don't expect a lifelong sofa. I also cannot stress this enough, ALL FABRICS PILL, with the exception of the ugly microfiber(P.S. probably one of the worst materials to put on your sofa, btw). However, Bassett is very clear about the materials that go into making their fabrics. So either do research on material (cotton, linen, polyester, olefin, etc) or ask your sales person, I am sure they'd be happy to show you the contents of the fabric. Lastly, remember that most people on these theads usually are unhappy about something. so you're only seeing the negatives, because most happy customers do not leave reviews. I am leaving this honest review because I too have had a framing issue with one of my sofas, however I understand that some accidents may happen during transporting, and the furniture is HAND MADE people, no one is perfect 100% of the time. Are you? Please make a smart purchase, and take a deep look into your family and how they treat furniture before deciding what quality you want .