ok, enough with the bedbug talk - i'm sitting in a hotel right now and i'm waiting for my skin to start crawling! :) since you're concerned with budget, i highly recommend the Possibilities sofa collection from JCP. They're almost always on sale for very reasonable prices, and you have 3 arm style choices (rolled arm, shark fin, and square) and several fabric choices. We finished our basement before we moved, and got a small sofa and a 2 piece sectional from that collection SOLELY because we were having a hard time finding something that would fit through our hallway and doorway in the basement. and we were thrilled with those pieces, and were so sad when the buyers of our home asked to include it in the sale of the home. i don't recommend the chairs in that collection as i thought they were terribly uncomfortable, but the sofas were amazingly comfortable and not expensive, so i thought they were a great value. of course now that i've said that they're not currently on sale, but give it a few weeks and they'll be 40% off again i bet. they're almost always on sale.

I sold my leather sofa last year and I had a couple people come out to look at it. I remember one woman lifed the cushion to verify that it was the manufacturer I said it was. Now your first thought might be, why not believe what the seller tells you? Well, you'd be surprised how clueless some are, if not downright deceptive. And not till it happened to me did I take that seriously. I asked one woman who I was considering buying a piece of furniture from who it was made by and she gave me a name...but she was wrong, she only remembered the first letter and then made the rest up according to whatever famous name she had heard of! I thought it was a big name brand and then came to find out it was a no-name. Ok, getting back to my sofa...the woman checks the tag (make sure it hasn't been cut off). I thought she was only interested in the label but she was also looking for a leather swatch they sew into the sofa seat. She compared that swatch with the cushion to make sure it was the original color (no one had tried to dye it) and to see how much it had faded. Then she asked if she could have a tiny piece cut from the swatch so she could take it home and see if the color worked with her decor. So you might try that IF you find a sofa you like but you're unsure of the color. Had she asked for a cushion to take home of course I would say no, I may never see that cushion again! Once you buy it you can't return it so you have to be certain the color will look good in the light of your house. Lighting plays tricks on color, it could appear different in your house. Companies like Ethan Allen don't use 8-way hand tied anymore so don't think you're getting an inferior product if that's not how it's constructed. I remember when I was shopping for the leather sofa one of the marks of quality was how many pieces were sewn together to make the sofa. Cheaper leather sofas have what looks like a patchwork of strips sewn together. This probably goes without saying but people who looked at my sofa didn't do it....sit on all the cushions, not just one, because owners tend to sit in the same spot most of the time (especially in my house where one cushion offers best TV viewing!). It's the only way to know if one of the cushions has been "broken down". This is why I periodically swap the cushions around so they get uniform use.

Comparing IKEA to Lee is not a fair comparison. Lee sofas are my favorite brand stylisitically, but they are very pricey -- around here they are more expensive than PB. IKEA sofas are dirt cheap. I've owned several and some hold up better than others. Right now, we have the Karlstad line of sofas in our basement - a corner sectional and a loveseat. Both are going on 2 years old and still look brand new in spite of being in my kids playroom where they serve as trampolines and forts just as often as are sofas. But I owned a different IKEA sofa (the Ekeskog) where the cushions slid off the thing every time someone sat on it. They are also suprisingly comfy -- some IKEA sofas are not, so I would recommend sit-testing something in person before buying. If you want to go IKEA, I'd stay with a darker color (to avoid staining). I wouldn't count on washing the slips regularly because they can be a pain to get on and off and they can shrink. The upside is that IKEA tends to keep the same styles forever, so if your cover gets dirty (or you're just in the mood for a change), you can buy a new one for not a whole lot of money. If you've got the money for Lee, it's definitely a better sofa, but for a the size sectional I have in the basement, you are looking at $800ish for IKEA vs. at least $4K for Lee. Even if the IKEA one dies and I have to replace it, I can do so 4 times before approaching the cost of the Lee.

Lazy Boy is not high end! Any good design shop should be able to source a custom sofa for you for the same price as you were quoted at Lazy Boy. You should expect a sofa to last at least 20 years. You get what you pay for. I love my O'Henry House sofas. Have 2, 7 footers and plan to have them for a very long time. If the fabric becomes worn, I would have them reupholstered. I got a very high grade fabric that should last at least 10 years with normal wear and tear. The key to keeping your sofas in good shape is to vacuum every week and also rotate the cushions at least once a week. With down it is necessary. Everyone that sits on them, can't believe how comfortable they are. Some things are worth saving up for and I believe a good quality sofa is one of these. It is used every day and will receive the most wear and tear of all your furniture pieces.