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Thanks, Jay. I would love to buy a fabric sofa instead of leather since there are so many more styles and sizes available for so much less $$. But our dog's smell instantly permeates our fabric couch, whereas the leather sectional only shows her shedding hair. We have a slipcover over the current fabric couch and if I were a good housekeeper I'd wash it twice a week because that's how bad it gets.
I saw a couple of nice sofas today that are made in the U.S. One is by Flexsteel. Never heard of them but seems to be a very good sofa and good company that makes a lot of upholstery for boats etc. Here's the sofa if anyone's interested: Flexsteel - America's Seating Specialist: Home Furniture The size I want starts at $1,800 for leather. Frame is kiln-dried hardwood, uses Flexsteel's "blue steel seat spring," with high density cushions, all w/ lifetime warranties. Both back and bottom cushions are removable. More info on the sofa's construction and warranties: Flexsteel - Sofas & Sectionals.
The other is by Bassett, but it starts at $2,300 for leather: Sofa | CU.2. This sofa uses interlocking 5-layer laminated hardwood frame, sinuous spring support, high density foam. Back cushions are not removable, but bottoms are. IIRC, also has lifetime warranties on frame, support and cushion. Overall seems well made, but seam finishes were not as nice as the Flexsteel.
Also went back to check out the Macy's sofa in my original post. The sofa's now on sale for $1,400, plus no sales tax! It's kiln-dried hardwood, industrial webbing support, high density foam. Cushions are not removable. Forgot to ask about warranties and country of origin. Seems well made and the floor model has held up well except for some sagging at the bottom of the sofa, below the cushion, which makes me nervous.
I know Bassett has a good reputation -- is Flexsteel's just as good?
flexsteel is a very nice product. I would buy them over the basset if I liked the style better and cost really didn't matter. not that the basset isn't made better but the flexsteel is considered to be a a better made product. I sold furniture for years and years, flexsteel did a very nice job on their leather products. basset and broyhill are marketed and made for the middle america, a decent product at a decent price. it has decent construction but it is pretty basic. made well enough and should last, I just think with the FS you will get a bit more in the quality of construction.
try not to worry too much about which one is better. just buy to the best of your budget, you should get a well made sofa in that price range, get a good warranty and get the one that you like the look and feel of the best. did you see the cheap ones yet? scary huh?
EA has lost is shine IMO. Unless you are "in love" with something, I'd shop it!! EA has quality that is far better than the average but the price far, far over average. I think you have some good advise on above posts. Shop, shop, shop!
Thank you both for your help! And omg, yes, hothulamaui, it definitely helped to check out the cheap sofas too. I especially appreciate hearing your opinion having worked in the industry.
I'm definitely leaning toward the Flexsteel now. I was mistaken that both back and bottom cushions are removable, it's just the bottoms on this model. That's its only drawback, IMO. I like the Flexsteel's style better than the Bassett, the size is better for our place, it feels better made and it's $500 less than the Bassett. Although the Macy's sofa is $400 less than the Flexsteel, it does not appear as well made and I'm limited to 2 color choices. I still love the style of the Ethan Allen sofa best, but can't justify spending $700 more than the Flexsteel, plus the width is a bit smaller than I'd wanted.
I'm hoping to drag my husband to some stores for his opinion and then hopefully order this thing so I can stop obsessing over it.
I went with Ethan Allen dining room furniture because I loved it and espect it to last a lifetime. But I opted to purchase my love seats from a less expensive store because I know as hard as I try, having two kids and a dog, my loveseats will not last that long and I won't feel guilty replacing them! Good Luck!
We have quite a bit of EA furniture that we splurged on when we moved into our house 9 years ago. It's nice, but if I could do it over I would save the money and shop elsewhere. It's very nice, but the quality absolutely does not live up to the pricetag. On the other hand, we have a Rowe sofa that we bought 14 years ago that is still going strong.
There are some great tips and suggestions here that I would surely consider before purchasing any more furniture. Good Luck!
Ethan Allen is good quality but I think it is overpriced; you can get furniture that is just as good for less money.
A good place to look for "apartment-sized" furniture is Crate and Barrel, surprisingly enough. Not everything there is reasonably priced but some of it is. I have a few pieces from there (no sofas or chairs) and they have held up very well, I am pleased with them. I bought my sofa from Haverty's and have been very happy with it.
Thanks, Jay. I would love to buy a fabric sofa instead of leather since there are so many more styles and sizes available for so much less $$. But our dog's smell instantly permeates our fabric couch, whereas the leather sectional only shows her shedding hair. We have a slipcover over the current fabric couch and if I were a good housekeeper I'd wash it twice a week because that's how bad it gets.
I saw a couple of nice sofas today that are made in the U.S. One is by Flexsteel. Never heard of them but seems to be a very good sofa and good company that makes a lot of upholstery for boats etc. Here's the sofa if anyone's interested: Flexsteel - America's Seating Specialist: Home Furniture The size I want starts at $1,800 for leather. Frame is kiln-dried hardwood, uses Flexsteel's "blue steel seat spring," with high density cushions, all w/ lifetime warranties. Both back and bottom cushions are removable. More info on the sofa's construction and warranties: Flexsteel - Sofas & Sectionals.
The other is by Bassett, but it starts at $2,300 for leather: Sofa | CU.2. This sofa uses interlocking 5-layer laminated hardwood frame, sinuous spring support, high density foam. Back cushions are not removable, but bottoms are. IIRC, also has lifetime warranties on frame, support and cushion. Overall seems well made, but seam finishes were not as nice as the Flexsteel.
Also went back to check out the Macy's sofa in my original post. The sofa's now on sale for $1,400, plus no sales tax! It's kiln-dried hardwood, industrial webbing support, high density foam. Cushions are not removable. Forgot to ask about warranties and country of origin. Seems well made and the floor model has held up well except for some sagging at the bottom of the sofa, below the cushion, which makes me nervous.
I know Bassett has a good reputation -- is Flexsteel's just as good?
Wow - $2,300 for a Bassett sofa??? Pretty pricey IMHO, but it does appear to be all leather which is good. I have heard of Flexsteel and they seem to have a good reputation. For the style you are looking at, have you checked IKEA? Not sure what they have but their prices are usually good. Also Thomasville had some nice models to. Jay
I just spent $11K there so it better be worth it!! $5K of it on a sofa. I'll say this - this service has been great so far. I was impressed with how they made their sofa and I've been assured everything will be Made in the U.S.A. which means something to me. My husband and I were talking about what great service we got from there because I did read that others have had bad experiences there. Part of me thinks it is because we didn't try to haggle. In retrospect, maybe we should have just a little but I didn't think you could in those kinds of places!! Anyway, I digress. Our furniture is coming in the second week of August. Our designer was great, offered a lot of advice and backed down when she "needed to". We're excited about our furniture and have confidence they will be awesome. If not, lesson learned. It'll be an expensive lesson but a beautifully decorated one.
Thank you both for your help! And omg, yes, hothulamaui, it definitely helped to check out the cheap sofas too. I especially appreciate hearing your opinion having worked in the industry.
I'm definitely leaning toward the Flexsteel now. I was mistaken that both back and bottom cushions are removable, it's just the bottoms on this model. That's its only drawback, IMO. I like the Flexsteel's style better than the Bassett, the size is better for our place, it feels better made and it's $500 less than the Bassett. Although the Macy's sofa is $400 less than the Flexsteel, it does not appear as well made and I'm limited to 2 color choices. I still love the style of the Ethan Allen sofa best, but can't justify spending $700 more than the Flexsteel, plus the width is a bit smaller than I'd wanted.
excellent shopping and product knowledge. lots of times on a leather sofa the cushions are fixed as with leather things slide off so easy. that is high for a basset. I think 700 bucks is a bit much to spend just cuz you like it a touch more. you can get real close to the look for less so why spend it. I think it is a good idea to go with the widest one as well, just more room when you go to tuck your feet up under yourself. just as long it isn't so deep your feet don't touch the floor. I think once you sit and feel a cheaply made sofa you can really go from there and you can truly feel the difference just in the feel of the sit. after you compare you can figure out for your self just how much extra you are willing to spend on the tad better construction or the tad more stylish look. what color are you going for?
I'm hoping to drag my husband to some stores for his opinion and then hopefully order this thing so I can stop obsessing over it.
Thanks again everyone for your time and help!
aloha
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