best furniture stores

[drcmk]

It is absolutely time to replace my family room sofa. I'm unhappy with the old sofa--it seemed to wear out too quickly and the fabric tore at the back. The store that I bought it from closed about six months after I bought the sofa. I don't want to make the same mistake again. We've mostly bought furniture from IKEA and I'm almost always happy with it. But IKEA doesn't really suit the style of my family room. We shopped at Lazy Boy, Raymour and Flanigan and American Signature Furniture today. I saw sofas that I liked in each store, in a wide range of prices. I don't mind paying more for better quality, but I don't know how to be sure that a more expensive store actually has better furniture. When I look at online reviews, they seem to be written by someone with an ax to grind or are by the store owner--I don't trust them. Do you have any advice for me? How do I decide if a furniture store is reliable and if more expensive furniture really is better quality.

 

[taylor3297]

Most of the high end stores have great furniture. Once you find what you like, get the make, model number etc then call Furnitureland South, they will beat any price that is out ther and will ship it to your house. I buy all of my furniture from there.

 

[DMickey28]

We bought our family room set from American Signature a few years ago. For the most part it held up decent. The foam in the cushions seemed to get pretty flat after just a few years and the back cushions get pretty out of shape too. We made the mistake of buying fabric instead of microfiber and we have two cats. They destroyed the arms of the love seat.

We bought them just over 3 years ago. The couch only made it two years, though really no fault of it's own. The cats peed on it while we were away and we couldn't get the smell out. The love seat was really on it's last leg and didn't make the "downsize to fit in the moving truck" cut in our last move this summer. It would have been fine for a family room or basement room for a while longer.

We bought a broken couch at City Furniture in Florida (same as Ashley) which aside from the broken section which is tough to fix, has been great for the last 1.5 years. We also bought a dinning set and living room coffee table and end tables from there that are doing well, aside from the cats again!! Darn animals.

 

[luvmy3]

My living room sofa and chair are from Raymour & Flanigan and the price was way too high for the quality of the furniture they carry. I learned my lesson so now I go in there to window shop, find what I like, take down the manufacturer and model # and go home and check online for South Carolina dealers. I have gotten pieces delivered to NY for $100's less than buying it from R&F right up the road.

I would also avoid any dealer with the word *discount* in their name or their motto

 

[LocaRoja]

I totally agree about Furnitureland south (NC); they are awesome! They carry everything I've ever been interested in and their prices are so much lower than the stores in NJ. Everything I've ordered as arrived in perfect condition and they even deliver on sundays (I work during the week, so I LOVE weekend appts).

You can do everything online (I've always had things already picked out, but you can have a consultant help you select if you give them an idea of what you like).

 

[Namsupak]

Where are you from in PA? Are you near WV. If you are there is a great furniture store here in Morgantown called Chucks Furniture Store. We bought several sofas and specialty chairs from them, we also choose custom upolstry that would match the rooms the furniture went in. It sounds silly but they are actually a good local furniture store that has been here for several decades. I often go to IKEA as well in Pittsburgh. I am not sure if you are looking for a brink and mortar store or not but anohter big name is the Pottery Barn. We have ordered several large items from their website to be shipped to the house. It has all been quality stuff. What style are you looking for exactly? To answer your question it is hard to know if someone is a reliable furniture seller or not. For us it was all about word of mouth. As for price that is relative to your situation. If you really like something and it is unique then really it is whatever price you feel comfortable paying. For example we have a nice sectional in our TV room which was under 3000, I felt it was a good price for what we have. In our living room we have a sofa that was custom upolstered in a special color and fabric my wife wanted for about 1000. Here is a link to that sofa on the la-z-boy site, it is a double recliner our fabric we chose from our local furniture store.

 

[drcmk]

I am in the east, not close to WV.

When I checked the sofa that I wanted at a N.C. furniture store, I learned that the sofa, while a few hundred dollars cheaper through the N.C. store was not available in my area. Apparently the retailers here have a deal with the N.C. stores to keep the prices high.

It's not so much that I object to the price. It's that I don't know how to decide if a sofa is well made and durable or if it is going to fall apart quickly like the last sofa that I bought. Consumer Reports doesn't have ratings of furniture manufacturers. I can't find a reliable rating/review site.

Has anyone bought furniture that they think has held up very well? What furniture retailer do you think makes the highest quality furniture?

 

[DVC Sadie]

I am in the east, not close to WV.

It's not so much that I object to the price. It's that I don't know how to decide if a sofa is well made and durable or if it is going to fall apart quickly like the last sofa that I bought. Consumer Reports doesn't have ratings of furniture manufacturers. I can't find a reliable rating/review site.

Has anyone bought furniture that they think has held up very well? What furniture retailer do you think makes the highest quality furniture?

I have been very happy with the quality of Ethan Allen. Although the price was higher than other stores the furniture (couch and chairs) have lasted us over 20 years.

I don't know if you have pets but if you do and allow them on the furniture then I would definitely go with a leather couch. We used to have 3 dogs and they were allowed on the leather furniture and it has held up beautifully.

ETA: By the way I wanted to let you know that we bought a Lazy Boy leather sofa and loveseat (after Katrina) and the quality is nice for the price. My mother swore by both Lazy Boy and Ethan Allen.

 

[drcmk]

I have been very happy with the quality of Ethan Allen. Although the price was higher than other stores the furniture (couch and chairs) have lasted us over 20 years.

I don't know if you have pets but if you do and allow them on the furniture then I would definitely go with a leather couch. We used to have 3 dogs and they were allowed on the leather furniture and it has held up beautifully.

ETA: By the way I wanted to let you know that we bought a Lazy Boy leather sofa and loveseat (after Katrina) and the quality is nice for the price. My mother swore by both Lazy Boy and Ethan Allen.

Thank you. I have no pets, but two children and plenty of nieces and nephews. I know that they contributed to the wear on the furniture but I have to let them sit on it . DH wants me to get leather, but I'm not crazy about that look and leather doesn't seem comfortable for napping. My sofa definitely gets used for napping. Besides, if I don't wear fur, I probably shouldn't sit on leather, right?

 

[mominwestlake]

I am also looking for a new couch for our familyroom. We have 5 kids so I need something sturdy. Which would last longer- microfiber or leather? Does anyone else agree that Lazy Boy is a good brand? Someone told me JC Penney has a nice leather couch- I think it's the Linden.

 

[lisajl]

We just bought a microfiber couch from La-z-boy. We won't get it for another 4-5 weeks. Ok by me, we are going to WDW in 3 weeks!
So, the salesperson told us microfiber would be better with our pets.
I personally will try to keep the pets off the furniture, but we will see who will hold out longer. (prob. the pets)!!
At any rate, we paid a pretty penny for the sofa and two rocker/recliners.
They do come with a guarantee, thankfully!
We chose to upgrade, the sofas we have now are in terrible condition.
We went cheap about 6 years ago and boy can you tell it!!

 

[mominwestlake]

Do you remember what the guarantee/warranty is?

Can anyone else weigh in with a review of the lazy boy brand? microfiber vs. leather?

 

[kmvand1]

Without a doubt - leather! We also have two miniature schnauzers who live on our sofa and love seat. We purchased them at a store in Virginia called Belfort Furniture. Our older dog gets excited sometimes when people come into the house and will urinate on the sofa (lovely, I know). Anyway, we were told to only take the bubbles off the top of the dish soap and water mixture and clean it up, so far, so good. We are in the process of looking for another set now.

 

[Jockaroo]

It is too bad you are not able to get the furniture from Furniture Land South. It is a wonderful place. We recently replaced a sofa and loveseat that we had for 12 years. It held up very well, but in the amount of time and with extensive use, the fabric was getting threadbare. It was a set by Berkline. We replaced it with another Berkline set.

We opted for leather since the fabric wear was the only problem with our old set; frame and cushions were still great. We opted for leather on the seating area and a matched vinyl on the back and sides. It really does match. This cut the price dramatically.

I did not want microfiber. After sitting on several floor samples I noticed that the fabric left "butt impressions". Sitting on the material rubs the nap a different way and it makes the sofa look dirty. If you go with a micro fiber, make sure you rub your hand over a sample to see the color shift. My dog gets on the furniture and paw prints, drool and hair wipe right off the leather. It actually isn't uncomfortable for sleeping either--I'm a napper also.

I liked that Berkline was assembled in Morristown, TN. We are home theater buffs and Berkline is a leader in furnishings for home theaters. Our set has recliners in both pieces. http://www.berkline.com/

 

[Shleedogg]

We've bought from Raymour and Flanigan and Ashley Furniture. Our pieces from R&F are still holding up 4 years later, but are looking pretty tired. We had a terrible customer service experience with them so won't go back. We spent over $2000 on a chair and couch and when they were delivering, they ripped the chair. They sent someone out to fix it. It was a new chair, I wanted it replaced. They did replace it, but not without a lot of hassle. When we bought it we really liked the slipcovers but we went to look at replacement slipcovers and they cost as much as the couch!

We've been very happy with Ashley furniture. Our bedroom set, dining room set and 2 month old living room set are from there. Customer service is amazing. We love that when we walk into the store, no one pounces on you, they let you look. We had an issue with a broken dresser drawer (came broken) and a bed post that I broke jumping into bed (yes, I'm 5. I was REALLY excited about a new mattress!). They had someone out to fix it within 2 days, no questions asked.

 

[antree]

I bought my furniture almost a year ago at Mealy's and LOVE IT! They are great to work with price was reasonable and I love my furniture. The sofa was around $490-$500. It holding up great with the kids and I still saw it there in June. It is from Penny Lane and it's microfiber suede feel. Whatever it's called. LOL. It's great.

 

[AntePrincess]

I couldn't name a specific furniture store because cheap or not, they all seem to do the same thing with couches: foam over a linked metal spring system stapled to cheap lightweight pine.

After going through half a dozen couches in one year, used and new (trying to decently furnish a first apartment), I'd recommend forgetting a brand or a store and looking for something old that when you look it over the joints are tight and underneath it is tied material rather than the junk springs. I don't care about upholstery or even smell anymore, consequently, our best couch was free and I can put the money that would have gone to buying a junkier new couch into paying an upholsterer to do it right. Since it doesn't smell and it's incredibly comfortable, even if party-colored from a long line of DIY upholsterer owners, I just slipcover it. No point investing in good upholstering with children in the house.

The other route isn't as fashionable and isn't quite as comfortable, but it will last forever: look into "crate" furniture. It's the kind of industrial furniture you see furnishing college dorm lounges. It's basically a very solid wooden box in the approximate shape of a couch with completely independent cushions. This End Up is the quintessential crate furniture brand, although there are tons of others, many cheaper, and some more stylish. It's ridiculously easy to refinish the furniture or change the look with different cushions or slipcovers. It is indestructible as near as I can tell.

 

[Karenj2]

May I suggest Calico Corners? I work for them at their HQ, and I've learned a lot how the manufacturers make the furniture we sell, and it's quality! 8-way, hand tied springs, glued, screwed & double doweled joints, and the top of the line cushions offered as standard.

 

[Broadway Duchess]

We moved to our current home in 2002 and purchased a sofa/loveseat from VCF (I guess the "Northern" American Signature?). Both pieces have held up nicely; I have "floppers" - the fellas don't sit on the furniture, they flop down on it. The pieces seem to be well-made.

I would also suggest Ashley Furniture. We purchased a set which included sofa/loveseat/tables/lamps for my grandmother two years ago and it is still in good condition. My parents' latest set came from Macy's. It is in their living room, which is used a little less than the family room, but the set still looks new.

 

[mster425]

About half the furniture in our house is American Signature (the one in Plymouth Meeting, is that where you go?). People ask us if it's from Pottery Barn or more expensive places all the time. Our couches from there are 3 years old, one is a huge Simmons sectional that was $900 and one is a smaller couch that was $299. The Simmons is holding up well and the cheap couch is still so comfy but doesn't feel as sturdy. It was a step up from IKEA for us but not really pricewise. (I love IKEA, but all their furniture does look the same after a while!)

AmSigs customer service was AWESOME, our dining room table top was scratched when they opened it and they brought us a new one that day, which is unheard of in my experience with furniture delivery. They covered our floors and door before they brought the furniture in. The salesmen were a little over the top, but the rest of the experience was great!