We're on our third living room set. The first one was good quality (Castro Convertible) but it faded from the sun.
We put film on the windows and bought another great set from Crate and Barrel. This I thought we'd keep forever (and in some ways we have) because the set was sturdy underneath and you could change out the covers. Our original covers became very worn (after about 15 years or so) but MIL sewed them several times for me, taking fabric from the back, but they eventually got quite run down. I went to buy new covers during their October sale and realized they were still around $2000, but unfortunately, the quality wasn't as good as it was when I oringinally bought the pieces, so that idea went to the wayside. We wound up putting that sofa down into our family room where it still is today, with a different new cover on it that came with another Crate and Barrel set I got. (See story below.)
Meanwhile, I decided I wanted to get a sectional in the living room. It took a long time to find one for a price I wanted to pay (most were close to $3K) and that fit the room correctly. One lucky day I was browsing a local thrift shop when I found a cream-colored Roche Bubois leather sectional (originally sold for around $8K) that had hardly been used, and I grabbed it right away after doing some rough measurements. That works in the room and I think will hold up really well (although I did notice one scratch recently and not sure if there's a way to fix it - anyone know?).
The only chair I have in the living room is one I'd found for my mother that she was looking for and she recently gave it back me as she got a recliner. It's also cream-colored, and I'd found it at Savers, believe it or not, for like $15. When I got it home I cleaned it myself with a steam cleaner and it came out beautiful! (I think it's what you call a "Lady's Chair".) Prior to that we always had some type of small upholstered chair in there, nothing special. It's a small space that includes a doorway just past it so I don't want anything too big there. Right now I like the look and all furniture is comfy. Instead of a coffee table I have a large ottoman that opens up for blankets, and I keep a large wooden tray on top for drinks and such. (As well as a large pine armoire my DH made that holds our TV, and matched our original bedroom set.)
As for our family room, lol. I remember when we first bought our house our bank account was pretty stripped and we still had a big, empty space to fill. We went to one of those hotel liquidator sales and got a decent, new two piece set for around $300. That worked for us for quite a few years. When our kids were young we converted that space to a big play area. Later, we bought an IKEA Ektorp set, of which we still have the loveseat. Meanwhile, I was perusing Craigslist one day when I noticed someone selling a beautiful Crate and Barrel sofa like the other one we had, but this one was a Queen sleeper, too. I nearly fainted when I saw it because it looked brand new. (The couple selling it were having twins and were making some fast changes to their small townhouse.) The funny part was that they had two sets of covers to it. So that's why we had an extra set to put on our C&B sofa from the living room. All are white, and washable. (And still look good!) So we have two C&B sofas in our family room and an IKEA loveseat. I don't imagine we'll switch them out, even when we renovate, which will hopefully be soon, but with two in college... it may be a while!
Lastly, our bedroom set was a real stretch when we first bought our house, but we sprung for it. Excellent NE quality pencil post and shaker set. Well after 25 years I wanted a change. I'd fallen in love with a Malm king set I saw at IKEA, so we bought that and I love it! I also bought a beautiful bureau piece I'd seen in a second hand store, it has an amazing patina and you could tell it had been lovingly cared for.
Kitchen, we had a nice ash trestle table and bench/Windsor chair set that I sold when we remodeled our kitchen, and bought an oak pub style table and chair set that I like a lot.
In our sunroom I originally started with a faux wicker set but the sofa was uncomfortable. We switched that out with another CL find that matches the decor in the room perfectly and is much more comforable. I also have a grandmother's clock in that room that is beautiful, with hand-painted flowers, which I found at a yard sale for $15.
I enjoy home decorating and shopping for things that can improve either look or function. I guess you could call it a hobby of mine! (I could go on, but this is long enough already!)
Same thing with the dining room table and chairs - they were just way, way too big for the scale of the room. A relative became the lucky recipient of all of it and we bought new, lesser-quality but much cheaper stuff.
