Where do we start?

Hello everyone,

We are close to finishing a whole home remodel and are beginning to realize our 11 year old Lazyboy leather sofa isn’t going to cut it anymore. It’s the most comfortable couch I’ve ever sat on, but it’s on the uglier side (I was a bachelor when I bought it), and the leather is quite worn. We also have an American Leathers comfort sleeper sectional sofa, which has been a frustrating piece of furniture to own. It was expensive (I probably overpaid) and the sections constantly separate and the cushions slide out of place. We want to get good quality furniture this time around. But I have no idea where to look or where to start. From reading through this forum I am getting a better idea of what qualities good furniture should have, but even when I browse online I have trouble finding specifications on how the furniture is constructed. I also see Hancock and Moore mentioned quite frequently.

My question is, what other brands are trusted to sell quality furniture? We are looking for a living room set which is also our media room. We have dogs and prefer the material to be leather or some type of material that is easy to clean dog fur off of. We prefer something that reclines or has built in ottomans so we can put our feet up.

We are also looking for a master bedroom set. Can you please point in a direction of which brands we can start looking at? We are located in Southwest Florida, our house is a modern/Mediterranean design.

Thank you very much!

Your American Leather sectional doesn't have alligator clips to hold the pieces together? Have you looked underneath to see if they are attached and just not engaged? This is very unusual for there not to be a tie-on on the sections, but its not unheard of for delivery personnel to neglect to pivot them out and clip them together. Get under the pieces with a flashlight and see if you can locate shiny metal pieces under the chassis that may currently be rotated inwards. It could very well be you have them on the piece and need to turn them out 180 degrees to engage. Every halfway decent maker uses these, even Chinese-made imports use them.

In any case, this is an easy fix is you have a cordless drill with a # 2 phillips bit, just get these off Amazon and you can install them yourself (you will have to push the pieces onto their backs to install), you need a pair of clips to join every two sections and alignment is reasonably forgiving if you install them less than perfectly. No more separating sections! Watch this video and below that is a link to order some.

https://youtu.be/P9T7Y5-E5bQ

https://www.amazon.com/Metal-Couch-S...26502686&psc=1

Most makers don't put their specs out for these reasons 1) They don't really want to show you how they make it 2) Consumers don't understand the terms so the manufacturers deem it irrelevant. 3) Most consumers shop by price in upholstery, not by build. All the parameters required to build a quality piece are outlined here in the forum already, study up and learn, then go forth and shop.

I don't make brand recommendations because that's Consumer Reports stuff and it would be a full-time job to assess the thousands of brands out there, and require hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy each brand and tear it down to see how it's made. Plus, techniques and suppliers are fluid, and what may be applicable to a "Brand" three years ago may not apply today.

The most expensive component on a piece is the leather itself, the second most is the foam. So look for shortcuts taken in those two areas (vinyl or splits/bi-cast on non-seating surfaces, and lack of foam and tailoring on the corners, sides and backs). If you go motion, only buy pieces that have either Leggett and Platt or Ultra Mek reclining units in them. Both have their trademark labels on every piece.

Having said that, I believe Hancock and Moore has the highest build standards in the industry for leather upholstery and makes a superior product. There are hundreds of also-rans.

Good luck in your seach.