Couch research is making me crazy, please help

I will be honest. I am a pretty timid person. I am having a hard time talking to salepeople on the phone regarding price quotes.

In terms of what we are seeking:

We are a family of two - my spouse is large (300lbs) and we also have a big dog who likes to dig into furniture as well as two cats. The dog can be kept off but the cats like to do their own thing. We are looking for a specific (and seemingly very uncommon) width of couch - between 70 and 75" inches. Our desired price range is under $3000.

We are looking for something durable, stain resistant, easy to clean and dependable. I guess that is everyones dream couch hah! We have decided we would like a fabric couch and the seat needs to be at least 20 inches high. Other than that we aren't super picky on style, mainly build quality and dimensions.

We have looked at Hancock and Moore, Flexsteel & Smith Brothers in person as well as some cheaper brands like Room & Board, Bassett and Article. We have read all the posts about the decline in the life of couches and have done a lot of research on what makes quality couches (hardwood frames, 8 ties, US made, etc). We read good things about Taylor King here but do not know if it is in our price range and have not seen one in person.

We are leaning towards a Smith Brothers 5000 series couch but are worried about the things we have read regarding their fabric which I cannot find a lot of information on (no rub count, no idea where it is made, grades aren't readily available online). The price we were quoted was around $2,400 for a 75" 5000 series in the lowest grade fabric they have. A Flexsteel 70" couch came out to be about $1350 w/ $200 delivery so quite a big price jump between the two. I do not remember the exact H&M price we were quoted but it was high and I am not sure how big of a difference there is between each of these brands.

If you were me, what brand would you lean towards/is better suited for our needs? Or is there another brand you recommend that I may have overlooked?

Any advice in general?


Sorry for the long post, couch shopping is stressful and we really just want to find something sturdy. I would be so eternally grateful to anyone who can provide some insight and help us make the leap here.

To recap, it seems that our brick wall is our desired dimensions. Loveseats under 70" are not feasible as this will be our main living room couch and we want it to feel as roomy as our tiny space allows for. So we find ourselves in this strange 'in between' land of couch sizes when shopping. If the Flexsteel is only marginally worse than the Smith Brothers, we would probably go with them but I really can't tell how big of a difference it will make in the long term especially with heavy use from a 300lb spouse.

Also I have tried to call around and get the best quote but there aren't all that many Smith Brothers retailers near me (Montgomery County, MD).
Any thoughts?

Smith Bros doesn't use 8-way hand-tied springs, they are a no-sag suspension company. That's not a unit I want to buy for a 300 lb person.

I'd give up on the solid hardwood frame unless you can increase your budget a bit. At that price point you will be in a plywood frame.

Fabric durability is determined by the rub value count. You have to find out the number of double rubs the cover is rated at. Dealers may have to call to get the rub value on a specific material. Whatever you buy, ask for Plus 1 firmness on seat cores as that's better for that weight.

The Hancock and Moore Your Way 76" unit with a smaller arm will fit your space (the 76" is done with the largest arm, a narrow track arm will make the piece about 73"). Seat Height is 20.5". 8- Way handtied suspension, 22mm Russian Birch plywood frame, lifetime guarantee on frame and suspension. Because H&M is a leather house and they run this on special, you can buy in leather for less than entry level fabric, and leather lasts 4x longer as long as the cats don't get after it. Under $ 4K with delivery and I'm a dealer close to you for it in Alexandria VA. Note, this YOUR WAY promotion price is increasing in the next 30 days or so, and that will likely take it over $ 4K.

Taylor King Portfolio is also 8-way hand tied, 18mm plywood and their -76 is similar to the H&M, They run a Portfolio special that would put that in GRP 1 fabrics in Standard Depths just under $ 2K currently. Prices goes up in higher fabric grades.

Know that nothing is shipping ie under 5 to 6 months from any maker right now. Taylor King is taking about a month longer on orders than Hancock and Moore .


http://www.hancockandmoore.com/YourWay?CollectionNo=YW

I just want to start of by saying thank you because perusing your replies and threads on this forum has been of indispensable value to us when doing research on couches. I really appreciate you taking your time out to help everyone.

I am now convinced that Smith Brothers are fully out of our consideration. Regarding the H&M, we aren't keen on getting leather, though we understand it is more durable. Cost is another factor and getting something in the 2k range is appealing.

With that being said, we would love to check out the Taylor King you mentioned but the 76" is too wide for our space. Do you happen to have either the Layla mini (4718-09), Callahan mini (2915-09), Joselyn (8211-03) or Cozy Creations (K180-38) couches by Taylor King available and what would the price ranges for these couches be, if you stock them? I was trying to do some research on Taylor King lines and those 4 seem to fall into the dimensions we are looking for. If you do not have them on display in your showroom, are there similarly built TK lines in fabric we could check out with you at the Keeping Room and then order one of the above mentioned sofas?

Great! Using the forum is easy, nothing to be intimidated by it.

Here's what I would suggest you do - Sheffield's is closing its store in Rockville MD which is REALLY close to you, over on 355. They carry high end, better product and *may* have started marking down floor stock. Why not take a ride over there and see if they have something you can get a good price on? I don't know their timeline for closing and it may not even be public yet, but their closing allows me to perhaps get a tightly controlled line I would like to have in my store (can't disclose that product right now). If you see something you like there, make an offer since they are closing. 20% off a tagged price is reasonable.

On the Design Your Own products like Taylor King, those measurements are with the widest arms. If you drop back to a narrow track arm it can take 3 to 4" inches off the overall width without giving up any interior space. So 76" would be more like 73", maybe 72".

I have this Cozy in the store right now with immediate delivery. No sales tax into MD, $ 125 delivery into Montgomery County.

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FWIW. I think you will be happier with a Taylor King than with a Smith Bros or Flexsteel. With those pets, if you are picking a fabric instead of buying from in stock, consider one that won't trap pet hair as much and also won't show rub marks as much (like how some fabric when you rub one way the fabric pile is a different color than if you rub it the other direction). Also drool spots are less noticeable on lighter fabric usually. :) Good luck!

I had an old suede like microfiber sofa before I got my H&M sofa and it was bullet proof with cats. I would not say the same for leather now that I have experience with that and cats. I think for day to day wear and tear and excepting a dog chewing it up, cats are harder on sofas less friendly to leather than dogs. The only thing the leather is better for is all types of hair and fur. But cat claws will put little nicks in leather just jumping on and off, and that builds up over time.

Thank you for your feedback everyone. We are going to follow your advice and check out Sheffields tomorrow but will likely be stopping by The Keeping Room as well. I appreciate all of your help and thoughts on the fabric, etc.