Furniture Great for Moving

[moveoften]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could make a recommendation on a brand of furniture that does not cost an arm and a leg and will hold up to moving. We are in the Navy and move every two years. I really want an H&M leather sofa but I think it is two pricey especially if it was to get damaged in a move ( a friends sofa was damaged by shrink wrap from it sitting in a hot truck) I am tired of buying cheaply made furniture that does not hold up well to a busy household of 4 children. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is such a great forum. Thanks for all the hard work.

[drcollie]

Flexsteel is pretty tough. Its not finely made, but you'd have to have a welder to damage their blue spring grid system. Another thought, watch Craigslist for pre-owned Hancock and Moore. Those solid wood frames really can take the abuse and it will sell in good shape for about half of what you can buy it new, sometimes even less. Thanks for the kind words about the forum!

[moveoften]

Thank you for the reply! I am not sure of pricing on H&M town and country promo line. But would that be comparable to flexsteel or more expensive. I grow up with a flexsteel sofa but wasn't sure that they were the same quality as 25 years ago. Do you think fabric or leather would hold up better to the rigors of moving? If leather, what grade and finish do you think is best for children and moving. Thanks again!

[drcollie]

I guess the answer depends on whom you get the Flexsteel from! As a general rule, you should be able to buy a Flexsteel sofa for around $ 1,500 and an H&M on T&C will run about a thousand more than that, depending on model.

Leather is a more durable cover than fabric for everything except rub marks an scratches. If it gets a severe rub, it may lose color whereas fabric generally does not. But fabric soils, so there is that. Mostly if on a tight budget, you'll have to stay in whatever leather is offered on a given frame in the Town and Country collection.

[simplyjeff]

If you are looking for a sofa that is made for moving around you should take a look at Simplicity Sofas. The company makes good quality sofas that are designed be easily moved by a single person.

Sofas are shipped to the customer's home by UPS in 3 cartons. Assembly time for most people is 15 minutes. 2 people typically take 10 minutes. No tools are needed. There is a YouTube video on the website showing a sofa being assembled in less than 5 minutes by an 8 year old boy. The sofas can also be disassembled in less than 10 minutes by a single person (5 minutes for 2 people.)

There are many major differences between this furniture and inexpensive IKEA-type Ready to Assemble (RTA) sofas.

A Simplicity Sofa can be assembled, unassembled and reassembled hundreds of times without losing any of its structural integrity. It also comes with a choice of long-lasting Ultracel foam or Spring down cushions (which are probably better quality than the Flexsteel cushions.) The frames are made from kiln dried solid oak. Every sofa is individually custom-made by highly skilled upholsterers, each with more than 30 years experience. There are dozens of custom options to choose from including fitted slipcovers and sleeper options.

Overall quality is generally equivalent to Flexsteel. There are several factors that enable Simplicity Sofas to sell its sofas at lower costs:

1. The company manufactures all of its furniture in High Point, NC (Made in the USA) and sells direct to consumers, eliminating the normal retail mark up.

2. The lowest priced fabrics (Grade 1) are all closeouts and discontinued fabrics bought at 50% - 90% off their original costs. They are all selected for durability and are equivalent in quality to Grade 2 and Grade 3 fabrics. There are also some very high quality fabrics in Grade 3 that were also bought as closeouts and which originally sold for more than the most expensive Grade 4 fabrics. The cost of leather is approximately double the Grade 4 prices. Leather prices will fluctuate based upon the quality of the leather selected and the size of the available hides.

3. The sofas can be shipped by UPS Freight which is far cheaper than common carriers. For example shipping a single sofa to Washington DC by UPS costs $120 while the typical "white glove" carrier costs $245.

4. It is possible to buy a full-size 3 seat sofa using a Grade 1 closeout fabric for as little as $799. On the other hand there are lots of options that can take the price of that same sofa to more than $1600. The median price that customers actually pay for their sofas is between $1000 and $1100.

The complete Simplicity Sofas warranty and return policy is: If you do not like our furniture for any reason whatsoever you may return it for a full refund including shipping charges for a period of one year after purchase.

Jeff Frank
Simplicity Sofas