Slipcover or Buy New?

[organic_smallhome]

Hi everybody! New to the forum. I joined, on referral from a GW member, because I remember DCollie's generosity on the GW furniture forum, and consider him to be an invaluable resource and a kind person, and seriously don't know how he put up with all the nonsense he had to put up with on that forum.

Anyway. . . .

So here's my question: We currently have a Flexsteel sleep-sofa covered in a chenille fabric that has not held up very well. Our small dogs love to sleep on the sofa and are not destructive of it, yet much pilling, etc. has occurred. I have been seriously considering having a slipcover made for the sofa, but after reading on this forum that Flexsteel is actually not that good a brand of sofa, would it be worth it to reupholster? If so, should I go with chenille? And if chenille, is there a hardier chenille fabric I should be looking for? I'd add a photo, but I don't know how, or if it's even possible.

Thanks so much!

[organic_smallhome]

Never mind. I just spoke with the slipcover person and he told me to save my money. So I guess I will. He also told me not to buy a new sofa, but to look for an older, well-made sofa in consignment shops, etc., and have it reupholstered. Because, he said, unless I was willing (or able) to pay $2500 and up for a new sofa, pretty much anything you can buy in the furniture stores today for under that is "c*&p." Who knew?

[todd_kachadoorian]

I am finding that the only way to go is to go with something well made. You end up paying for it anyway in terms of durability.

[drcollie]

Never mind. I just spoke with the slipcover person and he told me to save my money. So I guess I will. He also told me not to buy a new sofa, but to look for an older, well-made sofa in consignment shops, etc., and have it reupholstered. Because, he said, unless I was willing (or able) to pay $2500 and up for a new sofa, pretty much anything you can buy in the furniture stores today for under that is "c*&p." Who knew?

Flexsteel (which I currently carry but its not a main line for my store) is well-made, but its not really re-cover quality, since a its so expensive to recover or reupholster. Pretty much my feeling on Flexsteel is it will last as long as the outer cover and then its best to donate it and get a tax writeoff.

Both slipcovers and upholstery usually take a lot of yardage. Typically 15 to 20 for sofa @ $ 40 per yard so you can easily have $ 800 in material alone. Labor for slipcovers or upholstery is between $ 400 and $ 600, so you wind up with about $ 1,000 and up for a basic job that doesn't give you new cushions, springs or frame.

If you can find pre-owned furniture that hasn't been used up AND you like the cover that its in, then you can save some money. Again, you have the same costs (above) with re-upholstery work and same limitations.

[drcollie]

Never mind. I just spoke with the slipcover person and he told me to save my money. So I guess I will. He also told me not to buy a new sofa, but to look for an older, well-made sofa in consignment shops, etc., and have it reupholstered. Because, he said, unless I was willing (or able) to pay $2500 and up for a new sofa, pretty much anything you can buy in the furniture stores today for under that is "c*&p." Who knew?

Flexsteel (which I currently carry but its not a main line for my store) is well-made, but its not really re-cover quality, since its so expensive to recover or reupholster. Pretty much my feeling on Flexsteel is it will last as long as the outer cover and then its best to donate it and get a tax writeoff.

Both slipcovers and upholstery usually take a lot of yardage. Typically 15 to 20 for sofa @ $ 40 per yard so you can easily have $ 800 in material alone. Labor for slipcovers or upholstery is between $ 400 and $ 600, so you wind up with about $ 1,000 and up for a basic job that doesn't give you new cushions, springs or frame.

If you can find pre-owned furniture that hasn't been used up AND you like the cover that its in, then you can save some money. Again, you have the same costs (above) with re-upholstery work and same limitations.

There are plenty of brand new sofas you can buy for less than $ 2,500 of high quality. I just sold a Hancock and Moore "Keith" sofa today in a high-grade Chenille for $ 1,999 on a markdown today. H&M had discontinued the frame so I marked it down several hundred dollars to clear it out. Just look for deals like that....retailers loathe having discontinued frames on the floor as it occupies highly valuable floor space on something you cannot order in another cover, etc. So we mark 'em down to get viable product to replace it.

[organic_smallhome]

Thanks, Duane and todd, for your responses.

The problem is that, in the Boston area, there's no way that I would find a sofa of the quality of H&M for that cost. The furniture market in this area is very weird. Most people buy their furniture at a place called Jordan's Furniture--a huge warehouse of a place that sells Rowe, Sherrill, and even lower-end stuff. Those with a tighter budget shop at family-owned furniture stores that sell crap--seriously. The only other furniture options around here are high-end boutique type places, and their prices are through the roof. If I lived in NC, I'd probably have more options, I would imagine. But Boston is just awful, in terms of finding high quality furniture for a reasonable price, either on sale or not. It's quite frustrating!

[drcollie]

Check out Southwood Furniture's "Design Your Own" grouping.

http://www.southwoodfurn.com/design_own.asp

This is high quality furniture running under a special promo in fabric grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. If you stay in those four fabric grades the prices are the best I've seen on a high-quality unit. These are 8-way hand-tied units with excellent Quaalux cushions and hardwood frames. I have several pieces of Southwood in my own home.

Not every Southwood dealer has the Design Your Own program, check with the ones around Boston to see if they participate in it.

How good are the prices? If you stay in any of those first four grades of fabric then any of the standard sofas in that collection are $ 1,456 plus freight (my price, other dealer prices will vary).

The deal continues in the higher grade fabrics but the price starts ratcheting up from grade 6 and higher. You can actually find some decent fabrics in the lower grades (mostly neutrals) and for a bit of fun can add contrasting pillows in another fabric for a nominal charge.

[organic_smallhome]

Duane, thank you so much!!! I will definitely look into it.

[todd_kachadoorian]

Hi Organic,

I feel your plight. . . .in the Shrewsbury area, we have bernie and phylls. . .junk. Jordan's in Natick. . . .lot's of gimmicks and it seems to be overpriced, and Rotmans. Looked at a Sherrill sofa there but for the price and what I found in the manufacturer rankings, it seems to be H&M, Classic Leather, Flexsteel, or B&Y. Smaller boutiques are overpriced and it is hard to quantify just what you do get for the extra coin. ..

[organic_smallhome]

Oh wow. I totally forgot about this thread. Takes me awhile to get around to things--lol.

Todd: Yes--finding good furniture in Boston is really difficult, oddly enough.

I looked at a Sherrill sofa today. I'm really puzzled. The warranty on Sherrill upholstered furniture is apparently only 1 year, yet it is generally more expensive and people rave about it. Very puzzling, considering that Rowe has a lifetime warranty on its frame and is less expensive.