Hunting for a small L-shaped fabric sectional in the $3,000 range, any ideas?

[takiekha]

First off, thank you so much for such an insightful and detailed furniture forum! My wife and I just purchased a new home and are looking for a small fabric L-shaped sectional (couch + love seat configuration) for our living room. We are ideally looking to spend around $3,000 and I was wondering if at this price point we would still be able to get a solid wood frame with 8 way hand tied springs. It looks like the Taylor King portfolio collection is worth checking out but I can't seem to find any information about price so not sure if this is in the $3,000 range. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Also, if we do have to compromise is it better to get a solid frame with sinuous springs or a plywood frame with 8 way hand tied springs? We don't anticipate moving a lot so the couch will most likely not need to be moved all that much.

Thank you so much for any help!

-Tom

[drcollie]

You can get into a Taylor King sectional in a Portfolio series 1 fabric (through my store) at at around $ 3,200 or so plus shipping. I don't have my price book on Portfolio at home so don't hold me to that...>g<.

Myself, i would take the plywood frame and 8-ways over a solid frame and sinuous. Over 90% of all furniture today is built with plywood (marketing term is 'engineered hardwoods') so its the mainstream. The whole key to furniture longevity is suspension support. The stronger the frame, the tighter it holds the webbing which is critical to prevent sag out. Most plywood frames do a decent job of that, but its only as good as the weakest component. If the joinery is lousy, then it won't matter what its put together with as it will all flex and then deteriorate.

Then you get into the old bugaboo. Do you spend more for a quality build that lasts 2x as long or more, or buy less and plan in replacing it in half or 1/3 the lifespan of the good pieces? That you have to answer. Myself, I have always been a high-quality consumer and am willing to pay more for performance and lifespan.

For example, I only buy Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear or Pirelli tires for my vehicles. If I buy a used vehicle that has off-brand or mis-matched tires on it, they come off immediately and I go get a set of one of my brands. Yes, they cost more. But they ride smoother, quieter, have more grip in both wet and dry and superior braking distances and are safer than the discount brands. To me, that's worth it - but to others it would not be. Most my tools in my toolbox are Snap-On (or Mac, or Matco) Premium professional grade tools that last a lifetime if I don't lose them. Some people would say I'm crazy to pay $ 275 for a socket set when they buy Craftsman for 10 % of that price. Is there a difference? You bet there is, Snap on will not round off a fastener head whereas Craftsman will. That is worth the extra money to me as well (ask me about stripping out a seat belt retaining bolt in a BMW sometime with a Craftsman TORX socket).

Only you know what its comfortable to spend on a given item, and you don't want to stretch too much beyond that comfort zone. Keep this in mind though - if you have to make a choice, buy the better furniture for the room that gets used the most (typically a family room). You can buy the less costly pieces for a living room or a formal dining room - they don't get used much so you can get away with less durable pieces in lightly used rooms. Three places not to skimp are your mattress you sleep on every day, your family room sofa (or sectional) and your everyday kitchen chairs because those are the most used items in a household.

[takiekha]

Duane, thank you so much for your help. I live in the DC area so will try and stop by your store this weekend to check out the Taylor King furniture.