Comparing some brands - Leather Sectionals

[Mike K]

Duane, thanks so much for having this forum set up. I've learned a ton in the last week or two reading the threads here as I prepare to buy a leather sectional for my living room. We are getting close to a decision, and was hoping you should shed some light for me. First, a few basic facts would probably help. This is our first time owning good leather furniture (we have some leather match theater seats in the basement, but nothing that is of the stronger quality I am looking at now), so I want it to last. We are primarily looking at a sectional as this is our main living room, we spend a lot of time on the sofas we have now, and want as much seating space as possible. A corner (not wedge) sectional helps us do that. We have two younger boys (8 and 10) and a dog, so we have been told we should be looking at protected aniline leathers.

That being said, we are somewhat limited in what we've been able to see within an hour of our home in the far suburbs of Philly. Only one place had B-Y on the floor, and I liked that. Another store had some Hancock and Moore, but they didn't have any sectionals. (Also, I knew more about the T&C and Just in Time programs from your site than they did.) They did, however have a Signature line they considered a store brand but I was able to figure out it was Wesley Hall. The kind where you pick your setup, arm type, leather, etc and then it is made for you. Right now that is the leader in the clubhouse. Another store had Smith Brothers of Berne. It was a similar setup to the WH, but I saw they used drop in units rather than 8WHT, and their seats weren't quite as deep as we would prefer. They did show as being made with the Qualux cores, so that's good. I wasn't sure about the cores on B-Y or WH. That store also had Temple there, but it was the first I had heard of them. Any insight on them?

Comparing pricing, the B-Y and WH came in within a few hundred of each other. The Smith Bros was about $2000 (25%) less than both of those. Could you offer your insight/opinions into the differences in leather and construction quality between those three brands? I've been looking around online quite a bit but haven't found much about the non-BY brands. One salesman said he strongly preferred WH to B-Y (hinted that he wasn't sure if BY was all made in USA), and that he thought Smith was at least on par with both of them for frame construction quality - perhaps better. I'll be looking at your tool for submitting a price request on the BY as well, but didn't know how you felt they stacked up versus the others. Thanks for your time, and again for the expertise you share on these forums. I wish I still lived in Silver Spring so I could work with you more directly!

[drcollie]

Wesley Hall is a good company, you can't go wrong with them. It's made correctly and is a line I have considered carrying (and would) excect it duplicates much of what I already have. Smith Bros. writes a good story on their website, but I don't care for their suspension systems, I think they are done on the cheap. Temple? I had a dealership with them probably 20 years ago, they build a fairly solid product, but its uninspiring and leaves a lot to be desired comfort and detail wise. I see Temple at the High Point market but I don't see anything in their showroom space that deserves more than a 30 second quick look from me,

B-Y is 100% made in the USA, however like every other maker they have a Chinese brand that is 'Seven Seas' label that I do not carry, nor would recommend. Hancock and Moore is the gold standard in the industry, most everyone will agree with that if they know their furniture, however it will be more costly than the others as well.

Hope that helps - and I do ship nationwide.

[Mike K]

Duane, thanks for the info on the different brands. I did submit a quote request in the part of the forums that I thought was correct. (If I messed that up, let me know.) Once that was posted, I also then added more information that I got later slightly changing the situation. Let me know if you need more info, and the best way for us to communicate. I'm definitely open to buying through you if in the end that makes the most sense. Again, thanks!