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Thread: Looking for Advice

  1. #1
    rtmal1 Guest

    Default Looking for Advice

    Hello Duane and fellow consumers,

    Recent new listener and first time caller here. I am looking for a new sofa for my family room, I have been to many local stores and all over the web. I currently have a 4 year old Elran sectional that I was told was leather, but the color is peeling off everywhere, the material underneath is not woven but stretchy and pliable. I assume this is a bi-cast leather. Anyways, I have 2 dogs and want something that is going to last. I want to go with a regular reclining sofa and accent with a chair or two rather than one big piece. I have researched many brands and found out that they all make the best furniture....When I go to the local stores I find that I know more about furniture than they do, and that scares me. The best place I found was a small town mom and pop shop. Their prices seamed fair and the staff seamed fairly knowledgeable. They sell Smith Brothers, Elran, Comfort Designs, Klaussner, Flexsteel, and La Z Boy. They have an Elran I like in a Semi-Aniline Top Grain leather for $3,500. But I am a little scared to pull the trigger due to the Elran I currently have. I would love to buy a H and M, but it is out of my price range. The local H and M shop also carries Century, their own private label which I was told was part of the Rock House Farm family, and Drexel. At this place the person was nice but didn't seem that interested in helping me. I have found that most places around me are more interested in moving stock than helping the customer find exactly what they want. I have sat in hundreds of sofas lately and will admit I like the power headrest on some of them, but would much rather spend the money on quality than accessories. I have even considered a stationary sofa and a reclining chair, but with a L shaped room and the TV location I would prefer a reclining sofa. Plus my German Short-hair/American Stafford mix snuggler would prefer she can sit by me. Which will bring me to my last question. Am I better off buying a less expensive (Chinese Disposable) sofa and replace it every few years.

    Thanks for your help,

    Ryan

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    Alexandria
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Assuming you aren't planning to move in a few years and completely start over, I doubt you would ever be better off buying an inexpensive sofa with the idea of ditching it soon. You will spend more money over time doing that and you will never have the enjoyment and comfort of a first-class piece of furniture.

    Look at what is included in H&M's Town and Country promotional programs. IF you like the leather choices (most are neutral colors designed to work in a variety of homes), there are some real bargains, some even considerably less than the $3,500 you mentioned. However, most (maybe all) are stationary, and you might want to buy an ottoman along with the sofa. There is a sticky on the Leather topic that has thumbnails of what is included.

    I also started out looking for a recliner and changed my mind to a stationary plus ottoman combo. A stationary sofa can have 8-way hand-tied springs; a recliner cannot, because it moves and thus cannot have that kind of foundation. Keeping budget in mind, you can get better quality for your dollar with a stationary sofa than a recliner.

    However, if you for sure still want a recliner sofa, you might want to consider the newest ones coming in from H&M that have articulating headrests. They will be pricier than $$3,500 though.

  3. #3
    rtmal1 Guest

    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Thanks Beachy, I think I would be better off with stationary, I can accent it with a recliner or two. This way if something happens to the recliner which I will be using most of the time, it will be lest costly to repair or replace. So I am basically buying a sofa for me to nap on once in a while, and a place for the dogs when I am at work. So with the dogs being the primary users should I spend the extra money on a premium piece?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    As a fellow dog-owner, I understand how life revolves around the convenience of the dog(s). What does your budget allow? Will you be getting a quality recliner? I have one that I bought at Bloomingdales more than 30 years ago. It's fabric and has been reupholstered once, and I still love it. It currently has a nice fleece blanket on the seat so the dog can be comfy when we are out. (Blanket comes off when I use it of course, and my dog is a smallish non-shedding poodle, so he doesn't do it any harm.). Know thyself and know thy dog. If your dog has any inclination to chew furniture, I probably wouldn't buy expensive pieces. If he's a well-behaved sort who just likes to lounge around and be comfy, you can work with that.

    I own a settee and two chairs that came down to me from my great-grandmother, a dining table and washstand more than 100 years old from my grandmother, a solid wood dresser from a family friend that dates to the late 1940s, and some pieces from my husband's British relatives that go back to the 1940s and one probably 150 years old. We are keepers. If you buy quality things, they will last you the rest of your life and beyond. Only you can decide if having good quality pieces that you will have forever is worth it to you. And/or possible, considering your dog's behavior. Generally I think it's possible to have both, dogs and good furniture, with a little bit of adjustment and care.

  5. #5
    rtmal1 Guest

    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Both of my dogs are well behaved, they just like to lay on the sofa and watch out the window. I have no concern of them chewing on furniture. I was thinking about a Fjords Stockholm recliner, I sat in a lot of chairs and found this one to be very comfortable. Plus it is a narrow swivel so two would work great in my space. I don’t know much about them though, and don’t want to through money away again on furniture like my sectional. At $1500 a chair that’s another gamble I don’t know if I want to take. Unfortunately it seems everything is being made to fail, so consumers have to spend more money sooner. Growing up we had one sofa my whole life, that held up to two boys and a dog. Now in 16 years on my own this will be my 3rd sofa.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    In the long run, you will never be sorry for buying quality. Research that brand of recliner if that's the one you like, and if everything sounds good, buy it.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Not everything is made to fail, the issue is cost. Consumers want inexpensive and quality, and you can't get the two together. So what you aim for is VALUE. Best bang for the buck. I know of nothing out there that even begins to approach the value you get from H&M's Just in TIme program. All the frame build that H&M is known for at very aggressive price points. If you can work in the styles and hides shown in the promo you can't go wrong. You will be in your budget as long as you don't get into the frames that are done in burnished leathers.

    http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...e-March-1-2017

    Take a pass on recliner sofas and buy stationary. Much less cash outlay, and they are lighter and more versatile. Why buy cheap throw-away when you can have quality and value if you are willing to work in a limited selection?
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    I agree. I looked up that brand of recliner chair that rtmal1 was talking about. It is sold at both Walmart and The Back Store for about $2.000 in "Astro Line leather," which is not something I've ever heard of. I suspect that might be some kind of bonded "leather" or something else that is not really leather. I'd be leery of that myself.

    If you are local to northern Virginia you could try out the recliner chairs at The Keeping Room. Probably for a comparable price you could find a better quality chair there.

  9. #9
    rtmal1 Guest

    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Thanks Duane and Beachy,

    I went to the local H&M retailer looking at different chairs and sofas. Their pricing is at a 25% discount from msrp. They have a large showroom in an expensive suburb. Being in the commercial real estate business, I estimate their rent to be $200k+ annually, not to mention the 6 people I saw working. I found out there private label furniture is Taylor King. I really liked the Taylor King Houston chair, but at $4500 that is more than I can spend on a chair. With that said I looked at the JIT program and love the big sofas. I am thinking the Sundance, Westwood, or Journey. I prefer the bustle back recliner of the first two. I also like the September but I don't know about a chair for that one. The Ricki in blue would work well with the rug I have and probably would be a better fit scale wise, but again no matching chair so I am lost there. The room is L shaped 11 ft across both sections and 17 x 25. So the sofa will be sitting across an 11ft area with back exposed. The sundance is probably an incredible napping sofa with its depth, but at 5ft8 I may look like a 3yr old sitting in it. Thoughts?

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Looking for Advice

    Every dealer sets their own prices, that's all I can really say on that other than "Shop Around".

    Sundance sofa has a curved front and should be "Floated" in a room, you are primarily paying for the tufted back on that one, so up against the wall is not that sofa's forte. You will fit fine in it, though. Journey is very soft, very plush. Westwood is one of my fav's. Ricki and September both have matching chairs - they are here on the forum link scans I did.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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