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Thread: New family room sectional? Taylor King vs Robin Bruce?

  1. #1

    Default New family room sectional? Taylor King vs Robin Bruce?

    Our family is in the market for a nice sectional couch for our family room. We have narrowed our search down to Taylor King or Robin Bruce. We have three kids 4-11 years in age and want something that will last. Here are the models we are considering:
    Taylor King Slipcover Cozy Creations - 33 LAF Corner Sofa 92” and 22 RAF Love seat 54” - rolled arm.
    Fabric Grade same as Robin Bruce
    $3,650 from Carolina Company Williamsburg VA
    Robin Bruce Slipcover Laney Sectional- 119 3 seat end 104” and 114 2 seat end 63” - rolled arm.
    Fabric Grade Q.
    $3550 from Carolina Company Williamsburg VA
    This will be one of our first big furniture purchases and we would love feedback on what brand builds a better product? Also are these prices competitive?
    Our top priority is quality and comfort at a good value. Any recommendations or insight would be much appreciated. Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    15,887

    Default Re: New family room sectional? Taylor King vs Robin Bruce?

    Keep in mind that the slipcover variant is not designed to remove the slipcover. I run into a lot of folks that think it is. The slipcover is on very tight, very tailored, and is not washable.

    There is no "Q" grade of fabric in the Taylor King fabrics. Taylor King grades are numeric so I can't price the TK out as I don't have a fabric grade.

    Robin Bruce uses no-sag springs in their build, Taylor King is an 8-Way coil spring, so advantage to TK on suspension.

    The cover will wear out on either brand far moreso than the frame, so if durability is what you are seeking get a fabric with a high rub rating (50,000 double rubs or more). If you REALLY want durability get leather as its outlasts fabrics at a rate of 4 to 1.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #3

    Default Re: New family room sectional? Taylor King vs Robin Bruce?

    This is great information! We never thought to ask about the rub count on the material. I’ll get a specific Taylor King number on the cloth to post for comparison. When we went in last week they just used a similar price point to the Robin Bruce Q fabric for pricing. Would you recommend any other brands to look at? Do you recommend staying away from Slipcover sectionals and sticking to a more traditional style? Thanks for your help.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,887

    Default Re: New family room sectional? Taylor King vs Robin Bruce?

    I don't really do "brand" recommendations because that's Consumer Reports kind of stuff. You have to tear down a sofa to see how it's made, and that means either acquiring one for dismantling or taking a trip to the factory to see how they are made - which is outside the scope of what I can do. There is no other way to fairly assess a brand, if you can't see the build then anyone is just speculating on quality. There are thousands of brands, so that would be a full-time job for someone. I can tell you the brands I carry are well-made or else they would not be in my store.

    Buy the slipcover variants because you like the shabby-chic look of them, not because you expect to be able to take the cover off and clean it. You put them in the washer and you will ruin them. As my TK rep says about them: "Your customers will do it once, then discover how hard it is to do as we put them on to fit tight, and then they won't ever do it again." You are only buying the slipcover units because you like the rumpled look, otherwise stay with traditional upholstery is my advice.

    If you are looking at cleanability, get a Performance fabric such as Crypton or Sunbrella (there are many posts here on that, do a search). They allow for soap and water cleaning - however they are not necessarily more durable. Durability is the rub count, or Wyzenbeek test that determines how back and forth rubs a fabric can tolerate before it shows friction wear. Also many posts on that here as well. Search is your friend.

    I can tell you this, there's a lot of junk out there. I was in a store last night in Fairfax VA that is a knick-knack store in an expensive mall location. They recently expanded into private label upholstery. While my wife was looking at Christmas Ornaments, I was looking at their upholstered furniture that was private-labeled. Absolute trash. An occasional chair was marked "On Sale" at $ 1,549 and I bet they only paid about $ 300 for it at dealer cost. It should sell for around $ 549, but here it was a thousand dollars more because of the high rent area the store was in. I've said it before - never go to mall locations to shop furniture, if you do you will be paying far more than you need to.

    Carolina Company in Williamsburg VA has been around a long time and usually has decent prices.
    Last edited by drcollie; 12-02-2018 at 12:27 PM.
    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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