So I am looking at the 1488 Renoir sofa and the 1486/1485 chair and ottoman, it is a huge investment. SCARY. I figure it would be my last couch/chairs I would ever have to buy for the rest of my life. I am 58 years old. Is the investment really worth it, or can I buy something comparable, Looking at Graphite Wood or Chablis wood and Glamour Steel class 3 protected or Coast Mushroom, class 3, protected with Bark wood.
I working on saving the money, my husband thinks I a crazy to spend this much on a sofa. I am just tired of spending on sofa's that do not last and are worthless. I am doing my homework now. But, it is a lot of money, and when you only make 40 k then i am being stupid right? or not? opinions please
Last edited by einsteinb; 03-29-2016 at 08:44 PM.
You are not being stupid! I just learned that Patty Duke, a truly fine actress who survived a tough childhood, has died. If the furniture you admire will please you, get it! You are a hardworking person, I am sure, and you are saving the money for the purchase, so imho, be good to yourself and get what you want.
Stay in the H&M Town and Country program and you can get some very good values in those pieces in the selected leathers, they can be quite a bit less than ordering from the main leather handles. The Renoir series is not in T&C however. Only you know if the outlay is worth it to you. One always should stay in a reasonably comfortable financial zone on purchases.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
I don't know if this helps put it into perspective but: I'm in my mid-late twenties. I'm still on my first job out of grad school. The first things I bought after paying off my student loans were a decent mattress and a sofa. Why? Because all I have to look forward to at the end of a 9-10 hour work day is a nice place to sit, a nice bed to lie on for those remaining few hours where I actually live my life. And I'm picky. I have dreamed of living my own place, with my own decor all my life.
It might be a stupid decision. I don't have kids (but I will in the next few years, and they probably will tear up everything). I still have a mortgage. But when I go home, I love my living room, just looking at it brings a smile to my face.
You've worked hard and saved money for a lot longer time. You've made more sacrifices. You deserve it much more than I do. I would say go for it, if there's nothing specific you can point to that you need to save up for more (health/medical expenses, retirement, etc.).
There is real value in buying high quality furnishings. Ones not expensive for the sake of cost and exclusivity, but things that are well-made. They maintain their structure and usability long after the cheap stuff is in the landfill. Yes, you have to pay more on the front end for it, but cost of ownership over the usable lifespan of the item makes it less expensive in the long run as you are not replacing it with the same frequency as low end product.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
I just replaced a $600 sofa I bought 20 years ago from the now defunct Storehouse chain, with a very nice H&M sofa. My view on spending is that I spend money for quality on the items I use every day and that I get real value out of. That includes certain furniture pieces, the bed I sleep in, etc.
When I bought the Storehouse sofa, it certainly wasn't up to the quality of an H&M even back then, but at least it was built in the U.S. with real wood (including some plywood) and quality cushions and batting. Now, most furniture at a similar price point (and perhaps even that at much higher cost) takes many more short cuts.
I had some help to move my new sofa into my house. The guy that was helping me took off the seat cushions and said, "Wow, Hancock & Moore. That's good stuff. Their stuff lasts forever." Of course, it won't last forever, but of properly taken care of, it will last a long time. A good friend, who had never heard of H&M before, spent way more than he planned on a H&M fabric sofa because the style and comfort of the piece "spoke" to him and his wife. Although very frugal, he's never regretted the decision. 10+ years later, it's still an amazing comfortable and beautiful piece.
That's not to say you should only look at H&M, but if you find something you like from H&M, it's a brand you can trust.
I told my wife "How many $2000 sofas are you prepared to buy over the next 30 years?" That was the justification in deciding that we will be buying H&M once we make our move south. Sure, it'll cost more but 'buy once, cry once' is the motto we have taken.