<p>Re: durability. I have a Clayton Marcus sofa in my living room. It sure has lasted…great quality. Trouble is…I HATE IT…I don’t know what possessed me to buy that camel back sofa…Oh I remember…It was in style 25 years ago. If the stinking thing was a poor quality, I would already have a new one…but I suspect this thing is NEVER going to fall apart and my husband says there is no point in replacing a perfectly good sofa. I disagree…I don’t like it. I’ve looked for slipcovers at a reasonable cost but they look like slip covers.</p>
<p>My next living room couch will be of the “disposable” variety…something nice but inexpensive so I can replace it when it goes completely out of style or I decide to change the colors in the room. </p>
<p>Now…re: mattresses…well…we don’t scrimp on those.</p>
<p>I would never use Bob’s for upholstered furniture or anything that got a lot of wear and tear, but I bought a perfectly nice wood TV base with shelves and drawers that is doing fine three years later because, well, it just has to sit there. (I did immediately change out the knobs for something less cheesy–a cheap fix that made a big difference.) I also picked up a simple bookcase from Bob’s years ago. Again, it just sits there, no moving parts, no upholstery, so spending less made sense. I will also point out that Bob’s free cookies are quite yummy!</p>
<p>Thumper,if you brought in an upholster,perhaps it would solve your problem…probably less then buying some junk from a place like Bob’s…while every retailer has customers that feel cheated, a quick look at Bob’s on pi–ed consumer.com is intersting</p>
<p>OK, visited our local mom and pop furniture store that many friends/neighbors frequent.
Many different brands, stuff all looks nice and sturdy but certainly not highest end I’m sure.</p>
<p>Found a sofa that fits many of our requirements in size, back support, style, price.
It’s made by Klaussner. The saleslady mentioned several times that it was a good brand…I’ve never heard of it. Googled a bit and saw many ‘used to be good now it’s junk’ comments…Their website was notable for its lack of ANY mention of a warranty!
Very odd.
Any thoughts on Klaussner products??</p>
<p>I’ve decided against bargain brands. Suggestions on more brands to shop are appreciated…Rowe? Broyhill? Lane? Pennsylvania House?? I’m pretty sure I’m not in a position for the real high end brands.</p>
<p>Never heard of Klaussner, but keep in mind - people that are angry are a lot more likely to post a review of a product than people who are satisfied. Not saying that klaussner is a good brand, just that I usually keep that in mind when reading online reviews. That said, if there seems to be a theme between several reviews, then I believe it.</p>
<p>Did that…it was going to cost $1200 to get the couch recovered…NOT changing the style (remember…it’s camel back and I hate that). To get the couch recovered AND remade into a different style (arms and back would need to be “adjusted”) $2000. I’d buy a new couch before I’d spend that kind of money to get an old one recovered. It’s not THAT good a couch.</p>
<p>thumper - I also have a Clayton Marcus sofa and love seat that we couldn’t destroy. I liked the uphostery when I bought it, but over the years I really started to dislike it. We finally caved and bought a new sofa and love seat last year. We were going to donate both Clayton Marcus pieces to The Salvation Army, but my sons wanted the sofa in the bonus room, so it’s still here. At least I don’t have to look at it constantly.</p>
<p>I gave up on finding a medium quality ‘apartment size’ sofa I liked…in about 72-74 inches locally and was too chicken to buy un-sat-on online.</p>
<p>So we switched gears and purchased 3 pieces at a local Mom and Pop store this am.
A Lane loveseat that looks very traditional with rolled arms that seats two but reclines.
This is about 68 inches and will fit through our doorway and in our tight space.
I love this piece.</p>
<p>DH sat in a fake (bonded?) leather recliner and was in love. It is not small but also not the large inflated commander of the universe ones I hate. It is very comfortable.
So, we bought two.<br>
The 3 pieces will be more flexible than one sofa and a chair in our space and to view TV.
I ended up spending a little more than I wanted but that’s because we went from thinking 2 pieces to three. It always seemed ‘unfair’ that the loveseat was only a very few dollars less than the full size sofa!</p>
<p>I don’t imagine this stuff will last the rest of my life ( I hope not!) but I feel that it is decent quality.
They are being delivered from the warehouse this friday.</p>
<p>68 inches sounds great. I’m looking for something the same size. BUT I just don’t want to spend a fortune for my living room where really…no one goes very often. I’m looking for either a loveseat or apartment size sofa that is comfy enough to sit on, nice and neutral, and not too expensive. This thread has given me some great ideas.</p>
<p>I did try the google “apartment size sofa” trick and got a few ideas and brands to look at.
But no store in our area actually stocked those items and I couldn’t bring myself to buy sight unseen. Our old backs need to feel the support and each sofa is so very different in that respect.</p>
<p>I am hoping to report back on Friday that the furniture works as well in our home as we think it will.</p>
<p>thumper – I hear ya about living room furniture not being used very often! The house we just moved from (near you!) had a great, very comfortable family room off the kitchen. We spent all our time there, and in the 5 years we lived in that house, we NEVER once used the living room. Needless to say, any new home we design wouldn’t even have a formal LR.</p>
<p>Not sure how the quality is, but lately I have fallen in love with several pieces of furniture at Pier I. Not too expensive, really nice looking - IMO, 80% of stuff at the mid priced furniture stores looks terrible! </p>
<p>We recently were looking to replace a smaller leather LaZBoy rocker recliner that is probably over 20 years old and shot in more ways than one. It took me over a year to find something a little smaller that was not all lumpy-plumpy – the one I ended up with will go in our back porch - a 4 season sun porch - it’s not high end, but at least it looks good. :)</p>
<p>Our living room is our “music room”…piano in there…and it’s where our kids would practice usually. DH likes to read in there as it’s never cluttered up…he really doesn’t CARE that the old sofa is ugly as sin. </p>
<p>I saw a fabulous leather recliner at TJ Maxx, of all places and I should have bought it when I saw it.</p>
<p>I might get a chair and a half with an ottoman. </p>
<p>I also bought the cutest chair ever at HomeGoods a couple of weeks ago. We redid our basement and I’ve been looking for a sort of modern, but comfy, not too big, but colorful lounging chair. The one I found is PERFECT. And at under $200 for a nice upholstered chair, I was really pleased. </p>
<p>Furniture at TJ’s/HomeGoods goes fast - so if you really like it, have a place for it -BUY IT! I beat myself up over a leather chair there that I liked and could have used in several places in the house and didn’t buy.</p>
<p>OK…went to Big Lots (of all places) today with a 20% off coupon and got a nice loveseat for the living room. Love the style and size…fabric and color…best of all, it cost only $260. I know it isn’t going to last forever and you know…for my living room…I’m glad!!</p>