<p>abasket-I am like you. I like the PB look but right now don’t know if I want to spend the PB prices. I would also like something in between. I haven’t been in an IKEA in a long time. When our kids were little we bought most of their bedroom furniture there. When my D got her apartment we also got stuff from IKEA. My H hates having to assemble all the IKEA stuff. Luckily I can’t imagine a sofa having to be assembled.
In our basement room we have a pullout sofa we bought at Levitz. My H picked it out. The cushions are foam and hard as a rock. The fabric is 100% who knows what. It is a wonderful plaid. But the price was right.
Now I have to find a day that we can both spare the time to drive two hours in each direction to look at any actual stores aside from PB. PB would be the easiest since it is only a 5 minute drive from my house.</p>
<p>I have not ordered or don’t know anyone who has ordered furniture from Ballard Designs…only accent pieces. Sorry…
It is a good three hours if there isn’t traffic to the closest Ikea. I have been there and found their furniture not sturdy enough for my tastes…my oldest son has an entire apartment furnished from Ikea. Fine for a college kid or young adult…not for me. Plus their delivery would be too expensive in mom60’s case.<br>
Mom60, my girlfriend bought a loveseat and sofa from a place in SB. Can’t remember the name but I’ll email her and ask.</p>
<p>I don’t even know where the closest IKEA is. I have been to the one in Carson but I figure there must be one closer. We would borrow a truck if we went down to IKEA.
There is a place Sofas U Love. I don’t know anyone who has used them. The reviews on the internet are mixed. I am not sure how they compare to PB price wise.</p>
<p>We bought IKEA furniture for our S. We don’t expect it to last past his grad school days.</p>
<p>If you are willing to buy online, Overstock.com seems to have a very wide range of furniture at different price points.</p>
<p>Mom60 the Ikea I have been to is in Irvine…It’s a haul and a half.</p>
<p>Have you tried “Room and Board”? REALLY high quality simple furniture. They have a store in Irvine. Big selection and good design. [Welcome</a> to Room & Board](<a href=“http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/]Welcome”>Modern Furniture - Room & Board)
Go online and check their “clearance” dept.
Also, you would be surprised how inexpensive it can be to have a good upholsterer MAKE you a custom couch.</p>
<p>musicamusica- Thank you so much. Room and Board looks like a great place to look. They have a store in Culver City which would be much closer for me. The prices seem good and it looks like they will deliver to my area for a nominal charge.</p>
<p>If it was me- I would find a good second hand love seat- ( which I think are made better than new furniture- I have a 20 year old loveseat from Lane that is in great shape- just needs upholstering), but I am still in envy from having a room large enough for a loveseat and a chair ( and a bed?- my bedroom is barely big enough for our bed!)</p>
<p>I have the PB pieces. Charleston sofa and loveseat. I really like how they look, I like the idea of slip covers (although they are a pain to keep in place so they look as neat as in the magazines), but I am not sure the seat cushions are going to last as long as I would like. I, too, am married to one of those guys who is just happy with the way things are - he thinks every room should be painted in MAB vanilla. So, while we not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, when we were at a PB store in New York, and he liked this sofa, I ordered by catalogue when we were at home. </p>
<p>I think we have had it for about five years and it is used hard! As I said, I am unsure of how long the seat cushions will look good, but I just flip and rotate them regularly so they hold up better. </p>
<p>By the way, talk about not getting rid of things. I just took a coat that I bought in 1978 to a tailor who is going to replace the lining for me. The wool still looks terrific. The style is great, and I have never had another coat that was so roomy in the arms but didn’t seem bulky. It was made by Central Park and I purchased it on sale at Bloomies for about $200 - which was really a fortune at that time. </p>
<p>As for our hubbies being satisfied with how things look - better than being married to John Edwards or Tiger!</p>
<p>SORT of off topic, but did any of you see The Blind Side? There is a scene where she asks the young man if he would like to stay permanently with them in his own room because he had “darn near ruined a $10,000 sofa.” My husband and I looked at each other and whispered “$10,0000 dollars for a sofa?” We actually said it in unison. Too funny.</p>
<p>Five years ago we purchased the Ethan Allen Bennett sleeper sofa for our den. It was on sale at that time for just less than $1000. What a great purchase! There are 4 sofas in this household and everyone wants to be curled up with a good book on that one. It is so comfy. Since it is for your bedroom, you can buy it without the sleeper option and save $. I definitely recommend it.</p>
<p>Another fan of Room and Board here. I have bedroom furniture, rugs, a LR chair, and an end table from R&B that I’ve had a few years and am happy with. I am in the process of furnishing my family room (tv stand and sleeper sofa). I really like their Maria Yee’s designs (Crate & Barrel also carries her furniture)</p>
<p>There seem to be a lot of discount furniture stores around here, like
[Value</a> City Furniture - Factory Direct Savings on Furniture - Value City Furniture Homepage](<a href=“http://www.vcf.com%5DValue”>http://www.vcf.com)
Is this just an eastern-half phenomenon?</p>
<p>workinprogress- Every room in my house aside from my 2 girls rooms are painted a shade of white.
Edit- according to H the walls aren’t white they are Swiss Coffee. (which basically looks white)
I think Room and Board is worth a drive. The one in Culver City is part of the old Helms Bakery building that has been turned into a center with a bunch of different furniture stores. Culver City is about an hour and a half to 2 hour drive from my house. I think we pass an Ethan Allen on the way down.
While I love where I live we just do not have great shopping unless your in the market for 200 dollar jeans.</p>
<p>They don’t have Raymour and Flannigan in your neck of the woods? Out here (in CT/NY area), it’s become the big competitor to Ethan Allen. I always found Ethan Allen to have well-made furniture. I have some stuff that my parents bought in 1966, and it’s still going strong.</p>
<p>Crate and Barrel has stylish and sturdy furniture, you can look online.
CB always has big pieces marked down, but you have to visit your local store.</p>
<p>Lots of Swiss Coffee around here too. All I can say is those Swiss take a lot of milk in their coffee.
LOL Mom60 you are right there. When I am in the market for a two hundred dollar pair of jeans (NEVER) I will come down to your area.
I will say that my Ethan Allen sofa and loveseat are 20 plus years old. I had them recovered and the upholstery guy (from your neck of the woods if you ever need one) told me they were excellent quality and that most furniture now is very poorly made.</p>
<p>No Raymour and Flannigan or even a Crate and Barrel. We really don’t have any large furniture stores within a 45-60 minute drive. Heck I have to drive 45 minutes to get to a Target! The closest mall over the years has removed all the normal stores. Banana Republic, Gap, Victoria Secret, Eddie Bauer and replaced them with the likes of Tiffany, Coach, BCBG and Louie Vuittan.</p>
<p>Ebee, best laugh of the night. </p>
<p>MAB was a paint company out of Philadelphia. Really good quality paint. They were bought out by someone else, but they still operate their old stores. Anyway, not important.</p>
<p>One day we were over at my mother in law’s place because she was thinking of having her off white walls repainted and we were going to do it for her. </p>
<p>DH studied the walls for awhile and then said with great sincerity,“Hey, mom, you know what shade might look good in here? Vanilla.”</p>
<p>We never have any problem with matching up paint.</p>
<p>Mom60 -
</p>
<p>In our house it is younger daughter’s bedroom and her bathroom.</p>