I went to the site but without doing much digging couldn't figure out

1) Who actually makes this set
2) What it's true warranty is
3) Not much about it's actual construction

Now without knowing those three things about this furniture and never having seen it up close, I will give you my opinion. I would be very skeptical of a quality piece of motion furniture with power motors being that inexpensive for just one piece much less for two pieces. In an aside I'd like to add that I actually walked out of store that pretty much could not give any of this information to me on the stuff in their showroom and wrote them an email why I wasn't going to be purchasing my goods from them.

I know from reading and research motion furniture due to it's nature is more prone to break downs and not standing the test of time as well as non-motion furniture. I have no idea what adding power motors would do the reliability of said pieces. Also motion couches/loveseats have less stability than their recliner counterparts.

Again just my opinion and I'm just a casual furniture shopper, no where near an expert.

Two piece, motorized, for $ 1,500? No, it won't be good quality, sorry. There is no way to make that much furniture for that low a price without making many, many shortcuts in the build of the piece. How to tell? Its difficult...because unless you cut it open you really can't see the nuts and bolts of it all. Taking off the bottom dust panel and flipping it upsidedown to peek inside would be helpful, but they tend to frown on that in the showrooms and besides - they really don't want you to see how poorly built it would be.

Motion furniture can and will stand the test of time, even power pieces. However, you will spend 3x to 4x the price of that set to get quality-built, similar items.

Most folks always buy their first furniture on price. They rarely buy the replacements that way however, having learned from the initial experience.

Duane Collie

I live in the Chicago burbs. Questions though....

What's your..

Budget
Style
Do they have to recline?

1- how do i determine if this is a good value sofa
2- can somethign like this be bought for less from NC?
3- can someone recommend stores in chicagoland to shop at (i know people here like 3k leather sofas.. but not really in our style.. :D)

1- Shop around. That's a really low price. Value also means quality... Harlem is known for low prices, five years no interest financing, and furniture that is "good enough." Basically, "value" means compromises you are happy with (or at least can live with.)

2- Probably not. Freight can run hundreds of dollars, so even a 20% savings is lost once you add freight. Please do a search here on buying from NC. If you want to gamble, go to Vegas.

3- Chicago is a big place, and there's stores North, South, West, etc. And some stores are stronger in some departments that others. With the price of gas what it is, maybe tell us where you are and we can make a recommendation list.

nice, HUGE! help everyone :) many many thanks

most people buy off price, however that is why i am here researching :) id hate to spend 1.5k on something that wears out in 5 years, when spending 2k would last me longer... at the same time, were not looking to spend 5k on a 20 year set....

budget- 2k cash, dont need/care for their "no interest" gimmicks.. we dont need the recline or anythign.. just a nice sofa/loveseat
style- whatever the mrs says :) she picked that set... i guess thats contemporary?
location- schaumburg, but willing to drive 1h anywhere to browse... been to harlem, wickes* :), ethan allen, c/b$$$, pottery barn$$$.. read about dow in aurora...

i asked the salesman his honest opinion on the best set in their showroom, he actually flipped them over and dissuaded us from another set.. he told us the foam ratings, and claimed the build quality was good on this one.. i guess ill try another harlem and see what else they throw at me ;)

i appreciate the advice!

My ex-boss and his wife purchased a leather sofa from Harlem Furniture. It arrived but was the wrong color. Took them nearly one year fighting with HF's customer service to get the situation resolved.

Be careful.

OK, conventional wisdom says that you must spend at least $2000 for a quality sofa. I don't think you have to spend quite that much for a decent one.

My suggestions (and they are ONLY suggestions),

Harlem doesn't have very good furniture so look elsewhere.

Take your $2000 and spend maybe $1400 or $1500 on a decent sofa and then get a chair or wait on the love seat. You can also look at Craigs List for the second piece. I don't like "matched sets" that much anyway.

If your style is contemporary, look for something with clean lines in a neutral fabric. Something more classic than those modern sofas with the "humps" in the back. Your style may change and you won't be stuck with two identical pieces you no longer care for.

You mentioned Dow, they are in North Aurora and carry Smith Brothers of Berne. Kiln-dried hardwood frames, American made and they also have a few contemporary sofas. They also carry another brand that I can't remember now. It is a lesser brand.

There's a wonderful store in Geneva called Geneva Home Works on Roosevelt Road (Route 38) one block east of Kirk Road. They carry King Hickory and Flexsteel. Two decent brands. Their pricing is VERY competitive. I have used Sue Collier as my salesperson. Nice lady. I bought a King Hickory after my very expensive Drexel/Heritage, Lillian August sofa was too uncomfortable to sit on for over five minutes. (no website)

Most of Flexsteel is American made but I think that one line moved overseas. Lattitudes? maybe...Duane knows.

Don't get motorized furniture at your price point. It will be junk. As popular as Lazy-Boy is, the consensus is that it isn't very good quality.

Good luck,
Michelle

I think you can get a nice sofa for under 2k but not sure about both a sofa and loveseat. Can your budget stretch at all and is the loveseat a requirement? The reason I ask I just bought a new sofa and recliner chair for a bit over your budget. I was brand new to furniture shopping and this being my first set of furniture I wanted something that not only fit my budget but hopefully will hold up for awhile.

One thing I'd suggest is go look at some of the more expensive lines even if they are out of your budget range. I found this to be worthwhile to get a feel for the differences in furniture and how it's built/designed. Not every higher priced piece was what I would call great but it did give me an appreciation of what to look for and want in my new furniture. I looked at Hancock and Moore (very nice but a bit of my price range), Sherril (nice but nothing I really liked at the store), Henredon (just what I liked but the sofa alone was past my budget and not sure of Henredon since they been bought out), England/Laz Boy (liked some of their stuff but read too much about paying on name not quality) and some other brands.

Don't be afraid to really give the furniture you're attention. Make sure to sit for more than 10 minutes on each piece you like. If it's motion furniture try it out to see if it works consistently. When sitting down on it treat it like you know you will at home, lean on the arms, push into the cushions, check for give and creaks. If you like to lay down on your sofa I suggest to try laying down on it to see how it feels. Don't be afraid to want to take the cushions off, feel underneath, lift it up. Heavy weight isn't always a sign of good furniture but a true hardwood frame with coil springs from my shopping experience seemed to weigh more than a plywood/zig zag s spring type. I have always been told when test driving a car to drive it like you would normally and try it out on backroads, highways, and urban type environments to make sure it performs up to your needs. Same goes for furniture, try it out the way you would want it to work in your home.

I see you mentioned leather but the link to the furniture is not a leather but a microsuede which is not leather but usually 100% polyster. The reason I mention this is when looking for furniture in fabric upholstery I still checked out the leather pieces because a lot of times they can be done in a fabric and depending on the fabric choice might decrease the price by enough to be fit your budget.

I have heard good things about Flexsteel but locally the only dealer who carried it seemed to only have one or two pieces of their Wrangler line so I can't comment much on that but another brand mentioned for you to check out I went with. After all my searching and research I decided on Smith Brothers of Berne which in the showroom had the mix of build quality/comfort and price I liked.

I now want to add another reason I chose Smith Brothers was the dealer. A reason I said to check out furniture and stores that may seem outside your budget is those dealers usually (not always though) make customer service a priority. A good dealer not only wants to sell you furniture today but wants to sell again in the future and knows that requires more than a low price and fancy talk. You should feel the dealer not only knows about the furniture they are selling but actually believes in it's quality and features. The dealer I chose so far has been commendable to work with when ordering, delivery and handling of any issues/questions I have. If you want to read more about my experiences and such check the thread out another thread here at http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/furniture/msg0218083127308.html?20