If you like leather, Hancock and Moore make beautiful and durable furniture. You could look at their website and find a nearby dealer. My aunt has a couch and loveseat from them that’s 30 years old, survived 4 kids and looks brand new.

I sold furniture at Ethan Allen, Thomasville and La-z-Boy and La-Z-Boy is by far the best in quality and comfort. They have great sales year round and their prices are competitive. :)

Thank you both. I would never have thought of either. I’ll see what dealers are in the area.

Thanks cp. We have a large Amish community here in NE Ohio, but where their furniture is sold I’m not sure. Let me google that....

I worked at la-z-boy too. I agree with cpartist. When I worked there, they didn’t do much bonded leather, but things have changed. I’d recommended them fabric. My parents had flex steel leather reclining furniture. While it doesn’t look brand new, it has worn very well and I remember treating it poorly in my teens. I’ll probably start there for leather if I go that route. Good luck! I bought lazy boy before I worked there, and honestly, I’d sat in the dirt other I ended up buying for probably about 4 hours over a couple of visits before buying. Don’t by afraid to sit!!

Lee Industries makes good sofas. Crate and Barrel carries them I believe. They have a great IG for browsing and while you can't buy from their website it's worth looking at and it lists their dealers.

Arhaus is good too.

That’s great advice, thanks - I will bring a book and sit for a while! We have a Crate and Barrel on the east side. I will look for Lee Industries there. It’s good to know Arhaus is a reasonable choice. I looked at Restoration’s web site and found their cloud sectional would be about 10K for the set up I wanted in slipcovered upholstry. I was hoping to spend half of that. I’m not looking forward to this. Big purchases make me nervous.

I have a crate ans barrel sofa. the original cushions sucled so we bought new foam. now its a couch in the spare bedroom that only use is holding junk. I have had two Macy's couches (Jonathan Lewis) and they are great. we use ins in the basement (it was our everyday couch until we moved and it didn't work in our new place.. and we bought a new one for almost 2 years and it looks perfect. we fall asleep on it every night.

Oh gosh, this is going to be like buying a refrigerator. For every person that loves one brand there will be someone who bought it and had a bad experience. Thank you for telling me Kerry. I was just looking at Crate and Barrel. I’d better look into cushion construction... and Macy’s.

It broke?!! Hard to live that one down:)

Definitely try it out before you buy, as it needs to be comfortable. When I purchased the family room sofas, I went to multiple places, including Ethan Allan and a showroom at the Boston Design center. At the showroom, the owner showed me how much different factors (height, depth of cushions you sit on, fill) affected comfort. I didn't buy from her as I found a much better price by ordering from North Carolina (Furnitureland South), but I sent her a small check to thank her for her time. So my advice is find a place where you can try lots of sofas. Once you find a sofa you like, if the price seems too high, figure out the model and fabric and get a few quotes. Post soliciting feedback on the manufacturer you pick - home decorating forum is terrific with this. I just checked and still have my receipt - my sofas are from Sherrill Furniture and Hickory White, in the same custom fabric. $2500 and $2000, respectively, which included delivery. (Admittedly, this was 5 years ago).

Have you been to Fish Furniture? They have some nice quality brands, as does Sedlak's. We have some rolling chairs from Lee that are a piece of junk, and I would not recommend them.

OB2B, yep, hard to live that down....

Anyway, that’s wonderful advice, thank you! I will check out Furnitureland South and your brands. So one can find excellent quality at reasonable prices. I knew it could be done!

Clt, there is a Fish furniture nearby and I can go today, actually. I heard of Sedlak this morning when I did a search for Henredon furniture (what my mom bought). Of course I’m thinking of my mom on Memorial Day. I was wishing she were here to guide me on this, then I realized her furniture is all around me, so I lifted a cushion...

Not sure about your area but FLEX STEEL brand is excellent. We just bought a beautiful leather sofa with buttery soft leather. We ( at the suggestion of the salesman) took a car key and scratched the leather about 10 times (almost gouging it) and there was not a mark on it.

When I was shopping for my leather couch I ended up buying from this place in NH. I found their leather furniture rankings very useful. I forgot to share this when I made my earlier post. I bought bradington young and have had it for 5 years. It’s still beautiful and very very comfortable. Not quite as nice as my aunt’s Hancock and Moore though.

https://curriersleather.com/brands/

I would also recommend contacting a furniture store from the South. We used Grindstaff's from North Carolina. They only stock high end furniture and, yes, it is not cheap. However, going through them will save you $$, and it will last for many years to come. We purchased a Hancock & Moore leather couch for about 33% of the retail price--(this is not typical of their furniture but we were lucky because they had just purchased it at a special show they had attended.). The only downside from purchasing from one of the NC furniture dealers is that you will have to wait for the delivery truck to come up your way. That can take 3-4 months but the savings is worth it.

I saved once this link, as a reference..hopefully you'll find it somewhat helpful

http://www.leather-sofa.org/top-leather-sofa-brands/

One of the reasons this is such a tricky subject is that a lot of the manufacturers have changed where and how they produce their furniture. I have Henredon sofa from 1980 my parents bought. It is still perfect. It's been recovered once and has never sagged. It cost 3k back in the early days of the Reagan Administration. Henredon has been through a lot of difficulties these past few years- are their sofas the same? No idea. My experience with Lee Industries is almost as old, so maybe they are no longer well made.

I have bought Baker (part of the Kohler family) myself and am very happy. That company has not changed hands and I am sure their quality is as good as ever- but their prices are a bit shocking.

Following along. I glanced at april's link (thanks!) and happily found our Palliser near the top of the rankings (assuming Palliser didn't produced multiple 'levels' of quality, and we might be on the lower end). Our sofa and love seat set is over 20 years old (envision the very dated saddle arms and 90s forest green). The leather is cracking badly (widespread along the front of the cushions..no way to remedy). For a couple of years, I'd been debating whether to purchase a new set or have ours reupholstered. Now that I see our frame is right up there in quality, hopefully, I may research the latter option locally.

And, yes, eam, I DO plan on consulting you re: my DIY backsplash project, once I recover my nerve and energy after our awful kitchen reno. :)

Word of warning On La Z Boy. I used to buy all my furniture there and it was great quality and lasted forever! When I needed to replace my 15 year old couch and chairs a few of years ago I went to La Z Boy and bought a new couch and 2 recliners (all fabric, none of them leather). The couch is still fine but within 2 years the fabric on one recliner was ripping at the seam and the other was showing really worn. Same amount of use as the old furniture. I called LZB and they said sorry, outside the 1 year warranty. No issue, I bought the extended protection! Called them and they said the issues weren’t covered because they were considered manufacturers quality issues. I went around and around with both parties and neither would accept responsibility. That is without question the last furniture I will buy at La Z Boy!

For every person that loves one brand there will be someone who bought it and had a bad experience.

I bought our sofa from a local designer who had been using it in his shop. (ETA: as Anglo notes, it had been built locally to his specs.) I call it the nap trap because the two doxies and I can often be found on it in that configuration.

DH hates it. He calls it the Hoffa because he swears thats (what) (who) its pillows are stuffed with. Hoffa's ashes, he means, not body parts, but not comfy for sure.

Agree you should sit or become horizontal on your prospective choice. Don't let your past internet couch experience weigh you down - you can do this!

Henredon was sold to a Japanese company about 25 years ago. So no, it's not the Henredon ones mother/grandmother bought.

I've used Lee Industry furniture for years. It's not bad, but not fabulous. It really depends on how much it is used. It's been fine in DD's LR, but a chair that my son uses all the time, is showing wear and it's only about 8 years old.

Look into local upholstery shops who can build a sofa. There are not many left, but I'm sure in Cleveland there are still some. You will get exactly what you want, and the quality will be far better. It won't be cheap, but in the past, people bought a sofa and expected to keep it the rest of their lives. If it's a good one, it will last that long, though it will at some point have to have the fabric replaced. I have the sofa my parents bought in 1940 in my library - still a fabulous, heavy, well-built, comfortable sofa!!!

Julie, wow. I’ll google flexsteel.

Mom2 that’s probably great advice, although I was hoping to find something sooner. I’ll check it out.

Cyc, thanks for the link! I’ll check it out.

April, thank you for the link. My couch is Abbyson Living, right there at the bottom of the heap.

Rita, javiwa, and Anglo, that explains a lot, actually. My mom’s Henredon has to be re-upholstered but the couch and cushions are actually in great shape, but that was definitely the Henredon of yesteryear. Ill check out Baker. And Palliser.

Strob, I’ll consider myself warned about LaZBoy. Thank you for letting me know they’ve fallen in quality.

Barn - so that’s where Hoffa ended up. And when you nap, do you sleep with the fishes? No horse heads I hope. That’s the couch I’m looking for.

Thank you all. Javiwa, I’m here for you whenever you’re ready!

I would look for a smaller local boutique that will carry higher end brands. Pay attention to construction: 8-way hand tied springs and hardwood frames with lifetime warranties on both. Cushions should have at least a 5 year warranty. Some brands that fit this bill are Lee Industries, The MT Company, Taylor King, and Hancock and Moore (check these sites to find a retailer near you). Avoid Restoration Hardware at all costs - overpriced imported stuff that will not last. Crate and Barrel has some well made pieces and others that are less so - make sure you ask about the construction as they vary.

We do not recommend leather or upholstered furniture from most retail stores anymore. They are truly not made the way they used to be. Very few are 8-way hand tied or offer warranties. Carolina Leather, Leathercraft, CR Laine, Temple, Lexington to add to The Stated Home's list.

Not sure if anyone already mentioned this but you can also have custom organic lifetime warranty furniture/sofa made by StemModern online. It's completely built for you so you can modify anything about it that you want.

We have two W. Schillig leather sectionals. One we got from from Signature Leather in NJ, and the other we got from Ambiante in NC. We chose semi-aniline/protected leather for both, but could have chosen from different leather grades if we had so desired. Both styles were ones that are manufactured in their factory in China (using European leather, dye, specifications, etc.).

The first sectional had some minor issues on delivery, which were addressed to our satisfaction. When a piece of the veneer on one of the feet chipped off a year or two ago, I contacted W. Schillig (USA), and they sent out a new set of feet free of charge.

We are very happy with both sectionals. W. Schillig offers many different designs and models, at various price points. (Both of ours were at good price points to begin with, and we got both on sale at even better prices)

I just had a furniture repairman in to resew a button on a new Flex Steel chair (repaired under warranty, thank goodness!) and he told me that, for the money, some of the best sofas and chairs came from Rowe which, being a Virginia gal, pleased me since all their work is done there. It is not a very expensive line of furniture. I have one of their tiny sleeper sofas in pale yellow matelasse in my office for overflow guests, and it looks like the day we bought it. Flex Steel is quite durable, he said — and obviously the company was honoring their warranty, so that’s something to consider. He turned up his nose a bit at our Hancock & Moore chesterfield, though. I got the impression he thought they were overpriced for what they were, and God knows it was expensive. Or maybe they are just not his client, and he was a little bitter. We love it.

In general, I try always to buy upholstered furniture that is made in North Carolina or Virginia. If the sales person can’t tell me where it is made, I will not buy it. I just cannnot have furniture made in Asia in the house. It sometimes smells of chemicals, and I am allergic to half the universe. It is very difficult to find good upholstered furniture (or casegoods) at these faux-fashionable mall stores.

Try Lazy Boy, Sedlaks, Fish Furniture or Herman’s (in Avon Lake and Sandusky). I️ had an issue with a sofa from Lazy Boy (it squeaked a little whenever you moved) and after sending out a repair guy twice they replaced it for me. Great customer service. And it was over a year old.

You can try looking over the net. Some shops like Allmodern or NYFrunitureOutlets have pretty good product range and I guess there you will be able to find some good options. I've moved to San Francisco kind of 2 months ago and got all furniture I have now online. You'll greatly save your time and money.

Thank you for the continued advice, I really do appreciate it. Right now I’m considering the Remington sofa from Arhaus, but I am worried it might not be a great value. The frames have a lifetime warranty and the cushion is possibly a 3 year - I can’t remember exactly. It’s upholstered in linen although if I were brave enough, I could go for leather again for 1K more. I wish I could see it in my space!

Stated home, I will read up on the 8 way tie and ask more questions. I couldn’t get in to Restoration, but I saw the Cloud sectional through the window. Pass. Crate and Barrel gave me a “sectionals expert” who couldn’t answer any of my questions so I left. I’ll check out Hancock and Moore.

Kristin Petro, thanks for weighing in. My mother had a decorator (and impeccable taste) and I think that helped her. Perhaps I should have tried to go that route. I will check the brands you mentioned. I’m the tiniest bit leather shy at the moment due to my previous mistake. Actually, I’m not even sure I want a sectional will it look dated in 10 years?

Sarah, I’ve never heard of them but will check them out.

Cat mom, shocker, I’d never heard of W Schillig either but I will check them out.

MizLiz, I totally get that, I’m allergic to everything too. My sister has a dust mite allergy that makes me feel bad for considering not-leather. The Arhaus piece is made in North Carolina.

Christine, Herman’s is a new lead - thanks!

Boris, I bought my current sectional online. I did not research the quality as well as I thought I had, and I’m a researcher. I want to see and sit on my next couch before I buy it. You know, once bitten, twice shy.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to help me. If you have an opinion on Arhaus, Belgian Linen vs. Leather, sofa and chair vs. sectional, by all means let me know!

My parents always had a sectional (early 60s), followed up with yet another sectional that my mom JUST got rid of last year. I'm still trying to figure out when sectionals came back INto style.

One comment about the pictured Remington, eam. The seat looks very deep -- be sure to measure that. Unfortunately I didn't consider that when we made our purchase, and either my back hurts or my legs pop up. :)

I read in another post this week that sectionals tend to look awkward if the space can't accommodate it properly. Might have been in the Home Dec forum.

Javiwa, that’s hilarious. I have realized that this is a huge couch or sectional. They are available in “petite” which is a mere 40” deep as opposed to 46”. The only sectional that will fit in my space without overwhelming it is the one below... By the way, I was considering the 108” sofa. Yikes.

The thing is, I like the look of the couch with four large cushions better than the smaller cushions on the sectional. But the back on this sectional is so low that the chaise really only seats one, as opposed to a corner piece that allows one additional sitter...

Some people find a sofa and two arm chairs more versatile and easier to fit than a sectional.

As a rule, sofas seat two people, no matter how large they are. It is hard to have a conversation with people all linked up like birds on a telephone wire ;-)

We have bought furniture from Schroeder in Germany. They have retailers in Canada and US. Some of the most comfortable furniture I’ve had..... but we like firmer cushions. They also have held up better than some of our more expensive furniture (I can’t remember the brand offhand). We are not tall, so appreciated some of their styles being less deep.

If you're considering leather furniture again, you should investigate Natuzzi leather. About a decade ago I was in the market for new couches and at the time I had five dogs in the house (terriers + 1 big mixed breed) and the dog community highly recommended Natuzzi leather for it's quality.

It's amazing leather and my dogs did NOT damage it at all, even though the terriers used the couches as launch pads for their games. Scratches, when they do happen, seems to heal themselves.

Ten years in and I am starting to notice one cushion that is a bit less supportive because it's a favorite spot and well, kids are brutes.

This thread might be useful: [Flexsteel vs. Lane vs. Natuzzi leather sectionals[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/flexsteel-vs-lane-vs-natuzzi-leather-sectionals-dsvw-vd~2370363)

Rita, I’m having the same idea. Flexibility is awesome.

Sheri, Schroeder is a new name for me. I’ll see if I can find a local dealer.

Cheryl, ditto with Natuzzi. Thanks for the link!

The issue of depth has come up again in part due to Javiwa, and in part because the Arhaus couch I liked is 46” deep. That’s right, 46” deep. At first I liked the idea of depth, then I realized I’d essentially be buying daybeds. The “petit” version of the couch is only 40” deep which seems reasonable, but once you change a dimension on the couch, even depth, you sort of change everything. When did couches get so deep?

Thanks again to all of you.