So I'm in the market for good furniture, and have NO IDEA what brands I should look at. I've surfed around on some High point and Thomasville websites but still I can't tell the difference between Eithan Allen and Ikea. Can someone post just a rough list from high quality to crap. I assume that Ikea should be a touch before walmart/target, and well below say... Lazyboy? (maybe?) Help plz!


(yea I found message_topic.aspx?topic=559870 &message_topic.aspx?topic=536119 and the like.. )

3/30/2011 10:58:58 PM

you'll see a difference when you see the furniture in person

i like rooms to go and ashley myself and also finger furniture but thats a local brand in houston

ikea is ok for some stuff, i have a side table in the dining room my dining set and night stands from ikea but i went for higher end stuff on my bed, dresser and couch & living room chairs & entertainment center

what furniture pieces are you in the market for?

3/31/2011 12:12:34 AM

Big Lots

3/31/2011 12:17:09 AM

Seriously, this website is awesome: http://myfurnitureforum.com/
The guy that runs it is a furniture retailer but answers loads of questions and talks a lot about quality vs. luxury, branding, etc. He was very helpful in finding the kind if furniture that we were looking for. Its amazing what some brands have established as quality in the minds of consumers but is really mass produced import crap from china. For example, Restoration Hardware furniture used to be made in NC by MitchellGold+BobWilliams but its now all sweatshop shit with much lower quality yet the prices are higher than ever.

I highly recommend going to Furnitureland South in Jamestown, NC. Its massive with every quality level and style you could want. It will take you an entire day just to walk through it (an associate there will help you identify areas that best fit your interests though)
http://www.furniturelandsouth.com/

We ended up getting our furniture from Thomasville at the DrexelHeritage/Thomasville/Henredon shop in Brier Creek. Thats at least middle of the road to some upper-middle stuff.

Oh, and NCSUWolfy is pretty spot on about Ikea. Its great for decorating a house on the cheap or picking up a desk/table but the standard furniture falls apart FAST.

3/31/2011 1:04:40 AM

furniturelandsouth is really expensive. i'm not saying their stuff isn't quality, but you better be willing to drop alot of bones if you want to buy anything there.

3/31/2011 7:27:45 AM

are you in the market for high end quality furniture or just new furniture?

i just went through this, still am really. make sure you pay attention to the frame material. lift the furniture up and look underneath. If it's too light you'll know it's probably not a solid hardwood frame.

if you want leather make sure you know the difference between 100% genuine leather, leather match/touch, or a blended leather. Leather match/touch is full leather on every part that you touch (Cushions, arms, back cushions) with a man made material on the sides and back to match. Nothing wrong with this if price is a concern. Blended leather is ultimately pleather. Not as bad, but still roughly 20% leather, 80% polyurethane. Beware of some of the big box stores like Ashley or RTG as they'll throw their blended leather right in the middle of their full leather items with only a fine print noting the difference.


If you want quality furniture that will last I would steer clear of Ikea. If you want furniture, like I did, that will last 5-6 years then Ashley, RTG, Furniture Row, etc will be fine. Quality high end furniture i'd look at Thomasville High Point shops, Ethan Allen, even Haverty's has very high end stuff (but beware their low end stuff is mixed in too).

3/31/2011 8:17:38 AM

When it comes to furniture, I don't really worry about the "brand" so much as making sure it passes the in-person inspection. If you are looking to buy stuff for your house that you are planning to live in long term, then quality furniture is certainly important to the extent that you don't want stuff breaking in two years or just getting beat up really easily. They key for me is finding a middle ground.

This has been a big topic for my wife and I because in most of the main rooms in our house, we have both wanted stained wood pieces as opposed to painted wood or other materials. Of course this means that you are definitely stuck getting some nicer solid wood pieces.

Most really "nice" furniture at brand new prices is definitely expensive and is more than I want to pay for the furniture in my house when there are cheaper, almost equal options *depending on the use*. My recommendation is to look around at a lot of overstock/unclaimed/discount/consignment furniture places first. Many times you can find very high-quality furniture there at a fraction of the cost of what it was new in mint condition. For example, we have 2 6' solid wood bookcases in our reading room and we got them both in mint condition for a total of $400 at an unclaimed place. If we got them brand new from a normal furniture store at the same size and construction it would have been about that much each.

There are certain things that are worth spending a little extra money on to get something nice. The seating in your main/highly used living areas is definitely worth it since cheaper couches and chairs will often wear out much quicker. Things like furniture in guest rooms or furniture that doesn't see a lot of abuse like console tables/nightstands/end tables are good places to skip the name brand and go for something that works aesthetically with your space as long as it isn't just completely cheapo.

Example: Thomasville makes some beautiful furniture, but there is absolutely no reason to ever spend $500+ on a single nightstand unless money is not a concern for you. They generally take very little abuse, don't hold a lot of weight, and are not in high traffic areas. They're a perfect candidate to get something affordable that still looks great.

[Edited on March 31, 2011 at 8:45 AM. Reason : .]

3/31/2011 8:40:57 AM

Quote :

"i like rooms to go and ashley myself"

ditto...it's good "value" furniture

my entire bedroom suit came from rooms to go and it's solid...my wife and i picked up an immaculate ashley chocolate-colored leather sofa (sorento, i believe) for $300 off craigslist and have been incredibly happy with it...by far one of the most comfortable sofas i've used and a good deal at $300, IMO

3/31/2011 8:58:33 AM

^^ any website recommendations or local store recommendations for that sort of thing?

3/31/2011 9:19:47 AM

I don't live in Raleigh and never looked at a lot of furniture when I was up there so I wouldn't be the best source for that. I'm sure someone can chime in and list a lot of those kinds of stores in the Raleigh area though. Otherwise I can list a few in Greenville, SC but I don't think it will help you much

3/31/2011 9:22:02 AM

I had good luck at the Home Comfort outlet store on Glenwood.....their stock rotates constantly so you may find something easily

Tip: Sit on the damn furniture before you buy it (assuming its something you actually sit on!)

Its fairly easy to spot high quality furniture when you see it...it just feels substantial

3/31/2011 9:48:05 PM

Do not come to High Point for furniture, k, thanks

3/31/2011 9:51:23 PM

If you are in charlotte, City Supply Co.

3/31/2011 10:10:02 PM

we have had good luck with klaussner

3/31/2011 10:33:06 PM

I'm actually in Texas so...

Quote :

"finger furniture but thats a local brand in houston"

How local are they in Houston? I'm in Corpus....

Thanks for the help gang... seems like the theme here is to GO LOOK vice shopping for brands on the interwebnet. And then check branding second or even third, to weight (framing) and other aspects (leather/pleather)

3/31/2011 10:36:33 PM

Second looking around at consignment shops. Yeah, some of the stuff is old as the hills or horribly out of style, but you can also find really good deals on high-quality furniture.

3/31/2011 10:59:50 PM

^^ 2 locations in houston. one in the southern area and one in the north western area

http://www.fingerfurniture.com/?pg=store_location

i think they'll deliver to corpus for extra $$ but if you're considering that best to call. my experience has been $89 delivery anywhere in houston no matter how much you buy

i think they have a great selection and the sales staff is very helpful. its also owned by a local family so i like that. not sure if you'd be willing to drive to houston to furniture shop though

looks like corpus has a rooms to go

http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=StoreDetails&sid=2739&StoreName=Corpus-Christi-Showroom

might check that out. i've had good experience with them as well. i imagine delivery time would be decent considering they have a monster distribution center in houston

also no one mentioned it but definitely bargain on furniture. if you can afford to pay in cash (debit cards and checks also count) you can stand to cut 15-20% off the price

i recently bought a recliner and got the salesperson to go down a significant amount if i agreed to sign up for their store credit card (the sales people get credit for signing people up so if you want to use that as a bargaining tool, do so) i could afford to pay cash but signing up for the card gave me more bargaining power. i'll pay it off and cancel it but i did qualify for 0% financing for 12 months

[Edited on March 31, 2011 at 11:49 PM. Reason : clarity]

3/31/2011 11:47:58 PM

As much as I adore Ikea, there stuff is definitely form over function. Stick to them for items such as bookcases and gadgets. I would, however, put them far above the crap that Walmart/Target sells.

If you weren't in TX I would recommend http://www.badcock.com. Yes, that is seriously their name.

4/2/2011 6:52:39 PM

^^ definitely second that. ESPECIALLY at the overstock/unclaimed furniture places. If you have cash on hand you have good bargaining power there.

4/2/2011 7:53:50 PM