Why is furniture shopping such a pain?

[Donatello.]

Wife and I are looking for a new sofa and it's such a PITA. This is something one would prefer to try before you buy so that is what we are hoping to do, but not looking good.

Must be power reclining. Now that we have tried the ones that also have power lumbar & headrest, we want those features too. We both don't have the best backs.

I was hoping to get one that has just the 2 larger sections that recline (like what we have now) vs the 3 section sofas with the middle that does nothing. I work from home & mostly from my couch the my work laptop and my personal. So that larger footrest makes my life much easier.

Definitely not interested in faux leather. Been there done that. Initially ruled out real leather due to insane money and upkeep and will likely eventually wear poorly, right?

She doesn't want the microfiber variety that shows where you may have moved your hand etc. Other microfiber is fine.

We were in Raymour today and so close, but no cigar. We liked 3, but the 1 with the larger footrest did not have the power lumbar. They were all the 3 section variety anyway.

Is there any hope here or are the 2 larger reclining section styles just no longer popular so they mostly make the smaller 3 section sofas?

A sectional will not fit where we will be putting it. Current sofa is 84" wide so looking to stay in that ballpark.

[M_Six]

Agreed. I hate furniture shopping. Throw a couple of cats into the mix and then you have to consider the fabric a lot more. Can't be a scratching temptation for cats and has to be pretty much stain proof. Our sofa and my ancient recliner, purchased in 2009, have held up remarkably well, but both really need to be replaced. I just don't think we'll find anything close to them now, though.

[Our03z4]

You can get more affordable leather. Look for furniture that is leather anywhere you touch, makes the price much better and you still get the durability. Also make sure the foam is a high enough level, that's where a lot of manufacturers cheap out. If it's below a 2.5 you'll know it after a short while. Some are even 1.7 which might feel good at first but then it will be flat as a pancake in a year or so. We paid about $2200 for a 3 seat manual reclining couch and manual reclining recliner. Both leather where you touch and 2.5. We saw full leather on the $7k + range, no way I'm paying that especially since we plan on buying a different home.

[Alfisti]

Couches in particular are a fucking shit experience. You either have super old school/indian (curry type not teepee type) heavy, bulky, old school opulent stuff or modern stuff that is inevitably super low to the ground, super mushy so you look like a washed up whale as the couch consumes you and getting up is a right fucking disaster.

[vreihen16]

I had to build a hidden 8 inch platform under our current couch to make it the proper height for adult human use.....

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

I had to build a hidden 8 inch platform under our current couch to make it the proper height for adult human use.....

It's insane. THen most are also REALLY deep, as in your knees are on the cushion not in front so getting off this mushy, deep, bed like contraption is ridiculous.

[ASAP]

I've done a lot of furniture shopping recently and one thing I've noticed is that the option for leather coaches / sofas is now fraction of what it used to be... curious if its a sustainability thing or what.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

its all a sham different models to make sure comparison shopping cant be done. same as mattress shopping. everything is built like shit unless you spend over 10k

[bagekko]

Yeah I am convinced furniture is like riding mowers, only a few companies make them and underneath all the brands are the same.

When we first had kids bought some set on amazon, wasn't bad for the price and lasted a few years. Trashed when moved and bought a couch & sectional from Ashley at different price points, its that same crap metal frame as the Amazon stuff years earlier. Just different styles and materials on top. Bedroom furniture is all wood, but the wood quality these days is far from even 20yrs ago. Have a nice chair and loveseat set from about 20yrs ago with a wood frame, something like that now would cost 5-10x what it did then. The metal frame stuff can be ok, but with kids it's just not durable.

I stay away from anything powered, cause you know its not gonna last, except maybe Lazyboy.

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

its all a sham different models to make sure comparison shopping cant be done. same as mattress shopping. everything is built like shit unless you spend over 10k

[dreamingat30fps]

In NC they have a LOT of furniture consignment stores. A lot of the furniture we have up there is from consignment stores. We bought a bedroom set for like $500 with 2 night stands, dresser, mirror and drawer chest. Of course it has that old timey look... because it's old, but it's in mint condition and NOTHING I've seen at local furniture stores in FL even comes close to the build quality of that thing... unless you are looking to spend like $5k for ONE piece.

We have been looking for new furniture for FL and honestly.... I'm not sure I see much difference between the Walmart & Ikea stuff and what they sell at the Rooms to Go and alike. We did end up getting a dining table and chairs that I really like at R2G and it was honestly the ONLY thing we liked in the whole store and was reasonably priced... weird.

[dwall]

Hey, have you tried looking at other stores besides Raymour? You might find some cool options there. And definitely stick to around 84" wide to fit your space.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Couches in particular are a fucking shit experience. You either have super old school/indian (curry type not teepee type) heavy, bulky, old school opulent stuff or modern stuff that is inevitably super low to the ground, super mushy so you look like a washed up whale as the couch consumes you and getting up is a right fucking disaster.

[UncleWede]

The last set we bought, we went to all the local big/small name "furniture" stores. We ended up at a little hole in the wall. They had all the same basic styles, but since they were going to do a custom build, we could pick electronics, sizes, and materials. It took about 3 months, just after La 'Rona arrived.

I could probably count the number of times I've actually sat on it though . . .

[Donatello.]

Originally Posted by dwall

Hey, have you tried looking at other stores besides Raymour? You might find some cool options there. And definitely stick to around 84" wide to fit your space.

Seriously? I am not an idiot.

[floridaorange]

In Florida I reccomend Macy’s home store.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

In Florida I reccomend Macy’s home store.

Is this a thing?

Because I’m like oP- I noticed the quality of goods have gone down. Yeah, it’s made out of “solid wood” but what they don’t tell you is that it’s a cheap Chinese softwood or pine, vs oak or the like things USED to be made from.

Buying anything that has natural materials is prohibitively expensive, so everything is lined with plastic in different forms. Plastic fabric, microfiber “cloth” etc etc. they don’t last and cost as much or more than old quality furniture use to.

It’s a racket.

[Donatello.]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Is this a thing?

Because I’m like oP- I noticed the quality of goods have gone down. Yeah, it’s made out of “solid wood” but what they don’t tell you is that it’s a cheap Chinese softwood or pine, vs oak or the like things USED to be made from.

Buying anything that has natural materials is prohibitively expensive, so everything is lined with plastic in different forms. Plastic fabric, microfiber “cloth” etc etc. they don’t last and cost as much or more than old quality furniture use to.

It’s a racket.

100%. I'm at a loss at this point. I guess we have to buy mass produced junk no matter what?

We are not dropping $5k+ or some nonsense # on a sofa. We are not rich

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Is this a thing?

Because I’m like oP- I noticed the quality of goods have gone down. Yeah, it’s made out of “solid wood” but what they don’t tell you is that it’s a cheap Chinese softwood or pine, vs oak or the like things USED to be made from.

Buying anything that has natural materials is prohibitively expensive, so everything is lined with plastic in different forms. Plastic fabric, microfiber “cloth” etc etc. they don’t last and cost as much or more than old quality furniture use to.

It’s a racket.

Yup. The dinning set we got looks nice, but it's some kind of soft wood no one has ever heard of. Still better and cheaper than the alternatives made of MDF though. It did take a whole weekend of going to every store just to find that one set we liked.

Originally Posted by Donatello.

100%. I'm at a loss at this point. I guess we have to buy mass produced junk no matter what?

We are not dropping $5k+ or some nonsense # on a sofa. We are not rich

Both my current sofa and my last sofa which I had for probably like 15 years I got at the R2G outlet. Not sure where you are located but around here all the big furniture stores have outlets where they sell off overstock and damaged items. It's a PITA because inventory changes all the time and a lot of the time they just have shit, but you can find the occasional deal on something that has a small scratch or has damage somewhere in the back where you don't see it.

And yes... unless you want to spend $5k a piece (some place like Restoration Hardware) you are basically stuck with mass produced shit. We also happen to like the look of mid century furniture... don't even get me started with that. Tack on another $1k to any of the mass produced junk if it's mid century modern style.

[Donatello.]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yup. The dinning set we got looks nice, but it's some kind of soft wood no one has ever heard of. Still better and cheaper than the alternatives made of MDF though. It did take a whole weekend of going to every store just to find that one set we liked.



Both my current sofa and my last sofa which I had for probably like 15 years I got at the R2G outlet. Not sure where you are located but around here all the big furniture stores have outlets where they sell off overstock and damaged items. It's a PITA because inventory changes all the time and a lot of the time they just have shit, but you can find the occasional deal on something that has a small scratch or has damage somewhere in the back where you don't see it.

And yes... unless you want to spend $5k a piece (some place like Restoration Hardware) you are basically stuck with mass produced shit. We also happen to like the look of mid century furniture... don't even get me started with that. Tack on another $1k to any of the mass produced if it's mid century style.

No RTG in PA

[AmuroRay]

My wife and I are a fan of “rustic” furniture, because it’s timeless, and simple.

Unfortunately rustic is popular, and most everything is cheap garbage. We have been antique shopping (my parents would find things and refinish them) but now these people are asking CAZY prices for simple things.

You just can’t win.

[floridaorange]

I haven’t bought furniture in many years besides our kitchen table we have mostly West Elm, Restoration Hardware, but our couch from Macy’s home store has lasted a while and still looks good. During hot florida summers it’s been good to us.

Good luck

[DubaiRich]

The last Funiture I bought was from Haverty's...still going strong.