leather loveseat...internet purchase question

[wallycat]

Hi gang,
I'm in the market for a leather loveseat.
I ADORE some of the BOconcept items from Norway but the few I am interested in are not at the local (and only) showroom.
I went to Thomasville and wasn't crazy about much of their stuff.

We have 2 Stressless chairs and currently, a loveseat that needs replacing.

I had a gorgeous oxblood red leather sofa but when I married DH and moved into his home, it was just too large for our small place, so I gave it away to my friend :eek: :eek: I miss that sofa.

In any event, here are my two trains of thought...
1. Buy good quality and fork over the big bucks, sort of like the STressless chairs ...and cringe everytime my cats jump up or fight on them (they have all their claws).
or
2. Buy cute and not worry about quality and spend less...and not feel terrorized by cat toenails :o :o

In that vain, I was shocked to find how cheap a loveseat (and how expensive!!) a small sofa can be..
has anyone bought from this company?
http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=showItem&ipac_id=9820

and if you have other suggestions, I'm all in favor....
I'll go look at that other furniture buying-on-line thread but recall it was for a table.

[lindrusso]

I'd like a leather loveseat too, but the prices seem pretty high to me and I'm having a hard time finding what I want. I also don't want to pay online shipping prices and I'm sure DH would not buy one online if we couldn't see it in person first.

I love that loveseat you linked to - that's just what we're looking for and the price is reasonable too! Well, except for the $400 shipping charge. :eek: :eek:

Good luck with your search!

[PAMMELA]

I bought my red leather loveseat for our gameroom at Rooms to Go. We love it. There is a store right near our house, so it was delivered. I can't find it on the site now for some reason, but it's from the Cindy Crawford collection.

Oh and I would go with item #2 of your post. :)

[PamN]

wallycat,

Just wondered if you had window-shopped at Norwalk Furniture (http://www.norwalkfurniture.com/). You can customize the piece to suit and there are endless choices of fabric and leather. They advertise delivery in 30 days if you're into almost-instant gratification ;) and there are two local stores in Brookfield so you could preview a similar sofa/loveseat for comfort. My brother-in-law held a franchise for a while, and I thought the quality was good and the prices reasonable. We've had a couple of pieces ourselves (but not sofas) and they've held up well for us.

[wallycat]

Pam,
Where in Brookfield?? Wisconsin isn't even listed on their website.
I like the stuff....there's no prices on the web either.
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks

[PAMMELA]

Pam,
Where in Brookfield?? Wisconsin isn't even listed on their website.
I like the stuff....there's no prices on the web either.
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks


I meant by MY house! :D

[Robyn1007]

I meant by MY house! :D

I think she's talking to the other Pam. ;) :D

[Meganator]

I think she's talking to the other Pam. ;) :D


In which case, Ken Michaels Furniture is listed as a Norwalk dealer in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Listed twice, for some reason.

[Jazzmatazz49]

It really TICKS ME OFF that loveseats cost almost as much as sofas. I think it's a rip-off. I think if I had cats with claws, I would go with something that would not stress me out. I haven't looked at Norwalk, but have heard that they have decent furniture at reasonable prices. I would take any delivery dates promised with a grain of salt. The 3 sofas we bought at the end of June that would be here "in 3 or 4 weeks" are not here yet. The mill that supplies the fabric to the North Carolina factory has shut down, according to the furniture dealer.

[badunnin]

Ana - do your cats use their claws on the furniture? Of the 5 that I've had with the leather, only one (my darling anxious Michael) has used their claws on it. Pumpkin, Mawa, Ashley and Andrew never did/do.

[aggie94]

Not Ana, but our cat does use her claws on our leather. She doesn't scratch on it to the point of shredding it, but she does stick her claws in it and stretches out on it, so she has punctured the leather. It's not that visible, and frankly, the dogs have caused much more wear and tear on our leather pieces than the cat.

[wallycat]

Our 5 babies are very well behaved and wouldn't DREAM of scratching the leather...intentionally ;) ;)
I have had occasion where one will try to jump up on my lap and miss or try to jump up on the chair and find another cat already there...and when they start to fall, they just grasp naturally ...well...we know what that does. But no, they never use the leather, surprisingly.

The loveseat that I want to replace is another matter....it started when they were babies and we didn't have enough scratch posts or just had too many cats at one time :eek:

Thanks gang.
The Michael's store is about 5 blocks from my house so I will have to go look.
We've only been in there once and thought they were too high end for us :o

[BeachBum]

This is a tough situation. While I understand that you don't want your cats to damage expensive furniture. You also don't want to spend your life sitting on uncomfy furniture either.
My experience was that the R2Go cushions flattened out and had major saggy issues after about 3 years. It certainly interfered with the comfort. The sofa I bought to replace it (nice sofa) we've had for 5 years and has had no squish down factor.

IMO Norwalk's real value is in their decorator services. If you were trying to coordinate a whole room or house I'd say go there. In my area (maybe there is just some real talent working there now), they are known for their interior decorators--but for one sofa....my guess would be that you could find a very similar sofa for much cheaper.

I realize that pet hair doesn't "stick" to leather, but maybe a fabric sofa would allow you to get the nicer sofa and not have to cringe?

My best furniture shopping advice is to find the furniture you want --then call around in north carolina. I've bought most of my furniture from NC and have saved about 30% (including the shipping costs) and been very pleased. On the occasions I was buying a rooms worth of furniture I went to NC and found it very worth my time.

[leightx]

We're in the thick of looking for and buying leather furniture (a sectional, and maybe a chair) right now. It's been quite the ordeal deciding on whether we want to spend almost double the money to get something high quality, or go with what we like ok now, assuming we'll have to replace it in about 5-10 years. Fabric isn't an option for us - I'm beyond sick of cleaning of the dog hair.

We'll most likely be purchasing something from NC - either Lexington or Elite. They've been about $500 cheaper, even including shipping, than the local stores. Of course, we're buying more furniture - the difference on a loveseat may not be as much!

I wouldn't recommend RtG - the quality just isn't that great, unfortunately. I suspect that love seat is probably bicast leather (polyurethane painted over very cheap leather)- which will crack pretty quickly.

If you want middle of the road quality, take a look at Bernhardt. (http://www.bernhardt.com/live/index.htm) You should be able to find retailers in your area. Surprisingly, the department stores here had quite a few nice leather pieces...

[PAMMELA]

I wouldn't recommend RtG - the quality just isn't that great, unfortunately. I suspect that love seat is probably bicast leather (polyurethane painted over very cheap leather)- which will crack pretty quickly.

In your opinion.

I happen to love my red leather sofa that I got at RtG, it's very soft and pliable and feels very "expensive" if you know what I mean. We use it a lot (along with the cats) and I'm no leather expert, but I thought 100% leather meant 100% leather. I'm sure there are grades of leather, but I didn't think you could actually use painted over poly and advertise it as 100% leather.

[Robyn1007]

In your opinion.

I happen to love my red leather sofa that I got at RtG, it's very soft and pliable and feels very "expensive" if you know what I mean. We use it a lot (along with the cats) and I'm no leather expert, but I thought 100% leather meant 100% leather. I'm sure there are grades of leather, but I didn't think you could actually use painted over poly and advertise it as 100% leather.

In looking through the Rooms to Go website it appears they do have a number of things that are bicast leather but they specify that it is.

[leightx]

In your opinion.

I happen to love my red leather sofa that I got at RtG, it's very soft and pliable and feels very "expensive" if you know what I mean. We use it a lot (along with the cats) and I'm no leather expert, but I thought 100% leather meant 100% leather. I'm sure there are grades of leather, but I didn't think you could actually use painted over poly and advertise it as 100% leather.

Not just my opinion unfortunately - you can find similar comments on any furniture website (check out Gardenweb for starters). Believe me - I'm not saying that I wouldn't purchase anything from RtG. I have a budget as well, and I like several of the items there. I would just worry about wear and tear on a high-use item like a sofa more than something like a china cabinet.

If RtG is advertising some pieces as bicast, but not this one, then that's a good sign. I've seen some retailers "hide" the information (buried in the technical specs). Bicast leather is typically shiny, which is why I suspected this particular piece might be. I'd highly recommend checking out the leathers in person - some will scratch easily (usually unprotected), and some won't (usually protected). I've been amazed at the differences between different leathers that I've liked the look of. There's some that I wouldn't consider even if we didn't have dogs or kids - they scratch way too easily. I've scratched other swatches with my keys and you can't tell a thing.

[PAMMELA]

Ok, well I feel better now about my love seat! It is in our game room so we were looking for something affordable yet somewhat lasting. I'm not saying I would buy every piece of furniture in my house from Rooms to Go, but for this particular item and where we were going to use it, it fit our needs and budget and looks and feels like a quality piece.

[leightx]

Ok, well I feel better now about my love seat! It is in our game room so we were looking for something affordable yet somewhat lasting. I'm not saying I would buy every piece of furniture in my house from Rooms to Go, but for this particular item and where we were going to use it, it fit our needs and budget and looks and feels like a quality piece.

Perfect - sounds like you picked a winner! I didn't mean to slam everything at RtG, but I just wanted to post more of a "buyer beware". Glad you've had a good experience with them!

[wallycat]

Thank you all for your assistance.
Your suggestions helped open my scope of looking.

I would not have thought to look at the Comfort Shoppe store, but one of the suggestions here lead me there and they are having 50% off :eek: :eek: :D
Flexsteel brand is made in Iowa and I think considered well made.

I'm still a little numb about the cost of furniture...and the guy at the store said leather prices just shot up again. Still, we went to Boston Store and looked at their leather stuff...most is bicast leather, which looks amazing but is technically not leather...and cost almost as much as the 50% off stuff...so we are leaning that way.
If anyone wants the link, it is the Digby 70" sofa, 2 pillow...we just have to decide on leather.

THANK YOU!!!
I do love this BB.