Classic Furniture
 

I am looking to buy a living room set. I searched the old threads and found some information on modern furniture, but that won't fit with my house. It was built in the 1950s and is slowly being updated. I was fortunate to inherit classic maple dining and bedroom sets. Now I have to find a living room set that works with what I own. Hubbie and I are planning on having kids, so we are pretty sold on microfiber. We want mid price/quality merchandise. Any thoughts? and any tips? We have been talking to salespeople about coils, fabric, etc. but could really use some advice...so I am turning to the place where I know I can get some! LOL

Ashley Furniture has a low end option for us, but I am skeptical about the quality. We already looked at Ethan Allen, but have decided we don't want to go that high-end at this point in our lives.

Thank you for any tips!

We got our sofa at Haverty's and love it. Comfy, not really super modern or super traditional, and should last a while. On a funny Greek note, I went to visit an OPhiA sister a couple months after we bought it and they had just recently bought the same sofa collection as well :)

We just bought two sofas from Haverty's (sorbet stripe in the blue and yellow option.) and have been impressed with their customer service. One of the sofas was apparently dropped by the delivery team. We didn't notice it at the time, but the sofa slants. We found the broken frame when we moved the couch to hang a picture. Haverty's sent someone out, and he determined where the frame is broken. They will be replacing the sofa. However, because of the color selection it's a custom piece and on back order. We can keep the "old" one until the new one comes in.

We've had these two sofas since March, and just discovered the frame being broken last week.

I would definately buy again from Haverty's, because of their customer service. Their furniture isn't cheap, (if you want cheap go to Rooms to Go. They sell total crap.) but they stand by their products.

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/

I ordered my family room furniture through Room and Board. They have a flat shipping cost regardless of the number of items you purchase. The remainder of the house is either maple, pecan or walnut (I too "inherited" a lot of furniture from relatives), primarily Queen Anne and Eastlake styles.

My cousin, who is an interior designer, gets a lot of her things through this store. It's not cheap, but I think it's reasonable for the quality. Their furniture is more on the modern side, but its easier to care for if you plan to have children

BTW...they will send you fabric swatches for free.

I don't know from personal experience, but I've heard really really really bad things about Ashley's Furniture on here... that alone was enough to make me steer clear of that hot mess :)

I am about to undertake restoring the house I grew up in to original 1954 colors, etc. It's been repainted a number of times, so I don't really remember some of the original rooms' colors.

Does anyone know a good source for locating 1950s colors, fabrics, floors, and so on?

(I know - I need to have my head examined)

Since I don't know the style of the home, begin with a few websites...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/period_1950s.shtml
http://ezinearticles.com/?1950s-Home...esign&id=54166
http://www.retro-housewife.com/1950-home-decor.html

Personally, I like the Pink Refrigerator

I'd call it 1950s ranch, if I had to put a name to it.

eta: ooh, thanks!! Those sites are great.

I'm gonna co-sign on Haverty's. I've bought a chair, couch, and mattress from them and have been very impressed. They have the dining room furniture I'm in love with (just missing the money at this point :( ) They have nice mid-range furniture, fair prices, good customer service, etc.

Ashley's and Room's To Go = CRAPTASTIC

I had a HORRIBLE experience with Rooms To Go. We bought a green "leather" sofa with recliners, and the sucker was broken within a year. It RUSTED to our carpet (we live by the beach and everything rusts, but this was crazy rust.) and in between the seats everything ripped out. I was SO glad to send it to the dump. I'm a recycler and a free cycler but there was no way I was giving that disaster to anyone. :o

I saw some fairly attractive dining room furniture both at Ashley's and Rooms to Go in some flyers, but when I went to see it in the store, the shoddy quality was evident from a mile away. Not to mention every time I go into their stores, everything is so gawdy and ugly. I couldn't find something to buy if they were giving it away!

Their outlet store is AWESOME.

I prefer classic/traditional furniture, too, but finding it without taking out a loan is incredible! That's one of the reasons I like our Ethan Allen dealer - they keep a registry of what you want and you can buy it as you need it.

I do have a Havarty sofa in my media room. It looks lovely, and has stood the test of time, but the fabric's not very comfortable. Things you don't think about when you're buying something for the first time!

My mom is a HUGE Ethan Allen fan. We have stuff in our house from the mid-70's and it still looks good. Very colonial / greek-ish classic designs. We've also found that Ethan Allen mixes and matches very well within their different designs and all the desgins that they've put out over time.

Ethan Allen used to be heavy on the colonial, but over the last couple of years they've geared a bit to the more modern and contemporary.

Granted their furniture can be a bit expensive, but you buy Ethan Allen to last a life time, and to pass on to future generations. Right now they are offering various finance options. And, many stores have a sale room where you can get great furniture at a discount.