Bassett vs Thomasville vs Ethan Allen

tarmar81

Just a plea for some furniture quality input:

I'm planning on buying a decent amount of living room furniture in the very near future.  I'm disappointed with the selection at a local furniture superstore (Nebraska Furniture Mart) because it seems all the furniture is either "value-produced" crap or is $4000 for a leather sofa. I need to find the happy medium.

I hate replacing furniture and want timeless things that will last (and stand up to pets and kids.)  H and I are willing to spend around $1500 for sofas (leather or fabric) and about the same for chair/ottoman combos.  (Most items we've liked are closer to $2000, but it seems if you pay cash at most places, they'll knock up to $400 off the asking price.)  Bassett and some lines of Thomasville items have furniture in this price range, while I know Ethan Allen generally costs a lot more.  I've checked into Pottery Barn, but H and I weren't impressed with the quality of their fabric sofas at all (cushions looked like they'd break down in a year) and didn't find a leather sofa in a style we liked.

I've found some sofas and chairs I love at Bassett, but I've read a lot of horrible reviews on their furniture quality.  Granted, I've seen terrible reviews of Ethan Allen and Thomasville as well.  It seems like nothing is as well made as it used to be, probably due to outsourcing to China, etc.

Can anyone weigh in on any recent purchases of these furniture lines?  I don't want to buy online because I need to sit/lay down on any couches, chairs I want prior to buying.

groovygrl

I have Thomasville in our family room & am very happy with it, although have noticed the finish on the coffee table has scratched a little bit probably from us putting the laptop on & off it all the time. But it is a distressed finish anyway so it doesnt look bad.

Ethan Allen is likely to be great quality if you like their style, it's just NMS. We do have a table & chairs from there from the 70s that my ILs gave us & I will say the chairs look awesome and they had 5 kids!

I wouldnt do Bassett if you can afford the others, personally- when I went in the store, I was not impressed.

As far as the upholstered furniture, things I would check in the future (our couches, from Macy's are 7 yrs old & definitely worn) are that the back is solid, the cushions & any throw pillows are covered inside the upholstery by an additional cover (I dont know what that is called but basically that the outside fabric is not just sewn/wrapped around the cushion itself- I believe that extra covering makes it last longer/more durable) and checking all the arms etc to make sure that there is enough padding/covering tha tyou can't feel the frame poking through anywhere.

GL! 

GL! 

erininhawaii

We got the Fremont sofa/loveseat from Bassett last Labor Day. We haven't had them for very long (9 months), but they get used every day and still look completely brand new. We checked at all the places you mentioned, and Bassett definitely had the lowest prices overall (they were also running a Labor Day sale...we paid $1600 for our sofa.) 

I wasn't a big fan of going with leather, but DH insisted. We're happy with our purchase so far. 

stripesandspots

We have quite a bit of furniture from EA and it has held up well.  Our guest bedroom furniture is from EA and is DH's from when he was little - it is fabulous (although NMS - oh well).  We also have some chairs from EA circa 1970's - also still fabulous.  I would think the quality of Thomasville and EA would be about the same - the styles are just quite a bit different.

heatherlauren

My parents have a lot of furniture from Thomasville and I bought my dining room set, coffee table, and sofa console table from Thomasville (yet to be delivered).  The quality is amazing and it's actually made of wood versus a lot of the other companies that use wood veneer.  My parents furniture has been in their home for 25 years and still looks amazing.

Thomasville usually has deals where you don't have to pay for a year which helps soften the blow of the price. 

prazenjc

our living room sofa and recliner are both from ethan allen and are excellent quality. we've had them for 5 years and are just like new so far.

dannydan31

I would stay away from Bassett. My personal experience with them has been terrible. They don't stand behind their products and you'll end up paying top dollar for low quality furniture.

See my blog post here for more details.

katemn12

I've purchased from both Thomasville and Ethan Allen.  EA used to be high quality and great service - they are not anymore.  Thomasville, I would say, is better at standing behind their products.  We purchased a living room sofa from Thomasville - a spring popped 3 years after the purchase - they sent a repair man out, no questions asked.  I would buy from Thomasville again.

The last sofa I purchased from Ethan Allen was "leather."  Except, I don' think it really was.  It sat in a very lightly used loft - less than 2 years after purchased it started to peel, and revealed a white, plastic-y material underneath.  Customer service didn't respond unless consistency contacted, and after weeks of "i'll run that past corporate" eventually said nothing was wrong with the leather and washed their hands of it.  I used to be a loyal EA customer, but won't buy anything there again.