Top Furniture Brands

Ok, I know this seems out of place, but I trust the people here to guide me in the right direction. I figure there is gotta be a carpenter, furniture lover, designer, or experienced shopper among you.

There comes a time in a persons life where college furniture just won't do. Particle wood, as let you down one too many times, or as lasted long enough if you don't touch it. I wanted to get an opinion on what brands of furniture are trusted among you. Just like our beloved razors & blades, there is gotta be a break down of starter brands, medium priced, and luxury brands. In the end I don't think a single house can be one brand, but looking for a place to start with a solid foundation. Looking for something in between, a starter home furniture to really nice furniture you can pass down.

Brands that came to mind: Bassett, Ashley, Ethan Allen, Thomasville, Lacks, Hooker, Lane, Stickley

Thanks for your guidance on this expensive endeavor.

Lay-Z-Boy

My dad was in office equipment and delt more in the furniture line, not household grade. It's been years since I have really looked, but first make sure it is acutally made in the US or Canada. There is a lot of cheap, yet costly stuff coming out of china these days.

Other than that look at construction, There should not be nails, or brads involved. joints should lock and or be glued and screwed together.

There is nothing wrong with "particle board", depending on the grade. MDF or medium density fiberboard is excellent for large surfaces such as tabletops. It should be banded with solid wood and have a good veneer surface applied, thicker is better but it is unlikely you are to learn how how thick.

Go to a good dealer, not a chain that advertises a lot, or a discounter. It's a lot like everything else, you get what you pay for, if you do your research.

Do you have a particular style in mind? That will help narrow things down.

When the wife and I moved out of my old apartment that I had for years with my old college furniture, we bought all new stuff for the house. We bought from Bob's, Ashley and Jennifer Convertibles. I can tell you Bob's is the cheapest in price and quality but looks nice. I can just advise you to be careful when they try to sell you furniture protection plans.

Ethan Allen back in the day.. 30 years ago the wife bought EA dining room and living/great room furniture all the wood stuff is still solid and looks great. All the soft goods have such good bones that it has been recovered a couple of times and still is fine. I suspect I could Craiglist it and get back 10 times what we paid for it.

jkingrph said:

There is nothing wrong with "particle board", depending on the grade. MDF or medium density fiberboard is excellent for large surfaces such as tabletops. It should be banded with solid wood and have a good veneer surface applied, thicker is better but it is unlikely you are to learn how how thick.

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My experience with particle board is that once it takes a dent that penetrates the vinyl/thermofoil/etc... it is only a matter of time till it soaks up some water and swells.

I don't get the feeling that any of the antiques of the future will be made from MDF. I certainly don't intend to buy anything in MDF unless I deem it "disposable".

Anything by Baker Furniture is great quality. This is one of the best brands I know of.

I'm an interior designer with a four year degree. Here are a few brands that are top quality, but please understand that with top quality you're also going to pay top dollar. You have to think of it in terms of life cycle cost - you'll buy three cheap sofas before one of the sofas from these manufacturers will wear out:

Baker
Century
Henredon
Hickory Chair
Maitland Smith
Highland House
Councill Craftsman
Lane Venture

Not sure if you live close to an Amish area. When we lived in Michigan I used to built a lot of furniture in Arts and Crafts style, but when it came to get a new dinning room set we went to Shipshewana in Indiana. We bought a table with to add-in leaves, four chairs all made from solid oak. I bought it unfinished and stained and varnished it myself. I had created a large vat of a stain and all our furniture (the one I built and the Amish ones) are stained with this stain. Looks excellent. I figured out I couldn't even buy the wood for the set for the money the Amish was asking for. This furniture is unbelievably solid built and will last a long time.
So check out if you have some Amish close to you.

Rudy Vey said:

Not sure if you live close to an Amish area. When we lived in Michigan I used to built a lot of furniture in Arts and Crafts style, but when it came to get a new dinning room set we went to Shipshewana in Indiana. We bought a table with to add-in leaves, four chairs all made from solid oak. I bought it unfinished and stained and varnished it myself. I had created a large vat of a stain and all our furniture (the one I built and the Amish ones) are stained with this stain. Looks excellent. I figured out I couldn't even buy the wood for the set for the money the Amish was asking for. This furniture is unbelievably solid built and will last a long time.
So check out if you have some Amish close to you.

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+1 to this, too. I'm lucky to have some Amish furniture makers within close proximity. They really do build rock solid furniture.

Wife and I love Ethan Allen. bit pricey, but well worth the quality and craftmanship

_MementoMori_ said:

Baker
Century
Henredon
Hickory Chair
Maitland Smith
Highland House
Councill Craftsman
Lane Venture

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Guess this list expands my search circle, but if these are top brands then what is the tier below them.

And no sorry no Amish furniture in these parts.

Check out Ekornes/Stressless for sofas and recliners. Made in Norway, high-quality construction and long-lasting. And expensive. (sigh).

Doc4 said:

Check out Ekornes/Stressless for sofas and recliners. Made in Norway, high-quality construction and long-lasting. And expensive. (sigh).

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Excellent products. My dad has a stressless chair and it's wonderful.
Well worth the money.

My dad got us a sofa and a couple of chairs by a lesser known maker, William Allen nearly 30 years ago. It still looks good, and has only been cleaned a few times.

Buy quality and it will last. I have some Thonet dining chairs that are just over 50 years old, still with original upholstry that show very little wear considering that they are used daily. Back in 1972 when I got married I had orders for two years in Turkey so needed some furniture quick. Mom and dad were wanting something new so the wife and I got that dining set, packed it and shipped it overseas, then back two years later and are still using it.. Also have a Gunlocke occasional chair, thats even a bit older, but I did have to have it recovered, as the original leather went bad.

I also have an old no name overstuffed platform rocker that Mom rocked my sister and I in when we were infants. I don't know how many times it has been recovered, but it's several. About 10-12 years ago, I had it stripped down, then I completely refinished the exposed wood, plus tightened up and reglued joints in the frame that were showing their age. I'm sitting in it now as I entere this.

Got a Lane coffee table and couple of end tables, well constructed, and yes MDF cores on the top. The finish went bad fast, so they had to be refinished.

I have a small occasional table, made from a piece of a credenza top from an old office furniture company named Stowe Davis. This piece is roughly the same age as me, 65 give or take a few years. It was from an era when good furniture was really well made. The core is what seems to be extremely hard maple and is 1 3/4" thick, glued up from precisely milled lumber, face coated with a thick cross grain veneer, then a thick walnut veneer running the length of the piece. Veneering treatment is the same on both sides to prevent warpeage.

I bought a Flexsteel couch and recliner about 5 years ago. They're nice.

Take all the stories you will hear about "I bought furniture from such-and-such a brand many decades ago and the stuff has lasted so well" with a grain of salt. I have no doubt that a lot of quality furniture was made decades ago, before production was shipped to China or wherever, and standards fell drastically.

Even "made in USA" isn't the guarantee of qualiity it once may have been ...

Danish Design FTW:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=da&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=da&tl=en&u=www.skovby.dk

http://www.fritzhansen.com/en/fritz-hansen/store-locator/private/north-america/usa/missouri.aspx

Ethan Allen is great quality furniture but, in my experience is their customer service is terrible, which was very diappointing.