This is a examine many of us kick colse to when we are about to buy new furniture. One that can get pretty engaging once you break it down. Back in my Dad's day you could buy thoroughly solid oak bedroom set for 199.95 retail, Bassett made the one I'm mental of and was as recent as 1975. For a time during the 90's you'd be hard pressed to find a thoroughly solid wood bedroom set. Even the most high-priced manufacturers strategically settled Mdf (maximum density fiber) board in areas of items that had very slight stress settled on them to keep costs low. Today with the popularity of overseas outsourcing and its cheap labor I'm seeing a lot more solid wood (or if it's not solid it's been very well hidden), but solid "what type of wood" is the question. Well to be honest there's no telling, most manufacturers use a collection of dissimilar hard woods that will suck in stain in a similar manor. Products are still well built and will last but gone is the story of solid Ash, solid Birch, or solid maple.
So what distinguishes the dissimilar furniture producing manufacturer's and how are they similar? I can only think of one main way they are similar, most if not all have overseas plants where their items are fully man-made or partially built and done in the states. Where they differ is easy yet complex... Brands are broken down in to three main categories by the furniture industry. Promotional, Middle end, and High end, this is done in general by the price of their items.
Ashley Furniture
Promotional manufacturers have a very low price point in the market, some of their bedrooms suits are what we call print wood where they take a type of particle board and basically wall paper it to get the look they want. The living rooms suits are scaled down just a bit as well as less padding and wood in the areas where there is slight to no stress,( ordinarily the side panels and back of a sofa). While these products are considered promotional they hold up very well and are great starter products for young couples and kids bedrooms.
You can find a 2-pc living room suit for under 9.95 with promotional brands and a bedroom suit for under 9.95. Most of the leather upholstery are bonded leather and married to the frames and priced as low as 9.95 for a sofa.
Ashley Furniture got its start as a promotional brand and while they still have many products in the Promotional End they have crossed over into Middle End with their Millennium Collections.
Middle End is where things get interesting. The best analogy is to think of it as our Middle Class; you have low middle, middle and upper middle. All of the Middle End Manufacturers yield very good products, most of their cost recovery happens in the stop process of the case goods and their upholstery cost recovery comes in their easy yet beloved designs and in their fabrics options.
The Low Middle Manufacturer's strongest price point is the 9.95-9.95 sofa and their bedrooms suits compel is under 99.95. Leather upholstery is typically matched or bonded and ordinarily pricing is colse to 9.95 for a leather sofa. Vaughan Bassett and Ashley Furniture are a few of the Low Middle style lines but they do cross over into the Middle area.
The Middle Manufacturer's price points span from 9.95-1099.95 in their sofas and 99.95-4999.95 in their bedrooms. Here you'll find more fabric options and a bit more fabricate in the upholstery. Some of the more beloved examples in the Middle End are Broyhill Furniture, Lane Furniture, Riverside Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, legacy Furniture, Lea Furniture and Universal Furniture.
The Upper Middle is high end for a lot of areas, prices on sofas start colse to 99.95 and leather sofas are All Leather fluctuating from 99.95 to 99.95. While a lot of the Upper Middle associates dip into the Middle areas their bedrooms suits typically run from 99.95 to 99.95. Here you have a lot of fabrics to pick from and also fringe options. Many have a customer Own Material price where you can purchase your material elsewhere and send to the plant where they will put it on the sofa. Examples of some Upper Middle lines are Kincaid Furniture, Lexington Furniture, Stanley Furniture, American Drew Furniture, Bradington Young, Sam Moore, Hooker Furniture and Bernhardt Furniture.
High End quite genuinely is an area I am still learning about, I've sat on a sell ,000.00 upholstered sofa looked at a queen size bed, wardrobe and night stand priced sell for ,000.00. The key word in High End is Custom; you have a lot of options in many of the High End lines, and I'm not just referring to the upholstery. You can customize tables, finishes, bedposts and many other items in bedroom and dining room collections. High End is all about the story, while the basic building is the same as in the Upper Middle End, you have finishing processes that have multi steps and may be hand rubbed. The fabrics are some of the most exquisite designs and material on the shop made by some of the most famed designers and the list goes on. High End associates spare no charge to generate a story that will say to their customer... You've made it... You are elite and you deserve the best of the best... And it shows in their prices. Some examples of High End lines are Century Furniture, Marge Carson, Maitland Smith Furniture and Henredon Furniture.
So back to the examine we started with. Which manufacturer is best for me? Well it all depends on you, where do you fall in the areas I've discussed? You can find good potential that will last in every area and we purchase agreeing our allocation and view of what furniture is to us. I personally have an item in my home from every area except the High End and I'm sure the day will come when I will have a High End item as well... Probably after marriage... I hope this has been helpful or at least engaging to read.
Which Furniture maker is Best For Me?
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