Portsmouth-Portsmouth

Hello,

It has been a long time since I lived in the US, and when I was there, my taste in furniture hadn't gone past Ikea.

My wife on the other hand is English, and has some Laura Ashley sofas she is attached to.

Is there a manufacturer of similar quality in the northeast US? I would like to see if it is truly cost effective to ship our household belongings, or should we just buy there and start fresh.

Will the sofas we have appear small there? the sizes over there seem to be 20" wider than what we have here too....

Thanks

Portie

bilbos92

Have a look at Calico corners or Ethan Allen. They both have "make your own" sofas with a choice of fabric.... bit pricey though...or alternatively, if the Laura Ashley shop is still in Llanidloes, pop along and grab some fabric and make a cover....

Sofas can be quite cheap to replace, so shipping isn't always worth it, however saying that, we shipped our Ikea sofa over (and an assortment of other "cheap" stuff)......but we didn't pay for shipping.

Pulaski

Probably something to do with many Americans being 20" wider!

Poppy girl

Not just the humans

AmerLisa

Looks like they better start making them bigger in the UK....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...hemselves.html

Poppy girl

I really do not think I could do that unless it was a loved one.

Pulaski

If she can't leave her room, stop bringing her so much d@mn food! To that point the last part of weight increase and her inability to lose weight is attributable to her husband, so WTF are the taxpayers saddled with her care bill?

AmerLisa

I've downloaded some of those shows off of The Box and whoa... It's bad enough here, but over there the houses/rooms/etc are not big enough to cope. It's becoming quite the industry over there with special beds/chairs, etc being made to accommodate these people. One company that makes these special beds are actually leasing them to the NHS hospitals for the super sized patient.


Sorry OP for taking your thread way off subject!

I'd have a look at Ethan Allen as well... They're definitely pricey but apparently very good furniture.

Englishmum

I understand that most of the furniture for the US domestic market is manufactured in North Carolina.....just google 'furniture from North Carolina' and you will get many, many results! Buyer beware etc....

http://www.northcarolinafurnitureguide.com/tips.html

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/shop-...ts-103428.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load...531927341.html

Karrie72

I could be wrong but there used to be some Laura Ashley outlets in the States. I remember picking up a furniture catalog at a store in New York years ago.

Englishmum

Yes there were; there was a small store at my local mall but it closed about a decade ago and it sold some clothes and soft furnishing accessories. I think they did offer a small selection of made-to-order furniture.

From time to time if you go in stores like Marshalls/Home Goods/T K Maxx there are sometimes Laura Ashley duvet covers, quilts and sheets but it's very hit and miss.

When I was in the UK a few months ago I was pleasantly surprised to see that 'Next' has vastly increased its furniture range...the quality seemed pretty good from what I could see.

Pulaski

I've heard it said that 80% of furniture manufactured in the US is manufactured within 200 miles of Hickory, NC. Highpoint, NC and Thomasville, NC (+/- 60 miles east of Hickory) are notable furniture manufacturing centres within that radius. ..... Also Pulaski, about 100 miles north east of Hickory! I think it was about that time that the Laura Ashley brand withdrew from the US. There used to be "store within a store" booths in, I think, Home Depot, but presumably not successful enough to justify their existence.

Portsmouth-Portsmouth

Thank you all for the answers- now I have another question. Does purchasing new furniture count as a qualified moving expense? The tax implications are something to consider, as we have a small contribution from my employer.

Bob

Ethan Allen is all over the north east, but Arhaus is also worth a punt.

Pulaski

I don't know for certain, but I sincerely doubt it, because a moving expense is money "lost" as a result of relocation, whereas a furniture purchase results in you acquiring an asset you will enjoy for many years to come.