Len Lewin

Laura Goes Shopping In NC: How to do it Right! (part 2)

Len — Fri, 12 May 2006 21:47:25 +0000

Wow! Thank you so much for responding! I rarely check this email address, and honestly didn’t expect such a speedy response. We really appreciate you taking the time to help us out during our furniture quest!

I believe we are going to go with the Drexel furniture. Overall, we were just very happy with the quality. Below I have included my entry on my weblog. I thought you might like to know about our research and our review of the Furniture Mart.

Laura

Hickory Furniture Mart

What to bring with you?

Good walking shoes. You are going to be on your feet all day long here, with an occasional rest. Be prepared. This place is basically an indoor mall of furniture stores, comprised of four levels, which makes for a lot of walking.

A good mindset. If you don’t have a positive outlook and a good disposition, don’t go. Grumpiness is not going to help you when furniture shopping. Also, unless you are a veteran marathon furniture shopper, don’t go looking for furniture for an entire house. You will be overwhelmed.

A laptop computer with wireless capability. For us, this was great to have. At the coffee shop, we browsed the Internet, compared prices and called other stores closer to us to find out if we were getting good deals or not. If you are really wanting to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible, you will want to do some web browsing.

Supplies. Make sure to pick up a map at the entrance. Bring a pen, some paper and a tape measurer and measurements from home. Color swatches would be great to have if you are trying to match existing upholstery or curtains. I saw one man carrying around a pillow!

What not to bring with you?

Children. Let’s face it. Adults can be miserable furniture shopping, why torture kids too?

Drinks and snacks. There’s a restaurant on premises. If you don’t want to hassle with bringing along food, just order up at the restaurant. (We packed sandwiches, so I don’t know how expensive the food was, or what was on the menu) The coffee shop on the first floor not only offers coffee drinks (and wifi), but spirits as well. If you just need a snack, several of the stores offer freshly baked cookies, Coca-Cola in little glass bottles and water - all complementary. It definitely was refreshing to find a store with snacks inside. Unfortunately, you will have to search for the snack stations because they are hidden, but if you step inside, your nose will be able to spot if you’ve reached jackpot.

What we liked.

The service. Let’s face it. Where can you get good customer service these days? I was thrilled with how the sales personnel approached you, with the exception of a sleazy looking salesman in the Amish furniture store. My favorite sales person was at the Thomasville store. She was informative, very helpful and not pushy at all. When we returned to the store in the afternoon she was visiting with past clients who just came by to chat with her, which in my mind speaks mounds about how she conducts business.

The selection. Since we have little experience shopping for furniture we were able to compare quality and price all in one stop instead of driving all around. Although it was quite a drive for us, we could have easily spent that much time driving from store to store over several weekends.

No crowds. I don’t know if the crowds can get bad here, or not, but we had absolutely no problem with too many people, which was a concern of ours. Maybe it was because we went when the weather was nice, when the weather the following day turned rainy? I don’t really know. I would imagine if it were more crowded we wouldn’t have had such a positive experience.

Overall view…

Is it worth it to drive to Hickory? With so many mainstream furniture stores these days, I don’t think that the prices here were astonishingly low. We went when they were having a Mark Down sale, where most things were 10% off, but for us, we weren’t seeing huge, slashing discounts. However, we were only looking at bedroom furniture and we really didn’t linger long in the stores with clearance and discontinued items. We did see a really neat coffee table for under $300 that we thought was very reasonable. The sales lady said that her store was no longer going to be carrying the item, it was going to another store with a substantial markup. Our leather couch we bought earlier this year (at 45% off) was only $50 cheaper at the Mart, so we feel like we got a good deal. The shipping prices we were quoted, however, are substantially cheaper than what you will find locally and several people I have talked to have had excellent results with their furniture being shipped from the Mart. If you do find something you like, call up the Mart to see how they price it so that you are able to compare.

The first bedroom furniture candidate is made by Thomasville, a well-known North Carolina based company. Their Cinnamon Hill line really caught our eye. With tailored clean lines, a high foot board, and versatility (you can have high posts on the headboard or low posts) we immediately put this one down as a possibility.

The second bedroom set we came across is made by Villageois, a Canadian-based company. Their Bannister Bed from their Cherry Classic Collection is very substantial, solid and well built. As with the first set, we liked the high foot board, and the classic design.

At the same store we found something comparable to the Villageois set, but was considerably more affordable. Chatham Furniture Reproductions, Inc. had several styles we liked. The Kittery Point Collection has the same look as the Villageois, but with a little more casual feel. The Kittery Point Collection has a little more of a distressed look than the finish we were looking at, but the bedrooms sets are the same. Very similar in design as the Villageois, almost as solid, but for a much more reasonable price.

The final bedroom set we liked was at a Drexel Heritage store, also a North Carolina based company. We went in this store to check out a Mission Style bed, but also ended up finding another set we liked, under their Postabello Home Collection. While this style was much different from all of the others we were considering, we were drawn to the bed. Again, versatility was a big plus. The posts on the headboard and foot board can either be high or low and the hardware on additional pieces come in both pewter and wood, allowing the set to take on different looks.

At lunch we sat down, reviewed all of our choices, referred to a great book I had found called Shopping For Furniture, and went back to the showrooms to look over our final choices. We re-evaluated the sturdiness, the construction of the drawers, the colors and of course the price before coming to a final decision.

Laura,

What a super review of your furniture expedition. I loved it. Wonderfully written but more importantly full of good, solid information that all of us can us. I hope you wont mind if I paste it into my site. Will that be OK? Do you do a lot of writing on furniture/home-furnishing matters? If so it could be fun and helpful to others if we linked to each other. Think about it. The only thing you missed, and when all is said and done perhaps the most important thing in NC, is the Bar-BQ! How could miss that! Carolina BarBQ pork is a national treasure!

Thank you for sharing your trip with me. Keep me posted on your furniture adventures.

Len

Leonard,

Feel free to include the review of the Furniture Mart on your site. I think the more information we share with each other, the more informed we are, and in turn, we make better decisions as consumers.

To answer your question, I don’t do a lot of reviews on furniture shopping. This is only my second time furniture shopping - most of what I have have been antiques given to me, or stuff I’ve picked up here and there. I plan on writing another entry talking about how we came to a final decision. I’ll be more than happy to email that to you as well after I am finished.

Oh, and don’t you worry. I wouldn’t have missed North Carolina BBQ for the world. Vinegar based BBQ is one of my absolute most favorite things!!! See my review below of the place where we ate! I can recommend a few good joints in Virginia and North Carolina, but I’m guessing you are located on the West Coast… I’d be happy to send you a recipe, too, if you are interested.

Laura

Shell’s Diner

2609 Springs Road

Hickory, NC 28601

1.828.256.2275

If you go to the Hickory, North Carolina to do some furniture shopping, be sure to go get some good North Carolina barbeque at Shell’s Diner. The food was good and the service was phenomenal. When we placed our beverage orders, I inquired about their slushes, but decided to stick with sweet tea. However, the server brought us a sample of their slush mix to taste, since it is their most popular drink (the people beside us ordered four tall glasses of the slush!). Before she placed our barbeque order she brought us some to sample. She wanted to make sure we would like the tangy, vinegar based barbeque before ordering a plate. For $7.00 we got a plateful of barbeque with slaw, fries and huspuppies. The sweet tea was as thick as syrup and wonderfully refreshing. Our waitress even asked us if we wanted some sweet tea to go! When’s the last time you had that kind of service?

Laura,

Thank you so much and I couldn’t agree more with you. I have had my web site (newfurnitureideas.com) converted into my new webblog www.lenlewin.com to accomplish just what you describe with your comment about sharing information and becoming better informed.

I love your restaurant review. You know I like sweet ice tea in NC but I can’t drink it in any other state! With your thoroughness I should have known you would check out the BarBQ. I don’t know Shell’s in Hickory. When I would go west in NC I would continue on into the mountains and hang-out around the Grandfather Mountain area. We had factories in Drexel but we were always in a hurry to get to Boone. I know all the restaurants in the High Point area because we would spend every April Market and October Market roaming about that area. Send me the recipe when you have a moment and please send me anything you write that you think is interesting and would like to share.

Len

Laura Goes Shopping In NC: How to do it Right! (part 1)

Len — Fri, 12 May 2006 21:44:54 +0000

Len, My husband and I spent the day at the Hickory Furniture Mart in Hickory, North Carolina yesterday. Overwhelmed we scanned the entire place, going back and forth between manufacturers, and diving into your book!, before deciding on a Drexel bedroom set under Drexel’s Postobello Home series.

The Byron bed, two Gina nightstands, a Monaco dresser and possibly a Palo chest to provide a complete set for us. We are going to wait until the end of the month to order, though, because they are offering a 10% discount on the series. Prices at the mart are not that great of a deal. We called a Drexel Heritage store in Sterling, Virginia (near Washington, D.C., the closest Drexel Heritage store to us), and the prices we received from the Sterling store were $5 more per piece than what we would be paying at the Furniture Mart, but the shipping prices out of the mart are much more competitive, since Drexel furniture is made just down the road from the mart.

So, our concern is about the drawer construction. Your book recommends dovetailing, but from the research I did on the Internet, there are several different ways to dovetail. Many of the furniture we saw today is constructed with an English dovetail (what I thought was the only way to dovetail before yesterday!), but the drawers in the Postobello series have English dovetails on the back of the drawers, and what appears to be french dovetails on the front. Should this be something we should be concerned about?

From your recommendations, and others on the Internet, Drexel is a quality furniture company, which leads me to think we shouldn’t be worried, but, well, I am. I asked about Drexel’s warranty, and the sales associate told us that on case goods the warranty is just for one year. Upholstery was five years, I believe. I would love to know your opinion on this matter. Thank you so much for writing such an informative and comprehensive book! - Laura

Hi Laura, Wow! You really have done your homework. The days are gone when shopping NC results in significant price reductions. In today’s world most stores from Maine to California have adjusted their prices to be very competitive everyday of the week. So the price difference between NC and your hometown is very close anymore. Plus companies like Drexel-Heritage have taken a very aggressive stance on pricing and publish the prices that they expect their dealers to sell at from coast to coast! But one huge plus remains for shopping NC and that is the sheer quantity of showrooms all close by that allows a shopper to really go from space to space to compare furniture from the different companies.

All of us in the industry considers Drexel-Heritage to be a solid quality company. I absolutely would not be worried about the construction of their drawers. There are 3 basic dovetail approaches (and many variations on the theme) that you will run into in the furniture world: (1) dovetails which show on both sides of a corner joint, (2) lapped dovetails which show on one face but are concealed on the other by a lap or lip, and (3) secret dovetails in which the joint is entirely hidden. The terms, “English”, “French”, etc. are randomly used by different groups, companies, woodworkers, etc. but have no consensus application across the country or world for that matter. It is a fact though that no matter what a dovetail is called it absolutely represents the best way to connect two pieces of wood together at right angles to each other. So what do we have used on the drawers in the Postobello Collection? I expect that the use of another approach for the front of the drawer was dictated by design considerations. Without being totally sure what the term “French Dovetail” represents I would bet that it is referring to the fact that the drawer sides are slotted into the drawer front. This is not an unusual technique. It certainly is nothing to be concerned about.

As to the warranty the days are gone when a “good faith” warranty can be used by any manufacturer. The government insists on a detailed description as to what is warranted and under what circumstances. A printed warranty looks like the legal document it is. Manufacturers have been increasingly taken advantage of by consumers who feels that the manufacturer should be responsible for anything that happens to an item that they have purchased. Doesn’t matter that they could be poor housekeepers, or the hurricane was in God’s hands. If the dresser, etc. is damaged they want it replace for free! So the one year warranty is in place to cover any unexpected manufacture problems that occasionally crop up. After a year if the item is doing what it should then simple good care and common sense will keep it beautiful for years.

Thank you so much for buying my book and I am delighted that you have found it helpful.

Len Lewin; Author, “Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide”, 2nd. Edition

Can You Save Money In N.C.?

Len — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:34:36 +0000

Hey Leonard,
I’ve heard that NC is now collecting the sales tax! So the old advantages are being whittled away! Couple this with everystore USA now being a “discounter” and you have NC as perhaps only a spot for BarBQ! Boyles sent me their catalog and my gut feeling was their pricing was about the same as what I can get in Philadelphia. Based on what you are telling me and what I have found anecdotally, I think that rules out shopping NC for me. If its too good to be true…ahh you know the rest!

Is getting the best price on a piece of furniture as easy as taking 1/2 (based on a 2x markup) of the listed pricing and adding something fair in for the sales reps commission? You can buy a car that way, now- a- days with all the invoices available!

Hope all is well.

Ron

My long term contention and I believe it more than ever that the worse way to shop is to shop “discounts” only. If a shopper has no knowledge of the product that they are wanting to buy and has no appreciation of what makes the project good or bad then they are not going to spend their money well. Now if you know what makes Furniture A better than Furniture B then go for it. Keep in mind that
the NC scene is not the deal it use to be.

With every local store discounting everyday of the week the difference between NC and PA has really shrunk. After saying that if you know your stuff and can take a few days to poke around in the Outlets “Outlets” (where they keep the one of kind stuff, the returns, the “damaged”, etc.) then you can make some incredible deals. Of course you “save” the tax also unless you are such a square shooter that you would turn yourself in to the authorizes. Bottom-line: Shopping NC is certainly work the trip and the better you are the better it will be. Plus, if nothing else, the Pork Bar-B-Q in the region is fabulous.

Len

Ashley Furniture! Good or Bad?

Len — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:07:48 +0000

Dear Len,

First, I want to thank you for writing this wonderful book. Furniture shopping can be overwhelming. You really help people become educated consumers.

Here is my question. I was looking for information on a furniture manufacturer by the name of Ashley in your book. The only reference I could find was in relation to the store - Ashley Home Store. We have a store like this by us that I visited today to do some research. The salesperson told me that the store does not hold inventory which helps to keep their prices low. I was hoping to get some insight into the quality of their merchandise and your opinion on their store. Can you help me?

Thanks,
Amy

Hi Amy,

Thank you for the nice comments on my book. I appreciate them. Ashley Furniture is the fastest growing American furniture company. They are going, as often as possible, to showcasing their furniture in the dedicated Ashley Home Store one of which is close to you. When I wrote my book Ashley was nowhere near the power house that they have become in the last several years. An overwhelming part of the Ashley furniture assortment is furniture that is produced overseas in China, Vietnam, Philippines, etc. The prices are very reasonable and in the trade the Ashley merchandise would be considered entry-level, modest, starter, etc. But for the money they really do a good job. I definitely would go in and take a look at their assortment. Merchandise coming out of the Far East is very, very, well done. If it has a downside, in my opinion, it is the finishes which I think are a bit on the “dry” side and “thin” side. All in all though take a good look.

Len Lewin

Romweber A Name From The Past!

Len — Thu, 04 May 2006 22:57:12 +0000

Len, 43 years ago we bought a beautiful and expensive 10 piece dining room set. I would like to know more about the set. Inside the drawers it has the name ROMWEBER. On the order card which I still have, it shows 560 Invicta, Italian period, and the wood is cherry and Carpathian burl. We have just given this set to our daughter and her husband and I would like her to know a little bit about Romweber. It is in a like new condition. When we bought this set, we also bought a Hibriten chair which is hand carved on each side and the chair looks just as good now as when we purchased it, as it was mostly for show in our living room. Can you tell me anything about the chair? I would appreciate any help you can give me concerning these items.
Thank you so very much!

Hi Dorothy,

I remember it well. Actually Romweber is still in business and if you go to their web pages you will get the complete history of the line: www.romweber.com will give you the complete story. It was an excellent line and while I haven’t run across it recently it has a proud tradition. Now Hibriten is gone. Bernhardt Furniture Company, www.bernhardtfurniture.com, bought Hibriten, I believe, in the 70’s and closed them down. It was very fine furniture though. You have given the kids some very, very, nice items. I hope they appreciate them.

Len

Antiques and things in New England

Len — Thu, 04 May 2006 22:35:52 +0000

Dear Len,
In advance I greatly appreciate your advice.

We are moving from Atlanta, Georgia to Burlington, Vermont. We are weighing the pros and cons of moving our 3 bedroom home full of furniture or selling almost everything and buying new when we arrive in Vermont.

Eventually we would like to buy all new furniture. We would like to purchase solid wood, quality furniture, but can’t afford the retail prices. We could possibly rent a U-haul and move a few valuable items. With that we could stop in North Carolina and purchase new furniture at a big discount with our savings from moving and the money we make on selling our old furniture.

My questions:
1- Is Vermont a good place to buy antiques? or quality inexpensive furniture?

2- Where are the big discount places to shop in North Carolina?

3- We have a leather Whittemore Sherrill love seat and chair. They are big and heavy. We love the design, but the leather has been damaged. They no longer look good. Is the frame worth saving? Should we have them re-upholstered? Who do we contact to have this done? Manufacturer? in Vermont?

Thank you very much.
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

All of New England is a good place to look for “antiques”; but be careful unless you are an expert when it comes to antiques. Now if you see a wonderful, charming, well priced item that you can’t live without…buy it; but if you are looking at a small table that George Washington used and is priced at $18,000! Be careful.

You will be better off looking for “quality” inexpensive furniture in North Carolina or Boston. Carolina is terrific, not because the prices are dramatically better than anyplace else (they used to be but now the difference in price between Carolina and say Atlanta or DC or Philly is not that great) but you do save the tax and the routine discount in Carolina is at least 40% off the suggested retail price. What is dramatically different is the huge quantity of furniture that you will see in Carolina. Go through High Point and stop at what I think are the 3 best outlets: FurnitureLand South, Boyles, and Rose Brothers Furniture. They are all within a mile of each other on Rt. 85 in High Point. These are the biggest and the best. You can trust them and the displays are super. Don’t miss them.

I like Sherrill product very much but in today’s world it just doesn’t pay to have an item re-upholstered. Prices are just too competitive and particularly with leather. You can do better buying new. Much good luck with your move and it will tough to find a more beautiful place than Vermont.

Len Lewin; Author, “Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide”, 2nd. Edition

Need advice on selling our 9-piece Hibriten dining room set.

admin — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 21:52:49 +0000

Dear Len, we received a nine piece Hibriten dining room set which included a 100″ long table (with both leaves) and 8 upholsted mustard color chairs(6 side chairs and 2 arm chairs). Both the chairs and the table are hand carved. Unfortunately, we do not have the paper work and there is a 1 ft scratch on table top. The chairs are in very good condition. We believe it is a fruitwood and the style seems to be Empire. We can send photos.

We were wondering the value of the set and the proper venue to sell it. We live in San Jose, CA.

Thank you for your time and assistance.
Best regards, Jonathan

Jonathan,

Your best bet for selling your table and chairs is EBay. I say that because I think the best place to maximize your price is on the East Coast. I get a good deal of questions about Hibriten as to value, etc. from people who want to sell the items. I never get a request from anyone who wants to buy some Hibriten items. As you may know Hibriten was bought by Bernhardt Furniture Company somewhere in the early 70’s and after a run closed it down. Hibriten was/is very nice furniture.

How bad is that scratch on the table top? 12″ long! How deep? If it is very shallow it will not be a big problem to fix it up. If it is deep then the whole top may need to be refinished after the scratch is removed. Check with a local woodworker to see what he tells you.

The simplest way for you to move the table and chairs would be at one of the Consignment Stores in the San Jose area. There are several stores in the area from Palo Alto through San Jose. I would expect that you should consider a price for the table and chairs of $1,999. I am assuming that the “mustard” color is the color of the fabric on the chairs and not the color of the wood. If they are slip seats (seats that are upholstered and then screwed/bolted/fastened to the chair) then it is a very simply and inexpensive to re-upholster the chairs. Slip seats will make the set sell very much easier than if each chair was upholstered individually. It is sad that wonderful furniture like Hibriten brings so little on the secondary market. It deserves higher prices because it is fine furniture. Good luck and don’t hesitate to contact me with any additional concerns.

Len Lewin; Author, “Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide”, 2nd. Edition

Will my cats and a microfiber couch mix?

admin — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 21:50:14 +0000

Mr. Lewin…what is your opinion on the microfiber couches? I am concerned about the durability with children, but mostly the fact that I have four cats that lay on our couches quite often. I know that since many pet hair removers are made of microfiber, that they must attract the fur. Do you think I’d drive myself crazy with cat-hair by purchasing a microfiber sectional?!? Thank you, Davene

Ms. Hessert,

Great question. First…you can’t get rid of the cats! I love cats so I put up with their “downside” behavior; but when it comes to hair and microfiber I think your concerns are right on. I expect the microfiber will attract the hair. Now microfibers are terrific when it comes to cleaning and “wear-a-bility” so when it comes to the kids I wouldn’t worry about them. What to do in your situation? I would pass on the microfiber.

Len Lewin

Mr. Lewin,

Thanks for your fast response! I appreciate your educated opinion.

- Davene

What company makes the highest quality furniture?

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 21:43:53 +0000

Hi Len, what company makes the highest quality furniture? Thanks, Ron

Ron,

Wow what a question. Very subjective of course. My “best” would be: E.J.Victor, Karges, Stickley, and Baker. These are all lines that you can find in most major markets and in regular retail or trade locations. Custom cabinet makers making fabulous “one-of-a-kind” items with prices to match can be found in all of our major markets; but while they can represent the ultimate in craftsmanship they cater to a very small part of the consumer market.

Len Lewin; “Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide”, 2nd Edition

p.s. my personal favorite is/was Guy Chaddock. Fabulous finishes but they closed their operation about a year or so ago. Labor problems and all that. I expect the name will be back but I doubt if the furniture will be the same.

Thanks Len, I’m a stickler for quality so it’s interesting to know what an expert considers the “best”. Thanks for your efforts. Regards, Ron

Selling my Kindel Mahogany Dining Room set.

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 21:33:37 +0000

Hi Len, I have a Kindel Mahogany Dining Room set. It includes a table, 6 chairs and a beautiful China closet. It is in perfect condition and was purchased for over $20,000 on sale 17 years ago. The new buyers of my home want to purchase it. I have no idea of its worth and I am tempted to keep it in storage rather then give it away. It is something I know I will not be able to replace. What would you sell it for?

The set has gold ball feet on the double pedisal table. It has three leafs and all the pads. The finish is beautiful. Both peices are large.

- Thanks, Kim

Hi Kim,

Thanks for the additional information. With the china included and considering the table plus 6 chairs I would increase the price to $15,000; but, if the buyers of your home want the set I would settle on $10,000.

You have several problems in trying to get the real value for your items. One is the size of the items. A big china is hard to show in most of today’s home. New homes rarely have a large formal dining area. Even when you have the space for a big china today’s younger affluent consumers rarely have lots of silver or china to showcase. This comment would be less true in the South and if you are located in the South then your odds increase in getting your top price of $15,000. The only other area that would be prime for your goods would be the rest of the East Coast and the Chicago area. The West Coast does not sell or need much mahogany.

Of course, EBay would be a prime way to get top dollar for your goods if you have the time to sell it that way. Keep in mind that any buyer, unless they live next door, will need your items crated for shipping and someone will have to pay the shipping costs. Watch-out for blanket-wrapped shipping. It is done all the time but damage happens all of the time too! Good luck with it all.

Len

p.s. Your best buyer will be the one trying to buy your home.