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