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I do have to say we bought the Ektorp sofa & chair from Ikea and its not so great. Its about 5 yrs old...I thought it was a cheap alternative to a Pottery Barn slipcover look. Its in the bonus room and we are letting the kids slowly kill it off for good. The zippers on the slipcovers broke after about a yr and the seat cushion are very thin. I'll stick to the kids stuff or gadgets...
If you like the Pottery Barn slip covered pieces, save some money and drive to the Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams outlet. PB slipcovered furniture comes from MG&BW - only the fabrics are exclusive.
Have you been out to the MG&BW outlet? I'd really like to go but don't want to make the trek if it's not worth it. I really like their sofas though but wasn't sure if the outlet was worth a trip.
Have you been out to the MG&BW outlet? I'd really like to go but don't want to make the trek if it's not worth it. I really like their sofas though but wasn't sure if the outlet was worth a trip.
Yep, I went last month. It's worth it, imo.
The staff is VERY helpful, and they have a large selection. Since it's an outlet, you can't 'order' anything, so you have to want what's on the floor (and they deliver.)
If you have a specific style of sofa/chair in mind, you might want to call ahead to see if it's on the floor.
2 weeks ago they had a HUGE amount of stuff on the floor 'post market', so they might still have quite a bit.
In addition to sofas and chairs they had beds, tables, etc. IMO, the savings were quite significant.
Awesome, thanks so much. I think we'll be in the market for a slipcovered sectional (little toddler grubby hands) and I've been thinking that MG would be the way to go. Do you know what the mark down is for the outlet in general? A guesstimate would be fine. I think new the sectional is about 3500 or so? I've got my heart set on a living room like Julianne Moore's.
Awesome, thanks so much. I think we'll be in the market for a slipcovered sectional (little toddler grubby hands) and I've been thinking that MG would be the way to go. Do you know what the mark down is for the outlet in general? A guesstimate would be fine. I think new the sectional is about 3500 or so? I've got my heart set on a living room like Julianne Moore's.
Oooooh, I LOVE that (especially that live edge coffee table!).
Off the top of my head, I don't recall what the % savings were, but I recall thinking, "wow, that's a BIG savings." Especially since you get some of the higher grade fabrics, and cushion fillings.
My guess is that you can call and ask if they have certain styles on the floor (and the grade of fabric) and see what the ticket price is.
If you're looking for a MG, slipcovered sofa, and they have what you want, it will be WELL worth the day trip.
I browsed MG, then trecked through the rest of the Furniture Mart...ate lunch there...went back through MG, then swung by Furniture Land South on my way home. It was a good day. The stop at Furnitureland South is a nice stopping point on the way home. It breaks the drive up nicely.
Put your comfortable walking shoes on, grab your tape measure, and digital camera, and spend the day looking at furniture.
ETA
The other good thing about the MG outlet, is that you get to sit on the various styles and check them for comfort. Some of the ones I 'thought' I'd like didn't 'sit well' to me (too low, too deep, etc), while others I had dismissed sat really well.
ETA pt2
I ended up getting the Lockport slipcovered sofa and chair by Lee Industries. It's 'green', and sits like a DREAM. Welcome To NaturalLEE.com
Beautiful. Love the Lee sofas/sectionals and hadn't heard of them. I see they also have Sunbrella fabrics which are supposed to be super durable for the little ones. My 'rents live in Greensboro. We'll have to head out that way the next time we go to visit them. Packing my clogs and digital camera already.
Your trip sounds like it required serious stamina. I think I'll need to do some extra "training" before going to Furniture Land South though. I get so overwhelmed in large places like that. My dh and I always have to remind each other to stay on target and not get distracted.
Last edited by omamia; 11-15-2007 at 08:21 AM..
Reason: grammar
Beautiful. Love the Lee sofas/sectionals and hadn't heard of them. I see they also have Sunbrella fabrics which are supposed to be super durable for the little ones.
I sat on just about every sofa in MG, and several of them sat too low or too deep. Great for lounging...not so great when company comes over.
I LOVE my Lee. Sitting on it is like sitting in a 'hug'. Comfy and 'green'. I think Expressions in Raleigh might have one on the floor.
(That said, I still like MG's, too.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by omamia
Packing my clogs and digital camera already.
Well...I wore clogs on a trip to FLS once, and my feet were KILLING me by the time I left. (and I thought my clogs were my most comfortable shoes.)
On this last trip, I wore lace up sneakers. Better choice
Quote:
Originally Posted by omamia
Your trip sounds like it required serious stamina. I think I'll need to do some extra "training" before going to Furniture Land South though. I get so overwhelmed in large places like that. My dh and I always have to remind each other to stay on target and not get distracted.
Yep, it's quite large. The Hickory center where MG is is more manageable.
FLS is simply crazy. (BTW, start in the Clearance building and THEN go to the main center.)
I scanned this thread, so forgive me if someone already mentioned this--
Ikea is coming to Charlotte, after a long debate between there and here. My sister has been with the company for several years. There was an internal petition to get the location moved to Raleigh, but the Ikea Woodbridge, VA (where my sister manages) gets a TON of Raleigh traffic. She says it's at least 60% northen NC buyers. The higher-ups decided they would get more business moving the location further south, so that Raleigh buyers would keep driving the 3 hours to Woodbridge, and the radius around Charlotte would attract new customers.
Anyway. That's the current plan, when I spoke with her a few days ago. Ikea stuff definitely isn't quality furniture, but I absolutely love their cheap holiday decor and kid's stuff. (We're from the Woodbridge area, and several of our friends worked at the store-- they have all kinds of funny stories about people returning $20 bookcases after three years. Like, what do you expect? OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO FALL APART.)
Good inspiration for those of us in tighter markets.
That's a nifty blog!! Nice reno's.
You might also like Houseblogs.net . It's an online community of bloggers doing reno's. Very good reading.
BTW, I forgot to add...when you go to FLS "Clearance", don't be put off by any dings (if any) you see on the items. Point it out to your sales associate and negotiate an even lower price. PLUS, if [whatever the problem is] is fixable, they will fix it at no extra charge.
I found an armoire there that had no hardware on the doors or drawers. It was $1500 cheaper than a brand new one at the main center, so I figured I would just buy my own hardware, once I got the unit. To my surprise, they had attached new hardware before it shipped.
Other items that had 'issues' were also fixed beyond my expectations before I got them.
To me, the best sales person in the Clearance center is Deborah. Very patient, very honest.
I still have a store credit there, so I need to take a trip soon.
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