Hancock and Moore My first option
Classic Leather is the main two Second option
I have heard many people say Leathercraft uses cheap leather overseas. STAY AWAY!

If you decide on Fabric go with Wesley Hall, they are the best.

Well I don't know much about leather but I know you can get good looking, high-quality furniture (that isn't leather) for around your budget. Something like this settee:

http://www.plaidparasol.com/furniture/living-room/settee

would work great in a smaller room because its not too big and it has that mid-century modern look that a lot of people seem to look for.

I've never had an expensive couch and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything! Stick to your budget and as long as you put a little time into your search (it sounds like you are) you should be able to find a good quality and economical sofa. good luck!

Thanks for the advice! As a follow-up, do you have any tips on how to negotiate with the furniture stores for a better price?

I like it when folks can pick up their sofas and when they are not in a big hurry.

Honestly I am pretty cynical about quality. I like cushions which unzip so they can be restuffed. Sometimes I think ppl sit on their sofas more now than in the past lol.

No but honestly, I have worked out deals with folks in the past and at the last minute they offered cash and asked for a discount on sofas. Our CC processing is pretty cheap now so I have said sure, if $20 is worth your trip to the atm I'll give ya twenty off.

I like the leather made sofa because of its reliability.

For $1000 forget about getting a genuine 8 way hand-tied sofa.

You will probably also have to give up the kiln-dried solid lumber and dowels. It will probably have corner blocks, but not as many as a higher quality sofa and they will be stapled, not screwed.

Most furniture salespeople in the larger stores wouldn't know about the type of wood in the frame (or how it is constructed) anyway.

Fortunately even a mid-priced sofa ($1000 - $1500) with a plywood frame and no-sag springs should last you at least 5 years if you get a good durable fabric. There are a lot of cheap very durable fabrics available. Most 100% Polyesters and microfibers will hold up for at least 5 years.

Another thing you will probably have to give up at $1000 is leather. Most leather at that price is actually "bonded" leather, which is not the same and costs about the same as a good grade of vinyl. There are some genuine leather sofas imported from the Far East at that price level, but to hit the $1000 retail price the rest of the sofa is going to be closer to what you would expect from a $599 retail fabric sofa.

For a sofa to cost $20,000 you are usually paying for a one of a kind custom-built piece. The difference between a $3000 sofa and a $5000 sofa is largely dependent upon the cost of the fabric used.

As an example for a $1000 sofa the manufacturer is probably using a fabric that cost them between $3/yd. - $7 yd. (triple those costs to estimate fabric retail prices.)

Going from a $1000 sofa to a $3000 sofa, in addition to a better frame and more expensive fabrics you are paying for more highly skilled workers who will spend considerably longer building your furniture.

Above the $5000 range you are looking at expensive "designer" fabrics, and exclusive designs but the overall quality of the furniture may not be that different overall from what you will find in the $3000 - $5000 range.

Europeans are far ahead of American furniture designers and manufacturers when it comes to upscale modern sofas. Unfortunately most of those cutting-edge designs are quite expensive. The popularly priced modern styles are usually Asian knockoffs of the European styles, but you won't find the meticulous craftsmanship that makes the expensive originals so magnificent. There are some American manufacturers who make good quality modern furniture but it can take some searching.

Ironically most of the expensive modern-style sofas will have plywood frames and will not have 8 way hand-tied coils. Many of the interesting frame styles can only be created using plywood shaped on a computerized CNC router and cannot be done using solid wood. 8 way coils require a high sofa profile and sleek modern styles simply do not have enough room below the seat to accommodate them.