I found this thread because I just got off the phone with my wife who informed me that replacement slings for our set of six Telescope chairs will be $780.00! That is a very tough pill to swallow, and like many here we weighed this heavily against just getting a cheaper set from HD, Costco, or any number of stores. Our set is about 10 years old to date (purchased summer of 2010) and the aluminum frames, table, and umbrella have held up extremely well (we do store them inside for winter though). Ultimately, I decided to stick with these and pay the exorbitant price for a few reasons: - The rest of the set is extremely high quality. I feel good each year when I pull it out of storage - heavy duty powder coated aluminum construction that has lasted well and still looks 9/10 after a spring wipe-down. - It does bother me how much importation has changed - pushing us toward a throw-away-away-and-buy-another culture. I do feel like we enjoy additional quality on these American made items (not always the case). - Less and less stuff is American made any more. As an engineer and a maker, I miss the days when we made most of the best stuff here. This set still exemplifies that quality. It's a little thing, but something I rarely get to enjoy these days. - After 10 years, with very little degradation (other than the fabric slings), I know what to expect from this set, and feel confident that they will last another 10 years easily with new fabric. The convenience of going 10-12 years between having to think about this, or take a gamble on something potentially less durable is worth something to me. Surely, I'll be feeling the sting of this bill in about a month (so good thing I'm writing this now!), but I thought I'd share what tipped us to reinvesting in this very expensive set. Pic when new April 2010:

Thanks so much for all the replies so far... I knew the list was too long and somewhat messy since some of the listings with someone's name may be people/designers who have contracted with another manufacturer to produce a line with their "brand/name" stamped on it instead... but when I posted on the furniture forum I didn't get many responses when just asking for quality, so I thought it might help to have a list to jog some responses. Reviews mean a lot to me when making purchasing decisions, and I am coming at the upholstered world with very little knowledge. A few years ago after a lot of research back then, I purchased our first two pieces of upholstered furniture that were not "hand-me-downs" or cheap college purchases, and I went with Lee Industries. Unfortunately I think we only sat on that sofa and beautiful chair two times before we found out my husband's job required a major move, and since we had purchased them during a promotion, we were able to get most of our money out of them through Craigslist, which was better than paying mover's to transport our things and pay for storage since we'd be landing in a partially-furnished rental for the first year. Since then I have read a lot of conflicting Lee reviews, including on GW/nowHouzz, and so it feels like starting over, but I'm still leaning that way. I tend to like to spend money on experiences vs. things, so I really want to get as many decades out of our furniture purchases as possible, even if paying a little more on the front end for quality to make that happen. Though a poster above was spot on - they just don't make 'em today like they used to, do they... I wish they did! My favorite chair in our house is from my husband's 87-ish year-old-grandmother, and it was second-hand when she bought it many years ago, so I guess it's third-hand by now. There are a few stains, but it sits perfectly, and I would never recover the embroidered linen on it unless it wears through - I can't even imagine what that kind of fabric would cost today. Re: case goods... I know my standards on that front are only because my parents own a small mom-and-pop store in the Midwest that sells solid wood case goods, mostly Amish-made. While it isn't all my style, that is how we ended up with hand-me-downs, and so over the years my Dad has drilled into me to look for solid-built, solid wood quality. If not for the family discount on that front, my preferences might be different. To answer the question above about veneer - the reason why I excluded veneer is because they don't carry anything with particle board or veneer, but I also want to avoid veneer because in our current rental, two side tables that are not ours have nicks through the veneer that reveal the mdf or particle board underneath, and they just aren't wearing like the the 10+ year old coffee table we got from my parents, which still looks pretty perfect. Our pedestal breakfast table is the same one I sat at for dinner each night as a child, and other than the fact that it has been refinished once and that oak is currently off-trend, it looks pretty indestructible. I wouldn't pick the oak today, but the table has a nostalgia that will keep it with us. I hope to update the look a bit with upholstered chairs around it. If I could edit the thread list down after the fact, I would, but unfortunately it looks like the time window for changes has passed. Thanks again for all the reviews so far, it really helps to know what has worn well and what to look for... sounds like I may need to start looking at some estate sales and craiglist ads too...

After reading your post I feel you are looking for better American made leather furniture. Believe it or not there is still quality handmade furniture left in North Carolina. Not everything has gone to China yet. All of the companies I will mention are available in colors other than browns or dark colors. Actually our bestselling color right now is grey. Take a look at Leathercraft, Mckinley Leather or Classic Leather. Each of these 3 companies offer lots of product in lots of colors. They are considered the top of the line in quality and construction. You may also want to look at Bradington Young. Although their frames are no longer made of solid hardwood they are now constructed using engineered wood and most of their leathers are now imported from China. They should price somewhat lower since their construction is now more medium rather than high-end.

The cabinet and tile totals are pretty darn low for the look and level that you appeared to want. Those are the Big Two that standout in the contract and the photos. I would have taken that as a Red Flag to research exactly what was being proposed for those. I would have expected the project to be a minimum of 50-75K more than what you paid, to get the look and quality that you assumed you would get here. If the tile is properly waterproofed in wet areas, and that is a HUGE IF, then I’d be inclined to have some of the worst in the non wet areas tweaked as best as their skill allows. And leave the wet areas alone. Maybe an epoxy grout colorant matched yo the background color in order to minimize the contrast. If the wet areas are not waterproofed correctly, that is a tearout and redo. That is unacceptable at any price point. But, I’d just settle for a credit for all of the tile work and hire someone else. It will not be nearly enough to pay for a redo from a true tile Pro though. That’s where that Red Flag on price will bite you, The cabinets are total TX backyard hobbyist junk and need to be gone. There is no salvaging that type of poor work, and improper finishing. I’d want a credit for all of the cabinet work in the house. It’s builder grade and finished with their feet. All flash and no substance. That credit will not be enough to get cabinets at the level that you wanted either. Pretty far from it. Another Red Flag. This is going to get ugly, because he is going to end up owing you more than you have left to pay him. And it will cost you another 50-100K to get things done to the level that you want. Or, you accept that the level you wanted isn’t reachable within your desired budget, and accept the level that your budget and contractor were able to give you.