My take on great furniture is that is has to be three things: 1) First and foremost, It has to be comfortable or it will not be used and it will be an expensive weight to hold the carpet down. 2) It has to be sturdy. With that kind of investment it has to be around a while. There are numerous options for when "colors change" or the wife gets tired of it. 3) I am not super particular about color. I just do not want it to show "life", or be scared to use it because something could get on it.

That is pretty much it! I am not too picky. The only problem is that it knocks out of bunch of my wife's choices.

My parents just replaced a couch that they had for 30 years. It had been recovered twice

There is so much personal taste in the decision of furniture. My suggestion is selecting a piece that has a classic style, and will look great 15 to 20 years from now. Will your (or your or should I say wife's) taste change in that amount of time. ABSOLUTELY, it will. Just make a choice that will last through some of those changes.
About the Author

Mr. Lesslie is the president of greathomeimprovements.com and a consultant for Department of Energy's Building America Division for the last 6 years. He is responsible for all the content and marketing for www.greathomeimprovements.com - Great Home Improvements Start Here!