Bassett Furniture focuses on customizable, American-made furniture with traditional designs and high-quality materials, positioning it as a mid-to-luxury investment piece. In contrast, Ashley Furniture is a global mass-market leader known for its vast selection of trendy, budget-friendly options that prioritize affordability and style for every room.
Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right furniture brand for your home.
Bassett Furniture: The Customizable, High-Quality Choice
Bassett Furniture is a longstanding American brand renowned for its high-quality construction and extensive customization options. Targeting homeowners seeking timeless, durable pieces, Bassett combines traditional craftsmanship with classic design, allowing customers to tailor sofas, beds, and dining sets to their exact specifications. It's a go-to for those who view furniture as a long-term investment in their home's comfort and style.
- Product mix: Full home furnishings, specializing in upholstered pieces like sofas and sectionals, bedroom furniture, and dining sets. Known for their dedicated BenchMade line of solid wood furniture.
- Style/vibe: Classic, traditional, and transitional. The aesthetic is sophisticated and timeless, focusing on lasting designs rather than fast-fashion trends.
- Price point: Mid-to-luxury. Sofas typically start around $1,200 and can easily exceed $3,000 with premium fabrics. A solid wood BenchMade dining table might run $2,000–$4,000+.
- Quality: Excellent. Emphasizes durability with features like solid wood frames, high-density foam cushions, and premium upholstery, including performance fabrics. Many pieces are made in the USA.
- Customization: This is Bassett's key differentiator. Offers thousands of fabric and leather options, multiple cushion types, wood finishes, and tailored dimensions to create truly unique pieces.
- Shopping Experience: Offers a more personalized journey with in-home and in-store design consultations, and company-owned showrooms that feel like design studios.
- Delivery & Assembly: Typically offers white-glove delivery service, where items are delivered to your room of choice, uncrated, assembled, and all packaging is removed.
Bassett is ideal for homeowners who prioritize quality, American craftsmanship, and the ability to customize furniture for a perfect fit and match to their personal style.
Shop Bassett Furniture: bassettfurniture.com
Ashley Furniture: The Affordable & Accessible Option
Ashley Furniture is one of the world's largest furniture manufacturers, celebrated for making a huge variety of styles accessible and affordable. Centered on providing trend-driven, functional pieces for every budget, Ashley caters to first-time homeowners, apartment dwellers, and families who need stylish furniture quickly and cost-effectively. Their extensive catalog ensures there is an option for nearly any design preference and price point.
- Product mix: An enormous catalog covering everything from sofas, sectionals, and bedroom sets to home office furniture, outdoor sets, and decor accessories.
- Style/vibe: Wide-ranging styles including modern, contemporary, farmhouse, rustic, and traditional. The look is approachable, comfortable, and aligned with current interior design trends.
- Price point: Affordable to mid-range. Sofas often start as low as $399, with many popular models falling in the $700–$1,200 range. Bedroom sets are often available for under $1,500.
- Quality: Good, especially for the price. Uses a mix of materials, including engineered wood and particleboard along with solid wood, to keep costs down. It’s functional and designed for everyday use but may not have the longevity of pricier brands.
- Customization: Generally limited. Most pieces are sold as-is with few, if any, fabric or finish options to keep inventory moving and prices low.
- Sales: Aggressive and frequent promotions. It's almost always possible to find a major sale, bundle deal, or holiday discount.
- Shopping Experience: Highly accessible with a huge network of retail stores (Ashley HomeStore), coupled with a robust website offering easy filtering and customer reviews.
- Delivery & Assembly: Offers various delivery options, from front-door delivery to in-home setup. Many items are designed for straightforward customer assembly.
Ashley Furniture shines for shoppers who need stylish, decent-quality furniture without a major financial commitment, making it perfect for quick updates or furnishing a home on a budget.
Shop Ashley Furniture: ashleyfurniture.com
Bassett Furniture vs. Ashley Furniture Comparison
Price Comparison
The price difference between the two brands is significant. Bassett operates in a mid-to-luxury price category where a custom sofa will almost always start above $1,200. This higher cost reflects the better materials, U.S.-based labor, and bespoke options.
In contrast, Ashley is a clear leader in affordability. With sofas starting at $399 and countless promotions, it provides an unbeatable entry point to furniture ownership. Ashley focuses on volume and accessibility, meaning your budget will go much further, though there is a trade-off in material quality and long-term durability.
Quality & Construction
Bassett builds its reputation on quality craftsmanship. They commonly use solid wood frames, higher-density cushion foam that holds its shape longer, and durable, high-quality fabrics, including performance options. Many items proudly bear a "Made in the USA" tag, signaling a commitment to domestic manufacturing and quality control. This construction is designed for longevity and to stand up to years of use.
Ashley offers good quality for its price point. To maintain affordability, they frequently use materials like engineered wood, particleboard, and standard-density foam. While perfectly serviceable for everyday life, these materials generally do not offer the same durability or lifespan as Bassett's solid wood construction. Ashley's furniture is great for a few years but may show wear more quickly than a high-end investment piece.
Style & Aesthetic
Bassett's style leans classic, timeless, and traditionally elegant. Their designs are not meant to follow fleeting trends but to anchor a room with a sophisticated look that ages gracefully. The ability to customize pieces means you can perfectly tailor a classic frame to fit a more contemporary or transitional space through fabric and finish choices.
Ashley’s aesthetic is broad, diverse, and very current. They offer an extensive range of styles from sleek modern to cozy farmhouse and rustic industrial, allowing them to appeal to a wide customer base. Their design philosophy is more trend-driven, making it easy to find an affordable piece that captures today's popular looks.
Customization Options
This category is Bassett's clear advantage. Customization is at the core of their business model. For a sofa, you can often pick the arm style, leg style, wood finish, dozens or hundreds of fabrics, and even the cushion fill. This allows you to create a piece that is uniquely your own.
Ashley offers very little customization. What you see online or in-store is what you get. This streamlines their manufacturing process, reduces costs, and allows for quicker delivery, but it removes the ability to personalize a piece beyond choosing from a few pre-set color options on select models.
Shopping Experience
Shopping at Bassett is a high-touch, service-oriented experience. Their showrooms are staffed by design consultants who can help you navigate the vast customization options, and they offer in-home design services to help bring your vision to life.
The Ashley experience is built for accessibility and convenience. With a massive online presence and thousands of retail locations, it's easy to find, see, and buy their furniture. The process is straightforward, perfect for someone who knows what they want and needs it quickly without extensive hand-holding.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends entirely on your budget, style priorities, and how long you expect your furniture to last.
Choose Bassett Furniture if:
- You are looking for a long-term investment that will last for a decade or more.
- You want to fully customize a piece to match your precise style and measurements.
- Your aesthetic leans toward timeless, classic, or transitional designs.
- You value American-made craftsmanship and are willing to pay a premium for it.
Choose Ashley Furniture if:
- You have a strict budget and need the most value for your money.
- You enjoy current trends and may want to update your furniture in a few years.
- You need furniture quickly and prefer a straightforward shopping process.
- You are furnishing a first home, a dorm, an apartment, or a guest room.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bassett or Ashley Furniture more expensive?
Bassett Furniture is significantly more expensive than Ashley Furniture. The price reflects Bassett's focus on higher-quality materials, solid wood construction, customization options, and U.S.-based manufacturing.
Which has better quality furniture?
Bassett has superior quality furniture due to its use of premium materials like solid hardwood frames and high-density foam. Ashley offers good quality for its low price point but relies on less durable materials such as engineered wood to remain affordable.
How long does furniture from Bassett and Ashley last?
With proper care, Bassett furniture is built to last for many years, often a decade or longer, making it a true investment piece. Ashley furniture is designed for more immediate needs and typically has a lifespan of 3-7 years, depending on the piece and a household's usage.
Can you customize furniture at Bassett?
Yes, extensive customization is a primary reason to shop at Bassett. Customers can choose from hundreds of fabrics, finishes, hardware, and even dimensional configurations for many of their product lines.
Is Ashley Furniture made of real wood?
Ashley Furniture uses a mix of materials. Some collections feature solid wood, but many of their more affordable pieces are constructed with engineered woods like MDF, particleboard, and wood veneers to keep prices low.
Where is Bassett furniture made?
A significant portion of Bassett's furniture, especially their upholstered and custom wood pieces, is made in the USA, at their workshops in Virginia and North Carolina.
Which is better for families with kids and pets?
This is a toss-up. Bassett's performance fabric options offer superior stain resistance and durability for a high-end choice. However, Ashley's low cost means accidents and wear-and-tear are less financially painful, making it a practical choice for young families.
Do both brands offer sales?
Yes, but Ashley's sales events are much more frequent and central to their business model. You can almost always find a promotion at Ashley, while Bassett's sales are typically tied to specific holidays or seasonal clearances.
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