Bassett vs Palliser vs Parker House
We get this question constantly, and it's a good one. We carry three brands at The Sofa Store — Bassett, Palliser, and Parker House — and they serve genuinely different customers. The right answer depends on what you're furnishing, how you live, and how quickly you need it.
Here's an honest breakdown.
Bassett — The Custom Generalist
Bassett Furniture has been manufacturing in Virginia and North Carolina since 1902. They're our most versatile brand — if you need to furnish an entire room from one source and want everything custom-ordered to your specifications, Bassett is almost always the right starting point.
What Bassett does best: sofas, sectionals, chairs, ottomans, bedroom furniture, dining rooms, and occasional pieces. The depth of the collection means you can build a cohesive room — same finishes, same construction quality throughout — rather than piecing it together from different sources.
Every Bassett piece is built to order. You choose the frame, the configuration, the fabric or leather from over 1,000 options, the cushion fill, the arm style, and the leg finish. If you've ever bought furniture online and spent weeks second-guessing the color — this is the alternative. You see the actual swatches in our showroom, against real light, next to the frames you're considering.
Lead time: 6 to 8 weeks. The piece ships from their North Carolina facility directly to our delivery team.
Bassett is right for you if: You want a custom-order sofa, sectional, or full room from a North American manufacturer. You have 6-8 weeks and want control over exactly what you're getting.
Palliser — The Motion Specialist
Palliser has been manufacturing in Winnipeg, Canada since 1944. They're one of the largest furniture manufacturers in North America, and their specialty — the reason most of our Palliser customers specifically seek them out — is motion furniture.
Power recliners, reclining sofas, rocker recliners, and home theater seating: this is where Palliser has no serious competition at the price point. Their motion mechanisms are built to hold up, their leather libraries are extensive, and every piece is custom-ordered in your choice of leather or fabric from over 1,000 options.
If you're building a home theater or looking for a power recliner that you'll still be happy with in fifteen years, Palliser is the answer. The configuration flexibility — number of seats, cupholders, console placement, power headrest, USB charging, LED lighting — is something you simply can't get from finished goods.
Palliser also makes sofas and sectionals, and they're excellent. But if motion isn't part of the equation, Bassett often has more variety at the living room level.
Lead time: 6 to 8 weeks from their Winnipeg facility.
Palliser is right for you if: You want a power recliner, reclining sofa, or home theater seating. Or if you want a custom leather sectional with motion elements built in.
Parker House — The Finished Goods Option
Parker House is a California-based company that sources furniture from carefully selected international manufacturers. They're the different one in our lineup — and that's not a knock on them.
Parker House makes finished goods. The piece you see is the piece you order — color, configuration, and material are set at the factory level. There's no customization. What you gain in exchange is faster availability and a lower price point than custom-order pieces at comparable quality levels.
Parker House is strong in living room furniture, entertainment pieces, and home office. Their designs are clean and accessible — the kind of pieces that work in almost any room without requiring a decorator to pull them together.
If you need something sooner than 6-8 weeks, or if you'd rather select from a finished piece than navigate a full custom-order process, Parker House is the right starting point. Our team can show you what's available and discuss realistic delivery timelines for specific pieces.
Parker House is right for you if: You need furniture faster than a custom-order timeline allows. Or you'd prefer to choose from finished pieces rather than building something from scratch.
How to Decide
The honest answer is that most customers don't need to decide before they visit. Come in, tell us what you're furnishing and how you live in it, and we'll walk you through which brand makes sense for your situation. In a lot of cases it's not even a close call once we understand what you actually need.
What to bring: your room dimensions if you have them, photos of the space on your phone, and a general sense of your timeline. Everything else we can figure out together.
We're at 1125 Cromwell Bridge Rd in Towson, Monday through Saturday 11AM–7PM and Sunday 12–5PM.
