Best stores to buy sofas and dining room tables

We are moving at the end of September.  Our cheap IKEA sofas (as in the cheapest things they had at the time), which have served us well for two years, are looking a bit worse for wear.  Now that we are more settled, we have some money saved up to buy new sofas.  Where can we get fairly good quality sofas (we need two loveseats) without paying a ridiculous price?

We also need a more suitable dining set.  What we have now only seats 2 and is rather beat up.

Suggestions?

Go to an auction for dining furniture. Wooden stuff is still dirt cheap, but it looks as if it's gaining in popularity so might not be for too much longer. I've seen sofas at auctions as well, but not many and not always in great condition.

Great idea!  There is an auction near us next weekend, so, I will see if I can get the catalog.  I would prefer something with character anyway.

If you are in north Wales, a good place to shop is Chester. Back when DH and I were considering a move there, we stopped in Chester and I recall several cool furniture stores there. I was only window shopping, but I recall one had some great stuff at what I considered to be reasonable prices. The others I don't recall prices.

I definitely agree with auctions - they're one of my very favourite things to do!!! We actually just re-covered our Ikea sofa and managed to squeeze a little more life out of it. It's also worth watching sales as even places like John Lewis and Cargo, where I usually can't afford to even browse, have discounted display models, etc. We got a great deal on an arm chair at Cargo a while back as it was a display and they were desperate to get rid of it....

I am absolutley in love with the sofa my hubs bought at DFS.  I know they have some very pricey things there, but I also saw some very reasonable, better-than-Ikea-quality sofas there in all colours and styles.