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Furniture shopping

A&JA&J Posts: 1,825
edited November -1 in Parenting and Life
Do you have a favorite store(s)? We are in the browsing stage and trying to get ideas to redo our living room.
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Comments

  • allthingsluckyallthingslucky Posts: 467
    edited November -1
    I love Ikea!
  • ShannyShanny Posts: 2,456
    edited November -1
    With a baby and another on the way? The cheapest place possible! Most of my house is consignment pieces, many of which I have had recovered (my gorgeous white sofa used to be a black leather covered 70's nightmare!). Furniture from certain era's was so much better made and had so much more character than things today so I like to take the old, throw on a modern fabric and it's new again! I purchased a few things when we moved in to this house: a brown leather sofa from Rooms to Go because it was exactly what I wanted (sleeper sofa) and I couldn't justify spending what I saw "nicer" ones for when I had a 2 year old. My dining room table I got when my sister and I lived together a couple of years ago - it was at one of those really cheap warehouse places - I got a huge table (with 2 leaves) and 6 chairs for I think around $700, dirt cheap basically. And I am so glad because it is trashed! The seats are fabric and all stained and the top has some sort of lacquer finish that easily gets damaged but I don't stress about any of it. I hate IKEA - not the stuff, but the actual store, it gives me an anxiety attack I swear :). Someday when she is older I will invest in a nice dining table - probably something I will have redone but at these ages I prefer not to panic every time she goes near something (aka the white sofa!).
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  • K&HK&H Posts: 3,368 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We love West Elm. We were going to buy a sofa from them but went with a slightly less expensive one from a discount place. What a mistake! The one we thought about had a single long cushion and the one we bought has three.. we hate it! It's been annoying and not great since the day they delivered it.
    I think the most important thing is to think about furniture you have liked and not liked in the past and why that was your opinion.. then go looking for that type and don't pay attention to names.
    If you're just looking for ways to window shop online, try pinterest.
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  • jenoglvjenoglv Posts: 669 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I love IKEA and since I've seen Shanny's furniture multiple times, her advice on repurposing things is obviously working for her. It certainly ads character and interest to her house. :)
    Jennifer SMBC, mama to Rhys.

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  • A&JA&J Posts: 1,825
    edited November -1
    Yeah, Shanny the idea of new furniture with Liv and a baby on the way is slightly crazy, then again I strongly dislike our set we currently have. It was bought for an apartment we lived in years ago. It fit that space, was affordable and made sense then.

    I like the idea of repurposing things, but don't know how to even get started. You must have a vision and knack for this I'm guessing? I'm one of those people that looks in a catalog and can say " I like this or yuck" , but don't really know how to start from scratch...I know, kind of boring huh? So, how do you get started?
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  • K&HK&H Posts: 3,368 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Spend a ton of time on Craigslist looking at ads for furniture. Think about your style, do you like antique? modern? mid-century? country? shabby chic?
    What is the furniture's main use going to be? Do you need a pull-out sofa for guests? Do you like to curl up in the corner of the sofa? Stretch your feet out?
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  • PtownMomsPtownMoms Posts: 768
    edited November -1
    I love West Elm! LOVE! Our dining room table is from there. I was hesitant to buy a really nice table when Finn is still so little...but honestly, this thing is indestructible.

    BUT, it can be expensive for some stuff.

    I also love checking out goodwill, craigslist, yard sales. BUT, I also love DIY'ing. So I do a lot of painting, reupholstering, etc. I honestly had no idea what I was doing until we bought a house. When we bought our house there were so many things I wanted but obviously we didn't have the THOUSANDS of dollars that it would have cost to get all of it. So, I made stuff. Our rugs for example...I saw one that was like $600 (or something ridiculous like that) and Monica would have divorced me if I spent that much money on a rug when we JUST bought a house. So I bought a plain white rug on clearance and painted it. Actually, I made 2 (one for our living room, and one for our kitchen)..I'd say it maybe cost me $50 (MAX) to make both rugs. You can see pics of our house on Facebook. A lot of the stuff I made, or re-purposed, or painted, or whatever. I get a lot of inspiration from pinterest and DIY blogs. :)
    Carrie & Monica

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  • EMG_RELEMG_REL Posts: 2,379
    edited November -1
    Goodwill! :)
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  • michgirlmichgirl Posts: 406 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Of all the "main" furniture in our home I think my bed and the boys cribs are the only thing that we got NEW everything else was someone else first!
    When the boys are older (out of the house) I would like new but for now, craigslist, goodwill, yard sales combined with a can of paint, some sand paper and some fabric is our "style"
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  • 2moms2moms Posts: 731 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We bought all new furniture a year ago when we built our house. This included 2 living room sets, an ottoman, dining room table and bar stools, and a bedroom set for ourselves. It all still looks new so I wouldn't worry about new furniture and having kids. Things happen just get a good stain resistant fabric. Both of our couches are slate grey and a very soft plush. Just today C spilled a glass of water on it and I wiped it down and you can't tell. Microfiber stains like CRAZY though! We have a recliner that we had from when C was born and it's stained so easily! The furniture store we got our stuff from is local though so I can't help you there. I did just have my 1st ikea experience though and I LOVED it! We got the expedite bookshelf and it's AMAZING for toy storage!!!!!
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  • blkbrd3blkbrd3 Posts: 1,221 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Here's another vote for Craigslist, local consignment shops, and Ikea. I recommend you find a decor that you can build on piece by piece.

    I've decided to follow a mid century modern/ modern minimalist style because
    1. I like the look
    2. There's less clutter, thus less cleaning.
    3. There's an excess of these items in my local market so they're going for pennies.

    I use Pinterest and Appartment Therapy for inspiration. Then I look to Craigslist & Ikea for what I need to meet my asthetic. As a last result I cruise consignment shops, St. Vincent de Paul, and Goodwill.

    My recent score? I picked up a solid would mid century narrow dining room table that's in great condition other than needing to refinish the top within the next 5 years. I bought it this week for $30. I think I've furnished my living room (couch, two side chairs, two end tables, a coffee table, console table, dining table, and entertainment center plus multiple lamps) for around $900. The buggest purchase was the $360 entertainment center from IKEA.

    Be patient and you'll find what you need.
  • ChrysanthemumChrysanthemum Posts: 1,205 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I got a lot of stuff from the unfinished wood place, ours is called Wood U.
    It took some time but I was able to get what I wanted in the colors/ finishes I wanted and it was a lot cheaper.
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