Furniture is FRICKEN expensive...

[Pierre.Suave]

Why does a bed have to cost 1200 dollars and a dresser 900 dollars?

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p8061/index.cfm?pkey=ff081

WTF?

edit, thats not even counting the mattress and bedding...

[Pierre.Suave]

1. HOLY CRAP

the wide dresser is 1500 bucks...

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p6404/index.cfm?cm%5Flid=1&pgid=p8061&cm%5Fsrc=rel

the TALL dresser is only 1299...

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p6403/index.cfm?cm%5Flid=1&pgid=p6404&cm%5Fsrc=rel

this is crazy.

[DS1]

2. IKEA

:hide:

[China_cat]

3. Salvation Army

[Pierre.Suave]

7. If only the GF would let me...

I could have so much more money for other things...

But to be honest, I dont want used furniture.

[Pierre.Suave]

6. I am one of those people

that HATES IKEA. I do not like their stuff.

[DS1]

26. Fine, pay out your ass for furniture

:shrug:

[Wapsie B]

4. Yeah it's fucking expensive too.

[Pierre.Suave]

8. LOL

yeah, fuck it... we can sleep on the fucking floor...

[KitchenWitch]

5. Thrift stores, IKEA and Craigslist/Freecycle

That is how I have decorated my home.

[Pierre.Suave]

9. I just cant get myslf to do that

I really cant.

[triguy46]

11. Can you pay cash for it?

[Pierre.Suave]

25. yes, but

don't tell the GF (fiance)

[KitchenWitch]

12. Wickes Furniture often runs some pretty good sales

Still expensive but not IKEA.

Have you checked out Becker Furniture World? I have heard they have a gargantuan selection there.

[no name no slogan]

16. Wickes is going out of business

In fact, they're doing a clearance at all their Mpls/St Paul locations. This would be a good time to check it, IMHO.

Also, Slumberland isn't too bad. I got a futon frame and a regular bed there for about $600 last December.

[KitchenWitch]

17. Geez that is funny - they are opening new stores here

Levitz went out of business in the Twin Cities a number of years ago, and they still have several stores here that are alive and well.

:shrug:

[no name no slogan]

18. No kidding? We must be the death knell of furniture stores

It seems like they're dropping like flies. :)

[KitchenWitch]

20. Yeah, I don't get it.

Except for the fact that we have like 9 million people in a land mass the area of the "13 county" Twin Cities metro area.

[triguy46]

10. Uh, is this your only choice where you live?

Otherwise, just shop elsewhere. When the end comes, where you have purchased your bed will make no difference. Simplify your life.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. I thought every town in the US had...

road with a hundred funrniture stores on it. Some have several such roads.

GOOD furniture is indeed expensive, even far more than Pottery Barn's middling but overpriced choices, but one does not have to begin with the best stuff.

[lost-in-nj]

14. Crap

Try BOBS or Raymore and Flanagan
even Ashleys

how ridiculous....


lost

[Scooter24]

15. Yep. Check this dresser out for $2900

Not cheap at all...
http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=6575

My bedroom suite cost me close to $16,000 for all of the pieces including a $2500 mattress. There are many times where I think I could become a millionaire by designing furniture :P

[TommyO]

21. DWR - yes, if you want to spend more than you have to on furniture!

[TommyO]

19. Go shopping at local furniture stores!

I was having some work done on my car, so I had a few hours to wander around downtown Easton, PA - home of a few good, local furniture stores. I found the perfect bed and after talking to one of the (very handsome) salespeople there, found out that the queen-sized bed was only $699+tax, no delivery fee.

[cobalt1999]

22. Yes, but you don't have to buy it often.

Most of our furniture is over 100 years old or custom built...quite expensive, but I'll never buy another bed, dresser, table, etc. for the remainder of my life. If I went cheap, I'd be replacing it every few years and it wouldn't look as good.

[Iris]

56. yep. 1200 over, say 20 years, is just 60 a year.

[KitchenWitch]

23. Another couple of choices - if you do not mind a little DIY - are Buck's and Woody's

Bucks Unpainted has several locations in the Twin Cities and their warehouse is in Bloomington.

Woody's is in St. Louis Park right on Excelsior Blvd near Hwy 100. In the Miracle Mile strip mall.

[Pierre.Suave]

24. You all have good ideas

I will look into them.

My search has only begun.

[Flaxbee]

27. honestly, places like Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel and even

the Sundance Catalogue target yuppies with more cash than brains. I understand not wanting to buy used upholstered furniture - I have a phobia about bedbugs, mold, etc. - but if you are willing to look around at a few antique places you might find some beautiful pieces to supplement your newer purchases... if you are willing to mix and match styles a bit, you can come up with a unique, eclectic interior. And really, buying antique or secondhand is also much more environmentally responsible. If you DO feel the need to buy entirely new, try to see if you can purchase forest-friendly pieces. To get an idea of retailers, pick up an issue of Natural Home magazine - lots of furniture ads in there that are made of sustainably grown/harvested woods (though these tend to be $$$ as well -- but if you're willing to spend money, at least do it in an environmentally friendly way).

Good luck. I used to love the PB catalog, would visit Crate and Barrel, etc., then I just got pissed off. Even when I could afford it the prices made me mad.

[TommyO]

47. My $3000 sofa was from Crate and Barrel

I paid just $450 for it! My brother's neighbors were moving from a large four-bedroom colonial to a much smaller condo in Jersey City and we both benefited, he got an HDTV, I got the sofa.

[My Good Babushka]

28. Yikes! That's pricey.

I'm using furniture my grandmother left me. I believe the "davenport" may be from the 50's. I think it's stuffed with horsehair and hogbristle.

[NC_Nurse]

29. Craigslist.

I get all of my furniture off of it. Save tons of money.

[Phentex]

31. I love to look there. Right now there's a $4000 coffee table!

I mean, do they think people who would pay $4000 for a coffee table would be looking at craigslist?

Some of the listings crack me up.

But there's some really good stuff on there too. :)

[NC_Nurse]

38. Hahahaha!

I've seen stuff like that.
They can always dream, I guess! :eyes:

[Digit]

30. I prefer antiiques, but your taste may differ

I like golden oak bedroom furniture and found a nice wash stand I use as a nitestand and a very nice matching chest of drawers. I probably spent 500.00. Recently, I also found a dresser.

If I can find a queen sized headboard, I will be happy.
Oh, and the bed will be a sleep number bed. :9

[Zomby Woof]

32. It's a racket

I used to work in a furniture warehouse in college, and learned that most of it is marked up 700% or more.

And I learned about globalization firsthand (this was the mid-80's), when I saw how much was made in Brazil and elsewhere, I realized why the owner of the store had mansions in several states and two countries, was rabidly anti-union, and paid us shit for wages.

I wised up soon enough.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

33. Buy old, solid stuff. Don't waste it on new stuff except mattresses.

Go to a thrift store, salvation army, used furniture store. The new stuff is particle board with veneer on it, and it's not worth it. Put a new mattress on it.

Get a solid old sofa or chair and get it reupholstered.

I got a burnt orange sofa reupholstered with $36/yard fabric, which is fairly substantial for upholstery material, but not outrageous. It's five feet wide, too.

This sofa is slightly over eight feet long and plain. But the frame was good.

I got it redone with new fresh foam cushions, covers, zippers, guts, etc. The material cost more than the labor, and they redid a Lane formerly leather recliner with my material.

So I got two items redone completely for less than the cost of the material.

[wildhorses]

34. why do cars have to cost $12,000.oo?

:wtf:

[KitchenWitch]

35. I don't get that one either!

I guess because people will pay it.

[wildhorses]

36. and my cars always wear out quicker than my furniture

:crazy:

[Pierre.Suave]

42. thats a cheap car

seriously.

[wildhorses]

59. well, no offense -- but, this thread is about cheap furniture

so just trying to keep it apples to apples...

[Omphaloskepsis]

37. My bed was $30 at a garage sale. They don't "have" to cost that much.

When I am willing to spend a bunch for furniture.. I like these guys stuff..

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/

[LostinVA]

39. IKEA

[Pierre.Suave]

41. see reply 6

seriously.

[dysfunctional press]

40. they DON'T have to cost that much...

thrift stores, ebay, craigslist, i've even got several peices that i grabbed out of the alley.

re-upholstery is your friend. the old solid stuff is MUCH better than the pressboard crap they sell these days.

[Pierre.Suave]

43. IKEA

is pressboard, this stuff is not.

[dysfunctional press]

44. like other posters up the line said...

even tho' the pottery barn stuff may seem expensive- it's not. and it definitely isn't 'heirloom quality
' it may not be pressboard, but it still isn't the kind of workmanship that stands up over time.

my wife and i spent more on our mattress(tempurpedic), than the rest of our bedroom furniture combined, but it was the only thing we bought new.

[mopinko]

67. i hate ikea

cheap crap. a waste of resources.

[GirlinContempt]

45. It doesn't

http://www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/3080-405+415.html

[Matsubara]

46. Pottery Barn is an expensive yuppie shop...

...why wouldn't furniture from there be expensive?

:shrug:


I will concede that it is MUCH harder to find reasonably priced furniture these days than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Even used stuff can be pricey now.

I remember in 1992 I bought a used full length sofa in good condition for 100 bucks. A couple of years ago, there was NOTHING for less than 200, and that was nasty crap.

Some people have mentioned IKEA, yeah, they're not too bad...

[Midlodemocrat]

48. Here's my advice. Get the best solid wood furniture you can

afford. My bedroom is Hitchcock and so is my dining room. That stuff will last for years.

We also got the most reasonably priced upholstered stuff that we liked. We are on our third family room couch/loveseat set.

[Pierre.Suave]

51. Since I am new to this

where do I get good stuff if pottery barn is so bad?

[Midlodemocrat]

53. I think pottery barn is just overpriced.

But you should check out stores that sell things like Thomasville, Bassett, etc. Solid wood furniture that will last you forever.

Pottery Barn has nice stuff, but I think it is over priced.

[supernova]

49. You can order from the factories online and save some money

without going through the furniture stores.

http://www.thomasville.com/ is one example.

[seemunkee]

62. Stickley makes some fantastic stuff

Cheap particleboard veneered furniture won't last. Furniture that is built to be knock down, especially case goods won't last. The joints just don't hold up over time.

If you have a style that you really like find some good stuff in that style and keep it forever. Or better yet find a local craftsman and have something built.

[supernova]

64. Yes, buy high quality

whatever you can afford. It will last longer.

That's why auctions are useful. If you love antiques, solid wood antique furniture almost always goes begging at the auctions because of this rule:

The bigger the itme = the less you will pay vs it's real value.

Meaning, lots of really expensive but large stuff like bedroom and dining furniture goes for cheap because most people don't have the means to cart it away from the auction house.

[supernova]

72. NC Furniture Factories

I'm talking about the Furniture producers here in North Carolina, not cheaply made crap.

Brands like Hendredon, Thomasville, Ethan Allan, etc.

[Kali]

50. furniture? EVERYTHING is fricken expensive!!!

try used. check the classifieds, craigs list, thrift stores, etc.

[Breeze54]

52. Check out FREESHARE!!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freeshare/

There are groups all across the USA! ;)

http://www.freeshare.org/

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[Bassic]

54. I know. And it's usually made of crappy materials too. nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

55. not really, its your tastes that are expensive.

nothing wrong with having expensive tastes, but there is plenty of cheap furniture around. you just dont like it.

[LaraMN]

57. I choked at how much we had to spend when we bought our bed.

It was pretty much the best money we ever spent. We went from a full to a king size bed, and the mattress is WAY better than the one we had previously. I LOVE my bed. Love it. Yeah, furniture's nightmarishly spendy, though!

[Left Is Write]

58. Honey, don't buy furniture from Pottery Barn.

I like a lot of their things - especially their well-crafted baskets and some barware - but don't buy furniture there. You will almost certainly overpay.

[Corgigal]

60. try rooms to go

you can even order online and they ship to the house. Different price ranges and I purchased a full livingroom set plus entertainment center and I'm pleased with it. The whole room under 6 grand and I won't be purchasing more livingroom furniture for 15/20 years or so.

http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home&from=RTGLogo

[bleedingheart]

61. buy old furniture at yard sales and refinish...

or buy the wooden furniture that you have stain yourself...it is cheaper by far...but better made in many cases...

The wooden pieces I have purchased have all been made in the USA.

The stuff I have refinished was hand-me downs from my childhood...

[supernova]

65. Refinishing - only if it's not

a valuable antique is it a good idea to refinish or repaint old furniture.

You can lose almost all your resale value in the piece if you even breath on the finish wrong (regardless of whatever state it appears to be in).

[bleedingheart]

68. I refinished sears brand furniture my parents bought in the 60's

this was by far not antique quality..however it was better than stuff they sell in the stores today..

I would hope most folks think twice about stuff that is worth money before they start messing with it...then again watching Antiques Roadshow...there are folks who have messed up even Tiffany pieces by polishing them...

[supernova]

70. My fav AR refinishing story

A woman inherited a chest of drawers that she liked very much, good wood, very stylish, in good condition.... but "it was so dark and the finish was all dirty."

Lee and Lesley Keno told her it was an original Colonial (pre Revolution) Rhode Island Highboy that in ORIGINAL CONDITION would have been worth about $100,000.00.

Since she refinished it, it was worth only about 30-40,000. :rofl:

Boy was she pissed. :D

[Rambis]

71. similar

There was a pompous as hell guy on an east coast version who kept interrupting the person trying telling him about his piece... Pompous guy..."there was this reddish stain on it and it looked awful so we stripped it down and refinished it"

Well the good news is it is worth 60,000$ if you hadn't refinished it it would be worth 260,000-300,000$ at auction then proceeds to tell him where it was from and who most likely owned it etc etc.
The pompous guy didn't say a word and the person doing the estimate had a shit eating grin on their face when the camera cut away.

Loved it!

[dubyaD40web]

63. I built this for under $30 dollars

My wife really liked this shelf from Pottery Barn and there was NO way we were going to spend $249 on it. I went to Lowes and bought some 1 X's and paint. Using only a table saw and jig saw...I made an exact replica:



http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p2241/index.cfm?pkey=cfurabsbkc

[Pierre.Suave]

74. Trust me

I could not make that if my life depended on it.

[supernova]

75. I want those too

for my new office.

I like the fact that they are open and not so heavy looking as traditional bookshelves.

[bikebloke]

66. A freebie

I have a floor lamp that I inherited from a former tenant of a flat I moved into. It's held together with duct tape. Eventually, I went looking for another. They're so dear, I've kept it instead. I've got my reading light and room light. That works for me. Who cares if it looks like Faluja.

[mopinko]

69. learn to dicker

if you buy more than 1 or 2 pieces, you should be able to get a discount. repeat after me- 'if i buy all 5, can you give me a better price? i really like them, but that is more than i plan to spend."
if you don't get a better price, leave. come back the next day.

[redqueen]

73. yeah... it's crap

i moved into an apartment recently and trying to get furniture is a nightmare

i did find a place that sells used rental furniture for cheap, though. got my sofa for $239!

i wish i'd have known about it before i got my beds where i did *cry*