Frugal Furniture?

[boefixepa]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Scratch and dent things are generally slashed at any furniture store. I found a futon at a fraction of it's original price, side tables and coffe table, and bed side tables all at great deals at the scratch and dent area of a retail store. I went in not thinking I'd find anything, but then I found this section...it was great. So just go into any funiture store and ask if they have a scratch and dent area.

As far as mattresses go....well if your ready to say you are in it for the long haul personally I'd hunt around and invest...did you hear that....invest....in the mattress you sleep best on. I had no idea how tortured I was until I slept on a Tempur-pedic memory foam mattress. Now I'm not saying that is best for you, but knowing the difference now I don't want my nice pillow top that I thought was so great. Granted it was better than the college twin, which was better than the old hand me down from home. See where I am going here. I slept five years on the pillow top I picked up for a GREAT deal at a discount store. But now.....well not knowing what your missing is exactly that, but not waking up and have to roll over because my hip hurts, or my shoulder hurts, or my leg feel asleep....I sleep through the entire night!!!! Didn't know I could do that!! So if you are going to brake down and buy a bed.....think about investing in a good bed that will last twenty plus years and give you a great nights sleep. That sleep is something you can't put a dollar value on.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

I hate memory foam! but having said that, yes invest in a mattress, sleep on it or at least lie on it before you buy it, and research to make sure you don't need a new one next year.

[nanamom]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

I second the free cycle, ebay, yard sale, auction thing but add wait to get what you want. I have waited for years to own a coffee table I love and finally found one at an auction two years ago. It is on my list of 5 things that go with us if ... I will never have a showcase home, but I will have what I like and can afford. I bought an old book that tells how to make wood out of paper (switch isn't it) that I want to try.

[locolorenzo24]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

great ideas...Thank you all. I'm going to an estate sale tomorrow and IKEA next week. Also, I'm with the whole investing in a bed idea, as I plan to have for at least the next 2.5 years until I graduate from school and determine where I want to live/work. My top choices have been narrowed to bed, entertainment center, and a dining room table/chairs, also a few wall art pieces. found a great old painting at the thrift store that is very travelish...which goes with my style. Thanks again!

[flash]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

You'd be surprised what you can find at goodwill or salvation army stores. Many people buy new frequently, and give the almost new away.

Also, if you are in an area where people are frequently moving in and out (college, military), you can usually find things very cheap because they don't want or can't afford to move them.

Just balance cost versus how long you want to keep it. If you love it and plan on using it for years, like wood tables, etc., you might pay more. If it's short term, just to get by, cheaper is better.

[flash]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

And yes, I do have some favorite IKEA pieces mixed in with Ethan Allen...I love Ikea!

[Ima saver]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Lucky for me, my husband can built things like tables, built in bookcases, entertainment centers, etc.

[flash]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Mine does too! He loves to! Wonderful at crafting, too. But, IKEA is actually cheaper for some things. Can you believe it?

[CRFSaver]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

So as a bachelor and someone who just moved 6 months ago and bought a bunch of new stuff I will tell you some of my idea which will be useful to you.

Pictures: Z-Gallerie: If there is one close to you it is in my mind the best deal on framed glassed prints. It is also very easy to take favorite pictures and have them blown up (b&w or color) and frame and mat them yourself for cheap. A precut mat for 2 bucks and a frame for 15 bucks and a buck for the picture blown up to 8x10. Find a Michaels or art supply type store.

Furniture: Depending where you live and what resources you have there are lots of ideas. Jennifer Convertibles can be quite reasonable if you dont get sucked into everything. The couch I am sitting on now was 500 bucks since I didnt get the sleeper and the scotchguard (which you can do yourself). Also depending where you live you can most likely find local builders and get it cheap. LA has tons of starving furniture builders that cut out the middleman. If you are close to NC that is where a majority of the name brand furniture is made.

Ikea: I love Ikea but there are also limits to Ikea. I bought my dressers and bought my bed frame there for quite cheap and love the nice contemporary look. SHelving and lots of knicknacks can be found there as well including storage for CD's, candles, etc. Best place in the world for lighting. Also inexpensive dining sets. But I wouldnt buy a couch there as its all pressed wood frames instead of hardwood.

Mattress: If you can find a local matress factory you would be shocked at how cheap you can get one for. I bought my queen box spring and matress, custom made and delivered to my house (when i lived at home) for 440 bucks. I have had it for 10 years and it is still wonderful.

Walmart/target/kohls/Cost Plus etc. I bought my coffee table and end table at target and this is after looking everywhere. Same thing with my tv stand which i ended up getting at Walmart of all places. Got a new set of drinking glasses on sale at Kohl's. Lots of towels and throw carpets. Lots of nicknacks at Cost Plus which is cheaper then Pier One Imports.

TJ Max/Marshalls/Filenes et all. Lots of home furnishing stuff.

Craigslist: If it is in your area.

Don't assume that something has to be used exactly what they say it is for. I have underneath the island that looks into the family room two dirt cheap 20 dollar a piece tv stands that give me extra seating and places for candles and other storage and just seem to fit so well. Who would have thought thats what they are being used for.

If you are allowed you can always paint one wall a nice bold color. My favorite look is still a deep red wall while the other walls are white. Very big contract but classy and bold at the same time. Only bad thing is you have to paint it back normally.

Never forget to get a girl to help you out with neat ideas on the cheap. Also question every price. When i was buying my couch they were selling these fabric cubes for 250 bucks that could be had at cost plus for 20-40 bucks a piece.

[shengmei]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Scratch and dent things are generally slashed at any furniture store. I found a futon at a fraction of it's original price, side tables and coffe table, and bed side tables all at great deals at the scratch and dent area of a retail store. I went in not thinking I'd find anything, but then I found this section...it was great. So just go into any funiture store and ask if they have a scratch and dent area.

EXACTLY!!!

You would put more scratch and dent in your furniture just by moving it. It doesn't pay to get pristine furniture!!!

[abowers]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

I like Target and Staples for things like end tables, desks, entertainment centers, etc. I got a great desk (that I had to assemble, but it was very easy) on sale for $40 at Staples - it's the light colored wood-look with metal. Staples has similar inexpensive furniture that you can assemble. My sister got her "entertainment center" at Target with CD towers, shelves for DVDs (she has a lot of both) and it holds her TV, DVD, VCR, and a game console.

Here at Princeton there was a great furniture sale where people moving out donated their furniture to sell, proceeds going to charity. Look for things like that around where you are unless it's a little too late -- especially in this area there's a lot of money, the students buy nice things then don't want to deal with moving them across the country or out of the country when they are done, after using the stuff for a year.

For wall art, I've bought posters from I think it was AllPosters.com ?? and bought the frames separately at Target, framed the posters and hung them up.

Kitchen table-- we bought ours from a used furniture store, it's got folding leaves which is great for our small apartment, I think it was like $65?

For chair-- I've got a papasan chair from a friend, my sister bought one though for <$100. Good for curling up in, and when friends have come to visit they've used the cushion to sleep on, or just slept in the chair. (We have a 1 BR, so it's the floor or our existing living room furniture).

Lamps-- I bought a nice floor lamp/desk lamp set from Linens N Things for like $25 around Back to School Time. And you can usually find a 20% off coupon lying in the weekly circulars or online.

Good Luck!

[34saving]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Somebody must have said this before me, but Craig's list! Our metro area has over 100 furniture listings a day. You can buy anything -- cheap.

[Tree0164]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Check out freecycle I just a got a set of chest drawers for my sons bedroom. They were in perfect shape.

Also look for any used furniture stores in your area.

[shengmei]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Don't buy furnitures at Wal-Mart!!!!!

I saw many of the floor models broken. If the furnitures can't even survive as floor models how can they survive in a household with children?

[boomeyers]

Re: Frugal Furniture?

Freecycle is awesome! Also, you can get great deals at the Mattress Outlet stores! Research what brand/type you want and just start calling around for the best price.