Please educate me on furniture

[mikehn]

I just bought a place and will need to furnish it. I know nothing about furniture. What makes good or bad furniture. What's the difference in quality of furniture from the various retailers such as crate and barrell, pottery barn, lazy boy, bassett, arhous. My head is spinning. The house wont be ready till early sping, but Im finding out wait times/back order on some furniture is like 4 months. What should I absolutely stay away from. Thanks

 

[Kitty 34]

I just bought a place and will need to furnish it. I know nothing about furniture. What makes good or bad furniture. What's the difference in quality of furniture from the various retailers such as crate and barrell, pottery barn, lazy boy, bassett, arhous. My head is spinning. The house wont be ready till early sping, but Im finding out wait times/back order on some furniture is like 4 months. What should I absolutely stay away from. Thanks

What kind of furniture do you have right now?

 

[amyamya]

Hi! I'm an interior designer and can offer some tips. First, like you mentioned, lead time for suppliers is WAY long right now. The supply chains have not been restored due to COVID so you might need to pick things by how soon you can get them.

All the stores you mentioned have mid-level furniture. You can't go wrong with them. Things you shouldn't go cheap on are obviously your mattress and your sofa/sectional. These items get the most use. I like to mix and match items. You can get away with a less expensive brand for casegoods like side tables, nightstands, etc. I'd avoid MDF and look for solid hardwood. Make sure the scale is appropriate. west elm sells cool stuff, but the scale is small, made for apartments and smaller homes. If you have a larger home, you need larger pieces. If you have to put it together, it won't last as long so be careful what you get from IKEA.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our go to place for furniture is a locally owned mom and pop store that's been in business for over 50 years.

Are there any places like that near you? I would also ask local people like real estate agents for recommendations

 

[marthachick]

Checking measurements is a big deal. You don’t want to spend a long time waiting on furniture and find out it doesn’t fit your space. And for the basic pieces, choose classics. You can go trendy with accessories.

 

[Moliphino]

Definitely see things in person, if possible. It's so hard to tell quality from just a picture and description.

For good quality American made furniture, we've had good luck with the King Hickory brand. My mom has bought couches for two rooms from them and I bought my couch and loveseat from them last year. We've ordered them through two different local furniture stores.

 

[jeff_h]

DW and I bought a La-Z-Boy (our Sister In Law only buys Ethan Allen and calls our stuff "redneck luxury") reclining sofa and loveseat 12 years ago and it's still as good as new - we are moving in a couple years and furnishing most of the new house with new furniture and wouldn't hesitate to buy the brand again.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

We bought new furniture when our kids were 2 and 5. I could have pushed the loveseat over with one hand because there wasn't any quality. We had the 4 pc set for a year and then my 3 yr old son at that time, jumped to hard and cracked the frame, on the couch. The material covering the set was really nice but the wood constuction was poor. Live and learn-never again. When I look at furniture outside of good furniture stores whether its Home Goods, Marshalls, Hobby Lobby I always do the WEIGHT test. Next to nothing ever passes!

 

[tvguy]

I would ask are you someone that wants to buy something once in your lifetime, or update with styles? That would be my guide for buying furniture. We bought a mix of top quality furniture and entry level to mid-level furniture. We bought a solid oak dining room table, with matching chairs it has been our every meal table for 38 years. Despite table clothes, the finish has taken a beating thanks to two kids spilled lots of stuff on it so it needs to be refinished. But we bought it as our first, and last table, so we will get it refinished. I bought a solid oak roll top desk, it's like new. Our bedroom dressers and headboard are MDF with nice veneer finishes. They look new after 38 years of easy use.
Over the years as our parents passed away, we have replaced our cheap furniture with the pieces that they had in their homes.
So nothing wrong with entry level furniture, just don't count on it lasting forever. The most difficult reality in closing out our parents homes was the top quality furniture we didn't keep, nobody wanted to buy, despite being in good condition. My mom had a lot of solid maple furniture, dining room table chairs and matching china hutch that I finally had to sell the table by itself for $100. We donated the china hutch. They were purchased in 1950 for $1,200 and nobody was interested in them in 2013.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Spend a LOT of time and do a ton of research when choosing your mattress; this is also not a place to try to save money.

Buy leather couches that spills will not sink into and dirt can be wiped off of, rather than cloth.

Shop Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, consignment shops, and yard sales for everything else.

 

[tcufrog]

What is your style? The best place for advice on this topic is the message boards on the website Houzz.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

You might want to try Costco's website, or even some of the furniture they sell in their stores. We've had great luck with mattresses and sofas.

 

[disykat]

Give yourself permission to have empty rooms for a while. Or, if you have furniture currently, move it in even if you plan to change it later. It doesn't have to be done all at once. For example, if you have an informal and a formal living space or eating area, just furnish the informal one and live in the house for a while while you decide what you want.

Don't let HGTV or a glossy magazine lead you into rash decisions or overextending yourself. I'd focus on a room or two to get done to your satisfaction first. And I say satisfaction, rather than dream, because I really believe people are happier with their dream if they've built it carefully over time. The dream keeps changing!

Try to make your big pieces timeless and as neutral as possible. I'm pretty frugal so I've never bought a lot at once, but I made the mistake with our first home purchase of buying chairs that "would be perfect in front of that window" that were horrible and didn't translate past that one particular era. I had those darn chairs for 15 years, 12 of which I regretted them!

 

[jdb in AZ]

We decorated in the "early marriage" style for quite awhile. Lots of hand-me-downs from relatives, and that's quite all right. Make sure your furniture passes the "goldilocks" test -- try it on and make sure it fits. When we had DMIL's estate sale a woman tried on an easy chair that was such a tight fit it took four men to get her out of it. ahem. just sayin. (She didn't buy the chair.)

 

[MICKIMINI]

Make sure you actually can sit on the model of sofa and chairs you want to buy. Seat height, depth and overall width are to be considered. Hand tied springs/hardwood glued and screwed is the toughest frame available. You are looking at US Made, usually NC. The fabric you choose is where you can go off the rails with something that will soil so go dark leather or sunbrella. Note: I have worked with and toured these factories dealing in high end US furniture.

Tables and chairs are another area to be careful. You do get what you pay for. Four legs that are glued and screwed on won't last without crossbars. Original US chairs from the 1700's were all hand made in such a way that sitting on them made them stronger. There are fewer and fewer US companies out there now but they are making a comeback.

Mattresses are all over the place for kids so get something adequate for their age. For adults, I prefer US made hand tied hardwood frames, real cotton batting and quality fabrics. A good mattress needs to be flipped head to toe and then rotated on a regular basis as it is a two sided (traditional) mattress which will last with proper care. This, you really need to lay down on and try - no way around it.

As far as side tables and accessories go - buy whatever you want. Items that don't get hard wear are a free for all. Adding an antique dresser in your dining room rather than a hutch can be a huge saver and takes the "stuffiness" out of the room. An antique chest for a coffee table is another great choice. As OP mentioned, mix it up.

I would start with a traditional furniture store (mom and pop) first and consider looking over the upholstery, dining tables/chairs and mattresses asking lots of questions. If you find a sales professional who knows the inventory and works with the factories you will get great service and assistance and buy furniture that ages well.

Good luck!

 

[Karin1984]

Besides tips already given, how much do you care about furniture?
Some people just want something to sit on, regardless of the style, colour or taste. For these people a house is just a place to protect them from the elements. If this is you, just look for a couch that is good quality.
For other people creating a home is vital to reflect who they are, what they stand for, what makes them feel comfortable. If this is you, I would first do proper research on your style and what you want. Get on Pinterest and make your board.

 

[mikehn]

What kind of furniture do you have right now?

Im in a one bedroom apt right now, so I dont have much

 

[mikehn]

Wow, lots of great tips to think about. I've been looking at pinterest, wayfair, and a bunch of the retailers websites and it all looks great.

 

[HeatherC]

If you are buying wood furniture like dressers, cabinets, etc., the one with “dovetail” drawers are much better and a higher quality than those using wood glue. Dovetail is kind of like the pieces of wood are interlocking and make for a stronger piece of furniture.
Have fun decorating!

 

[DisTXMom]

Pottery Barn is very popular but they generally don’t have reviews on their site and reviews you find online are mixed. There are a fair amount of critical reviews around fabric pilling within the first few weeks, sofas sagging, etc. For that reason I have not purchased a lot of big furniture from them. There are some die hard PB fans, so I’m probably not making friends... I just ordered a lounge chair from crate and barrel and am excited to receive it. Crate and Barrel has reviews on their site, which made shopping online easier for me. PB’s shipping date for some things I was looking at was estimated May/June, so you may need to shop somewhat based on availability, as stated above. I’ve found having a Pinterest page showing the styles, colors and accents has helped me get a vision for a room that I could then work toward and have been happy with the result. Good luck!