tcufrog
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
- Messages
- 4,114
I love to decorate and have bought furniture from a wide variety of places including: IKEA, Ballard, Anthropologie, Nebraska Furniture Mart, World Market, Ethan Allen, and Room and Board. One of my favorite things to do is to visit high end furniture stores and find ways to replicate the style by buying less expensive furniture at places like used furniture stores and import stores.
My secret weapon is an excellent, yet surprisingly affordable, local upholsterer. The turnaround is slow but it's worth it. A few years ago, I fell in love with some armchairs from Ethan Allen but couldn't afford them. I was able to find a pair of chairs for a great price at a used furniture store and was able to negotiate an even lower price because the upholstery was torn. I didn't care because I planned to get them reupholstered anyway. My upholsterer rebuilt the webbing, replaced the batting, and reupholstered both chairs. The cost of both chairs and the new upholstery was less than the cost of one chair at Ethan Allen.
Another trick I have is to be patient. I hate to buy furniture in a hurry and prefer to pick out furniture and wait for a sale. When I am decorating a room I also make regular visits to the clearance sections of my favorite stores because their selection changes often. That's how I found a gorgeous onyx topped coffee table for a great price.
My final suggestion is to check out the locally owned furniture stores. Not only is it good to pump money into the local economy, but salespeople at such places are more likely to be able to bargain. When we bought our dining table set plus a buffet, china cabinet, desk, desk chair, and recliner from a local furniture store we were able to negotiate a price reduction and free delivery. A few years ago, we bought a console table and two chairs from a local import store. Since we bought multiple pieces and the chair cushions were stained, we negotiated a discount. The money I saved was used to pay my upholsterer to make replacement cushions that were much prettier and better made than the original cushions were.
My secret weapon is an excellent, yet surprisingly affordable, local upholsterer. The turnaround is slow but it's worth it. A few years ago, I fell in love with some armchairs from Ethan Allen but couldn't afford them. I was able to find a pair of chairs for a great price at a used furniture store and was able to negotiate an even lower price because the upholstery was torn. I didn't care because I planned to get them reupholstered anyway. My upholsterer rebuilt the webbing, replaced the batting, and reupholstered both chairs. The cost of both chairs and the new upholstery was less than the cost of one chair at Ethan Allen.
Another trick I have is to be patient. I hate to buy furniture in a hurry and prefer to pick out furniture and wait for a sale. When I am decorating a room I also make regular visits to the clearance sections of my favorite stores because their selection changes often. That's how I found a gorgeous onyx topped coffee table for a great price.
My final suggestion is to check out the locally owned furniture stores. Not only is it good to pump money into the local economy, but salespeople at such places are more likely to be able to bargain. When we bought our dining table set plus a buffet, china cabinet, desk, desk chair, and recliner from a local furniture store we were able to negotiate a price reduction and free delivery. A few years ago, we bought a console table and two chairs from a local import store. Since we bought multiple pieces and the chair cushions were stained, we negotiated a discount. The money I saved was used to pay my upholsterer to make replacement cushions that were much prettier and better made than the original cushions were.
