Furniture Question

[Eaglesfan27]

I didn't want this to get lost in the other thread, and the last good furniture thread that showed up via a search was Flasch's house thread. Basically, I'm almost totally naive about furniture. Sure, I know the basics, but not much else. I spent several hours over the weekend trying to learn some things, but I thought people on here might have some ideas. Mrs. Eaglesfan and I are both off on Friday and after we take possession of the house, we are going shopping for furniture (as well as some other things.)

Right now, we have an old beat up couch and futon in our living room that I bought together from a friend in medical school for 50 dollars. Obviously, we are looking to upgrade our living room furniture quite a bit (it never seemed to make sense to do so until we had a house and could match the furniture to it.) We are also going to get some nice furniture for the media room. Other parts of the house furniture will be upgraded at a later time. So, right now, we are basically focusing on furniture for a living room and the media room. Basically, I'm looking for recommendations on excelllent furniture lines, materials, things I should be looking for, etc. Comfort is of utmost importance with asthetics being a 2nd but important part of the equation. Knowing that we are going to have kids in a few years (hopefully) is also a factor since we want durability as well. If it can mask stains well (or be stain resistant) that is another plus.

[Grammaticus]

I recommend a very well made couch that has micro fiber fabric. I have a large dog (Weimaraner) and anytime she has gotten mud or anything on the couch it wipes off and is extremely comfortable. These types of couches are great for kids and other mess makers. Also, there are lots of style options. I typically do not like sectional couches, but we did choose a sectional in our media room for optimal seating. Our sofa has a chase lounge style on one of the L sides. As far as good manufacturers, it depends on where you live. Unless you do mail order. I would buy something like this local or within driving distance.

[Craptacular]

Do an exhaustive search of the stores with clearance centers in your area, or that at least have clearance items. Just make sure you can figure out if the clearance prices are actually a good deal.

As for materials (assuming you're not looking at wood furniture), if you like leather, consider couches / chairs that have leather seating and armrests, but vinyl sides and backs, especially if they'll be against a wall, or have tables to the side of or behind them ... or if your media room is going to be pretty dark most of the time anyway. Assuming the match is pretty good, you won't be able to tell the difference unless you really look closely. If those parts are not even going to be visible, then who cares. You can usually save a decent amount of money versus a comparable all-leather piece.

[Swaggs]

Buying furniture is like buying a car, prices are very negotiable. Never, ever pay the asking price on new furniture.

Also, I would recommend visiting consignment shops, as well. You can often find very nice sets or individual pieces at places like this (as well as art and other things that make a house a home).

[Dekanth]

Tag sales, but particularly estate sales. You can find stuff in brand new condition for ridiculous prices (before bartering). People just need to get rid of this stuff. I bought a bar for 25 bucks, a hutch for 20 bucks and a 600 dollar patio set for 50 bucks. Each piece is in as good of shape as if I bought it from a store. It boggles my mind the stuff people are willing to part with.

[stevew]

If you're paying cash, definately don't tell them you're a doctor. Because then you won't get a break cause they'll think you can afford it. But you probably already know that.

I'd definately avoid light fabrics, and most likely leather as well.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

I recommend a very well made couch that has micro fiber fabric. I have a large dog (Weimaraner) and anytime she has gotten mud or anything on the couch it wipes off and is extremely comfortable. These types of couches are great for kids and other mess makers. Also, there are lots of style options. I typically do not like sectional couches, but we did choose a sectional in our media room for optimal seating. Our sofa has a chase lounge style on one of the L sides. As far as good manufacturers, it depends on where you live. Unless you do mail order. I would buy something like this local or within driving distance.

Looked at MANY couches, sectionals, etc today for well over 6 hours. My wife and I usually have to compromise on things like this, but after 6 hours of searching, we found a piece that we both thought was great when we first saw it. It was even better when we sat on it. We both think it is great. It is made of micro fiber fabric, so that was an excellent call. Most likely all of our living room and media room furniture is going to end up being micro fiber materials. Oh yeah, we found an excellent entertainment system at the same store which is actually big enough to store the new TV that we will be buying. So, we picked up an entertainment center as well. However, with Post-Katrina, each item won't be ready for 6 to 8 weeks. However, it is still so exciting to have made our first purchases for the house.


Edited to add: I definitely negotiated, and I'm quite happy to say that I got 60% off the tag price. Then again, the prices were marked up quite a bit so I might not have made that great of a deal. However, I'm happy with what I paid

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Looked at MANY couches, sectionals, etc today for well over 6 hours. My wife and I usually have to compromise on things like this, but after 6 hours of searching, we found a piece that we both thought was great when we first saw it. It was even better when we sat on it. We both think it is great. It is made of micro fiber fabric, so that was an excellent call. Most likely all of our living room and media room furniture is going to end up being micro fiber materials. Oh yeah, we found an excellent entertainment system at the same store which is actually big enough to store the new TV that we will be buying. So, we picked up an entertainment center as well. However, with Post-Katrina, each item won't be ready for 6 to 8 weeks. However, it is still so exciting to have made our first purchases for the house.


Edited to add: I definitely negotiated, and I'm quite happy to say that I got 60% off the tag price. Then again, the prices were marked up quite a bit so I might not have made that great of a deal. However, I'm happy with what I paid

I think that furniture is marked up at least 300-400 percent, so you still made out pretty good.

[CraigSca]

Any tips on how to negotiate for furniture? Do you say something like, "What's the best deal you can give me?" and work from there?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Any tips on how to negotiate for furniture? Do you say something like, "What's the best deal you can give me?" and work from there?

Good question, there's got to be some good negotiation type sites/books to look into. A lot of times the thought that stuff is actually negotiable never really crosses my mind. I mainly shop at places like wal mart though.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Any tips on how to negotiate for furniture? Do you say something like, "What's the best deal you can give me?" and work from there?

Actually, In the almost 7 hours of looking, we left the store twice and went back twice for a total of 3 visits. I told them I found a similar piece for X dollars. They matched that price on the piece I was looking at. Rinse and repeat until I got the piece I wanted (albeit custom ordered) for a price that I was satisfied with. I'm not sure if that was the best way, but it saved me significant money from the sticker price and from the "discount" that they were first offering me.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I was very careful to never tell them I was a doctor

[Eaglesfan27]

Double Dola - Unfortunately, there was very little wiggle room on the entertainment center. However, I thought that was more reasonably priced from the start of negotiations (I got them to shave about 150 more off the price.)

[RendeR]

My basic tactic is to look at the price tag with a sales person nearby and fake a massive coronary, they either laugh and join in the joke, then offer a lower price or freak out and call 911 and offer a lower price to avoid litigation....

=) =) =)