furniture

[haha]

Most of my un- upholstered furniture is either Craigs List and I think pretty good, or hand me down from a son and very good. I only have one upholstered piece, an Allen Edmonds couch that my son gave me in 2007. It is extremely comfortable, fits my space, has never shared space with cats or dogs, is in good condition and is long enough for me to sleep on. Nirvana as far as I am concerned. If the fabric ever wears out I would very likely just have it re-upholstered.

Other than my mattress, which is 5 years old but still excellent, I doubt I would ever replace any of my furniture. Second hand upholstered stuff is just a vector for bedbugs.

If for some unforeseeable reason I were dating a different woman who did not like my furniture, she would be replaced, not the furniture.

Ha

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Second hand upholstered stuff is just a vector for bedbugs

+1

Plus, you just don't know what might be soaked into it. Ewww. Maybe I am overly squeamish, but I draw the line there as well.

[ESRwannabe]

My parents were/are real pack rats, especially my mom. When I grew up the house was always filled with "junk" (to me at least). It wasn't like a "hoarder" mental problem amount of stuff and it wasn't truly junk. It was mostly antiques and art.

Anyway, it affected me and made me very adverse to having lots of things. I like having lots of empty space. An almost empty room looks good to me and is relaxing. A room filled with lots of stuff, even if it is expensive antiques and art, stresses me out.

Needless to say having too much furniture and such is not a problem for me.

As far as price goes I wouldn't mind paying a lot for something nice. I could care less about brands, but if I can tell the difference in the quality then I would pay up. For example a chair that is noticeably more comfortable.

All of my furniture came from gifts or hand me downs so far. I haven't really bought any myself. My parents are always trying to give me furniture. They like to shop as a hobby. They actually run out of space to put it all in their giant three story house. So, I probably will never have to buy furniture.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRwannabe My parents were/are real pack rats, especially my mom. When I grew up the house was always filled with "junk" (to me at least). It wasn't like a "hoarder" mental problem amount of stuff and it wasn't truly junk. It was mostly antiques and art. Anyway, it affected me and made me very adverse to having lots of things. I like having lots of empty space. An almost empty room looks good to me and is relaxing. A room filled with lots of stuff, even if it is expensive antiques and art, stresses me out. Needless to say having too much furniture and such is not a problem for me. As far as price goes I wouldn't mind paying a lot for something nice. I could care less about brands, but if I can tell the difference in the quality then I would pay up. For example a chair that is noticeably more comfortable. All of my furniture came from gifts or hand me downs so far. I haven't really bought any myself. My parents are always trying to give me furniture. They like to shop as a hobby. They actually run out of space to put it all in their giant three story house. So, I probably will never have to buy furniture.

I am the same way, and my mother was the same. Rooms full of horrible heavy old "antique" furniture. One Christmas when we were preteens my brother and I got these air guns that shot hard little plastic balls. We were up early before he rest of the family except my baby brother. We starting shooting the ornaments off the tree, and baby brother was laughing and we were getting hysterical too. It didn't end well for us, but I think it indicated the stress we felt at her insane preoccupation with stuff.

These attitudes made me a not very good husband in some ways, as it's a rare woman who really likes apple crate bookcases, even though she may put up with it for a time.

I remember taking my son to visit an engineer up at WWU who was mentoring son, and who had recently been divorced. He had typical good sized suburban house. The huge living room contained only a monster TV, a work table and chair and computer, and a treadmill. I remember thinking, well divorce stinks but at least you get to lighten up.

Ha

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRwannabe My parents were/are real pack rats, especially my mom. When I grew up the house was always filled with "junk" (to me at least). It wasn't like a "hoarder" mental problem amount of stuff and it wasn't truly junk. It was mostly antiques and art. Anyway, it affected me and made me very adverse to having lots of things. I like having lots of empty space. An almost empty room looks good to me and is relaxing. A room filled with lots of stuff, even if it is expensive antiques and art, stresses me out.

Same for me. My dad and his wife are hoarders. Not as bad as what I sometimes see on TV, but that's only because they have a very large property and the density of clutter is not quite as impressive. I'm glad that I won't be the one inheriting their house (and their mess).

When we downsized, I did not want to feel cramped in our smaller space so I made sure that the clutter would be kept at a minimum. Living a in a large city is very tough on the senses (or stimulating depending on your point of view ) and it is nice to seek refuge in a space that is quite the opposite - quiet and visually empty. Lots of beige on beige, few knick-knacks or even pictures on the walls. Some people find it sterile and boring, but I find it relaxing.

[CoolChange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd ...few knick-knacks or even pictures on the walls. Some people find it sterile and boring, but I find it relaxing.

I feel the same; and, when I have lived by myself, I have had a similar style (or, lack there of depending on perspective). Most people seem to find this really depressing and were always giving me things to brighten the place up. These things generally made good X-mas or housewarming gifts down the road.

Sadly, most of the people I have lived with (and, I suspect most people in general) seem to abhor any unobstructed flat surface (walls, floors, counter/table tops, etc.) and feel compelled to sit/hang things everywhere possible.

[sparkee]

Interesting no one has mentioned IKEA (even though it's clearly not "high quality!"). We have a number of pieces from there, as well as from places like World Market (a leather love seat for about $400 on sale and a leather covered chair for about $300).

Most have lasted/served us very well.

However, the issue for DW and me is that, like some others, we've had some antiques and other pieces that we (at some point) we just didn't care for anymore--e.g. we had some oak pieces that just didn't meet our taste any longer. We still have an antique wardrobe we like, and moved it from Tacoma, WA to Texas, but will be very unlikely to move it back to the Olympic Peninsula when we retire there in a few years (space in an 1100 sq. ft condo, plus what we actually need there . . . and it's hell to move!).

My wife loves real mid-century modern furniture and, if we could afford it, might go for furnishing the condo with it, but it's unlikely. We're more likely to bring a few pieces from here and do a combination of Craigslist, IKEA and other cheap stores, plus maybe a few quality pieces if they're just right. We won't need that much to fill the place anyway, which is the way we want it!

[Dawg52]

My nephew bought a lot of furniture from an estate sale. Looks great too. When I buy furniture, I buy La-Z-Boy type stuff. In fact they have a plant and sales office near by where you can find good deals.

[Snoozie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by someguy Anyone have specific comments on sofa or chair brands? Ideally purchased at least a year or two ago but within the last 5-8? I agree that a lot of brands have gone downhill, or have introduced lower quality lines to meet lower price points. We have a three piece set purchased for maybe $1200 from a value furniture store that has held up shockingly well despite a lot of abuse while a much more recently purchased and better treated leather sofa in the $2-$3K range has flaking leather and horribly sagging cushions.

We just purchased furniture for our sun room last fall 2012 (after I couldn't stand looking another day at the blue crap my husband bought 20 years ago from a neighbor!!) - and it is from Smith Brothers of Berne - they make really great quality furniture. Not sure where you are - but Google them to find retailers for their furniture. We got a couch, loveseat, swivel rocker with footstool in the fabric of our choice for right around $5K. And we are thrilled with it! I agree with the other commenter - go with neutrals (at least for couch/loveseat) and you can then change up the pillows, etc when you are ready for a change. We did the swivel rocker and footstool in a print. $500 for that - so not a huge expense to change out down the road - but we tend to keep things (cars, etc.) and wear them out before we buy again. Also we have them cleaned every year when the guy is here to scrub the carpets - which helps with their longevity. Good luck!

[jimnjana]

We've furnished two rentals with all estate and yard sale furniture and household items. We splurged 15 years ago and bought a Keller Furniture Oak Bedroom set for our bedroom and we bought a leather living room set last year. We're pretty selective on what we buy at yard sales, Atlanta and Florida are target rich environments for premium quality furniture. A couple of examples, a Broyhill chair and a half with ottoman with tag still on for $100. Complete Oak bedroom set with Queen size bed and mattress set (in plastic, never used) $300.

[happy2bretired]

I was lucky about 6 years ago to find four pieces of Century furniture at more than half price off at a high end decorator type furniture store that was going out of business. I don't think I'll ever have to buy wooden pieces for my living room ever again.

[zinger1457]

I caved in a few years ago and purchased a nice (and expensive) living room set from Stickley. All solid cherry wood, leather upholstery, and US made. I knew when I made the purchase it would be my last living room set purchase, after 5 years it still looks brand new.