Post: #1

I've been looking to buy some new furniture lately and can't believe how expensive decent stuff costs. Maybe it's because the last time I went furniture shopping was at IKEA in 2005, but it seems like beds, couches and tables have severely outpaced inflation in the past decade.

My buddy just bought this great little couch from Room & Board here : http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/...roup=21327 for $2200 after tax and shipping. It's a nice, simple couch and I'd like something like this, but I'm loathe to sink that much money into some fabric and wood. Ideally, I wouldn't want to spend more than $1000 if possible.

This forum is a great resource for off the beaten path life hacks and I was hoping that members could chime in on where to buy decent furniture for reasonable prices. Room & Board's concept is that they source 95% of their products from US manufacturers, hence the huge premium price. After all their costs, they have to be making at least a 50% margin on a couch like this. So you figure if the manufacturer is thinking the same thing, they are producing this couch for $5-600.

Can anyone direct me to a sofa manufacturer that deals directly with retail customers? I heard a lot of the country's furniture is produced in the Carolinas and it seems like Room & board gets this particular model from Virginia.

Post: #2

nebraska furniture mart. If you own berkshire hathaway, you can get a 40% discount during their annual meeting. <--- I've heard they do 300MM/year in furnishing. Largest furniture store in the USA w/best retail prices.

Downtown LA has some wholesale furniture places. I've heard about the area around Port of LA and Port of Longbeach having good warehouse deals too.

Post: #3

I'm in the same situation. I want nice furniture, but the prices for the stuff seems way unreasonable. I've had success with Craigslist...but you have to be patient for something good, that fits your style. It took me months to find my sofa...

Thinking about building my own tables...It's just a thought right now, but after looking around, and seeing tables that look as simple as a few logs nailed together priced over $2k...I think I can do better...

Post: #4

Did a quick search. This popped up for 600 buxs plus 160 shipping. Looks pretty similar.

http://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=34980441

Post: #5

(04-08-2014 01:19 AM)booshala Wrote:  I've been looking to buy some new furniture lately and can't believe how expensive decent stuff costs. Maybe it's because the last time I went furniture shopping was at IKEA in 2005, but it seems like beds, couches and tables have severely outpaced inflation in the past decade.

My buddy just bought this great little couch from Room & Board here : http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/...roup=21327 for $2200 after tax and shipping. It's a nice, simple couch and I'd like something like this, but I'm loathe to sink that much money into some fabric and wood. Ideally, I wouldn't want to spend more than $1000 if possible.

This forum is a great resource for off the beaten path life hacks and I was hoping that members could chime in on where to buy decent furniture for reasonable prices. Room & Board's concept is that they source 95% of their products from US manufacturers, hence the huge premium price. After all their costs, they have to be making at least a 50% margin on a couch like this. So you figure if the manufacturer is thinking the same thing, they are producing this couch for $5-600.

Can anyone direct me to a sofa manufacturer that deals directly with retail customers? I heard a lot of the country's furniture is produced in the Carolinas and it seems like Room & board gets this particular model from Virginia.

I've had nice furniture and I've had the ikea stuff. Just a piece of advice I found. If you have a place you plan on being for several years maybe spring for good furniture but if you travel alot, move around alot, etc just be cheap and go with the idea stuff minus maybe a bed. I find a quality bed is the best thing to spend your money on.

When I move I have no problem throwing out a $4 end table from ikea however with nice stuff I'd either have to move all this stuff or sell it on cl for a fraction of what I paid.

I really gotta get a new bed. I had a sleep number a while back which I was never crazy about. I then decided to be cehap and got an ikea bed frame with an ikea foam bed. Not great for sex, they are made out of cardboard all the screws have completely torn out of the frame, the slats slide through all the time. My gf is constantly falling through the bed in the middle of the night lol myself as well. I finally wind up having to go buy a couple 1x4's and nail all the planks together. Overall though just very flimsy. I love foam beds as far as the feel but if you dont get a quality one you beatthe padding out of it after a couple months. I now have a futon pad under my mattress to add some support so I'm not feeling every board slat under me, I really gotta get a new mattress soon lol.

I'd love to have the player pad with nice shit but really until I know I'm stable somewhere for a few years I just go with the ikea stuff a bed is the one thing I'm going to make an exception for

Post: #6

The best buys are antique/classic pieces of furniture. Why?

1. They are built better than modern stuff (unless you dole out some serious cash).
2. You can usually sell the pieces when you're done with them and make money on them; you're not going to do that on new stuff. I've made some decent cash for not much effort buying and selling off of Craigslist. Example: I bought a turn of the century solid Walnut bureau for $650 and sold it for $3500.

Not that I'm an interior decorator (gay), but you don't have to have matching furniture sets; separate pieces that blend together look better (IMHO) than most of the mass produced stuff made today. Plus it instantly adds character to wherever you put them.

Post: #7

Your best bet is to find what style you are going for and then piece together the individual furnishings from different places. You need an overall vision first.

For couches, simple clean lined leather is a great way to go. For example, I have this couch. Its timeless, simple, and good quality. Its long (I can stretch out my 6'2" body on it) without looking huge.


I like hard beds and I sleep on a platform bed. You can get away with a cheaper platform bed as the design of the structure keeps them more rigid. Post beds must be higher quality or they shake all over. Yeah, the sex takes getting used to though.

Tables are awesome. Have some fun with these.

And I know Ikea gets a bad rep, but much of this is just people bashing it because thats what people do. If you know a bit about materials, Ikea does have some good stuff. You just need to know what to look for. They sell polycarbonate bar stools there for $140! Anywhere else they would be $400+.

Post: #8

What's with the hate for Ikea?
I've got an Ikea desk and it's absolutely awesome. Solid construction, well-made, firm without being too heavy, and it was cheap too.

Post: #9

BoConcept.

You might not want to Bang Denmark. But you do want to buy their furniture.

Post: #10

I have my furniture custom-made. No particle board crap, real wood. It looks just like I got it from a showroom flow. Find a local furniture maker, your closest big city should have several to choose from. With a good furniture maker, you just show them a picture of what you're wanting and they'll make it. Better quality, much better prices and you get exactly what you're wanting - built to your specs.

Post: #11

Thanks everyone for chiming in: hopefully I can use your tips for securing some under market prices on this furniture.

Still looking at room & board and kt a lesser extent west elm and cb2.

Post: #12

Quote:"Like everyone else, I had become a
slave to the IKEA nesting instinct.
If I saw something like clever coffee
table sin the shape of a yin and yang,
I had to have it. I would flip through
catalogs and wonder, "What kind of dining
set defines me as a person?" We used to
read pornography. Now it was the Horchow
Collection. I had it all. Even the glass
dishes with tiny bubbles and imperfections,
proof they were crafted by the honest,
simple, hard-working indigenous peoples of
wherever."

Post: #13

Without doubt -- estate auctions. I wrote about this topic in another thread, which also discussed the best places to buy good quality used furniture.

/thread-31322-...#pid610044


Ikea has some good concepts, but its quality is atrocious. I visited an Ikea one time -- and never went back. It caters to people who do not know the fundamental difference between cheap and a good value.

Years ago, after graduating university, I bought clothing at K-Mart and Target. I noticed that clothing would begin to unravel after a few washings. I then began to buy clothing at Macy's (and similar stores) for the same price (e.g., at the end of the season after double -- or even triple -- markdowns). I then noticed that such clothing lasted for years, until it was out-of-fashion. The difference between cheap and a good value. It is the same with furniture.

Post: #14

(04-08-2014 03:03 PM)SteveCR Wrote:  I have my furniture custom-made. No particle board crap, real wood. It looks just like I got it from a showroom flow. Find a local furniture maker, your closest big city should have several to choose from. With a good furniture maker, you just show them a picture of what you're wanting and they'll make it. Better quality, much better prices and you get exactly what you're wanting - built to your specs.

I was going to say something similar. The mark up on retail furniture is insane, and most of it isn't built well. Find a furniture maker with a good reputation and you'll spend less while owning something that will last generations.

Post: #15

room and board generally has very high quality furniture, classic famous designs and a great guarantee.

yeah its expensive, but it should last forever if you get the solid wood stuff.

i just bought a media console from there, shopped it hard around includine ebay, CL, cb2, c&B, west elm, ikea, etc. and it made the most sense. yeah it was $1900 but i'm always going to have it.

Post: #16

(04-10-2014 08:40 AM)reaper23 Wrote:  room and board generally has very high quality furniture, classic famous designs and a great guarantee.

yeah its expensive, but it should last forever if you get the solid wood stuff.

i just bought a media console from there, shopped it hard around includine ebay, CL, cb2, c&B, west elm, ikea, etc. and it made the most sense. yeah it was $1900 but i'm always going to have it.

Room and Board is the style I'm going for. From my understanding, they source most of their products from furniture makers in the US. I guess I was hoping someone on rvf knew of the back end manufacturer.

Post: #17

I bought a new condo recently, and my old furniture looked shabby. So I'm the process of upgrading.

I heard restoration hardware was one if the best. I went to their show room and everything looked like it was upholstered with burlap bags, and tables needed to be sanded and repainted. Not my bag.

I settled on pottery barn. They sent a decorator out to my pad for free. We moved some of my existing furniture around and it looks 10x better. She recommended I keep some if what I have. Then we made a master plan. I ordered $6k worth of furniture. It's going to take awhile for it to be delivered. When it comes, I'll decide next steps.