Furniture for house

chirp

Which are the best stores to buy sturdy beds, sofas, dining sets and other house furniture at the most reasonable rates? Basically everything to furnish a new house.

Fire_Fox

IKEA - nowhere else sells such sturdy flatpack furniture for the price. Loads of IKEA pieces turn up second hand on eBay too. Be wary of IKEA beds simply because they are continental sizes so you may need their mattress and fitted sheets too.

mundibananas

freecycle - if you don't mind second (or third, fourth ...) hand stuff ! and it's free, costs nothing, nada !

clutton_2

freecycle any day..... often you get brilliant stuff... and you can say - yes please... or no thanks...

Old_Git

charity shops . Not as bad as it sounds ,but look at it this was Mrs x is 90 and dies or goed into a home .What happens to her furniture ? it goes to the charity shop .So you pick up a washing machine ,dining table suite of furniture at a bargain price .

Person_one

I got loads of great stuff off ebay, not just second hand but some of the ebay stores sell new stuff that's decent quality because they have lots of stock but no showroom costs. Sometimes you can arrange to go and view before you buy if you live close enough. I've had a gorgeous leather corner sofa, two beds and a dining table this way.

I agree with Ikea for flatpack wardrobes, bookshelves etc but their beds and sofas are flimsy and don't last. Its ok for a sofa bed or futon for a spare room, but not a bed you sleep on every night or a sofa you sit on every day.

DawnW

Local auction houses for 'almost' antiques, wardrobes, tables and dining chairs etc? Some are absolutely fine straight away, but you might also find really cheap pieces which would benefit from a nice coat of Farrow and Ball paint. Just look at the cost of painted furniture in posh, trendy shops! You can buy some pretty old china for pence in charity shops to set it off like in the magazines. Much better and more robust than cheap flat pack stuff.

Why not mix and match these types of things with some from the other sources mentioned above for a 'shabby chic' look? For example,you might not like the idea of a second hand bed (?)

If you liked, you could then gradually replace pre-owned things with new. I am quite happy with my 'old' things which are full of character to be honest though

Caffca

Where I used to live there were loads of second hand furniture shops and I used them to furnish my first home of my own. I got to know a few of the owners and if they knew I was looking for something they'd keep an eye out for me and often as I was a "regular" I could get them to threw something else I needed in for free or very cheap. I got a 1950s 3 piece suite in vgc for £100 and when I was able to replace it with new, it went back to the shop and I swapped it for two bookcases (solid made not flat-pack).

But my favourite bargain was the 1930s his and hers wardrobes with matching dressing table that I got for £35 with 2 weeks storage and delivery thrown in - spotted them before I completed on my place. Okay the wood veneer wasn't particularly attractive but I simply painted them with cream eggshell and added new handles and had a bedroom set that was absolutely gorgeous. Painting them also meant that as I found other furniture for the bedroom (it was a very large room) such as tall boy; lloyd loom style chairs and chests - I simply painted them and fitted new fabric covers as well so despite them being different styles they all fitted together.

I wish we had the second hand shops were I am now but apart from one charity shop that does furniture there's nothing.

I also got two free-standing kitchen cabinets from work when they were revamping the kitchen and enough heavyduty carpet tiles to cover my dining room and kitchen - all free, all I had to do was shift them!

Keep your eyes open, be open to being cheeky and asking people if you can "take that piece of funiture off their hands",

let friends and family know what you are looking for - you'll be surprised how many people say oh I forgot about granny's old dining table that's in the garage etc

spend time just chatting to owners of second hand shops - even on days you are not buying so you become a known face rather than just some random who thinks they can get a discount for nothing;

look past the initial appearance of an item - scratches and ripped upholstery can be covered / replaced very cheaply - consider the quality/strength of the piece rather than the aesthetics.

hairdye

British Heart foundation have some great furniture shops dotted round the country, great quality old stuff at cheap prices, plus you are giving to charity!

Ikea is ok for little bits but their furniture is naff, especially the beds!

I am moving soon and will definately be scouring freecycle, charity shops and second hand furniture shops! The only thing I will get new is a mattress

Catbells

Second hand quality furniture is fine. However if you want brand new stuff it depends on the quality you're after. You can mix and match which is my preferred way. If you have say a high quality dining table and chairs from John Lewis or Conrans then you can buy second hand accessories like side tables and chests, and wall pictures which somehow look higher quality in the presence of an expensive item. Curtains - there are second hand curtain shops around which you can alter to fit your windows. Carpets/flooring is tricky in my experience. Its expensive to put wall to wall cover down. Look out for carpet auctions. We bought some lovely carpets at an auction many years ago which had been impounded by Customs and Excise and were being flogged off. We still have them and they are high quality. Not sure where you would find out about these type of auctions apart from contacting C & E direct. Also antique furniture is cheap at the moment. Look out your local auction room and you can go and view the items pre sale. A friend in Suffolk bought 4 balloon back dining chairs recently for £150 at an auction. Good luck.

Blondiebird

Hi Chirp,

Whereabouts do you live? We use a shop in South Wimbledon that sells ex-showhome furniture. Its called Cort Furniture. They sell stuff on ebay too as we bought some bits a while back.

Failing that Freecyle or Gumtree?