primitives discuss buying furniture

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9709967

Oh my.

Flaxbee (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 12:09 AM
Original message
 
Where do you buy furniture?

How much would you spend for a sofa or dining table and chairs or a bedframe?

Do you care if the wood in the furniture (even if just in the frame) is sustainably harvested?

If you buy used, do you worry about bedbugs?

What did you last buy?

We got a loveseat a few years ago that has been shredded by the cats -- so much so that the stuffing is coming out the back. I'm looking for a decent slipcover. However, in the not-too-distant future I'd like to buy a few good pieces, hopefully some of them relatively cat-proof - wood framed sofa, perhaps. I'd really like a quilted headboard (that I may consider making myself) but I can just see the furry little bastids thinking it was their own fancy scratching post placed conveniently near the bed for them.

So I've been thinking about furniture. New prices seem so ridiculously high, and I'm suspicious of less expensive items for quality and sustainability reasons.

Bunny  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jun-11-11 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. There's no way I'd buy used upholstered furniture.

To me, that's just disgusting - way too many unknown cooties.  I'd go to the furniture store for that sort of thing.

For unupholstered things, like tables, dressers, etc. I'd shop craigslist for decent quality used stuff. You can get some good buys if you pay attention.

Flaxbee (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 12:35 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. yeah, I stay away from used upholstered items, too... just too many unknowns, as you say.

I'd like to find a nice old wooden kitchen / dining table ...

I also really want a good couch that is comfortable ... without spending huge amounts b/c I *know* it will end up somewhat tattered because of the cats.

snagglepuss  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 01:36 AM
Response to Reply #2
 
5. Bedbugs can be brought in on wood furniture. I read a horror story of a woman who was given an old wardrobe and she got an infestation. There might be suggestions on line as to how you might fumigate furniture bringing it inside your home but to assume that non-upholstered furniture is okay is asking for trouble.

pink-o  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 12:56 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
11. It's summer, so you can leave stuff outside for awhile....

If I saw a used upholstered piece I just loved, I would cover it with Diatomaceous Earth and plastic sheeting for a week, then vacuum it thoroughly, then clean it with upholstery cleaner THEN bring it inside. Problem solved.

CaliforniaPeggy  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jun-11-11 12:59 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. My dear Flaxbee!

You might consider having your loveseat reupholstered. We more or less routinely do that to our stuff. I've had (over the years, not all at once, lol) a couple of small couches reupholstered, and my favorite computer chair as well.

The folks I've hired have done a wonderful, durable job. The work isn't cheap, but it lasts.

dimbear (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 01:30 AM
Response to Original message
 
4. Garage sales and antique stores. Don't hate me for saying this, but learn how to do your own upholstery. It's not nearly as hard as you might think. The tools are very inexpensive and it's sort of fun.

You end up with unique pieces at a fraction of what you would pay otherwise.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 12:03 PM
Response to Original message

8. the border collie has ruined our couch

He sits on it to look out the window, and goes berserk if a kitty approaches outside. I regularly replace the duct tape that is holding the upholstery together on top, and I cover the top of the couch with a pretty and durable quilt.

So until the border collie goes, I won't replace the couch. It was bought new about seven years ago at a discount furniture store and it is exceptionally comfortable. It was attractive. I would go that route again. I think it was about four hundred bucks.

I'm really scared of bedbugs.

idiotgardener (60 posts)      Sat Jun-11-11 12:30 PM
Response to Original message
 
9. Most of mine was free... 

Given to me when people moved or still using from when I was a kid.

I would splurge on a nice couch if you can afford it and can keep it safe (I have doggies so I know...) Right now I have a futon as my living room couch, and it's been the "temporary" couch for about 12 years now lol. I would pay more for responsibly made furniture. The stuff I reeeally like costs about $10,000 and I don't see myself ever paying that much, even if I hit the lottery.

Can you get a new couch for you that the cats are not allowed on, and keep the loveseat for them?

Last thing I got was a sofa-bed from the IKEA as-is section, for guests. It was like $350 instead of $850, nothing wrong with it and I keep it in a room with a door closed. Nicest furniture in the house and I can't use it

If you like the style, you should check mid-century modern stores for wood-framed sofas and get it reupholstered. Those things will last.

Odin2005  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jun-12-11 01:12 AM
Response to Original message
 
20. Thrift stores, like the one I work at.

I bought a nice padded wicker chair we had at the store for $15. We thoroughly checked for bedbugs before we put out furniture.

[BattleHymn]

CaliforniaPeggy  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jun-11-11 12:59 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. My dear Flaxbee!

You might consider having your loveseat reupholstered. We more or less routinely do that to our stuff. I've had (over the years, not all at once, lol) a couple of small couches reupholstered, and my favorite computer chair as well.

The folks I've hired have done a wonderful, durable job. The work isn't cheap, but it lasts.

So, which is it, Calpig?  Does it last, or doesn't it?  The only thing I can figure out for Calpig to help her maintain continuity in her post, is to imagine she paid for the reupholstering in copyrighted poetry, in which case, she got what she paid for when she has to routinely reupholster.

[BEG]

Paying someone to reupholster your furniture costs too much if your furniture isn't expensive to start with. I have reupholstered furniture before myself. You take off the old fabric, take it apart with a seam ripper (make sure to label each piece where it goes) then use it as a pattern for the new fabric. Sew it together exactly the same as the old fabric, use a staple gun to attach it where it was stapled before.

Get rid of the cats, they will ruin your furniture over and over again.


I hate cats.   

[zeitgeist]

Paying someone to reupholster your furniture costs too much if your furniture isn't expensive to start with. I have reupholstered furniture before myself. You take off the old fabric, take it apart with a seam ripper (make sure to label each piece where it goes) then use it as a pattern for the new fabric. Sew it together exactly the same as the old fabric, use a staple gun to attach it where it was stapled before.

Get rid of the cats, they will ruin your furniture over and over again.


I hate cats.   

You got that right!!  I called a local shop to inquire about a having a couple barrel chairs done (they go in the motor home but are nothing special).  The quote?  $300 per,  plus exra if they needed to have padding or springs!!  Not going to happen.  I can find new for that.   

Cats?  Been there.  Beautiful oak sectional set with recliners destroyed by warring cats.  I cried when it went away in the trash.  It had been gorgeous and again, the cost of re upholstering was beyond the cost of buying new, albeit not reclining.


On the other hand I never had mice when I had cats.

[franksolich]

Paying someone to reupholster your furniture costs too much if your furniture isn't expensive to start with. I have reupholstered furniture before myself. You take off the old fabric, take it apart with a seam ripper (make sure to label each piece where it goes) then use it as a pattern for the new fabric. Sew it together exactly the same as the old fabric, use a staple gun to attach it where it was stapled before.

I've always noticed people in the reupholstering business have really rough hands.

So I figured it's an occupational hazard.

How would you avoid that, rough hands?

[GOBUCKS]

Anyone who wants to give cats and dogs the run of the house should just put patio furniture in their living room, and a picnic bench in the dining room.
Or, you can buy nice furniture and wait a year or two for the animals to reduce it to patio furniture and a picnic bench.

[BEG]

I've always noticed people in the reupholstering business have really rough hands.

So I figured it's an occupational hazard.

How would you avoid that, rough hands?

I would avoid rough hands by not making a living reupholstering furniture. 

[Traveshamockery]

I have two cats and neither of them damage my furniture at all.  When they were kittens I put double-sided tape on the corners for a few weeks and they never go near the places you would expect cats to scratch. 

[JohnnyReb]

DUmmie said, "If I saw a used upholstered piece I just loved, I would cover it with Diatomaceous Earth"... and I ask, has DUmmie been making dynamite the old fashioned Alfred Nobel way? Just asking.