I'm moving into a brand new house...

[Azurik]

I am moving into a new house at the end of this month and need to go furniture shopping - mainly, for my living room and bedroom. I live in the Boston area.

Not sure of where to go really... I don't want to go to Ikea to furnish the house (they were great in college, but not really the place to go for long-term items).

I heard good things about Jordan's Furniture and get mixed reviews about Bob's (the guy with the annoying commercials).

What about Jennifer Convertibles, Bernie & Phyl's, etc.?

 

[lokiju]

I like American Signature, Ashley and Haverty's for chain places between the 3 places you should be able to furnish a place without an issue.

I'd also add that Pottery Barn has some really nice stuff but is overly expensive IMO.

 

[lightstar]

Crate & Barrel has nice stuff- pretty sure there's one in Boston

 

[Azurik]

Thanks guys... I'll check these out. I love Pottery Barn, but think for the product, the item is too overpriced.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

One word of advice. Spend the most money on a living room coffee table and kitchen table as those will most likely be the things you will hold on to the longest.

 

[nageov3t]

pick up a sunday paper, look through the ads and compare pictures/prices?

I bought all my living room furniture from Raymour and Flannigan, except my entertainment center, which I got on ebay.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
One word of advice. Spend the most money on a living room coffee table and kitchen table as those will most likely be the things you will hold on to the longest.

Hmm, I didn't get my calculator out (and I'm not wearing my calc watch), but that seems like a lot more than one word...

 

[Capt Caveman]

What's your style?

I also live in the Boston area. Jordan's and Bernie & Phyl's aren't my style. I like more modern stuff. I got my leather sofa sectional from West Elm (store in Burlington or you order online), City Schemes for my bedroom set, Crate and Barrel for my office set-up and IKEA for stainless steel pub table, bar stools, lighting, rugs, bathroom dresser and bookcase.

Check out Restoration Hardware and Circle Furniture also.

 

[Azurik]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
What's your style?

I also live in the Boston area. Jordan's and Bernie & Phyl's aren't my style. I like more modern stuff. I got my leather sofa sectional from West Elm (store in Burlington or you order online), City Schemes for my bedroom set, Crate and Barrel for my office set-up and IKEA for stainless steel pub table, bar stools, lighting, rugs, bathroom dresser and bookcase.

Check out Restoration Hardware and Circle Furniture also.

I like modern contemporary designs. Agree that Jordan's and Bernie & Phyl's doesn't match what I want for the majority of what they offer, but there are items there they offer that do fit along with what I like - Jordan's especially.

I'm looking at West Elm right now and live right near Burlington - this is great. Thanks man.

 

[loup garou]

modern?

Room & Board
Design Within Reach
White on White (for knockoffs)

 

[BassBomb]

Modern Style : Look for Natuzzi brand for couches (We've got two Natuzzi Sofa's in our house, leather and microfiber)

Not sure if they have Natuzzi down south (They have them at SEARS here and other stores)

Reminds me I need a damn table for our Family Room

 

[krunchykrome]

we're buying a house soon. For the nice furniture, a couple we know has a membership to DirectBuy. We're going to give them $100-$200 to help them recover their membership cost, and we'll use their membership to buy our furniture. Another couple we know did this, and ended up saving thousands of dollars.

I'm certain I will still be furnishing the place with things from Ikea, but the big ticket items will have to be quality products.

 

[Descartes]

I don't know about Boston, but all reasonably sized cities will have furniture outlets of some kind. The quality tends to be higher and the style more varied than chains, and the price much more reasonable. You also tend to get better quality furniture, not just the veneer pieces you get at most of the chains.

Granted, these places might not have a lot in terms of "modern contemporary", but it's worth a shot. I spent way, way too much money buying furniture from places like Storehouse, Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn; yeah, the style is often nice, but the quality isn't worth the price. Of course, if you're not looking for "heirloom" quality furniture, then you can sacrifice a little quality for style since you'll probably end up buying a new set at some point anyway.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
we're buying a house soon. For the nice furniture, a couple we know has a membership to DirectBuy. We're going to give them $100-$200 to help them recover their membership cost, and we'll use their membership to buy our furniture. Another couple we know did this, and ended up saving thousands of dollars.

I'm certain I will still be furnishing the place with things from Ikea, but the big ticket items will have to be quality products.

Ive been seeing more and more commercials for this DirectBuy place. There are a few in NJ. I wonder what kinda stuff they have there. And how much does a membership cost?

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Aharami

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
we're buying a house soon. For the nice furniture, a couple we know has a membership to DirectBuy. We're going to give them $100-$200 to help them recover their membership cost, and we'll use their membership to buy our furniture. Another couple we know did this, and ended up saving thousands of dollars.

I'm certain I will still be furnishing the place with things from Ikea, but the big ticket items will have to be quality products.

Ive been seeing more and more commercials for this DirectBuy place. There are a few in NJ. I wonder what kinda stuff they have there. And how much does a membership cost?

From my understanding, the membership is around $3,000. The membership allows you to purchase name brand furniture at a substantial discount. Our friends used this membership to furnish much of their new home, and they saved roughly $6,000 off of regular prices that other retailers were charging. They actually compared the prices to other retailers, and the savings were accurate.

 

[BoomerD]

Buy quality furniture. Cheap crap always LOOKS cheap and doesn't last. Rowe is one of the better brands of sofas/couches, and (unless they've changed in the past couple of years) are one of the few that offer an 8-way hand-tied frame/spring. More comfort, more support, better built, longer lasting.

IMO, stay away from the chains that sell Chinese junk. It may look good, but underneath, it's still Chinese junk.
That being said, it's getting DAMMED DIFFICULT to find dining room sets that AREN'T made in China. Even at the better furniture stores, most of the good sets are now coming from there.
It really pisses me off!:|

 

[PricklyPete]

Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn are good chains.

 

[akshatp]

When you are mattress shopping, dont pay more than 50% of the advertised retail price. Mattresses are generally marked up about 500% (no joke!)

PM me if you have specific questions

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: akshatp
When you are mattress shopping, dont pay more than 50% of the advertised retail price. Mattresses are generally marked up about 500% (no joke!)

PM me if you have specific questions

what are some places in NJ (in the new brunswick/somerset/edison/etc) area that sell quality furniture? IIRC you live in central Jersey

 

[Squisher]

I'm a fan of Flexsteel sofas and chairs. Their frames last forever. They're reasonably priced too.

 

[Zombie]

Jennifer Convertibles is a SCAM (check their reviews online)

Bobs is for people who just want furniture as place holder (sales people remind you of used car salesmen)

I have furnished my whole house (3 bedrooms, formal living, family) from jordons.

Bernie & Phyl is also good but the furniture is older style than Jordons

Check out Jordon' & Bernie & Phyl's clearance sections. They have some good deals.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm surprised no one has posted the obligatory "YARD SALE" (or next to the dumpster) yet.

 

[Unmoosical]

Well, I would recommend this place. It's out of state but I hear it's like a minimall!

Montgomery's

 

[tfinch2]

I'm interested to see this house. I remember you previously posted a shot of the house you lived in and it was huge!

 

[Gibson486]

stay away from bob's. That is all i can say. It's the equivalent to going to Building 19, but Building 19 has better quality stuff.