XP: WWYD re furniture?

[Deleted]

I posted on MM but would love to get your thoughts too:

DH and I want to take our time furnishing our house.  We've decided that
we invest in expensive furniture that involves wood (i.e. kitchen and
formal dining table, master bedroom set, office desk) but that we don't
mind buying some ok quality sectionals or couches.  I feel like my kid
will destroy a couch or a sectional easily, so I tend to not want to
spend too much money on it right now.  Is this dumb?  Thoughts?

[panicked]

I don't think it's dumb, but it's not the best idea either. Invest in something that's easily cleaned and sturdy. We spend a good amount on a leather sectional, but it's good quality, very easy to clean, and something that will hold up to toddler wear and tear.

[tarheels]

I would actually go the other way around. Wood furniture is durable by its very nature, so I don't think you need to spend $5k on a wood kitchen table when a $500 one will be just as durable IMO. But with upholstered furniture, cheap sofas will literally break apart in front of your eyes if you buy cheap stuff. To get around that, buy great quality with slipcovers you can throw in the wash when life happens. ETA - or leather like PP said.

(This isn't specific to this brand - just look at the comparison) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDGAw47Y2kQ&list=PLE711CF2BA0172B38&index=1

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/buying-guide-sofa_n_1021443.html

www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/garden/analyzing-the-couch.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Deleted]

THR is wise.
Everyone is willing to spend something different. I'm not one to fall in love passionately with a fabric LR chair so middle of the road is fine there.
I do however have a thing for nice bedroom sets so I'm willing to spend more there. Also, because I won't be bored of it as fast as said side chair.
I bought better quality sofas and it's been worth it with a toddler. Hold up much better, clean better take more abuse etc. I always try to opt for better based on my finances/what I'm willing to spend at the time. Why throw something out in 5 years when I could get better to start with if I can?

IDK if that makes sense, but it's all about priorities. Stuff I love forever I spend on. Stuff I know I won't I don't. I buy decent quality so it will withstand life.

[Deleted]

Thanks ladies. Our current living room set seemed pretty middle of the road price wise when we initially bought it but it hasn't held up well. So, I'm a little jaded by that experience. Maybe I just need to figure out how to replace the cushions. Is that something worth doing?

[tarheels]

Jun 5, 2013 16:00:18 GMT -5 @choco said:

Thanks ladies. Our current living room set seemed pretty middle of the road price wise when we initially bought it but it hasn't held up well. So, I'm a little jaded by that experience. Maybe I just need to figure out how to replace the cushions. Is that something worth doing?

Maybe. See if you can buy the foam yourself or call around to upholsterers.  Whether it's worth it depends on the quality of the sofa to begin with.

I checked out your post on MM (and got a chuckle out of the fact they all said to buy cheap sofas - different strokes), and I noticed you were going to go to Rooms To Go?  There's almost not cheaper furniture for sale.  That's scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Any piece of RTG furniture will end up in a landfill in 5 years or less.  I mean, 7 pieces of furniture for $1500 works out to $200 per piece - that's some low-quality stuff right there, bordering on "how is it even possible to manufacture it that cheap?"  I think it's horrible for the environment, and that's one of the reasons why I believe in buying better quality to start, but if you're truly looking for throw-away furniture that you can feel fine about your toddler destroying, RTG would be where I'd shop.

[munkii]

Jun 5, 2013 17:00:00 GMT -5 tarheels said:

Jun 5, 2013 16:00:18 GMT -5 @choco said:

Thanks ladies. Our current living room set seemed pretty middle of the road price wise when we initially bought it but it hasn't held up well. So, I'm a little jaded by that experience. Maybe I just need to figure out how to replace the cushions. Is that something worth doing?

Maybe. See if you can buy the foam yourself or call around to upholsterers.  Whether it's worth it depends on the quality of the sofa to begin with.

I checked out your post on MM (and got a chuckle out of the fact they all said to buy cheap sofas - different strokes), and I noticed you were going to go to Rooms To Go?  There's almost not cheaper furniture for sale.  That's scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Any piece of RTG furniture will end up in a landfill in 5 years or less.  I mean, 7 pieces of furniture for $1500 works out to $200 per piece - that's some low-quality stuff right there, bordering on "how is it even possible to manufacture it that cheap?"  I think it's horrible for the environment, and that's one of the reasons why I believe in buying better quality to start, but if you're truly looking for throw-away furniture that you can feel fine about your toddler destroying, RTG would be where I'd shop.

This is really, really important to note. If you get a quality piece and get slip-covers as suggested, this is not going to happen. Even if you forgo the slip-covers, the worst that will happen is that you will have to have the furniture reupholstered. Sure, that's not cheap but neither is replacing a sofa (or whatever) every 5 years. Definitely try to find something of quality. 

[teeah22]

Huh, I guess my RTG sectional is past its expiration date then since it's over five years old. I should just toss that piece of crap immediately.

I say invest more money in whatever you think you're the least likely to get sick of. I truly don't understand furniture as investment pieces unless your style is very traditional. Most of my furniture is about five years old and I'm starting to replace pieces of it because my style and tastes have changed. I'm glad I bought things at cheaper stores like Ashley and RTG because I don't feel so bad getting rid of things I don't love anymore. FWIW, none of my cheap furniture is in bad shape and I have a three year old, two dogs, and a DH that doesn't care about things like stains or coasters.

[pitterwoo]

teeah22 nailed one of the reasons that I would be cautious about spending a lot. furniture shouldn't be an investment piece if it's trendy and going to look ridiculous in a few years. I would be so bummed if I had spent $$ on one of those overstuffed sofas of the 90s that just look boxy now.

HOWEVER, on the other side of the coin, I'm writing this from our sofa which was H's grandmothers from the 50s or 60s. It's on the third reupholstery and it's the best sofa I've ever had. So I do see the value in it, but would definitely shop with an eye towards how dated it could become and how likely are you to want to live with the same piece(s) for the long term.

[boiler717]

I feel like upholstered furniture it's better to go cheap (IKEA) or get quality stuff that is almost always pretty pricey. The midrange stuff costs twice as much as IKEA and doesn't last any longer.

[Deleted]

Thank you for the responses ladies, I really appreciate it!

tarheels, I did lol yesterday at the very different responses I got from MM vs here.  I worry that my taste in sofas and chairs will change far more quickly than wood furniture, which is why I was originally leaning towards not investing much money in them.  It's a style question that DH and I have to figure out.  We've own two couches/living room sets since we graduated college 10 years ago and I am not a fan of either one of them today.  But, I also know that these pieces weren't exactly top quality to begin with (we lived in NY when we bought both sets, so they are from a now bankrupt place called Levitz Furniture, lol). 

FWIW, we would love to hit up estate sales and go that route with wood furniture.  I am not sure if we can do the same for couches, but I'm not opposed to it.  Our biggest issue is usually time to go to these things on weekends. 

For those who have used slipcovers, do you have them custom made? 

What stores do you guys consider to be higher end? 

[Ramz-ee]

I agree with your philosophy on spending more on the wood furniture that is more classic and probably won't be outdated quickly. Going cheaper with wood furniture, IMO, is not a good idea. Try finding an actual wood table that does not have a veneer top at a low to mid range price. I shopped around for years trying to get a nice all wood bedroom set and coffee table. Every time I found a coffee table I liked, I would scratch my nail across the top of it to see how easy it scratched. All the veneer top coffee tables scratched immediately. I understand that all wood can scratch, but if it's going to scratch with just a finger nail, it's never going to hold up to our cats jumping off of it (even though they are forbidden to be on it)

I found no solid wood coffee tables and I couldn't find any all solid wood bedroom sets in a mid range price. None.

We ended up building our coffee table and refinishing the hand me down bedroom set my husband had. With new stain and hardware, that ugly solid wood bedroom set looks amazing. That convinced me to spend the money on wood in the future.

My tastes change too often to spend a lot on a couch. We've had ours for three years and I already want something else. We have slip covers now, but that's only going to hold me over for so long.

[niknik]

I don't go for really expensive furniture but not cheap either. My dining room table looks like hell. It's good quality but is beat from my 3 and 5 year old boys. I like that they can sit there and color and do crafts there without me having to worry about it. When they are older, I will replace it with a nice, good quality table but in the last few years, I have decided that nothing is sacred to my kids even when they are trying. I don't want to cringe everytime they are near something.