I’m going through a weird transitional phase atm and have been on a sort of unexpected interior design journey for my apartment. It’s kinda small, maybe in the lower 30’s in square meters and I’ve been doing a Pinterest hunt on the vibe that fit’s well with me.
After, say, more than 20 hours of Pinterest idea hopping, I found two main themes that I sort of resonated with are modern classic bedroom styles and a simple Georgian interior.
Deliberating between the two, I opted for the modern classic bedroom style because it was more realistic lol. So I did my research (i.e. just type in a bunch of queries on Google) and came across this store’s bedroom collection and I see quite a few pieces that will fit what I have in mind (e.g. the monty tall dresser/ibis dresser and the hali bench sofa) but I’ve never bought furniture before so I was just looking to seek different opinions.
I asked my friends about the pricing but they’re a tad bit well off so I think their perception is a little skewed. I feel like they’re on the pricier end(?) or am I just being a cheap ass lol.
The prices of the items are:
Monty Tall Dresser - $2099
Ibis Dresser - $2795
Hali Bench Sofa - $599 (currently on sale for $445)
Are these reasonable? Or should I look for another site? Tysm!
Well made furniture isn’t cheap. There’s lots of labor involved. Poorly made furniture is cheap. Some will last for a while, others will fall apart quickly.
It’s hard to tell from a website whether the furniture you are looking at is well made. Unless someone has direct knowledge of the brand you’re buying blind.
Yep, I think most stuff that is expensive (except for luxury items) will be built to be good and last a while. I know nothing about furniture pricing though, the closest I have as a reference is Ikea furniture…
Ikea doesn’t sell well built furniture, so if you’re going by those prices you’re going to be in for a shock. But the stuff you’re looking at is still not high end. My favorite shop to drool over has furniture that starts at twice the price of your place.
Is been a while since I bought the other stuff but this is crazy cheap for a couch. I bought a couch 10 years ago that fell apart within 2 years for $1,000, it was part chase lounge and part couch so a bit bigger than what you’re looking at. I would be extremely leery of spending less than that today. A different couch I bought 20 years ago cost $2,500 and we’re debating between buying a new one and just having it recovered since it’s in great shape mechanically. It looks like the price is similar today
A $2000 dresser is in the price range of Pottery Barn quality. It’s solidly constructed (not going to fall apart) and made entirely of real wood and plywood, but it’s probably not made of nice clear hardwood, it might be veneered or painted. The fit and finish will be pretty good (no gaps where boards meet, the drawers will slide easily). It’s not going to be something you pass down to your kids, but it will probably be fine for as long as you like it and you can sell it to someone on craigslist for a few hundred dollars when you want something else.
Speaking of which: if you are patient, you can often buy very nice used furniture for a small fraction of what it costs new.
That’s so true! I’ve sold a few sturdy pieces on FB marketplace/ Craigslist for next to nothing.
No one seems to be buying used furniture so the prices are super depressed. A kids loft, was solid hardwood painted white cottage style with built in dresser/ full size closet space and slide out desk with task light. Super clean cost like $2500 new gave it away for $250 after weeks of zero interest. A dresser, Light hardwoods 2over 3 drawers solid no veneers like new sold for $70. I see antiques, super solid unique pristine going for $150. I sold a spoon carved Eastlake dresser, w/ beveled mirror gorgeous- $125. I paid $475 for it 30 years ago!
Though I’d buy used furniture I’d stay away from upholstered items I think.
This is what I thought too, most of the furniture I have at my parent’s home are these classical pieces made of some type of hardwood–those stuff were passed down from my grandma’s grandma lol. I doubt this is the case with the furniture pieces from that site I found but I can’t be sure.
What are some sites for second-hand furniture? Would appreciate any recommendation!
I must be on the wrong side of FB marketplace or maybe it’s a geography thing… (I’m from Alaska) I haven’t seen anything worth my time on that site. Sounds like you had a stroke of luck with your finds lol.
Just google-searched upholstered… ah yes, I think I’ll probably avoid those for the most part. I love leather furniture but I’m having doubts about that as well.
FB Marketplace is hit or miss, and I’m sure being in Alaska is a factor. Here in the greater Boston area you can get an amazing quantity of reasonable quality furniture for little money or even free. There’s just no easy way to get rid of large pieces so owners are happy if someone takes it off their hands.
I’d be leery of spending more than $8 for a dresser.
That’s what I paid back in the day for a used (?1930s-40s vintage) four-drawer hardwood dresser at Fran’s Antiques and Collectibles in Newton, Iowa. That doesn’t count the labor involved in stripping off the ugly white paint, refinishing and staining the dresser. But it’s held up nicely through daily use and several moves.
I can’t imagine that it cost more than $50 when new.
The son of friends of my parents owns several lower-end furniture stores in the Southern US. My understanding is that a big part of the profits comes from financing sales. (BTW, he made out like a bandit after one of the hurricanes resulted in many people in his area needing to replace all their furniture in a short time.)
