Ask HN: Where to buy good quality furniture?
27 comments
I buy used furniture. There is an insane amount of good quality used furniture that is sold or even given away for free. What you have to look out for is that it is made of good quality wood i.e. not particle board or other engineered woods. Everything else is then up to your taste.
I do not do it because I am cheap. You literally cannot find the same quality as new. I know because my uncle is a carpenter. The only way to get the same quality new is to commission the piece yourself, but then it takes lots of time and lots and lots of money. And I refuse to furnish my house with IKEA particleboard crap.
I do not do it because I am cheap. You literally cannot find the same quality as new. I know because my uncle is a carpenter. The only way to get the same quality new is to commission the piece yourself, but then it takes lots of time and lots and lots of money. And I refuse to furnish my house with IKEA particleboard crap.
Things to try and identify better quality:
* Look for signs of veneers. A veneer is a very thin piece of wood glued to the surface of particle board or plywood. If a piece of used furniture has some wear spots it should be easy to see if the wood beneath the wear is the same (fibers/grain of wood follow the top) or different.
* Another sign of veneers is large spans width wise that are the same grain pattern. Grain pattern follows how a tree grows and they peel veneers from a tree like you would peel the skin off an apple. A kitchen table width of like 30 inches that appears from one side to another with the same grain pattern might be a veneer. A solid wood table will likely have different boards laminated side-by-side to get a 30 inch width.
* Look at the joinery of drawers or doors. Joinery is where 2 pieces of wood are, well, joined together. If you find a piece with dovetails that is good - search online for dovetail joint for examples. It could be machined which is fine, its just a stronger joint. If you see nails/screws that indicates less craftsmanship.
* Look at the bottom or back and/or bottom/back of drawers for markings from the builder of the furniture. Look the name up online, it could be a manufacturer name.
* Look for signs of veneers. A veneer is a very thin piece of wood glued to the surface of particle board or plywood. If a piece of used furniture has some wear spots it should be easy to see if the wood beneath the wear is the same (fibers/grain of wood follow the top) or different.
* Another sign of veneers is large spans width wise that are the same grain pattern. Grain pattern follows how a tree grows and they peel veneers from a tree like you would peel the skin off an apple. A kitchen table width of like 30 inches that appears from one side to another with the same grain pattern might be a veneer. A solid wood table will likely have different boards laminated side-by-side to get a 30 inch width.
* Look at the joinery of drawers or doors. Joinery is where 2 pieces of wood are, well, joined together. If you find a piece with dovetails that is good - search online for dovetail joint for examples. It could be machined which is fine, its just a stronger joint. If you see nails/screws that indicates less craftsmanship.
* Look at the bottom or back and/or bottom/back of drawers for markings from the builder of the furniture. Look the name up online, it could be a manufacturer name.
Even modern high end furniture is often veneer. The reason for this is manufactured lumber (plywood) is dimensionaly stable and won’t shrink/expand with the seasons. That can allow for more unusual shapes better finish with fewer gaps. Also you can have finish with more exotic wood like teak that’s simply not available in quantity anymore.
"The only way to get the same quality new is to commission the piece yourself, but then it takes lots of time and lots and lots of money."
Certainly expensive. There's Bassett Furniture. I'm not sure about the materials in the standard stuff, but they do have a custom order site.
Certainly expensive. There's Bassett Furniture. I'm not sure about the materials in the standard stuff, but they do have a custom order site.
This was my modus operandi as well until I realized it’s a great way to get bed bugs.
I still buy used furniture, but never from goodwill markets or student housings.
I still buy used furniture, but never from goodwill markets or student housings.
You mentioned Pottery Barn so I figure that's somewhere in North America.
After a childhood in the Appalachian zone, I was dismayed at any furniture I found for sale at retail in California. Usually hopelessly expensive or very poor quality, sometimes both.
I never truly sorted out that situation, so there are sure to be a bunch of places that have such. But I don't know.
The way I solved this for myself was to simply go to the mountains of north Georgia, eastern Tennessee, west Carolinas. Stuff at garage sales (now Craigslist, I suppose) would be better than any chance encounter I found in CA. And the furniture stores had high quality, mid high prices, but not as impossible as the stuff in showrooms in the Left Coast.
I've encountered random fantastic furniture at an import warehouse, or at estate sales, west of the Pecos River. But no systematic trend there.
After a childhood in the Appalachian zone, I was dismayed at any furniture I found for sale at retail in California. Usually hopelessly expensive or very poor quality, sometimes both.
I never truly sorted out that situation, so there are sure to be a bunch of places that have such. But I don't know.
The way I solved this for myself was to simply go to the mountains of north Georgia, eastern Tennessee, west Carolinas. Stuff at garage sales (now Craigslist, I suppose) would be better than any chance encounter I found in CA. And the furniture stores had high quality, mid high prices, but not as impossible as the stuff in showrooms in the Left Coast.
I've encountered random fantastic furniture at an import warehouse, or at estate sales, west of the Pecos River. But no systematic trend there.
Genuinely, used. People selling nice furniture are usually moving and it doesn’t fit/suit your new place and they want it gone quickly so it’s cheap. You will occasionally get a disappointment or a dud, but in return you pay a third or even less sticker price, putting premium beautiful furniture in the same price range as budget stuff.
I haven’t got a single piece of furniture in my house I bought new, after gradually replacing the ikea rubbish I got when I moved out a decade ago. It is much easier if you have a ute or similar to transport it though.
I haven’t got a single piece of furniture in my house I bought new, after gradually replacing the ikea rubbish I got when I moved out a decade ago. It is much easier if you have a ute or similar to transport it though.
I do similar and put searches with an alert around wealthier suburbs. Generally gets the best quality and cheaply as many people in these areas want stuff gone and value quick removal over best price.
I have a ute and trailer which makes it much easier.
I have a ute and trailer which makes it much easier.
> I do similar and put searches with an alert around wealthier suburbs.
On what sites?
On what sites?
I use Gumtree mostly. Its popular in Australia and UK only I believe.
I look at FB market place and Ebay occasionally.
I look at FB market place and Ebay occasionally.
> Genuinely, used.
Where?
Where?
It’ll depend on your country what sites are popular of course; I use gumtree and Facebook marketplace.
We buy most of ours at an "antique" shop - I use quotes because it's really a guy who buys stuff from estate sales and refurbishes it, I don't know what else to call it.
We've outfitted our house with lots of good quality wood furniture for less than you would pay at a box store in most cases. If you can find a local store like that, it's your best bet
We've outfitted our house with lots of good quality wood furniture for less than you would pay at a box store in most cases. If you can find a local store like that, it's your best bet
I bought a $150 used couch that had poorly designed legs that collapsed. We live in a farmhouse but it is a style I’d expect to see in an nyc apartment. My son put roller casters on it that lock in place and I am laying in it now.
First you go everywhere local that does not sell new furniture. Does not. New furniture is the pits. It's like a new car. You spend years worrying about the damage you're doing to it, the money you've lost, the depreciation, the interest you're paying on that depreciation, etc. New furniture tortures you like anything that's new. Then you set a budget and start selectively buying used furniture. I give you a 100% guarantee that you will love this process. You get to see your furniture in real life, you get sit in it and see how comfortable it is, you get to know that it's had real life behind it. Once you find that one unique sofa, that one table, that one thing that really speaks to your heart, build your furniture stable around that one piece at a time and it will be uniquely you, composed entirely of previously owned stuff, will have cost you anywhere from nothing to far, far less than Pottery Barn, and you'll get some fun out of it too.
This living room is uniquely me. This is the furniture I chose for myself because I liked it when I saw it, I liked it when I sat in it, because it speaks to me. I bought this sofa from this chick who got it from this dude over here, and you wouldn't believe what you told me about how she got it into her 10th floor apt.
This is not $5,000 of furniture that I have to “get used to sitting in” because it makes a statement about who I think I'm supposed to be, because Pottery Barn told me style looks like $5,000 of furniture I don't need.
F** that. Hit the garage sales, hit the thrift stores, hit the estate sales, especially in wealthy areas, have some fun.
If you make something that's you, you can keep the picture of the Pottery Barn setup and paste it on your refrigerator with a magnet. Each time you pass by it you can snicker at it, how you almost made the worst possible choice: new furniture.
If you can afford Pottery Barn, you can afford someone to pick it up and bring it to your place. Don't worry about shipping/moving yourself. Just pay for it.
Just be aware of that what you pay for shipping now, you will pay again when you move and again and again and again as many times as you move.
This living room is uniquely me. This is the furniture I chose for myself because I liked it when I saw it, I liked it when I sat in it, because it speaks to me. I bought this sofa from this chick who got it from this dude over here, and you wouldn't believe what you told me about how she got it into her 10th floor apt.
This is not $5,000 of furniture that I have to “get used to sitting in” because it makes a statement about who I think I'm supposed to be, because Pottery Barn told me style looks like $5,000 of furniture I don't need.
F** that. Hit the garage sales, hit the thrift stores, hit the estate sales, especially in wealthy areas, have some fun.
If you make something that's you, you can keep the picture of the Pottery Barn setup and paste it on your refrigerator with a magnet. Each time you pass by it you can snicker at it, how you almost made the worst possible choice: new furniture.
If you can afford Pottery Barn, you can afford someone to pick it up and bring it to your place. Don't worry about shipping/moving yourself. Just pay for it.
Just be aware of that what you pay for shipping now, you will pay again when you move and again and again and again as many times as you move.
Pro tip, Craigslist man with van service is probably the cheapest way to move used furniture
I like article.com - got my couch and dining table both relatively expensive, but it's been awesome so far. Their assembly is usually simple, service is good too!
Room and Board is a similar price point but better quality IMO. They also have free return post delivery in case you don't like it after it finally shows up
I go used or Ikea, no in-between. Other commenters have detailed why used is the way to go. But occasionally it's too much effort, in which case I would rather get the simple Ikea version than pay a ridiculous markup for a shoddier ikea with a weird design (which is what a lot of the stores like pottery barn are).
Used and refinished. If you’re willing to put lot money in it, the Amish make some really good furniture. Personally I like this store in the Bay Area, but I think they take orders and deliver. https://fentonmaclaren.com/
It depends on what pieces you are looking for and what style. There does not seem to be much of a middle price point for furniture. Either it’s ikea like or it’s high end at 4-5k a piece. The stuff in the middle is really lackluster and more like overpriced ikea stuff.
i started building my own, its fun.
Living spaces is pretty solid.
Consignment stores are great
Estate sales.
Craigslist
You should have children. Kills any desire for nice things.
Who sells good furniture at a similar price point?