Where do you buy all your furniture from ??

[mumtosp]

Hi all,

I've never owned any furniture as I've always rented fully furnished flats. Finally moving into a house which I get to furnish !! :)
Very excited, but also very confused about where to shop !!??

I obviously need all the basics: sofa, dinning room furniture, beds, chest of drawers, wardrobes... and then I need the added accessories...

So where do you suggest I go? Should I get everything from one shop or go to different places for all the various pieces ?
Need the basics sorted within a month - so it's really stressing me out right now :(

Thanks in advance for all your help ! :)

[Catnipbush]

Different places unless you want a boring show home? Don't rush into buying lots all in one go. Spend time in the house, get a feel for it and look around lots of places.

I love mixing higher end new items with up cycled flea market style finds.

[wonderstuff]

IKEA you will struggle to find furniture as good quality that's cheaper. Even second hand stuff on eBay rarely beats it for value IMO.

Always worth being on free cycle and looking on gum tree though. We have a couple of charity shop finds and it's worth checking if your town has a furniture project. I don't like buying new things, seems a bit wasteful, but most of my furniture is Ikea and the stuff that isn't hasn't lasted as well.

[playftseforme]

IKEA :-)

[propertydecisions]

Ikea
Second hand shops
eBay second hand ikea/ other.

My sofas are from M&S though. Bought with wedding money.

[TheReverseStitch]

Ikea for almost everything except the sofas.

[Catnipbush]

Laura ashley for sofas and dining table.

[Breatheslowly]

Ikea for most stuff, sofa from furniture village (regretting not going for better quality now), beds from John Lewis. Get the best mattress you can afford as you use your bed lots. Ikea will deliver which makes it better than it used to be. We also have some big warehouses of discounted big brand furniture near us. We haven't ever got anything from one, but it might be worth a look.

[BeanoNoir]

I'd ask around / let it be known amongst friends and family. Some people have lovely stuff that they don't have a use for or know someone who is moving and wants rid of a quality item. Often you are doing someone as much of a favour by taking it off their hands as they are to you. We've got some really good quality, solid furniture that would have cost us hundreds in this way. Things we've bought have been next or ikea, which are nice but nowhere near as good quality as a good piece of antique furniture.

Personally I think a house can look too 'ikea-y' or too 'next-y' in a bad way iyswim, and having a mix of older and newer stuff makes a more natural looking home.

I agree with poster who said accumulate gradually. Get the basics then think about what else you might need/want.

[BeanoNoir]

Oh, big antique centres/shops are good for looking around - sometimes thou can pick up real bargains if you pick the right type of place.

[mumtosp]

Thanks for the quick responses :)
Will definitely look at second hand and charity shops.
Any advice on where I should buy good mattresses from... And also which type ??? (There seem to be too many !)

[nohalfmeasures]

You'll pick up some real bargains at your local auction house.
Our best ever new purchase was our suite. its was from M&S and is 15years old. Still going strong.Not going to change it until DC's are older.

[BikeRunSki]

Sofas - Laura Ashley and John Lewis
Bookcases, wardrobe, chest of drawers - made to measure by local carpenter
DC's beds - both hand me downs from friends
Bed - also made locally
Dining table and chairs - Habitat
DS has a fantastic wardrobe from The Children's Bedroom Centre

Then various bits an bats from Ikea, John Lewis, Oxfam, family...

[Ravenglass]

Try one of the big bed showrooms - to choose the right matters you need to lie on it to see how it feels and take your DH too so that can see how the mattress copes with two people sleeping on it.

Buy the best mattress and bed you can afford and haggle for it. We paid £800 for our king sized mattress and £600 for the bed frame. Worth every single penny for the amount of time you spend in it. Also make you buy a good mattress protector - if you spend that much on a mattress you want to look after it!

The place we bought ours from explained that two adults sleeping in a double bed have less space per person than if they each had a single bed - m DP is 6'2" and it's bliss having all that space each!

Agree with pp's, buy the basics to start with and then buy other things as and when. Houses look 'home-ier' when they've evolved naturally and not all been bought at the same time.

M&s and ikea are both good for sofas. Have a look to see if you have an end of line furniture place near you. I picked up a huge solid oak chest of drawers for £300 instead of £900 at one near me.

[Ravenglass]

One thing I would def do ( and I wish I'd done it myself - have found this out the hard way!) is choose a sofa with fully removable machine washable covers - mine aren't and it's hard work keeping them clean!

[devonsmummy]

I'd say get essentials like a bed
But see if anyone's giving away a sofa that you can use in the short term. It pays to live in the house & get a feel fit the space before making big purchases.
We rushed into buying sofas & ended up with lovely ones but not quite right for the room , size wise.
I think an eclectic mix of charity shop / boots sale finds with new items works well. A room that's grown rather than bought in one hit will reflect your tastes & personality

[TondelayoSchwarzkopf]

I agree with everything that everyone has said, a mix of Ikea, Freecycle, flea markets, second hand shops, hand me downs, high street and sale stuff but I would also say that you really don't need to get everything in a month. Make a list and prioritise - bed comes first IMO but it really is better to have nothing than to have something you don't like or a make do - unless it's free of course. We sat on boxes to watch TVfor 9 months while we looked for the right sofa and I still don't have bedside tables after two years!

[Tilly2b]

I always seem to end up with ikea and then get annoyed when everyone has her same set of shelves, coffee table etc as me! Although, I recently bucked the trend and bought something from //www.bespokee.co.uk It provides a pretty cool service for getting anything made bespoke.

[Housemum]

Pocket sprung mattress, as many coils as you can afford. Ours was a Hypnos one on a "special purchase" in the John Lewis sale - ie not a reduced item but a load that have been made in bulk to sell cheap. John Lewis sale usually end June/July.

Ikea drawers are fab - we stupidly bought some Argos/homebase ones once and regretted it.

Good luck, and don't be afraid to sit in empty rooms for a while to think about exactly what you need. Made the mistake many years back in first house of trying to get everything for moving in - hated the sofa and had we lived there sitting on beanbags for a few weeks think I'd have chosen differently!

[Tilly2b]

I agree with house mum about sitting in an empty house rather than getting everything at once - although I am still sitting in a pretty empty lounge one year on. In fact this thread has motivated me to start looking again...

[QueenMaeve]

Everywhere! It's taken me years to find the furniture that was right. Since moving to a new and bigger house 4 years ago, I had to start again. I've gotten things like beds from high street stores, but most of our stuff comes from independant homeware shops. I found it good when buying for a new house to have a bit saved up, then go in and buy a number of items and haggle to get a good deal. Auctions, Gumtree, 2nd hand shops are also a must.
I think it takes a wee while to be in a house to see how you want it to look first.

[NotGoodNotBad]

Why do you need everything within the first month? For a lot of stuff you can manage without until you find what you really like, rather than rushing to spend money just because you think you need it all straight away.

Just bought a new mattress - got a pocket sprung one from Bensons for Beds. But wherever you go, and whatever you fancy, lie down on it - for as long as you like, in your preferred sleeping position, and with your partner if you have one. Then try some others and do the same. It's the best way to tell.