Buying Furniture Online

[ChooChoo]

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any recommendations for good sites to buy furniture online? We''re looking for a living room set, and we want to get it delivered to our house. Good price is key!

We prefer new, but would check out used furniture, too.

 

[sumi]

check out designwithinreach.com

They have great furniture by the world's best designers. Some amazing pieces! It's on the pricey side, but they're actually a bargain for what you're getting. They have a few showrooms. I only know of the ones in Southern California: Pasadena and Santa Monica. I think they also have a few showrooms in the Bay Area (where to company is based). I know they have some outside of CA too.

 

[hoorray]

Hey Sumi -- I love designwithinreach!

Choochoo...They specialize in the "mid-century" modern look and carry some of the modern classics, so they are not everyone's style, but I love them. The great thing about DWR is you don't have to wait 12 - 16 weeks to receive the items.


Another one to try is www.Roomandboard.com. They are still contempoary but not quite as "out there" modern.


BOth have great quality, so you are pretty safe ordering items sight unseen. (One of the hassles of buying online is the return shipping can be a pain and/or expensive if it is not right.)

Good luck!

 

[sumi]

yeah, design within reach has some great stuff. I'm droooooooling over the Eames plywood chairs, the Le Corbusier (sorry for the spelling) chaise, the Mies pavillion chair, and the Noguchi table.

It's dangerous to get their catalog. I'm also walking distance from a showroom which is VERY dangerous. My husband and I go to the showroom often just to sit in the cool chairs and drool for a while. I'm sure the people in the store recognize us as the couple that never buys anything! Ha ha ha!

 

[hoorray]

My husband has wanted the Le Corbusier chaise for years. I might break down and get it for him for his b-day if I can figure out where it will go. (It's the only piece of furniture he has ever "bonded" with.

) I love the Noguchi table also. We have several Aalto chairs and tables -- similar concept to the Eames.

Their showrooms must be getting better. Last time I was in one, the chairs were all hanging from the wall, and you couldn't sit in most of them.

 

[moremoremore]

I have purchased most of my furniture online. I go to the expensive showrooms or go to furniturelandsouth.com which has the most comprehensive web site with TONS AND TONS of pictures online. I pick the item ... and then I call my girl Ashley at Blacksfurniture.com. I purchased my clayton marcus couch and loveseat and saved SO much money. I also purchased new end tables and a TV armoire. The savings is unbelievable. I also purchased my bedroom furniture from house-of-france.com through robertsoftulsa.com (an antoque dealer who also carried this reproduction line through house of france). I had real problems with them only b/c the set came with night tables that were different stains...they made good ....about a year later...but here it is: it's the set in the middle...it is much lighter and distressed in person....amazing stuff...but fairly expensive...but much better quality than some of that trash online...I also love mitchell gold which is a great value...they actually make storehouse furniture and I believe restortion hardware or pottery barn furniture!!! The only think about buying online is that if it comes wrong/defective...it's a pain in the butt....for example, my tv armoire has a problem with the latch so when the doors close, they are a little uneven...no biggie for me...but if the stuff came from a local place, I would have had them replace it!

 

[moremoremore]

Oops, here is the bedroom....I love my buddy Louis Philippe! LOL
But seriously, go to furniturelandsouth.com or blacksfurniture.com. They give you prices over the phone....delivery isn't that much...and there is no tax assuming you don't live in north carolina! THe prices will blow your mind!

http://www.house-of-france.com/gallery%20pages/furniture%20gallery.htm

 

[sevens one]

Cool info MMM, it's always great to get a "deal", especially with furniture. That stuff is so expensive. People don't know there are ways around the "ticket" price.
Nice bedroom furniture. Love that sleigh bed-gotta King?
Nan

 

[moremoremore]

Thanks nan!!! I do love it...It's on the dark side...so I kept my walls an almost white with bright white trim and then did the bed etc in blue and white...a little toile in there too which I love...blue and white is so calming...and with the dark furniture it looks cool...and I just finished painting and then distressing the heck out of this huge old mirror made from this dark barn wood...put it over the dresser...looks super cool!

hell yeah I have a king...it's ALMOST like he's not even there...lol...

 

[moremoremore]

here's a better pic of the bedroom...it's on the lighter side...and NO, I did not get marble on my nightstands! lol

http://www.robertsoftulsa.com/LouisPhillipe.html

 

[dilipshinde]

----------------
On 4/18/2004 3:26:45 PM ChooChoo wrote:

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any recommendations for good sites to buy furniture online? We're looking for a living room set, and we want to get it delivered to our house. Good price is key!

We prefer new, but would check out used furniture, too.----------------

Hi,
Unless you actually see the furniture in a local store and know its exact item # DO NOT BUY ONLINE.
I had a horror of an experience at Blacks Furniture in High Point, North Carolina. Salesperson Christina is a liar and the owner refuses to talk to you on phone. They sent non matching furniture because the salesperson wrote down wrong item # from the catalog and refuse to take them back unless I pay one-third restocking fees..
Also instead of repairing small damage(scratches) in your own house they say that the transporters will pick them up and take it back to north carolina and then bring it back. One of those pieces weighs more than 300 pounds.
Stay away from Blacks Furniture store in High Point North Carolina.
Dilip

 

[moremoremore]

oh my....well, I purchased my my couch, love seat, armoire, and two end tables from them and it was a breeze. Sorry for the bad experience. OF COURSE, you can NEVER buy online unless you go see it in a local store first. That's buying blind...you have to be really sure of the item #s too...I confirmed them with the manufacturers...SO sorry you have the problems. I had a great experience!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Great tips! I am getting more and more confident ordering online these days...

I have a good furniture-gone-bad story: I bought a bedroom set from Huffman Koos....and the delivery was all screwed up. We were moving into our house and chose this set PRECISLEY b/c it was in stock and could all be delivered. We went through GREAT PAINS to ask and ensure the set we chose would be available for complete delivery BEFORE we spent our first night in the house. Well, to make a long story somewhat shorter, they delivered it in 3 stages (wihtout warning us); we had no bed the first 4 nights in the house; they whacked my $1,600 crystal light fixture completely off the ceiling while trying to get the armoire into the bedroom, and on the last delivery day, they were supposed to be there between 10 am and 12 noon and didn't show up until 11 PM!!!!!!!! after telling me all day on the phone that they were "circling the neighborhood and would be right there." i was supposed to pick my husband up from the train station and he was stranded, and of course, 5 min before they showed up, it began to pour so they had to tramp through my house into my upstairs with its beautiful NEW CREAM CARPETS. UGH. then, the nightstand was missing hardware. And I didn't even like the nightstand...

so that Saturday, i loaded the unwanted nightstand into my convertible and we drove to the showroon. I walked in, went to customer service desk, and told them what had happened, then told them calmly and politely that not only were they going to refund my $75 delivery charge, they were taking this nightstand back and creditng my account immediately. The clerk was like, "Oh we don't accept merchandise back here at the hshowroom--you'lll have to make another appt. and someone will come and get it." I said "Like hell you aren't. Are you kidding me? I am not wasting another vacation day off of work to wait for your delivery people." She started protesting and I just turned my back to her and told my husband to "let's go." We went, lifted the thing out of the car, brought it in and plopped right smack dab in the middle of the store, at the hight of the Saturday July 4th sale weekend.

Needless to say i got my money back and the refund...and I'll NEVER buy from them again.

Sorry to hijack the thread but I've always wanted to tell that story!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Oh, and I just bought a desk chair from homedecorators.com.... they aren't high-end but they have a lot of "filler" pieces....they were the only place i found that sold single chairs in different styles. They are good when you need that one odd piece of a fill-in item. I had a very postive experience, as I had to return the first item. They sent a free return label and the stuff got here very fast. Very satisfied.

I posted the chairs in a thread about stripping cherry wood in this line of posts...

 

[sevens one]

----------------
On 6/11/2004 10:13:20 PM Jennifer5973 wrote:

We went, lifted the thing out of the car, brought it in and plopped right smack dab in the middle of the store, at the hight of the Saturday July 4th sale weekend.

Needless to say i got my money back and the refund...and I'll NEVER buy from them again.

Wow, what an experience. Good for you for standing strong. One thing lacking these days: Good customer Service!
Nan



----------------

 

[moremoremore]

Oye Jennifer .... that sucks...I never purchased from them...I'm sure I'm banned anyway...lol...I was in there on many occassions looking at clayton marcus fabrics...I had NO intention of buying there....just taking covert notes and looking at fabric...The funny thing about homedecorators is that they carry some of the same rugs that Horchow does...a lot of their stuff is crappola..but yeah, I totally know what you mean by 'filler' pieces...they have some cute stuff....I won't be buyingg anything for a while...gotta get myself under control

... I do think about what happens when my sofa collapses ... I gotta ship it back to NC? ...but that better not happen for a while....I do most of my shopping online though...I try to find designer pieces and other looks I like from magazines (don't even get me started about Veranda magazine...OMG)...I get the el'cheapo versions!

 

[moremoremore]

I feel like sharing...lol...this is the armoire I got from Blacks online...I will admit on this piece though, I never saw the exact piece in person...it's a lot bigger than I thought...I really llike Broyhill...I think they are really inexpensive for the quality...I mean, it's not exactly high end, but it's pretty well constructed for the price...http://www.broyhillfurn.com/Index.asp?Action=ProductCatalogItemDetails&CollectionID=139172&CategoryID=7828&ItemID=1781868

OMG- that reminds me when I bought this CRAZY ornate french reproduction armoire from this place called OnceAgain Home decor (think they are online also)...the thing was SOOOOOOOOO HUUUUGGEEE, that it sat in my dining room...it wouldn't fit down the hall into the bedroom....when we moved, I had to pay the moving men to move it to someone's house..I gave it to them for 100 bucks...lo...lesson learned...

 

[moremoremore]

ohhh, jennifer, I bet you like:

http://www.domain-home.com

It's really overpriced and I hate that girly sh*t, but they have some great stuff and it's an awesome place to get ideas!!!!! I've never purchased from there b/c I think it's too high priced for the merchandise....but it's pretty!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Hey, MMM: My Mom is an impeccable decorator and our home growing up was out of Architectural Diget--Her trick? When we were young, we'd all go to the furniture store--Huffman Koos, Ethan Allen, etc. and while she chatted up the salesperson, my little brother would crawl on the floor and look under the tables for the syle numbers so she could get the same crap from S. Carolina at 30-50% savings! It looked like we were playing aorund but he was telling me the numbers and I was writing them down in my pink Hello Kitty pad.

And my mom was the queen of Horschow catalog--I have to give you credt. Most people I know have NEVER heard of Horschow--or Ballard Designs...have that one???

She was ahead of her time...I say "was" becasue she's older now and my parents are divorced and she's slowed down but her home is still adorable.

There is a Domain store close by in one of the malls...not the same selection as online but some nice stuff ... No, I am NOT girly...I like color and really clean lines!

My bedroom set is Broyhill and I was very pleased. But all the websites you've introduced here may get me in trouble... And I have been doing the magaine copying look for years--why spend a gazillion dollars when you really can get the same look for 1/2? I am also a BIG sale shopper. Believe it or not, i always thought Macy's had some great furniture--and not cheap. I copied a couple of looks form their showroom with more affordbale stuff...but I did get my leopard chaise from there! My mom ALWAYS said you need one seating element in your bedroom besides the bed. I remember she had an antique boudoir chair with a deep red velvet seat.

If you have some imagination and a little gumption, you can really do anything.

 

[sevens one]

Since we're sharing about furniture, my other passion: my bedroom set is Kincaid-from the American Artifacts collections. Curved sleigh bed. I let hubby pick out all our furniture when we moved to our new home in 2001. I had picked out our stuff when we first married and lived in an apt. I didn't want to hear any complaining: (secrets for long marriage-compromise)
I love this set. It's somewhat massive but it is some sturdy sh*t. I love the curved design-helps tone done the masculinity. I would browse in stores, find what I like, write down the numbers and call a dealer in Florida. Their prices were out of site. I couldn't believe it. And all their stuff checked out. Once I received a piece I would call the manufacturer and verify.

Anyhow I decorate in spurts. Sometimes I could give a damn and other times I want to redo the whole place.

Jenn, I loved how you and your brother would help mom. That is totally classic. The tricks we do. Your mom's a clever gal!!!
Nan

ps-I was going to attach a picture of the set from Kincaid's website but they don't have any good pictures. Oh well. We do have some Broyhill in the house too. Love it.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Nan, that bedroom sounds great--I love sleigh beds. So romantic!

Yu're right--why pay retail? It's even worht the little risk like MMM had. And I LIVE in my furnitutre--anyting upolstered has to go every few years... I can't spend $5,000 on a sofa-ridiculous.

 

[moremoremore]

Jennifer: I really needed a giggle this morning....and the thought of you kids crawling under tables to get style numbers is so funny...MAYBE I'll have kids after all...I can put them to work...LOL...I love looking at Horchow stuff...a lot of the stuff is a bit too ornate for me, but some of that stuff is amazing. And yes, OMG, I love ballard designs....!!!! They have some great stuff ... And too funny- my sister got my Architectural Digest for X-Mas...your mom sounds awesome...!!!!!

 

[moremoremore]

Nan: Kincaid makes really nice stuff!!! I'd love to see a pic!!!! That was really brave letting the man pick the stuff out....but sounds like he had great taste...WHen I got married, I "let" my husband pick out the flatware...ICK. I returned most of it and he doesn't even know...he thinks the stuff we use is what he picked out..lol

It's so funny how us furniture freaks found eachother even before we knew we were into furniture!!!

I love this stuff. I just think a home should be your refuge. And you don't have to spend a lot to do it! I also like to mix and match...I'm not a fan of places like pottery barn where everything is already put together...all very cutsie and the same cr*p all the time... I think my sister really got me into decorating...although her budget is SLIGHTLY (ok, a whole hell of a lot) different than mine- so I'm always jealous of the amazing stuff she buys...She's so into it she has become an official Kravet fabric dealer, so she gets such good prices, but that stuff is usually still to rich for my blood...I love it even though I can't often 'put it into practice'...I like to look and imagine ... even if I can't afford it, I still get a high from it...

 

[Jennifer5973]

----------------
...I like to look and imagine ... even if I can't afford it, I still get a high from it...

----------------

Sort of like when I try on the 5 ct eRing at my jewelers????

I love Ballard--I have several different things from there...Have you ever seen the Lemon Tree oil on canvas repro? I have it in my dining room...

 

[moremoremore]

I just went to look and didn't see it...maybe they don't have it anymore? I have a real thing for lemons actually...lol...seriously, I love anything lemons...we think alike!

I've had my eyes on this chair: It's actually very reasonable for Ballard...so I have doubts about quality...I'd do my own fabric...
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/bd/pdp.jsp?prod_oid=269380&showarrow=y&category_key=-15148&cursor=5

And I really want to post this print...it's cheezy...but it just cracks me up...I get tons of junk mail and saw it and fell in love...I'm thinking about getting it and sticking it in the spare room- it cracks me up so much...

http://www.sturbridgeyankee.com/DetailsList.cfm?ID=10234714

 

[moremoremore]

Here is a better picture...I think this would be a rip in a very fancy, ornate frame...lol


http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:9xrykuIsucgJ:www.globalgallery.com/enlarge/019-25790/+diving+pig+print&hl=en

 

[sevens one]

Hey nice chair MMM. I'm going to take some serious time and check out all the websites you've mentioned. Boy do I feel a wave of decorating coming????
And do I smell Bacon? Sorry
Nan

 

[moremoremore]

LOL....mmmmmmm, bacon.

 

[Jennifer5973]

I like the chair a lot--is it on casters? The fabric is a RIOT. I think it'd be a real conversation piece...if you're gonna do it put it in the living room.

 

[moremoremore]

yeah, it's on casters...the only thing is that my coffee table is on casters, and my sofa and loveseat have exposed legs...so that's a whole lotta legs and casters! I do like the line of it...guess I could put a skirt on it!.... I want that pig print...think I'm going to get it...it's so funny ...just stuck in there will all the serious stuff...it makes me laugh...