apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Thank you for this post!

I have a quibble with your math in the Ikea vs. Room and Board desk example--where's the time value of money in your calculations, eh?--but in general, very good tips.

Don't forget freecycle! When I moved from my small apartment into my even smaller condo, I had to get rid of some excess furniture (and a microwave, and several boxes of books I'd winnowed from my collection). I had no time or energy to tote them to donate or sell, and using freecycle helped me find many people willing to come take my stuff away and give it good homes. People are always trying to give away decent free things on it--they just don't want to see it tossed into the garbage!

Great guide! I might add - ask around your family. Many people have storage units/garages full of nice things they aren't using for whatever reason. Be open to rehabbing pieces via painting, refinishing, slipcovers, etc.

Also, hanging around the dumpsters at university campuses during May/June can yield all sorts of stuff - not necessarily QUALITY stuff, but stuff that can tide you over.

Good tips!
I know this problem well. It seems like I have expensive taste.. but I have not yet been able to buy any of these expensive items.. (thought I got a promotion, and regularly daydream about how I can save up for a few eames chairs)

My favorite resource is the Re-Store (re-building center). There were a few up in Washington.. and a new one here in Portland. They salvage things like cabinets, windows, doors, light fixtures.. so on and so forth, from construction/deconstruction sites. You could get an old 5-panel solid wood door for $5-20 and make it into a real snazzy desk.
I bought a large victorian-looking wall cabinet (im thinking its for a kitchen with very high ceilings) and now use it as a book/movie cabinet (has doors!).
I also found a nice 3' round "bistro" style table there for $10. the finish on the table surface is a liitle damaged.. but i plan on taking a sander to it and refinishing it one of these days..

If only Toronto had the same Craigslist finds as NY, LA, SF - I would live in a more regal budget-friendly palace.

Jenny, I hear that! I can't believe the stuff to be found on CL in the U.S. Here in Toronto it's all 80s overstuffed couches going for $800! People need to get real.

I just scored an almost-new Kartell F/LY pendant on Craigslist this week. You do have to dig through a lot, but you can find great stuff.

Ha! I hear you, Jenny and snoopy. Here in Vancouver, Craigslisters take a pretty broad use of the word "vintage". It's annoying. But I did once see a 1970s Ligne Roset sectional, which gave me a general sense of hope. :)

One thing that's good about Canada, though, is that you can occasionally still score on eBay.ca with items that are being sold in Canada. I've nabbed eight Eames side shell chairs in two separate auctions, and I paid a total of about $500, including shipping. It helps that the chairs are a bit scuffed (which I personally like, but which seems to deter Yankee Eames enthusiasts from going to the trouble of trying to bring them through customs, heh).

That brings me to the tip I was coming here to post:

If the piece of furniture is structurally sound, don't be turned off by signs of wear, especially in non-visible places. A few years ago, I picked up two Eames arm shells at a local used furniture store. I paid $200 for the pair because some previous owner had made the goofy mistake of painting the legs chrome... without removing them from the shell. No big deal. I bought two new rocker bases online for another $200. Sure, my chairs have a bit of chrome spray on their undersides, but nobody can see it. I'm not trying to impress anybody and I'm not into the idea of my furniture as "collector's items" so it doesn't bother me at all. I just love the way my rockers look.

Since we're talking about craigslist in Toronto... I've noticed that we always seem to have more than our fair share of "rod-iron" pieces for sale...

Great post. Regarding the 4th tip, we've used what we call the 10-year rule when we buy big ticket items. Will we like it as much in 10 years as we do today? If we can honestly say we think we will, then it's worth spending extra for a quality piece.

Another tip is don't be afraid to negotiate. We bought our sofa new from Roche Bobois several years ago and the sales person kindly worked with me on the price, holding my order until a sale and working other angles to bring the price down (we saved a nice bit of money over the asking price). Hey, it doesn't hurt to politely ask.

You've forgotten one more tip: Go to North Carolina! There you can find high quality American-made furniture (though less and less these days) at deeply discounted prices (usually 70%), as well as even more discounted pieces in warehouses and outlets. You can fly Skybus for $10-$40 one way to Greensboro, NC and then drive to High Point and Hickory. All these places will ship your furniture anywhere in the country. This is how I got my $4000 baker sofa in the upholstery of my choice for only $1600.

PS I swear I am not a shill. I just happen to live in NC and am surprised how few people know about the deals to be had on furniture here (seriously- even our salvage stores are full of vintage and used high end finds from the NC furniture business).

Miriam, when I was little my mom flew to North Carolina to buy a dining room set. That's so funny...you must have really good furniture there. :)

I've managed to find some quality vintage furniture on Craig'slist and on Ebay in my area. I think it helps that I'm in the midwest and not everyone has designer taste here. Less competition.

AH HIGH POINT NC!!!

If you're furnishing an entire apt. or house I do recommend making the trip down!

My parents went to the (now gone Sad Sad) Rose furniture in High Point, NC and brought their little excel document of what they wanted and needed for their new Condo. How cute!?

Example. Back when it was Marshall Fields' (Ahhhhhh Good old Marshall Fields!!!) My parents saw a Thomas O'Brien couch they wanted. It was $16,000. Yes. A couch.

They went to High Point bought a BUNCH of furniture, bookshelves, couches, tables, loveseat and of course, that SAME THOMAS O'BRIEN COUCH in the fabric of their choice, only they paid $6000.

Now, for me, I don't think I'd ever purchase a couch for that much but it is quite nice and it was over HALF what Marshall Field's charges.

There are books you can buy about going to North Carolina and buying furniture. There is shipping cost, but I believe no tax. So it works out pretty even.

I can't wait to go maybe next year!!

If only Ottawa had the same Craigslist finds as Toronto!

Oh, davidasposted, you don't even wanna THINK about the Craigslist offerings in Saskatoon...

Trust me. Ottawa is paradise, brother.

I wanted to mention the Room & Board outlet just outside of Minneapolis, where you can find people lining up outside in 20 degree weather an hour before hand to get in. The maximum discount seems to be 50% off. Every weekend the item is there is get marked down even more.
I save all the catalogs and do Craigslist searches on Room & Board all the time. My other words are Walnut, Teak and Danish- all yield quality stuff.

I like these ideas because I am planning to buy my own place in the near future.

I believe the Lenox 65" sofa is now $999.

Learn to spot quality and learn what it costs. The very best deals are at garage sales or on craigslist, but it may not be obvious what you are looking at and you pretty much have to decide on the spot to make the purchase.

Getting great deals means being a skilled shopper who knows how to recognize quality, knows what they want and need, and knows what a good price is. This means spending some time developing your eye.