The first thing to do is to think about the basics: What furniture pieces can’t you live without? Make yourself a list. Now, what kind of motif would you be comfortable living in? Whether it’s modern, traditional, or kitschy, keep it in mind when furniture hunting, and try to build around it. Now for the actual hunting:
- Estate Sales: Check your local newspapers, supermarket publications, and posting boards for estate sales. When a person passes away, the family may choose to sell some of their belongings along with their house. You’re not likely to find yourself purchasing a five-dollar couch, but beautiful, quality furniture can be found in excellent shape at half its market value.
- Consignment stores: Instead of holding garage sales, some people sell their furniture to consignment stores. They share the profit with the store, so you won’t find rock-bottom prices, exactly, but you may find some good deals.
- Charity Stores: Goodwill, Salvation Army, Deseret Industries, and other charitable-cause stores feature rock-bottom prices, because the goods you’ll find there were donated. Since charity stores do not function for a profit, they don’t need to sell at a profitable price. You can find all sorts of furniture, including tables, dressers, desks, TV stands, bed frames and more.
- Yard Sales: Be patient if you’re frequenting yard sales, and shop with an eye to refinish. You can haggle your way to a very cheap piece of furniture if you’re willing to refinish as needed. For example, that couch you’re just not sure about? Find a beautiful slipcover or blanket and pillows and you’re in business. You can also find excellent pieces for creating your own furniture: Find an oversized wicker basket, turn it upside down and cover it with a piece of glass. Now, you have a cute coffee table with storage space underneath!
Think you’ll end up with a bunch of motley, unmatched furniture by going to yard sales? Remember that you can do a little sanding and painting to create a matching set yourself. - Online wholesale stores: Go to manufacturer’s stores and shop around. Write down the pieces you like, including their names, models, styles and colors. Then, go online and find a few wholesale stores. You may find furniture much like your favorites at 40-70 percent off the sticker price!
- High Point, North Carolina: Known as the furniture capital of world, High Point is home to 125 furniture plants and more than 60 retail furniture stores who sell their products at amazing discounts. You can find them online and buy at below-wholesale prices — do take shipping costs into consideration, of course.
- Furniture outlets: Many manufacturers have outlet stores where you can buy slightly imperfect merchandise at lower prices. Some even have “scratch and dent” rooms right in the back of their regular stores. Ask a salesperson if there are any imperfect furniture pieces that you could get a deal on.
- Model-home sales and hotel-furniture sales: These are two options that most people don’t think of. Model-home builders show houses with matching, custom made, quality furniture, and after repeated showings, it shows a bit of wear and tear. Contact their sales offices to inquire about purchasing furniture. Also, check your local yellow pages for hotel surplus stores, where redecorating hotels sell their used goods. These stores are also a good source of custom-made, matching furniture.
By Nicole Zillmer