Everyone likes saving money while getting good quality products. This is no more true than when you are doing some furniture shopping. There are ways to make sure you can stay within your home furnishing budget while getting good, quality furniture.
Tips for Getting Great Furniture for Less Money:
- Time your furniture shopping right. Throughout the year, the prices of various furniture changes. Memorial Day and Valentines Day are popular times for furniture shopping because there are always sales for these holidays. If you are looking into furnishing a home, these are good times to get the furniture you will need. There are also often sales after the December holidays and around the Fourth or July.
- Consider used furniture. When you start your furniture shopping, you may want to look at used items. You can get some great deals on furniture when you look at used products. You need to be careful and pay attention to the condition of the furniture when you buy it. Try it out and you may find you get some really nice furniture for a lot less money.
- Look for free stuff. There are Facebook groups and Craigslist posts with people who are giving away items that are in great shape that they do not want to use anymore. There are Freecycle sites all over the country where people post items that they are giving away. You cannot beat the price of free when you are furniture shopping. You can also tell people you khow what you are looking for and you may know someone who is giving those kinds of items away.
- Negotiate a better deal. Some people love to haggle with salespeople when they are furniture shopping. One phrase to remember is “they cannot say yes if you do not ask.” If you find a piece of furniture or a set, ask the salesperson if there is a way to get a lower price than what is on the tag. They may say no but they will not say yes if you do not ask. Furniture stores do have some discretion in what they can charge for the furniture items they are selling.
- Wood Specific Tips:
- Get to know the different kinds of wood that are available. You have a lot of options when you are looking at wood furniture products. Knowing the different kinds can help you make better decisions when you are planning furniture in a room. You can choose between solid wood, wood veneers and particle board. Solid wood is the most expensive. It looks great when you first buy it but can be marred by water rings and is easily scratched. The way veneers are made is to takes cheaper wood and add a few laters of a better quality of wood. These pieces can look great and do cost a lot less than solid wood. Composite wood, also called particle board, is made from plastics, resins and wood pulp. While you can get pieces that do not look bad, they will not hold up the way solid wood pieces will.
- Open the doors on cabinets and check the drawers. Whether you are doing your furniture shopping at a high end store or the local, consignment shop, you should make it a point to pull out all of the drawers and open any doors to see how they are working. You want to check everything out before you make any purchases. Pay attention to the knobs and handles. You want them to be on the items tightly and to not come off when you open the drawers and doors.
- Look for the use of glue and nails. Good quality wood products do not need glue or nails to hold them together. Good quality wood furniture is joined at the ends and corners. When the process, known as wood joinery is used, the resulting products are heavier, sturdier and generally of a better quality. Pieces that have been put together and held together with glue or nails are not going to last as long and are not the same quality.
At the end of the day, you should know that it is possible to get quality furniture products without spending a ton.