re: Furniture buying

The coffee table was actually something I built for a former boss at her hunting "cabin". By cabin I mean, their house on their hunting ranch which is finished out nicer than most peoples primary residence. Once or twice a year I get to go out there and spend the weekend hog hunting and they'll let me take a doe at the end of hunting season if they've gotten their bucks. But to answer your question, I am not sure what kind of couch it is.

we have narrowed it down to either sets by Durham or Mavin. both are on par with Bernhardt. There was a set by Bernhardt about 13 years ago that we almost purchased and when we finally went back to get it, they had stopped making it. tough because i would have been done with this and would have paid a fraction of the cost. oh well.

We recently bought a solid wood table (antique pine) online and I learned from that process that even with quality furniture, several brands will sell the same thing as their own. If you find something online, I recommend you do a reverse image search or dig through wayfair for variations of the same furniture. I was shocked how prevalent this is. Digging around, I was able to get our table for about $1k less than what we initially found it for.

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First….nice stuff is damn expensive.

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Yes. We buy mostly Bernhardt stuff when we buy new because it is well made, and they have a lot that fits the style in our house.

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Second….have no idea what good pricing is. I have been quoted 40% off retail for things we are interested in and not sure if this is a good price or should I push for something more.

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Pricing is nuts and varies widely. I looked up our dresser- there is a 50% difference in price among major/reputable/first page-type retailers. I’ve learned, also, that identical products exist across many brands (more true in mid-tier and lower-end stuff, less true on the top end). I’ve saved hundreds of dollars by starting with something like Wayfair where you can input a style, find 3-5 brands that offer the same product, search each of them across multiple sites until you find what works/is affordable. One example: the Birch Lane Gia bed and the Hillsdale Sausalito appear to be identical, despite carrying two manufacturer’s names (though you won’t find the Hillsdale on Wayfair right now. I bought it at AFA, Walmart’s online store also has it a bit cheaper). Beds are especially annoying because as you take this approach, you’ll often get queen prices one place when looking for King or some slight discrepanc (like shipping costs that don’t show up til later), so you have to pay close attention to what you’re looking at. Usually, there will be a pretty tight pricing pattern, but you can often save 10-20% by doing this.


But this is one of those weird cases where you actually may come out ahead buying an antique, and the advice to buy used wasn’t bad. Estate Sales will often have decent pricing on matched sets. And I’ve seen decent deals on Craigslist in some of the cities I’ve lived in.

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Last….mattresses. What is a reasonable mattress? Tempur-pedic cooling mattresses worth the extra dough? Are split mattresses really great or something that really matters.

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I will be an unpaid shill for Sleep EZ USA and their latex mattresses for a long time. I have one of their higher-priced ones (split, 3 layers per side, interchangeable) and then also one of their Roma Kings. I think latex is a far superior material than memory foam. Best advice I can give for this is to find a mattress store and lie on a few types of mattresses. I’ve spent quite a few nights on a Tempur-pedic. If latex didn’t exist, I’d probably have one of these. Coil mattresses just don’t compare to the foams, though. This is actually motivating me to upgrade my daughter’s mattress. She’s been sick, so I’ve spent a fair amount of time lying in her bed this last week. My back is quite sore from the experience.



ETA- surprising number of Bernhardt fans in here.

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We've had good luck with the quality of new furniture we've bought form Hurwitz Mintz on Airline in NOLA.

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I've gotten some things from them over the years and have no complaints. I only shop the sales for the better bang for the money.

I second vintage. It is all your personal taste, but I've replaced much of my furniture with vintage Danish furniture. It is incredibly crafted, not outlandishly expensive, and every single piece I could turn around and sell for at least what i paid. (what other furniture holds or grows in value?)

Make a free account in LiveAuctioneers and search about. There are several auction houses in NO, as well as Houston. Many bring in container loads of european furniture and the prices are surprisingly low (keep in mind most have a 25% buyer's premium)

My advice is this: buy a high quality brand US made, we chose Barnhardt, they have a slightly modern twist on classic styles. Also, try to get pieces that work together yet are not matchy matchy, as a 50 year old we were tired of our crap and got a designer to help us. I was scared to death. Best decision we have ever made. Just throwing that out there.

Tempur-pedic can mess up your back if you are the type who needs a firmer mattress. The best way to choose a mattress is to visit the store with your spouse and test a few to see what is most comfortable.

My inlaws buy all handmade Pennsylvania Amish furniture for their house.

Prettt expensive, but extremely good quality that will last generations.