Good Furniture

Mai-Kero

Is there an awesome site to shop around on for furniture, or should I just check out regular stores near me?

Pheezer

Depends on what kind of furniture you want. What exactly are you buying and what kind of style are you interested in?

Also, where the hell is near you? These are all very pertinent.

EggyToast

Shipping on furniture is usually expensive. It's also very difficult to get an idea of overall dimensions and size online, no matter how many measurements you take.

i've found that for most furniture shopping, it's best to simply type in what you're looking for, such as "hardwood sofa table" or "kitchen island." The regular retail places typically don't list everything that's available in stores, or have draconian shipping practices. Similarly, things that are listed online may not be in stores and vice versa.

I'd suggest looking in your local yellow pages to see what's nearby and spending a brief afternoon driving around and checking them all out, to see what kind of stuff they typically sell. A lot of stores have a wide variety, from ornate to pure shit. The key with furniture is that unless you really know what you're looking for, it's best to never buy on the first day -- not because of sales or anything, but so that you can compare different products. It's not like going to look for, I don't know, LCD monitors, where the same model will be at different stores but for different prices, but rather that each store will have entirely different products that may fit your needs or space in different ways. And, of course, at different prices.

Also, if you're looking for anything that's hardwood, it's often worthwhile to stop in at consignment-type stores, just to see what they have. Sometimes you just want something basic and cheap but that won't fall apart, and buying used is great.

And finally, if there's a craigslist in your area it's worthwhile to check it out. My wife keeps an eye on ours and we've come across an awesome wine rack and a few other small things that are either way overpriced in stores or simply hard to find.