Furniture... Why is everything I like so expensive?

So anyone who has ever moved into a new house will understand that it can be challenging to furnish it with out taking out a second mortgage. It’s not like on TV or in the movies when everyone’s house looks perfectly decorated no matter how long they have lived there. When Sean and I moved into our house we each had a few key pieces that helped fill in the blanks, but we had to get creative and look for good deals to really make our house feel like a home. I spent hours looking online to get ideas and I felt like everything I liked was way out of my price range making it impossible to fully furnish a house.  This is what I learned:

Here are my top 4 furniture shopping tips:

1. Outlets

Luckily for us we have a pottery barn and restoration hardware outlet not far from where we live. And we spent a lot of time leading up to the closing on our house shopping and arguing in these two stores. I'm sure many of you also know when you move in with anyone, roommate, boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, fiancé... it can be hard to blend your individual styles so that you both feel represented in your new home.  
   We found a lot that we liked at Restoration Hardware, but often times we would feel like it was still a little pricey considering all we had to buy, or just not exactly what we were looking for.  But the more time we spent in the store the more we learned. The first thing we learned is the day of the week in which they receive new shipment. This may seem insignificant but it's actually extremely important for two reasons. The first being a little more obvious, that it's always good to know when they're getting new stuff  especially if you are looking for something very specific and you don't want to miss out. The second being that many of these store have limited space to store merchandise so the day before they receive shipment they are more likely to give you an even better deal than the price that's marked. This is how we ended up with our beautiful dining room table for under $400 as well as a leather couch for under $400 as well.

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2. Pottery Barn (not the outlet)


I know what you're thinking “Pottery Barn is so expensive, how am I getting a good deal there?” Well here's the trick, As I'm sure you may know PB sets up beautiful “rooms” to display their furniture and decor. What you might not know is that all of that stuff is for sale at a huge discount. They can’t sell the floor models at full price, so if you are willing to take the one off the floor you can often get it for 50% off or sometimes even an additional discount depending on what store wide promotions are going on. The one catch is you might need to be patient, as they are unable to sell anything until they have something to replace it with. The staff at our local store is so nice and they will usually write your name and number down with the pieces you are interested in and then call you when it is available for purchase. We were also responsible for picking it up ourselves, so start thinking about that friend you have with a truck and stay on their good side. Taking advantage of the floor models allowed us to purchase two large leather chairs that would have normal cost $1500 - $2000 each, and a $6,000 sectional couch all for under $5000. It's still a big purchase but our living room is now complete and we have sturdy comfortable furniture that will last us many many years. The only down side to our beautiful sectional is the color. Dont' get me wrong its absolutely beautiful other wise I would not have bought it, but it's basically white and I'm terrified of ruining it so I keep a blanket neatly tucked over the cushions. Luckily we bought the slipcovered version so we can take it off and have it dry cleaned. I'm sure down the road we will buy a new slip cover maybe in grey or something that is a little darker but not too dark. Buying a new slipcover is in expense but its nothing compared to what it would be to buy a whole new couch.

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 3. Ikea
You know I love Ikea, I did my whole kitchen with Ikea, but their furniture isn’t necessarily going to last you as long as some of the more expensive retailers.  Does that mean we should avoid Ikea all together?  Absolutely not.  The price points at Ikea allow you to buy a lot for very little, at least little in the home furnishings world.  A lot of people however don’t want it to look like their whole house came from ikea. So the trick here is balance, spend a little more on the pieces that are most important to you or the ones that you think might become the focal point of a room.  Then pair those more expensive pieces with some Ikea staples.  Also it's important the measure the height of any Ikea furniture as well as how high you want it to sit in your home,  a lot of Ikea furniture sits a little (or a lot) lower than what we’re used to, but in the store it will seem normal next to all the other furniture.  This is especially important with tables and and any type of seating.  

4. Patience

I know I mentioned patience in regards to Pottery Barn, but you need to also have patience in regards to your home.  Don’t try and do it all at once, first of all it’s really hard on your bank account, but you also don’t want to make the mistake of settling for something that’s not right for you and then changing the feel or theme you had in mind for a certain room.  You’ll end up wanting to redecorate and spending more money down the road.  Sean and I were so excited when we bought our house that we couldn’t wait to invite our family and friends over and have it feel lived in, but we quickly realized it was going to be a work in progress for quite sometime.  We had giant rubber bins stacked as our night stands for months until we found the night stands that we wanted.  I hated the look of those rubbermaid night stands but now that I have the perfect nightstand it was well worth the wait.  


There are million other ways to find good deals on home furnishings, for example a lot of people I know have had great success at yard sales and estate sales.  I, however, have never had a ton of luck there.  So you have to find what is right for you and your home, but I hope some of my tips were helpful and making your life a little bit easier.  I think the pottery barn one is especially good.  

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Before and After Living Room (Of course I had to show it at Christmas).  

Photo Credit: 

​"PB Basic Slipcovered Sectional." Pottery Barn, William Sonoma Inc., 2017, 
     www.potterybarn.com. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 
"Railway Trestle Rectangular Dining Table." Restoration Hardware, RH, 2017, 
     www.restorationhardware.com. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 
"Manhattan Leather Arm Chair." Pottery Barn, William Sonoma Inc., 2017, 
     www.potterybarn.com. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 
"Kennsington Sectional". Restoration Hardware, RH, 2017, 
     www.restorationhardware.com. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017.