It's been nearly 4 months at my apartment and I'm still living like I'm in rented rooms that I'm scared of being kicked out of. Time to actually make my space more of a home.
I've never bought a couch before, so I'm not sure what my best options are. I don't have a lot of money to put into furniture, but having something decent would be nice. Also currently looking for a table I can eat at, bc bed/computer desk doesn't work as well when people visit
edit: thank you for all the responses :)
Don't buy furniture. Every piece of furniture in my house except the bed was from Craigslist, Nextdoor, "Buy Nothing" on Facebook, or friends/family. You'll spend far less renting a uhaul to move it than you would buying one. And recycling is good. so double win.
Edit: Also, if you live somewhat near a rich neighborhood, but not in one, rich neighborhoods give away great shit. Try to sneak into one of the local groups for those neighborhoods.
I recently picked up a beautiful leather sofa from a buy nothing group. I paid $30 to rent a truck to pick it up with. All you need is a friend and a truck, and sometimes you can even do it on your own.
Before I ended up in relationship with someone who makes enough money to afford things, I got all of my furniture from estate sales and ReStore (basically a thrift store for furniture and tools)
People are kind of squeamish about furniture someone possibly died on, but you can steam clean a ghost right out
Makes you feel like a Ghostbuster
Facebook(bleh)marketplace. Got a set of a huge multigenerational comfy couch with a chair for $100. Modern couches cost like a million dollars and are basically all uncomfy. I’d also recommend looking for a college kid couch, you can clean them p easily and if it’s too gross don’t buy it. If you want a new one look at IKEA if it’s where you live but keep in mind those couches are awful and not comfy at all.
Habitat for humanity usually has some good ones to if craigslist or marketplace have none
What's a multigenerational couch ? One that lasts for 100 years? Or one that you can sit on with your son and grandson?
It had been passed down through a big black family for like 3 generations. The warmth of a thousand asses had smoothed it into a mess proof, soft as a cloud, amazing couch.
It only had to be thrown out after a dog pissed on it twice in a day then someone puked directly onto where the dog pissed. I was out of town when it happened and when they called me to say it was thrown out I yelled at them and begged them to hire a professional cleaner, but it was too late. :cri:
If you live near a college campus, many people moving away for break will just throw out furniture they can't take home. It is mostly cheap shit, but at least you can prevent it from ending up in a landfill. Be sure to check for bedbugs and gross stuff.
Otherwise, depending on your location second hand shops or flea markets can be a good way to find good stuff at good prices. Be ready to haggle though.
EDIT: to clarify, i wasn't proposing OP went picking up furniture from the curb. Just try to get in touch with college people who need to empty out their dorms and maybe make a few bucks.
I'm pretty nervous about the potential gross stuff aspect of this, but I can give this a try
I never pick stuff up from the curb, but there are lots of nice families with clean houses who give away perfectly good shit and you just go pick it up from inside the house.
Another chance would be to join resell/trade social media boards. People post the stuff they're willing to sell there.
If you live near a college campus, many people moving away for break will just throw out furniture they can’t take home
lol, unless you live in a punk house, don't take curb furniture from college kids. You'll get bedbugs.
I’ll second ReStore/Facebook Marketplace if you’re trying to stretch your dollar. A used couch can be iffy, but definitely for the table. Also keep an eye out for stores that are going out of business. My couch is a nice one I got 50% off from a liquidation sale.
Completely agree with the notion to try second hand shops, thrift stores, and craigslist/FB marketplace. But if all else fails, you can get something at Ikea. Just don't expect it to last.
Is freecycle a thing where you are? There might be a website for your area.
To add to the suggestions about buying "new", ask about floor models or stuff that was delivered with defects or slight damage. It is possible that you can get a new couch, with minimal damage (or only cosmetic damage) and get a slight discount.
For used stuff, depending on how much time you've got, or if you've got a network of friends that keep up with whats going on in the consignment/thrift store scene, wife found us a decent used couch that was like 300 bucks instead of the 600 that a similar new one would have been. Definitely ask whoever is working the shop if they know how long the furniture has been in the store, and if they know anything about where it came from. Flip up the cushions (unzip them if you can), wear some gloves and dig around in the cracks, see if the fabric underneath the couch is intact or has been torn (bring a flash light). Look up some pictures online to get an idea of what bed bugs and lice, their larvae, and eggs look like. Its gross, but hey, adulting is pretty gross.
Definitely look into local second hand shops. You might have to borrow a truck for an hour or so, but you can do that at Home Depot or something for relatively cheap.
For new couches:
If your price point is below $600 then Ikea, if not then go to local furniture stores and ask about their clearance couches with steel frames - lot of them are ugly as shit - but you can always cover the fabric up with a couch cover. Steel frame couches you can pass down to your grandchildren.
A low priced Ikea couch that is not a futon will last 4-5+ years with daily use. So about $100 a year.
