| BUYING NEW FURNITURE |
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If you're shelling out your hard-earned money for new furniture, be sure you buy wisely! Look over your decorating goals statement and review your budget. Determine what style of furniture you're hoping to find, and have a figure in mind for what you'd like to spend. Hit a few furniture stores (preferably those in the midst of big sales!), and begin looking. Also consider the following advice for new furniture shopping: Keep it neutral. A few interior designers I know urge customers to purchase large items, such as sofas, in neutral colors. With these neutral backdrops in place, accent colors can be added with accessories, pillows, rugs, and curtains. Check upholstery options. Just because it's on the showroom floor in green chenille doesn't mean you can't buy it in white damask. Ask the salesperson if the sofa or chair that's caught your eye comes in other colors or patterns. Be sure to ask for the price difference (higher or lower) before you place your order. Test it out, and test it some more. Don't be shy about testing out your furniture while it's still in the store. Sit on it, lie on it, rub your hands over the upholstery and see how it feels. If you have a partner, children, or a roommate, take them along and let them try out pieces you're thinking about purchasing. (It's better than hearing complaints later!) Cover it up. You've found the almost perfect sofa. It's the perfect size, the perfect shape, and it's more comfortable that anything you've ever sat on in your life. Oh, there is one problem-its upholstery is bright orange. But it is also on clearance, and the markdown is huge. Do you give up and go home? No! You snatch it up and find a sale-rack slipcover in the perfect shade at a nearby fabric store. (Slipcovers aren't just for used furniture.) Okay, so you need furniture, and lots of it. Perhaps you're just starting out and this is your first apartment. Or maybe you've just moved to a larger place, and your belongings have lots of air between them now. Or perhaps you're just ready for a new look. No matter the reason, there are many places to find furniture and many ways to improve used pieces, particularly if you're willing to do a little work with less than ideal pieces. Consider these ideas: Couches. Pick up the comfiest you can find at garage sales. You can throw a slipcover on it or even cover it with a quilt. Coffee tables. An unattractive wood stain can be whitewashed with paint that's thinned with water for a cottage look. Or instead of a coffee table, try two large footstools side by side. (Find them secondhand and recover them.) Desks. Two filing cabinets with a door, piece of wood, or strip of glass on top becomes a makeshift desk that can last for years. Want to make it a bit more fun? Paint the filing cabinets with a funky design. Or pick up any old dining table at a flea market, paint it, and add a keyboard drawer for better ergonomics, if you'll be using it for computer work. CD and videotape holders. Stack a few wooden crates, old soda cases, or vintage wine boxes to store all your CDs and videotapes. Dining set. Add slipcovers to folding metal chairs and throw a tablecloth (or even a quilt) over a folding card table. |
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