Let's test BBI's depth again - one of my recent hires is moving to NYC with his family, and asked me where he can find decent mid-tiered priced furniture.
My wife tends to buy quality, with the expectation that she's going to treat it right and keep it forever (with 3 kids, I've got some evidence to the contrary). Nothing that she buys I'd consider mid-priced.
I asked her, and figured Ikea would qualify, but according to her that's cheap. I figured cheap was Bob's, and she laughed at me. 'Furniture from Bob's won't last a week'.
He's coming here for a 6 month contract, with the thinking that he'll either stay and buy a house or move back to the west coast, either way, getting rid of the furniture he acquired in the process. He's got kids, so it's not as simple as a bachelor running down to Ikea and picking up a few things so that he doesn't sleep and eat on the floor.
Any opinions on where I can send him to get something that's not cheap, but not high quality?
Recently bought a bedroom set from them. Found the one I liked in their store. Looked it up online. Got them to match the price (tax and delivery included). Ended up saving >50%.
For reference, ended up spending $4,000 for a bedroom set that was ~$8,300 in their store. Nice set. Very happy with it so far.
We've enjoyed ordering furniture from Basset. Its not cheap, but not super expensive either. Good quality. Plus they have (had?) alot of customization options. Not sure where the closer store is to NYC.
great quality
We were looking for a top grain leather couch and they had one about to be discontinued for $1300, brand new. The chairs, non-leather, we all more expensive (from $14,50 to $1,800).
Personally, it is more than I wanted to spend, but it looked like I was in the ghetto. We didn't get top grain leather last time, and now the furniture is peeling and leaving cover scraps all over the place. I almost want to keep people out of the house until the new pieces arrive. It is like we have lice or something.
I got a bunch of stuff at the Bloomingdales outlet in Westchester. Bedrooms stuff from Gothic Cabinet isnt that expensive, but since it is customized from NC factories it probably doesnt make sense for your guy. My dining room chairs are from Bob's and I think they're beautiful. My TV console is also Bobs, and like the chairs has held up great.
Just dont go cheap on a couch. Craftsmanship really matters on upholstered furniture.
Another bought stuff for his apartment, paid extra for some kind of accidental damage warranty, and the furniture apparently fell apart on his own (he has no kids) and they refused to either repair or replace it.
Do a quick search, and the web is filled with horror stories. Not sure who to believe, since furniture seems like the kind of thing that can be easily abused and then passed off as defective.
We've enjoyed ordering furniture from Basset. Its not cheap, but not super expensive either. Good quality. Plus they have (had?) alot of customization options. Not sure where the closer store is to NYC.
There is a Bassett in Paramus off of 17. We bought a coffee table there, but we weren't pleased. First one came warped and had to wait for a second, and it scratches very easily for the cost.
jcn-I have heard very mixed things about Bob's also. Their "protection" in many cases is showing up with a type of pen to conceal nicks and scratches in the finish. Our friends had to go through about 3 or 4 different re-deliveries until they received a bedroom set for their kids they were satisfied with (scratches, finish that had noticeable drips everywhere, etc.) On the flip side, they had no trouble with their couch. I have read reviews of their dining room chairs just falling apart completely; the same with couches, etc.
I asked the same question - for one, it's not guaranteed six months, just that he might end up dumping the stuff after that point. Second, the places that rent to buy are apparently huge ripoffs.
I told him to check out pre-furnished apartments, but he seems to like a place he found last week, so that's out.
Buying new at any level of quality will be very expensive if he has to dump it in six to twelve months.