<p>S will start law school in the fall, so will be 3 years in the same location, and then likely moving to another location. He will have a 1-BR apartment, no roommate. He lived in a University-run furnished apartment this year as an undergrad senior, and will be too far away from home to take any of my old furniture. He has kitchen stuff but no furniture. </p>
<p>Should he buy furniture or rent? There is a local Cort furniture rental place that offers packages for $100/mo, which looks like it includes almost everything he would need. Does anyone have any experience with Cort? </p>
<p>S is not the type to care overly much about how nice his furniture is, but will want comfort, and be able to occasionally have friends over, etc. He does not have the patience to want to shop all over town for bargain used furniture or assemble anything complicated. He has a small car - not big enough to carry furniture in. </p>
<p>Is there an ikea nearby? Two data points: Most law students when I was a student did not live in the same place for all three years/most met people and shared a place by 2L. Rental furniture is overpriced and uncomfortable. </p>
<p>I would buy the very basics–bed, couch/futon, table to start. Seating is always easy to come by as is bookshelves, shelving. And a desk–lots of options there for cheap. Check craig’s list in the area he is going to. My D has a small car and hasn’t had too much problem figuring out how to cram furniture in when she really wants it!
He’ll be able to pick up pieces along the way.Most assembly pieces are not complicated and cheap enough to leave behind if necessary. I certainly wouldn’t start with a rental company for furniture.
Good luck to him!</p>
<p>Would also recommend Craigslist and Ikea. Overstock.com also has some free at prices and delivers! Some folks rent a furnished or partially place which cuts down on expenses. I lived in the grad dorms the first 2 years, a suite sharing bathrooms. Rented a furnished place my last year. Know very few law or other students who stayed in same hosing all 3 yars–most of us switched after 1st or 2nd year, some every year. </p>
<p>Part of the comfort factor is in the accessories–bedding, pillows, throw rugs, lamps, towels etc which you’ll be paying for anyways. A simple card table with plywood on top to increase the size and a decent table cloth will be a great table. The bed is most important.</p>
<p>We used hollow core surplus doors for minimal cost from the hardware store and bricks for desk–very sturdy! BF used small boards and bricks for bookshelf. I just arranged mine at back of desk. Accessories are nice and can also be purchased for reasonable prices, especially if you check discount places–Ross, Burlington Cost Factory, Tuesday Mornings, Target, Ikea. Zen minimal is a good look and leaves less to clean and dust. </p>
<p>Check out freecycle for his location. Also he can rent a Uhaul truck for not to much if picking up a Craig’s list or freecycle find. My D said zipcar also had small trucks in her area.
Tag/garage sales can be good finds as well.
I agree to avoid furniture rental and go minimal to start. We also used boards and cinder blocks. Still have the Formica table from my first apt 30 years ago!</p>
<p>I’ll second craigslist and Ikea. Veryhappy (another poster on this board) helped me furnish my son’s one bedroom apartment. I spent about $1,000 for a queen bed with mattress and boxspring, chest of drawers, nightstand, floor lamp, faux leather sleep sofa and loveseat, and two new desk chairs from Ikea, that double as dining chairs, and a microwave oven from Walmart. We went dumpster diving for a coffee table, two more floor lamps, t.v. stand, bookcase, and kitchen table. The dumpster had a wonderful selection, as half of the building occupants had moved out the day before.</p>
<p>Furnished our 1L D’s apartment last September via Ikea and Sleepy’s, both delivered. As it turns out she intends to stay in the same 1BR apartment for 2L, so whew…no need to move anything. We pretty much bought everything and my H put it all together, with D’s help, over a 24-hour period. She needed the whole shebang, soup to nuts, as they say, even though she had gone to the same school for undergrad…but with a two year break in-between. She doesn’t have a car, and I suspect she will move before 3L, so we told her it will be time to hire a guy with a truck…her dad and I are getting too old for this! </p>
<p>Another reason we headed to Ikea - my S (a former law student) had to deal with bedbugs twice as a result ( we assume) of reclaimed upholstered furniture. It was a nightmare and not worth the risk, imho. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I am a bed bug expert. I <em>believe</em> I can look over furniture to determine if there have been bed bugs. You need to look over wooden furniture as well. You are looking for a black substance in any cracks or grooves. The same goes for the cord around mattresses or the seams in upholstered pieces. </p>
<p>If you’re afraid of used furniture, then you better not be staying in any hotels. Hotels have different guests each night, so your chances are far greater of picking up those little hitchhikers.</p>
<p>We have bough furniture for our Medical student D. She is in studio apartment, obviously, no roomate. We wanted her to feel comfy in her surroundings. While some of her friends were sleeping on the mattreses placed on the floor for awhile, they commented that her studio looked like proffessionally decorated (was NOT!!!). I believe that it was important for our D. Our salvation was Value City furniture store. She is planning to use this furniture in a future, she likes it, she was the one who choose it, we just paid. </p>
<p>Stick with Ikea furniture. I put together a desk and dresser from Target, hard to do. Son and roommates made a trip to Ikea and put together all their beds, dressers, and desks. </p>