<p>Yes, Target can be a great source. Especially when they’re running “free shipping on furniture” specials. D got a surprisingly nice, well built table and chair set that looked way nicer than it’s $150 price tag. Plus the free delivery was awesome. She had to sell it eventually as she ended up in a studio in CA but it was totally worth the money.
I’ve found a couple furniture items there for S as well. They have stylish stuff and much of it is very well priced–in the Ikea range.</p>
<p>Check out overstock.com as well. Their shipping is cheap! And they have some good deals every so often. You never know what you are going to find.</p>
<p>I think I would furnish from target over ikea. They have some nice upholstered pieces, cabinets, chairs, tables, shelves, etc. not very expensive.</p>
<p>For beds, I would just buy a frame to use with mattress and box spring. Bought one for D at Sam’s (have same one at Walmart) for around $40. It’s adjustable for twin through king size and gives enough clearance to put plastic storage underneath.</p>
<p>We have a bed frame from our former house which was in storage. We’ll have to buy the mattress and box spring. I was not impressed with the bed frames I saw at Ikea. </p>
<p>Depending on the house, perhaps an “estate sale” (rather than garage sale or consignment piece) would let you make one deal on an entire bedroom set. For resale, it’d make the house look substantial and might provide better quality in the meantime. A bedroom set from 1940-60 from someone now in their 80’s, or something 1980-90 era from a downsizing Boomer might be retro and fun for your D now. At least you get real wood, dovetail joints, good drawer action. Just avoid styles take up too much space per item, the room look smaller. I went to an estate sale in search of a mahogany dresser and ended up buying the matching bed because the clever professional made me a great deal to take both. They can direct you to a one-time moving truck by phone. You’ll save and end up with good furniture.</p>
<p>Yep…mid century…very “in”</p>
<p>After assembling a Sauder desk, Mr B swore to never ever touch that crap. The IKEA stuff we bought to replace said desk was a piece of cake to put together and still looks great in D’s room. But that was more than 15 years ago, so as they say, past performance…</p>
<p>We just bought Pax wardrobes for our bedroom. The assembly was not difficult but did require 2 people because those were the extra large pieces. The wardrobes look fine and are quite functional. I agree that iKEA quality is inconsistent. The Pax line has been around for a while, but some of the “seasonal” things can be really flimsy. </p>
<p>We have had a large sectional sofa from Rooms to Go for 7 years with NO complaints. It is in our family room and is very comfortable and made it thru two teens and all their friends. Same for another sofa I bought for my parents beach house. Still looks great and is comfortable. </p>
<p>Someone liked Target furniture, but the one time we got a chest of drawers there, (for a dorm room with totally inadequate furniture), it took hours to put together and the whole thing tipped over if you pulled out one drawer and then it all fell apart by the next morning. I ended up ordering my son elfa wire frames instead. </p>
<p>We have three book cases and a table from Ikea. The table is over 20 years old. Occasionally I have to crawl underneath it and tighten the screws. </p>
<p>Have you looked at Costco? I don’t know how much you are hoping to spend, but our local Costco sells very solid-looking furniture at reasonable prices. </p>
<p>I used Ikea in my first NYC rental many years ago. It was not great, but the scale was perfect for a tight Manhattan apt, and generally inexpensive enough that it almost didn’t pay to move it.</p>
<p>We have also bought some furniture for ourselves at Sam’s Club, especially wooden dining room chairs. They’re still going strong after 15+ years. Bar stools at hardware and home megastores are cheap and useful as well.</p>
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<p>Good to know. In browsing the store, it seemed obvious to me that some fabrics, while very lovely in the showroom, would not hold up well to real life, especially college life. If I buy at RTG, fabric choice will be key. </p>
<p>My D ordered some end tables from Joss &Main. She seems happy, they shipped to her building and she said all she had to do was screw on some legs. </p>
<p>I have a friend who bought some ikea chairs for her cottage. She liked that they were slipcovered and the covers are cheap. When they get dirty, she throws out the old cover and puts a new one on. </p>
<p>@Nrdsb4 both sofas we purchased have a chenille fabric with the stain protection. It’s held up very well. </p>
<p>Ha ha, I love Ikea, but my DH doesn’t want another piece from that store. He was incredulous when I bought some neat storage cubes and they had to be put together. To say he’s no fan is an understatement. You do need someone somewhat handy when you buy those things.</p>
<p>I was even taken aback when DS and I bought a diningroom set from there. It was all flat boxes. Like i bought a couple of doors. It was great put together, but his roommate was handy, and did a lot of it. That would have gone back, and I think DH would have had a stroke if he saw that. I wish I’d taken a photo of it </p>
<p>Cheaply made…yeah, but I’ve seen worse and it sure looks good when put together properly. That dining room set looks like it easily cost three times what it did.</p>
<p>If I buy stuff from Ikea, I may recruit some of D2’s starving college student engineering majors to come put it all together. Cook a couple of pans of lasagna, brownies, etc. Maybe give them a few bucks as well. I am just not up to figuring out and getting all that done with my spatially challenged brain. D2 kind of takes after me in that regard. </p>
<p>Nrdsbr, REALLY good idea ^^. Those pictures that Ikea provides for “directions” leave both me and my D
a little bit baffled. Give me words anytime!!</p>
<p>S is an EE & had absolutely no issues assembling and disassembling all things IKEA. Agree that engineers tend to be excellent at doing so. You MAY end up with extra pieces–bag and label them as spares. That happened for S sometimes.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of IKEA. We bought a few pieces for D2’s dorm room. One, a bookcase made of metal and glass was very difficult to put together, but it’s still going strong 6 years later. Chair that she bought didn’t fare as well. D2’s roommate who ended up doing most of the work of putting the bookcase together was frustrated by the difficulty. This kid is not spatially impaired – she’s currently in grad school at MIT–architecture. </p>
<p>My H is very handy and when he has put together Ikea furniture he has broken off the end of the Allen wrench tool you are given and used it in his battery powered drill driver. Makes assembly much easier. </p>