I’m not a fan of modern furniture. So what I like on West Elm, I can typically find something similar 25-50% cheaper at Ashley Furniture. We used to go to the location in Woodbridge, VA but I know there are locations closer to DC.
My D bought her couch and loveseat at Raymour and Flanigan. If they happen to be where they have a store. They have stores on the east coast and I see that they have outlet stores also.
The reason I mentioned it is that her stuff has held up really well. The stuff she picked looks very West Elm.
If you want to buy from the Pottery Barn family of which West Elm is, please investigate reviews. I have seen many, many complaints on placing orders and receiving that furniture. From pottery barn, Williams Sonoma furniture and West Elm.
All the West Elm/Pottery Barn suggestions…for a couple that doesn’t want to spend a lot of $$$ I consider these spots out of their price range? They are often out of mine without a great sale!
Do they have a college student, brand new grad budget? Or better? You’ve really got the gamut here - Restore (I follow our local one on FB and wow you really can get a clean couch or side chairs for the tightest budget).
Another nod for the Poang chairs from Ikea. Don’t take a lot of space and over the years can be used in different rooms for different purposes.
For my D’s first apartment we got a bed from Amazon. She wanted a good quality mattress (Leesa) so we spent a bit more on that.
Other roommates had living room furniture and a kitchen table.
Now that she lives with her fiance in their first apartment together, she brought her bed, they got a nice dining table from family members and bought some chairs at an antique shop.
The couch was a gently used one.
They will be moving a few more times because of school and work, so I think this will be fine until they settle somewhere more permanently…
I would see if they can buy the couch at a local store and have it delivered. Mayfair has nice furniture too.
Just one note on the Poang chairs. We are on our second round of Poang chairs - our first two lasted over 20 years. However, my daughter really cannot sit in it since it doesn’t allow you to sit up straight (which she must do because of back/neck issues). So just keep that in mind.
A lot of Ikea furniture, including the Poang chairs, is made with fiberboard and emits formaldehyde and other chemicals. I am sensitive and can barely even stay in the store. I bought a Poang chair and felt sick so I returned it. This is more of an issue in small apartments. In a larger place, the smell/fumes would dissipate more.
One of my kids uses Ikea for everything. The other kids use second hand sites, including FB marketplace but others that are local. I use higher end consignment shops myself. The best way to get “real wood” is through second hand sources.
All new furniture has coatings of chemicals, so I have to buy used. The bed bug (and other bug) issues don’t seem to crop up but I understand the concern at Goodwill and other lower end second hand stores.
See if their area uses Nextdoor.com. They need an invite to access it, but in my area (suburban chicago) people use nextdoor far more than FB marketplace to sell furniture and other household good for low $, even free.
OP here -
I have passed along suggestions to the “kids.”
They will be coming to visit me and going to a couple of places today and tomorrow, including IKEA (I’ve never been much of a fan, but some people love it) and Homesense. I looked on-line at Costco, Sam’s Club and BJs and sent them several links and names of other sites.
I also sent them several links from All Modern (looks like they are having a great sale).
My son is looking at facebook marketplace or whatever it’s called also.
They are young, but they make a decent amount of money. They don’t want “investment quality” furniture at this point, but don’t want it to look too cheap or fall apart easily either.
Check out World market if you have it in your area.
I second next door. In Chicago, city, they sometimes just want the stuff out of their 3 floor apartment. If you can take it out… It’s yours… Lol. Sometimes there are great finds. The local “antique” stores in Chicago sometimes will beat you to it… Lol…
We have found great end tables in our alley where people throw out garbage but put furniture on the side. My wife has been known to get some and strip them down and repaint/stain them. We have some really cool stuff that way. The young professionals in our area sometimes have no clue what their throwing away…
Another thought…when our kids needed things, they first shopped in our house. One kid took a small sofa, the other took some odds and ends. In our case we were looking to reduce what we owned so it was a win win for everyone. But I know folks who have done this when they were planning to get new furniture…and just gave the old to their kids.
So…is there anything you are dying to get rid of that they could use and want?
^ or grandparents’ homes, too.
Shopping from our home is being done, for sure, but there’s not a lot we have that they want. Our old stuff worked for college apt, but we’ve been successful getting a fair amount of that out of our house again already, through donations to other young people. (Yeah us!)
When my kids (and niece) got out of college and started working they did not want our hand me downs. They wanted to buy their own furniture in their own tastes.
All had good jobs and all wanted to save up or use their signing bonuses for frankly stuff nicer than ikea. Not everyone wants used hand me down furniture. But everyone is different.
I would add that second hand furniture is often of better quality than “afforable” new furniture. You have to know what you want and like and you may need to be patient in terms of it being available, but don’t assume that because someone is getting rid of it that it’s schlocky stuff. I have a relative who moves every 2 to 3 years for work and regularly sells and buys pieces. Often a move renders a sofa too big or some shelves too wide for the new digs.
Re: the Poang chair from IKEA…my DD bought one…but did a few smart things. She got a darker fabric and the cherry colored wood. And she got the matching footstool. Yes, it was more costly, but it really looks nice.
Regarding hand me down furniture…when my grads could afford their own new and trendy furniture, they bought it. But my DD has already indicated what she wants from our house at some point…and it’s all hers when she has the space for it!
Both of our kids were grateful for our hand me downs as it was better than sitting on the floor. And the older kid sold everything when he moved…so he could then buy exactly what he wanted.
Maybe Ashley Furniture? Do you have that there?
Last year, I helped furnish a second home and the budget was a bit tight. Side tables, tv stand, dining table, etc. came from Overstock, Wayfair and Amazon. I would have preferred to shop Craigslist, Nextdoor, and local consignment stores but this worked out well.
When Country of Origin wasn’t provided in the description, I emailed or used their chat function to find out before ordering. Rooms to Go had an American made sofa and chair that was on sale and worked well in the space. Dining chairs came from Wisteria with a deep discount.
Skyline makes upholstered headboards, ottomans, dining chairs, etc. in the US. They’re sold at a wide range of prices depending on the retailers. Upscale stores often don’t disclose that they’re made by Skyline. I did a google image search of some dining chairs that were too expensive at the first store and eventually found them for half price on Overstock (where prices seem to change almost as often as on Amazon.) If you order from Overstock, don’t settle for less than a 15% off coupon.
Not everybody will want secondhand furniture. But for those that do it is a BIG advantage when moving to the next place. It gives option to move it OR give it away without regretting the cost of the original purchase.
Something interesting I learned recently. My daughter fell in love with a sectional sofa on West Elm, but they only offered it in a right side configuration. I figured out the manufacturer and found it on Bloomingdale’s website, but had the same problem even with repeated calls to Bloomingdales. Since it was a custom fabric, I knew it could be made either right or left sided. In a last ditch effort, I contacted the manufacturer and found out that a local furniture store also carried the brand. I walked into the store, ordered exactly what she wanted, and paid ⅓ less - saved over $1500 with free local shipping. Taught me a big lesson - find out what they want, then check local furniture stores first.