ITsWhatIDo

Hi,

We're wondering whether to move all our belongings over or shop in the USA. I know things tend to be cheaper in the US, but i've looked at propertie in the US and the interiors and the furniture look awful!

What would help would be to browse some store websites from the US to compare with what we have. Do you have any ideas? (apart from sears!)

These are the kind of things we want to buy:
Dining room set
Sofas
Beds
Bedroom furniture

Thanks for your help.

Dave

mayhemuk

Craigslist.com ;-)

Noorah101

Try googling "furniture stores + the city you will be living in".

Rene

tamms_1965

I am a furniture snob but we actually found ( last month) a very sturdy kitchen table and four chairs at Value City...DH had to put it together, but got it on sale for $299 and it is solid wood

I've ordered things from NC furniture stores (Classic Leather sofa), shopped end of year sales at local high end places, and belong to Direct Buy (a wholesale store that's a bit pricey to join nowadays but not when I joined) because I refuse to pay retail (and I want higher quality for less money).

welshbaloney

I can only comment on the typical mid-level 'high street' stores in my region (San Francisco). Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea (gak), Home Depot, Lowe's, CostCo (membership required). Each has their own web sites you can browse.

Good luck.
Tony.

penguinsix

What styles you find and where to shop by and large depends entirely on where you live in the USA. It's a pretty big country and massive shipments of furniture from one end to the other are generally not cost effective for many items, so local variations exist and local craftsman as well. Sure there are things you can buy 'everywhere' but they might not be the style you are seeking, instead being the lowest common denominator that will sell anywhere.

First, what kind of furniture do you want? European furniture, Santa Fe style, American style, rustic farmhouse, etc. As you can probably imagine, European furniture is a bit more rare than say you would find in Europe, so you might have to pay a bit of a premium for things you could get back at Habitat or some other place in the EU.

Are you near North Carolina by any chance? Many large furniture mills are in NC and people from Washington to Florida will goto NC and buy furniture at a discount and then pay to have it shipped wherever. You can find some nice stuff down there, but again, it's a certain style that might not be what you want.

Another option is to look for Amish carpenters in your area. Many of them practice old woodworking techniques building quality pieces (though again, only of a certain style)

In the end, google is your friend and you'll have to do some digging for places locally (unless you don't mind some shipping charges). There are a few places online that deliver--maybe you can get lucky and get a post-Christmas 'free shipping' offer.

Good luck

farmerwife

Here's one to view -- Pottery Barn (actually furniture etc, not flower pots)

http://www.potterybarn.com/

Also look up "Crate and Barrel".

dbj1000

While it's generally expensive, we've really enjoyed the pieces we've bought from Crate & Barrel. Very nicely made, real wood with real craftsmanship.

JohnnyTacco

I found this on the internets:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...res+in+Georgia

You're gonna love Georgia in the summer. We took a canoe trip up to Aintree last summer and we had a lot of fun, and met some interesting people..

tamms_1965

Don't know if C & B have outlets, but Pottery Barns do. . . good bargains.

MsElui

the style/taste here is very different I will agree, but you can find the odd things amongst it in most store thats not too bad.

You have to remember that a lot of the houses here are a LOT bigger than in the UK - so a fussy little bit of english furniture may look out of place and the larger pieces favoured here often just look better. Also they use wood in the homes a lot more so depending on the house you rent/buy you could end up buying a wood colour that matches the wood in the house. Darker woods are far more common - but thats not my taste so when we built the house we chose a more medium coloured wood - BUT had to bear in mind that some day we will want to sell the house (and that may be quite a long time away as i have zilch intention to sell) so we couldnt pick something to way off base or we might find it hard to sell.

I also found it very hard to buy furniture when we first arrived - and we stuck with our shipped tatty furniture for quite a while - but ive either got better at picking out the acceptable stuff or am realising some of the designs really do suit the houses here etc as its a lot easier for me now.

Bill_S

Seconded. Since we started buying Amish-built pieces, we're reluctant to buy anything but. Fabulous craftsmanship and fair prices.

Jensmate

I very much agree Bill. I have the most beautiful oak Amish rocker that is held together entirely with copper pins, is signed by the maker and is destined to become an heirloom.
My biggest regret is that, during our divorce, I gave my ex-husband the gorgeous Ercol dining room set we bought in High Wycombe in 1973. It wouldn't fit in my apartment. Agh! I knew he wouldn't appreciate it and it all probably got sold in a yard sale. Huge regrets!
I also love Shaker furniture. Simple classic lines in oak, cherry, hickory or maple that mixes well with almost any furniture This is a timeless American style that most Brits will appreciate.

Jensmate

Also consider the climate. Georgia can be very hot and humid in the summer. Overstuffed furniture in "cottagey" prints can make a room feel even more stifling.

Steerpike

There are plenty of tasteless people here in the US who have crap furniture, but I seem to remember seeing an awful lot of crap furniture in the UK too! If you are looking at model homes in expensive developments (which are typically staged with very high-end furniture) and don't like what you see, then maybe you have something to worry about. If, on the other hand, you are basing your statements on what you see in furnished rentals, they tend to use cheap crap.

As others have suggested, check out crate and barrel, and also check out Macy's furniture stores to get a better idea of what is available (don't buy there unless you can't find anything elsewhere, as it's pricey). Thomasville used to be a half-decent chain, but these places go in and out of bankruptcy so often I have no idea if they are any good these days.