Where to buy new furnishings?

[Taiphun]

I'm looking to get some new furniture for my new house. I've looked at the Brick and Leons and they both seem cheap and substandard to me.

Any advice on where to look for good quality (but not super expensive) bedroom collections, sofas, etc?

I'm in Calgary.. Pottery Barn has awesome stuff, but is $$$. Same with Restoration Hardware and the rest of those big name US stores.

Thanks!

[3weddings]

I've not personally shopped there, but friends have and are pleased with
http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/

Keep an eye out for the sales at PB....huge savings, but beware most of their wood is a veneer over mdf!

[Taiphun]

Ah thanks.. veneer over mdf is exactly what we're trying to avoid.

Unfortunately though, almost everything from Costco, Ashley, etc. are Veneer/MDF.

[brokenteeth]

Finding nice furniture is tough, especially if you don't want to break the bank. However, do expect to spend quite a bit more than if you were to buy at The Brick or Leon's.

In my experience you have to really look around in the high-end or for smaller shops. Just doing a quick search, I found http://www.mcarthurfurniture.com/ which is located in Calgary.

For upholstered furniture I have had good experience with Norwalk furniture Everything is made-to-order in the USA and the prices are decent for custom upholstery and their site indicates a store in Calgary.

Quality solid wood furniture it can be very difficult to find. There are the big brands, like Stickley that make great furniture, but you will pay up in the range of $10k to furnish a dining room or bedroom. However there are lots of independents furniture makers who can create great reproductions for 1/2 to 3/4 the price of big brands. You can find them by searching the yellow pages under Furniture (Custom), Designers, Manufacturers. In Toronto at least, most cater to business clients but quite a few will be more than happy to sell to individuals. They will often have examples of their work and/or a catalog that they can build from.


There is big Quebec manufacturer of solid wood furniture, Villageois and it is sold at the Bay (at least here in Toronto).

[Dustbunny]

Well, let's see. Urban Barn is really good. Well priced, lots of Cdn stuff. If you go down to the shopping area around Ikea and Costco S, there are a lot of furniture stores including Urban Barn, Home Evolution, Revolve, EQ3, La z boy, Sklar Pepplar, etc. so you can see a lot in a fairly small area. Further north, Leather Express Outlet (right beside Penthouse) carries the clearance from Penthouse, Leather Express, and Thomasville. You can get some real deals there and I have to say they seem to have great customer service, at least I had no hassle when I had a problem with some chairs at all (compared to say Ashleys which has a no return policy). If you are into leather, check out Rossini's on Blackfoot too. Those folks can really educate you and carry really good quality Cdn made (and others) leather at good prices.

If you want to go really high end, McArthurs (which has a well hidden clearance area with some good deals). If you are looking for quality and deals, keep an eye on the Consignment Gallery on 58thSW. They take only high end, virtually pristine, consignment pieces as well as some new from a couple of local furniture mgf. You can also sometimes find good deals at Sears outlet at Deerfoot.

Do watch out. I know for sure companies like Natuzzi make different qualities of furniture for different stores and they are not the same thing even if the name is the same. So what you find in the Brick, Sears, Penthouse are not comparable.

For smaller pieces, Home Sense is well worth scouting out. Great deals there on things like chairs, ottomans, lamps, pictures, rugs.

What ever you do, check the warranties and return policies especially for the big peices. Some places are totally useless once you have the stuff out of the store.

One place to also check out is Crossroads Furniture (16 ave + 19 St NE). They have low and higher end and can get anything you want of the Ashley stuff but cheaper.

[sabrinajinmi]

Same question here but I'm in GTA Toronto,

1. Where can I find good quality furniture with reasonable price in GTA Toronto?

2. When hunting for funiture in stores:

a. what questions should I ask the sales in the stores? (what materials? return policy? warranty? etc?)

b. how much of the room for negotiating the price, tax free? free delivery? or 20% off?

3. I also hear desingers or contractors usually can get discounts on furniture, is it possible to buy funiture through contractors and pay them commissions? Any idea?

Thanks.

[Stock R]

Ah thanks.. veneer over mdf is exactly what we're trying to avoid.

Unfortunately though, almost everything from Costco, Ashley, etc. are Veneer/MDF.

I think you're thinking about veneer over particleboard.

MDF is REALLY solid stuff. Particleboard/chipboard is the cheapy material.

[Taiphun]

Thank you all, esp DustBunny!

Why do I keep saying Calgary, gosh.. I actually moved to Edmonton, have to get used to saying "I'm in Edmonton." *sigh*

We bought a Durham bedroom set (2 nightstands & king bed) yesterday with a mattress from Sleep Country (discounted 35%).

Now we're looking at leather sofas.

Now she (mother in law) commented last night that I'm too picky, but I'd rather get something nice once rather than getting some low to mid-end stuff ten times over.

[petersg]

Check out Sterling House Interiors in Mississauga. Great Canadian made furniture at competitive prices.

www.sterlinghouse.ca

Hope this helps.

[i-doc]

I've just moved to Vancouver recently and was also looking at furniture. Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware is totally overpriced..nice stuff but I could feed myself for two weeks on the cost of a pair of pillow cases.
After recently buying a couch from a local furniture store here (Yaletown Sofa Co.), the buyer said that most furniture stores buy from a local manufacturer and just rename it and resell it at in inflated price, especially in Toronto. For example, I saw the same Noguchi coffee table sold on the Casalife website (http://www.casalife.com/Munico?sc=17&category=11734) being sold at multiple furniture stores here in Vancouver but also sold on costco http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product....se=&lang=en-CA for half the price! Different price but same manufacturer. Here are some manufacturer websites: http://www.sunpanimports.com/
http://www.styleinform.com/
That being said, I'm considering getting some items from Costco, which also gives free shipping. Also places to look: try the Bay; I looked today and they had some "last one" clearance items at a good price. Winners/Home Sense is where I got most of my kitchen items/bath towels etc.

[Davedigger]

Same question here but I'm in GTA Toronto,

1. Where can I find good quality furniture with reasonable price in GTA Toronto?

GH Johnson at Dovercourt & Dupont. Fabulous, high-end stuff for very reasonable prices.

[TheCheez]

Great thread looks like this information is needed in several cities!

I'm looking for quite a bit of furniture myself, anyone know what delivery from GTA to around ~150km east of Toronto would cost? (Trenton area)

We're looking around locally but not much available other than Brick/Leon's and their clones and a couple very high end boutique stores that cater to the mostly retired folk around here in terms of style.

I'd like a solid wood dining room and possibly also the bedroom.

Anyone tried the Amish furniture outlet?

[King James]

Any good furiture store around Markham area? I am looking for bedroom set.

[i-doc]

I forgot to mention that my brother has bought a couple of pieces from Structube located throughout the GTA. If you can catch a sale, their prices are pretty good. http://www.structube.com/

[MJunkie]

I've just moved to Vancouver recently and was also looking at furniture. Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware is totally overpriced..nice stuff but I could feed myself for two weeks on the cost of a pair of pillow cases.
After recently buying a couch from a local furniture store here (Yaletown Sofa Co.), the buyer said that most furniture stores buy from a local manufacturer and just rename it and resell it at in inflated price, especially in Toronto. For example, I saw the same Noguchi coffee table sold on the Casalife website (http://www.casalife.com/Munico?sc=17&category=11734) being sold at multiple furniture stores here in Vancouver but also sold on costco http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product....se=&lang=en-CA for half the price! Different price but same manufacturer. Here are some manufacturer websites: http://www.sunpanimports.com/
http://www.styleinform.com/
That being said, I'm considering getting some items from Costco, which also gives free shipping. Also places to look: try the Bay; I looked today and they had some "last one" clearance items at a good price. Winners/Home Sense is where I got most of my kitchen items/bath towels etc.

What would be really amazing.. if we can somehow order a bunch of furniture directly from the manufacturers.. instead of paying retail (with their insane markups)..
I know u can't buy directly from the manufacturer ... but there must be a way ! Has anyone looked into this?