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I worked at a high end furniture store for several years (really fun job, by the way). I say "high end" but they also carried some mid range furniture - nothing cheaply made though.
Here are the conclusions I came to:
You don't have to buy top of the line everything. For instance, take end tables, occasional tables, or even a dining room table for example. Those aren't going to take a lot of wear and tear or have to carry a lot of weight. Anything that is either hanging on a wall, or sitting there without much actual USE is something you can save money on by buying more for look than actual quality most of the time. Unless it's on super sale and then in that case, SNAG IT! lol
Things like beds, dressers, sofas and chairs - THOSE are things you need to be more picky about. Those are the items that are going to get used heavily every day.
Look for hardwood frames. Look for dovetailed drawers and lots of supports inside the drawers. Look for thick veneer or solid wood tops and fronts. Look for either real (top grain) leather or very durable fabrics (generally made of poly fibers - those are tough and hold up and clean up well). Avoid any split grain leathers or "bonded" leathers. These are crap.
When you go look at furniture, take the drawers out. Look at the interiors - are they well supported? Is it real wood inside there, or is it some other woodlike material? Do you see staples? (If you do, RUN in the opposite direction!)
Take pillows off of sofas and chairs. Unzip them. Do you see foam or do you see muslin or some other wrapping covering the pillow material? If the pillows aren't wrapped, walk away - the upholstery fabric will eat away at the pillow and it will sort of disintegrate over time. Ask the salesperson what the pillows are made of specifically. If they can't tell you, they don't know their product. Once again, walk away.
Ask if the frame is solid hardwood or pine. If it's pine, or some combination, walk away again.
Beds - the headboards and footboards don't have to be solid wood - you're not going to be sitting on them or jumping on them (the headboards and footboards). They can be veneer, metal, leather, a combo, whatever. But look closely at the FRAME itself. Look at the supports. If those are shoddy or flimsy, walk away.
Is it important to have mirrors with beveled edges? Not necessarily. Yes, they look good, but that's an area that you can cut costs on.
Likewise, formal dining room furniture - it doesn't usually take a lot of wear and tear. You can save some money here. Just be sure that the china cabinet isn't flimsy because it will hold a lot of weight.
Look for sales. Recently my husband and I bought an entire bedroom set at Havertys. King size bed, two night stands and a dresser and mirror. Really quality stuff. Hardwoods, great drawer structure, nice touches like secret velvet lined drawers for jewelry in the dresser. We hit them up during a big sale and got the entire group for $3000. That did NOT include the mattress however. The mattress cost as much as the rest of the furniture, because that is what is going to take the most wear and tear. That and the dresser drawers. So those were the most important factors for me when it came to quality. The good thing is, if drawers are nicely built, the odds are so is the rest of the group.
We also bought a very nice leather sofa - top grain leather with a hardwood frame - about 6 years ago. We paid under $2000 for it - I think it was $1800. Also on sale. It looks as good as the day we bought it.
I inherited a really cute hardwood upholstered rocker from my grandmother. It's Art Deco and the shape is adorable but the wood needed refinishing and the upholstery was awful and the cushions were sagging. I spent about $400 getting the cushions remade and upholstered, and I refinished the wood myself. Once I got it stripped down, I realized the chair was solid cherry. Nice. And it is nostalgic so that's even better.
And as someone else stated, don't forget to look at estate sales and resale shops. I've picked up some really nice pieces over the years at those sorts of places. My best buy was a darling mid century Danish modern desk with two very well made drawers, solid cherry, for $15. Matching solid wood chair - $10.
Another thing to consider is how often you you think you will redecorate? If you want to change things every 5-10 years, buying less expensive is the way to go. If you go for more traditional pieces that never go out of style, spend more. Similar to how you buy clothing. I don't mind spending $200 on a sweater that I know I will wear for years, but trendy clothing is bought on sale, for not a lot of money.
IKEA has different furniture lines. They have the cheap stuff you used for your first apartment or college dorm. And then they have "grown up furniture" made of solid wood or high quality fiberboard. It doesn't fall apart within a few years and can handle a move without a problem. And the great thing about IKEA is that it doesn't have a lot of chemicals. And you really can't the price.
I have only compared a few stores. Ethan Allen seems to be the highest end type of store. I think the furniture is definitely quality, but the prices are pretty high (I think). A queen bed runs over $3,000 and even night tables cost $1,000. But, to stress, they definitely look good. On the other side of the spectrum is Ashley, which I know I probably shouldn't even mention in the same breath. This might seem sort of snooty, but the furniture seems sort of trashy looking to me. Like, it seems to me more like the K-Mart of furniture stores. Or is this wrong? I also looked online at Wayfair, but I'm totally perplexed by that place. For example, getting a comparable bed to the one I saw at Ethan Allen was like $700. Which to me means it's probably only comparable in appearance and not quality.
Not to derail the conversation, but Ethan Allen is by no means "the highest end" in furniture. It would be considered in the moderate price range as far as furniture lines go. Higher end furniture lines would be Baker, Henredon, Century, etc ...
I would also say that while Ethan Allen isn't bad furniture, it is sort of overpriced for the actual quality. Another brand that is overpriced for the quality was Bernhardt - the wood finishes weren't the best back when I worked at a mid to high-end furniture store..
That said, if you fall in love with something and can't find it in another furniture line, then you should get it.
Pottery Barn is overpriced - more so when it comes to upholstery. You should be getting more features like eight-way hand-tied springs for what you pay. I like them for accessories though!
Not to derail the conversation, but Ethan Allen is by no means "the highest end" in furniture. It would be considered in the moderate price range as far as furniture lines go.
Higher end furniture lines would be Baker, Henredon, Century, etc ...
I would also say that while Ethan Allen isn't bad furniture, it is sort of overpriced for the actual quality. I worked for a while in a mid to high end furniture store. Another brand that was overpriced for the quality was Bernhardt - the wood finishes weren't the best.
That said, if you fall in love with something and can't find it in another furniture line, then you should get it.
Pottery Barn is overpriced - more so when it comes to upholstery. You should be getting more features like eight-way hand-tied springs for what you pay. I like them for accessories though!
Add Pulaski to the list of overpriced for the quality furniture! And Hooker.
It sounds like you already have an apartment's worth of IKEA-type furniture, so you don't have to buy a whole house's worth right now. In other words, you can take your time.
I recommend three ways to buy quality furniture:
1) Antique malls and dealers. Of course some only deal in "real antiques" by which I mean truly fabulous quality pieces from the 1800s and even earlier. These are not the people you want to be working with. There are also a lot of dealers who deal in quality furniture made (usually either in the USA or UK) from about 1920 through about 1950. Not truly antique, but high quality. We have a lot of this furniture.
2) Estate sales and classified. There will be a lot of people looking to sell off Grandmother's dining room set.
3) Independent furniture stores. In the city I grew up in, for example, there is a store that sells at roughly half what a big chain would charge for the same furniture. It's a family owned business that's been there for at least 75 years.
I think big chains are not the best bet for a good combination of high quality and reasonable price. You are paying a premium for all their TV advertising.
I would also say that while Ethan Allen isn't bad furniture, it is sort of overpriced for the actual quality.
That's what I was trying to figure out. It sounds like you're saying it's a little overpriced, but not outrageously so. I'm OK with that, since often quality is somewhat subjective. So as long as "price" and "quality" are in the same general neighborhood, I don't mind it.
Thanks to other posters, too. Although I've bought furniture at IKEA, I'm actually not looking for modern (Euro-minimalist) furniture. I'm actually more into traditional stuff. I also don't have a lot of furniture. I've just been living with the bare bones. But, for example, I have a bed from IKEA and it's not just their "mattress on a wooden box" bed. It's actually really nice, but it's sort of flimsy and is starting to creak a bit even when I just get into it. So while I do like some of the stuff I saw briefly at the Crate & Barrel website, I'm not looking for a European-looking house, LOL.
Also try Home goods for great furniture for a very decent price.
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I've just been living with the bare bones. But, for example, I have a bed from IKEA and it's not just their "mattress on a wooden box" bed. It's actually really nice, but it's sort of flimsy and is starting to creak a bit even when I just get into it. So while I do like some of the stuff I saw briefly at the Crate & Barrel website, I'm not looking for a European-looking house, LOL.
