Furniture shopping suggestions? (Houston, Sealy, Post: sales, mattress, buying)

[catfancier]

Heya -

Asking for someone who can't get on the Internet at work anymore...
and needs to start over with getting everything for a home.

If she decides to go for a bedroom set or even just a dresser and chest,
where's a good place to shop? Is "The Dump" worth the drive? She doesn't need designer stuff of the quality that one can leave for the grandchildren, but she doesn't want something that will fall apart next year either.

Does Mattress Mac only sell TempurPedic? If that's not the mattress she wants where's a decent place for bed & bedframe shopping? She's in Clear Lake area but (per my question re the Dump) would travel farther afield for a good buy.
Also a sofa will be on the shopping list..."contemporary comfortable" would be my description.

For what it's worth she likes Southwestern decor, but it's not critical.

Many thanks. She works two jobs and has little time to shop, so we're trying to be as targeted and efficient as possible.

[crone]

All of the mattress companies make just a few mattresses. They put different covers with different names for each place their products are sold so that you cannot comparison shop. Go into several mattress stores. Find the firmness you want and order it from Costco. Compare number of springs, gauge of wires, kinds of padding, etc. Costco will have the same product, cheaper.

[Houston_2010]

Price tag may be highter, but Tempurpedic is totally worth it! Otherwise, got to Costco/Sams to find what you need. Check sales at Rooms to Go. Also...check Craigslist, sometimes you can find good-condition items at good prices in the city.

[Shipresa]

The Dump is NOT worth the drive. Scratch and dent furniture at prices that are the same as normal new. My husband still complains about them to anyone he can find to listen.

We bought a lot of our stuff at Crate and Barrel, after Pottery Barn killed us with their lack of caring and snobbiness.

One thing also to consider is the antique malls dotted around the area. I found some very reasonable prices in the one near Memorial/Kirkwood...but you can't discuss anything with the old ladies that monitor the areas - get the numbers of the owners of the items from them.

Craig's List is fine too if you have a delivery van and lots of hands to carry stuff.

I found the quality of Rooms to Go very lacking for the prices they ask.

Our happiness with Sears/Great Indoors is large as they have a 30 day no questions asked mattress return. We bought a top of the line Simmons Beautyrest with 6 inch memory foam on top layer and hated it. Returned it for a Sealy Posturpedic mid-range with only 2 inches memory foam, and was refunded the difference.

As for Tempurpedic - we have two. My husband loves it. Me - I hate it. The other one is in the guest bedroom, and more guests hate it than love it. Consider a 6 inch topper foam (of best quality) prior to buying the bed outright. I'm a back sleeper, which these are not best liked for.

Bed frames we bought on Overstock.com - and love all three of them! We also have a Coaster brand bed fram (platform) - all the Coaster furniture was reasonably priced and sturdy. We ordered ours through Thomas at Urban Decor on route 6 south in Memorial. He keeps the catalog and its available online too.

[crone]

Tried to purchase a mattress set at Rooms to go. It was $800. As I was checking out i noticed a poster saying they gave free financing for 2 years. I ask since i was writing a check if they would discount for the amount of 2 years interest. No was all i heard. Left the store immediately. It is the policy of the furniture industry to give free interest. If you pay cash, you are getting screwed. Mattress Mac gives a discount for cash. Whatever we ever need will be purchased at from Mattress Mac.

[Tx Z Girl]

Ashley furniture is good quality at reasonable prices. Not sure if there's one in the Clear Lake area.

We got our mattress at the Dump. They have some good stuff/prices, some not so good. Mattress Firm is a good place to get a mattress. We got our son's mattress there and were pleased.

[catfancier]

Thanks everyone, esp. Shipresa. Yes I have seen some good buys on craigslist too -- but a private seller is not going to take her gift Mastercard.....

[Texascrude]

Unlike Shipresa, I've had GREAT experiences with the Dump. If your furniture is scratched or dented (mine never has been -- purchased from there on 3 different occasions) you send it back -- don't know why you'd accept it. Prices were also much better than the other big stores we checked out.

[Mayor_McCheese]

I've also had good experiences at the Dump. However, the last few pieces of furniture we've purchased was from Gallery Furniture. They're down the road from each other so the drive's about the same.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by Houston_2010

Price tag may be highter, but Tempurpedic is totally worth it! Otherwise, got to Costco/Sams to find what you need. Check sales at Rooms to Go. Also...check Craigslist, sometimes you can find good-condition items at good prices in the city.

I agree! You can't beat the Tempurpedic...I love mine. The only thing bad about getting used to the Tempurpedic is that you never sleep as soundly or comfortably on any other bed. I really notice it when I travel!