Furniture Shopping in Central WY (Cheyenne, Casper: lease, credit card, new home)

[nm9stheham]

For the current WY residents: Looking for recommendations on places to shop for furniture in central WY. Looking for decent stuff, not low end. And antique stores that might have some nice items.

Located in and around the central basin, from Rawlins up to Powell/Cody and as far east as Casper, and over to Lander/Riverton. Even a long trip out to Laramie and Cheyenne and Sheridan are not totally out of the question.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

For the current WY residents: Looking for recommendations on places to shop for furniture in central WY. Looking for decent stuff, not low end.

Ah, this is one aspect of Wyoming living that will not be met in "central Wyoming", especially with a reference point of the shopping where you're at now. Folk here wanting better quality furniture than commodity low to mid level items will travel regionally to Denver or travel out of the area … like to the major markets out on either coast of the USA.

If you're seeking RocheB or similar higher end furnishings, Denver would be the closest marketplace.

And antique stores that might have some nice items.

Again, the marketplace for "nice" items in the antique stores here would rarely have items as good as mid-level furnishings. "Ethan Allan" level furniture is considered "high end" … well past the spending level of most folk in the area. Even a low-cost/quality Chippendale reproduction piece would be a rare find in this area.

We've been traveling to regional farm/ranch auctions for over 35 years. Finding higher end stuff in decent condition is unusual, generally limited to fairly affluent folk who moved to a ranch here from "back East" money'ed set families.

It's been 6 years since we saw such quality, it was on a remote ranch in the hills west of Laramie and the widow had come from such wealth, bringing some really nice furniture with her many years ago. Unfortunately, a lot of her stuff didn't hold up as well as you'd like to see it due to the very dry humidity here along with cold rooms in the winter months. She was a piano teacher and had several Grotrian, Steinweg, a Bosendorfer, Mason & Hamlin, and other quality baby grand up-line pianos. All but her recent Yamaha needed complete rebuilding and the cases refinished. Some were way beyond restoration and didn't bring any bids. She had some Chippendale repro's (sideboard, dining room set, and a couple of other pieces) which looked like some very good quality stuff when new … all needing complete restorations.

Located in and around the central basin, from Rawlins up to Powell/Cody and as far east as Casper, and over to Lander/Riverton. Even a long trip out to Laramie and Cheyenne and Sheridan are not totally out of the question.

Even in Cheyenne, the furniture/furnishings marketplace is somewhat dire. The main furniture stores of Cheyenne have all closed down in the last few years, with the Furniture Gallery the last one going out of business late last year. Now replaced with an Amish Warehouse furniture store in that location. We'll see how long they last here.

There was a higher end Montana Furniture Gallery here in Cheyenne that lasted for about 2 years a decade ago. We bought a custom made "captain's bed" in exotic woods from them at their close-out sale. Was listed for over $8,000, marked down in steps to 60% off. Mrs Sun liked it (I didn't especially … it takes a step stool for me to be able to get in/out of this tall bed with all the dresser drawers incorporated below it), and the store was down to it's last days before their lease ran out. Offered them $1,800 and they took my credit card and delivered the bed "for free".

I think you'll not find a semblance of better than low to mid-range furniture here without making a trip to Denver to the quality stores there. The closest "better" stores to Wyoming would be American Furniture Warehouse (Jake Jab's little empire of warehouse outlet type showrooms) along the I-25 corridor south of Cheyenne … south of Fort Collins. Just for reference, brands such as "flexsteel" are considered pretty high end stuff for the local market in Wyoming if you were seeking a leather sofa. La-Z-Boy would be another comparable manufacturer.

PS: just for reference, Sears was a big player in the furniture/furnishings biz here in Cheyenne until they folded a couple years ago. That's the level of merchandise to be found in this area.

PPS: I know a fellow in Denver who is an interior decorator catering to folk building out upline houses in places such as Jackson, Park City, Aspen, and Vail. At the level of having 7-figure "lighting" budgets and 7-figure budgets for furnishings. He does most of his shopping for his clients in LA and NYC, or goes down to High Point to visit the showrooms there. Or maybe the Merchandise Mart in Dallas. But rarely can he find better quality stuff to meet his client expectations even in Denver, even visiting the merchandise mart there. His latest project that I heard about was decorating a new indoor swimming pool in SLC … it's a 100' x 79' pool with a hot tub overlook which spills into the main pool … he can't find furniture/furnishings for this area and had to go to LA to find the stuff that would "fit the bill".

[nm9stheham]

LOL, not going to have a 7 figure lighting budget or anything like that. Just not wanting the basic home starter stuff that most of us need to buy when getting started. Not sure anyone on this board would be familiar with this more eastern brand, but for us, a product line like Braxton-Culler would be 'good stuff'.

Well, I figured the stores would be 'thin' in WY, as everything is 'thin'. Going out of the area is not out of the question. I have considered hauling stuff from 'back east' here, but would want to see what options there might be.

Any good stores in the SLC, or Boise area, or up in MT?

[sunsprit]

Ennis Fine Furniture in Boise.

While SLC is a slightly smaller city than Boise, the Provo through Orem corridor and up into the Wasatch front range nearby has many more pockets of affluent communities that it serves than the region around Boise's commercial district. Hence my impression that you're more likely to find upline furniture/furnishings in SLC than Boise.

Not familiar with Braxton-Culler, so can't make a comparison for you on that line.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

LOL, not going to have a 7 figure lighting budget or anything like that. Just not wanting the basic home starter stuff that most of us need to buy when getting started. Not sure anyone on this board would be familiar with this more eastern brand, but for us, a product line like Braxton-Culler would be 'good stuff'.

Well, I figured the stores would be 'thin' in WY, as everything is 'thin'. Going out of the area is not out of the question. I have considered hauling stuff from 'back east' here, but would want to see what options there might be.

Any good stores in the SLC, or Boise area, or up in MT?

Do you have time to order online, or do you need it sooner? Even when I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area I found it to be cheaper, a better selection and more convenient to just order furniture online. I had to wait a long time for it to arrive, but eventually it was delivered right to my door, for free. In less populated areas, I can't imagine trying to find a store with a good selection of furniture.

Braxton Culler _ Wayfair

[nm9stheham]

I'm good either way. This is in the planning stages right now, so online actually is good. I doubt that we will buy certain things like seating and bedding unseen and untested, as there is a comfort factor to determine, but the rest is fair game for online. That Wayfair site looks interesting....thanks!

As for the less populated areas, traveling to large population centers is not an issue.... I just need to know what is where. I'm doing searches online for store, but figure there will be some places that I will miss.

[jody_wy]

a little google search there a few custom furniture shops, around Wyoming... looks like nice one in Cody, See on in Laramie. didn't find it on line but know there one in Afton. There probably more around that make just log or pine furniture, Our neighbor has a wood shop understand she made the furniture for Meadowlark lake lodge.

[OHNot4Me]

Do many people in WY run humidifiers year round to preserve their wood furniture from the cold and dry conditions?

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by OHNot4Me

Do many people in WY run humidifiers year round to preserve their wood furniture from the cold and dry conditions?

Of the few houses with humidifiers that I've seen around here, the priority was to have the added humidity for health reasons, such as dry sinus & skin conditions, in forced air heated houses where a whole house humidifier could be installed in the heating system. Another source of humidity might be those "swamp coolers" (evaporative coolers) during the warm weather months.

My impression is that very few people use humidifiers in this region.

[WyoNewk]

Originally Posted by OHNot4Me

Do many people in WY run humidifiers year round to preserve their wood furniture from the cold and dry conditions?

We did for the first several years in Wyoming. I tried the whole house humidistat in my furnace when we had a new home built, but it didn't seem to work. In a last-ditch effort, the owner of the plumbing and heating company came over and worked on it, but it still wouldn't move the humidity level. We gave up on it and used the kind that sets on the floor and takes 15-20 gallons of water carried to it. They work, but they're a pain to fill and keep clean all winter long. I don't remember when I quit using them, probably when I divorced my first wife 25 years ago.

We used them for comfort (winters only), but I have noticed in the last couple years that some of our wooden chairs and stools are coming apart. They're ~25 years old, so I think they were fine the first 20 years or so. It wouldn't be too tough to re-glue them, but so far my wife hasn't said anything, and I've got other things to do for now.