Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Discount Furniture

Both my brother and I have tight budgets for the same reason. We are both going into business together, you see, so we both have to save every penny we can. We like to live large, and we entertain friends and guests, but we can't spend too much money doing it. That is why we both buy discount furniture whenever we get a chance to.

Although I love shopping for discount furnishings, my brother hates it. The difference lies in our approaches. You see, I have always seen buying discount furniture as a challenge. I can get discount leather furniture for a great price if I am willing to look in all the right places. To me, it is sort of like a puzzle. Finding furniture discount is a challenging activity that I get to engage in on the weekends. This keeps me from stressing out about money – if you make it a game, it stays fun.

The key to finding discount furniture is knowing where to look. If you are willing to look at overstock furniture, you can often find completely new and high quality items at a low price. If you have some basic woodworking skills – as I do – and know how to reupholster a chair besides, you can get even better discounts on furniture. You can get discount furniture in bad shape for almost nothing, fix it up, and have an original beautiful chair or table for your living room. Much of my of discount living room furniture was actually obtained in this way – I bought it already made, but finished it myself. It is amazing how much you can save on discount furniture if you are willing to do a little bit of work.

Of course, the best discount furniture store is the thrift store. Many people think of thrift stores as places for college kids and hobos, but the reality is that if you are willing to look carefully, you can find some high-quality pieces of furniture there. Some of the discount furniture in thrift stores just is in need of a good coat of paint and that is all. Other times, you can get by with a sanding and some minor repairs. You can also go to open-air markets and look for the items that people are selling there. The quality of the products might surprise you! I know that I have found some great pieces in some unexpected places.