Discount Bedroom Furniture Buying Guide
You don’t want to break the bank buying bedroom furniture. But you don’t want to break the bed because you bought cheap. You don’t have to sacrifice quality for affordability, or affordability for quality. But you have to keep your eyes open and your expectations realistic. There are many furniture manufacturers who will be more than happy to part with your money.
Why the craftsmanship of bedroom furniture is so important
Why does bedroom furniture seem to break down before the rest of the furniture in the house? Because it is generally used more often and more than any other piece of furniture in the house.
Frequent use guaranteed.
For many people, bedroom furniture will get more constant use than furniture in any other room. Even if you spend all day at work and never turn on your TV, you’ll still start and end your day in bed.
heavy use
No one is a kind creature in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning.
Toss and turn? I better hope your bed joints can take it.
Who remembers using a coaster for a glass of water in the middle of the night? If your nightstand finish is sprayed rather than genuine varnish, you can expect the glass of water to leave some pretty nasty scars.
Your nightstand will sound great when you hit the “repeat” button. If the parts are loosely bolted together, there will be some damage in a few years.
Your dresser drawers will slam open and slam shut. If the drawers slide on metal runners instead of plastic, you could just pull the drawer out.
Of course, you could treat the furniture delicately. If that’s possible to do when you’re tired, it would be a great way to create a lot of stress in the room.
Considering that you can spend a third of your life in the bedroom, why not make it nice?
Discount Bedroom Furniture Quality Assessment
You can find good and bad furniture at almost any furniture store. Furniture stores tend to be a bit like car dealerships in that regard. But some stores may be worse than others.
In particular, be wary of any of the new lines of bedroom furniture being sold by discount department stores. Kmart and Target, in particular, have moved into the furniture business with mixed results. According to a recent New York Times article, when a professional furniture craftsman reviewed the “designer” pieces at Target, he found plenty of reason to believe the furniture wouldn’t last. The biggest cause for alarm: the parts that screwed together without sticking.
When parts are just bolted together they will inevitably start to move around a bit. As time goes by, the movement will loosen the bolts. Then one day when you hit the “sleep” button, the nightstand will collapse under it.
Materials are of course just as important as workmanship, at least when it comes to price. Everyone knows that hardwood costs more than particle board. But not everyone can spot particle board right away. What does oak mean”? Just because something looks like oak doesn’t mean it’s oak.
If every inch of the surface is covered with some type of veneer, check the materials label on the furniture label. Every piece of furniture you buy should have some kind of label like this. If you are buying online, the description of the part on the website should say what the materials are. If not, take your business elsewhere.
Want a shortcut to finding well-made, discounted bedroom furniture? Try to find furniture from a respected design company. An Ethan Allen table sold at one store should be just as good as an Ethan Allen table sold at another. Of course, these brands are expensive. You can cut the cost by comparing online purchases just as you would shop for electronics or cars. You can even buy the furniture online and have it delivered to your home, just like in an offline furniture store.
Wherever you buy your bedroom furniture, just make sure it’s quality. After all, you will spend a third of your life in it.
