Discussions

where are the best places to buy furniture? ikea or local furniture stores, etc?  
 
i like that ikea is less expensive and they have different designs but is it hard to put together? (especially with couches?)  
 
would you recommend buying warranty with new furniture?  
 
any tips or input on buying would be appreciated. thanks for the help!

I would buy local.....Like Kullbergs, not a chain store. They were awesome with our purchases. I would not buy warranty. Usually if you have your bill of sale and something goes wrong, that is warranty enough.

IKEA has trendy but not always built to last. It is a good price and if you are looking to furnish many areas at once it may be the way to go, if you only needed a peice or two, have a look at better quality that will last a lot longer.  
As for the assembling I can't say what the process would be like. I would guess things like couches would come mostly assembled.

buying used?  
 
The reason I ask is because I am generally unsatisfied buying new, and many of my favourite pieces are used. Sometimes they require some work (painting, refinishing, recovering) but they are almost always the better bargain, you can customize them however you want, and because they are often better made, they will last you longer. There are a plethora of youtube videos and tutorials online to help you with the process if you've never refinished a piece.  
 
That being said, with bedbugs being an issue, we were leery about buying a used couch last year for our living room (our free-to-us sectional that was 20+ years old finally bit the biscuit after one too many jumping sessions from the kids). We bought a new one from a local chain store. After a year, it's already showing a tremendous amount of wear, and it wasn't cheap. I would think twice about buying new again.  
 
IKEA also has it's uses. I have a 35+ year old dining room table, still in great shape and in a classic design, but the chairs have been abused beyond repair (I think it was actually the 2nd set of chairs for that table already). I bought 6 IVAR unfinished chairs from IKEA for about $25 a piece (I think they're closer to $40 now), and spent another $40 on paint. I now have awesome chairs for my table, and they seem to be holding up well. I will get around to painting the legs of my table a complementary colour, hopefully soon. My parents recently decided to buy a new table, and after have 4 (!) tables delivered from the store they bought from (they all had defects or weren't to their satisfaction), they essentially bought a carbon-copy of the table they had given away, except not as study-made.  
 
Just some food for thought.

from the furniture store on Trans Canada,He has terrible, service/ warranty forget it

Is the only place I would buy furniture. Good quality and delivery with in 200 km.

Purchasing furniture is a big decision, and should be treated as such. Take your time and do your research, whether it be online or in person. Shop around and pay attention to promotions that the different stores have to make sure you get the best deal. If you’re purchasing warranty or any kind of insurance, make sure you understand fully what it does and does not cover. Trust your instinct. If you don’t like what your sales professional has to say, question them. Make sure that wherever and whomever you purchase through makes you feel happy and excited about your purchase.  
 
Domestic products will almost always be pricier than imports, but are usually worth it. Names like Palliser, Décor-Rest, Amisco and Defehr are all Canadian companies owned and operated here in Canada, and while your initial investment will be larger, it will last you a lot longer than an overseas product, or even Ashley Furniture products.  

ago I fully furnished my new home completely locally. The bulk of it came from Leons other than a couple of pieces from a warehouse operation on the TransCanada highway. The furniture ended up great (when I finally came) but I had a devil of a time getting any info on when it would arrive and it took forever. Of course they already had my money. It was very frustrating. But when i ended up having a problem with one of the items I had purchased from Leons the customer service was great and I was able to reselect. They are my first choice whenever I need something.

Kullbergs is the only store in this city with " different" furniture...all the rest of the stores have the same thing in them. Service is great !

jaxon and my22cents which store are you talking about if you don't mind pm'ing me.  
 
furniture shopping hasn't been that fun. I've found a lot of salespeople to be very pushy and follow you around the store. Sometimes you just want to browse :p

we had a good experience getting our sectional from leons. the saleslady was able to lower the price that was advertised, didn't follow us around but would check in occasionally. got it delivered when they said it should be.