Saturday, November 22, 2008

On Buying Furniture

With just a couple of weeks left till we – hopefully – move into our new flat, the Guy and I went hunting for furniture. And got a rude shock.

We saw a bedroom set that I loved, and that the Guy did not dislike (which is a compliment to the furniture). It included a large wardrobe, which we definitely need (our clothes currently jostling for space in the one steel cupboard, three suitcases, a couple of cardboard boxes, and the little wall cupboard we have); a queen-size bed, which we need but thought we could do without for another couple of months (we have been making do the past two years with two single beds pushed together and a double mattress - it's been holding up quite well, surprisingly); a dresser, which we hadn’t budgeted for but realised we couldn’t do without; and a nightstand.

We actually wanted to buy a sofa first. We will definitely need it to rest our aching backs, espeially after we make the move. But there was nothing remotely in our price range.

So we booked the bedroom set. They have promised we can have it in 25 days.


So even if the rest of our house looks bare and messy, we can rest in our luxurious bedroom.

And it looks like it’ll be that way for a while. Last night, we calculated – rather, recalculated, based on more realistic estimates – what it will cost us to furnish the entire house.

We’re stuck with this car, honey. And no foreign holidays for a long time.

But at least we’ll finally have a well-furnished home! Maybe we can sit together on the sofa and dream of exotic locations.


7 comments:

Praveen VS said...

i will have to furnish my flat probabaly in Feb 2009 ....I better start planning and saving for that nowonly

Unmana said...

Why 'have to'?

Aneela Z said...

Smart Girl!
So many of us fall prey to vanity and investing in beautifying the living room or anything to do with guests...and ignore our own comfort.
I learnt my lesson and do you know the most expensive purchase in our house now (after the car)...the mattress!! I was tired of waking up with a bad back and being uncomfortable (at the cost of buying, beautifying and buying some more for the rest of the house) and have never been happier!!

D said...

Just a word of unsolicited advice Unmana: since you are spending so much to furnish your home, make sure the furniture is sturdy enough to last you a while. Had a bad experience some time ago when I bought this really nice sofa which was really appreciated by everyone but lasted us barely a year! Some of the stuff in the market these days looks rather nice but isn't strong enough.

Praveen VS said...

@Unmana: "have to" because the flat is under construction now. So I am planning to furnish it with all new stuffs :)
Let me see if my budget will hold up or not

Pallavi Sharma said...

Ready-made furniture will either cost you way too much, or may not be of a long-lasting quality. My suggestion is to hire the services of carpenters, design your stuff and tell them to make it the way you want... while accepting some suggestions that their experience and knowledge brings in. We did it that way. Girl, you gotta visit my place to see and discuss this stuff. Do you really need a formal invite?

Unmana said...

Aneela: Oh, I've always been self-centred enough to want my own comfort first. And you know what, I'm sitting on my new comfy sofa as I type this!

D and Pallu: I'm afraid we are no judges of furniture, so we have no idea how sturdy the furniture is. Unlike in our love lives, we judge by looks here!