Finding Deals On Unfinished Furniture

Unfinished furniture is just that—unfinished. It is usually sold assembled but you have to sand and paint or stain it yourself and often purchase knobs or drawer pulls. If you know how, you also know it’s a lot of work to do right. And the money you save in finishing it yourself might be offset by the cost of the finishing materials.

Unfinished furniture comes in a variety of price/quality ranges and you need to do your homework to see if it will work in your budget and with your skills. Some unfinished furniture is cheesy, with drawers that stick and poor quality workmanship and materials. Some is very nice, with good internal hardware and proper furniture joinery. If you have a very specific design theme in mind that requires a custom finish, unfinished furniture can be the answer.

Price is not the only reason to consider unfinished furniture. You can unleash your inner Picasso and approach the whole idea with gusto. Or you can paint your own custom nursery furniture. Unfinished furniture could also be a great family project. What kid wouldn’t want to paint his own dresser any way he wants?

You can get almost anything unfinished. Home office, bedroom, dining room, living room, storage, kid’s rooms—any type of piece is available. If you’ve never finished a piece of furniture before, stop at the library for books and videos and make sure you have everything you need on hand before you start. It’s best to do any staining or painting on a clear, dry day, and of course, you’ll have plenty of ventilation, won’t you?

There is an advantage to unfinished furniture that can’t be counted in dollars and cents and that is the satisfaction of doing good work and enjoying the result.

Discount furniture
How do you know ‘discount’ furniture is really discounted? You have to know brands, prices, and quality. There are many ways furniture can be discounted. An individual piece can be marked down if there is a ding in it or some other minor damage. Perhaps it’s a custom order and the customer changed his mind. Maybe somebody mixed the stain wrong and there is now a batch of ‘seconds’. Floor samples are bargains when a store is changing its displays. There are stores and chains that buy out overstocks, or that import on such a large scale they can sell for less. If you travel in the furniture-making region of the South, there are a lot of factory outlet stores. But remember, you have to get that gorgeous sideboard back home! Having a good feel for prices and being able to recognize good workmanship will also help you make a wise decision.

Then there is IKEA. They have no sales and you have to put most of the furniture together yourself. There are no ‘discounts’, per se. But their catalog is a good benchmark for probably the best prices in comparable furniture. Don’t forget to factor in all costs of ‘discount’ furniture. Delivery or shipping costs can add dramatically to the cost of anything you buy anywhere.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

| |