Best furniture store?

[wolverine]

I've looking buying some stuff for the home, such as lamps and a new armoire.

I flipped through the latest IKEA catalog and decided that they are quite overrated.
The selection at the Brick has been up and down.
I've bought some nice shit from Leons in the past, but I find their sales people overbearing.
United is OK for odd knicknacks and good bargains if you can find them.
Konto has some quality items and is a nice alternative to IKEA.
Have never been to Finesse, nor have I had a chance to check out the smaller, trendier shops in downtown and High Street.

 

[WalterMitty]

Depends what you want.

Finesse has higher end stuff...expect to pay $$$$. I purchased a bedroom suite from them (canopy bed, dressor, armoire)...very nice, and not something that you could buy at Leon's or the Brick (sorry SG)

IKEA has relatively cheap and inexpensive stuff, but very practical. I don't buy much in the way of big ticket items from them anymore.

I personally don't like the Brick...they do not allow returns, just exchanges and because of that I avoid them as much as possible. Plus their salespeople are, generally, quite pushy (hope none are PERBs)

For leather furniture, I have bought from Leather Elite and for unique lamps/mirrors and other accessories I have used Mobler (both on Mayfield road, just south of Deja Vu to use familiar landmarks)

Just my tastes. Of course, YMMV

Walter

 

[wolverine]

If you are looking for lamps IKEA is the best bang for your buck.

Last year I bought a cheap but cool-looking desk lamp from IKEA but it died after 2 weeks. Just about all of the lamps I've seen in their new catalog is unimpressive.

Konto:
I've always been impressed with the sales people and customer service

Verily. I bought a multi-shelved computer desk from them a while back. But after seeing that assembly was going to take days just to figure out the instructions (and I'm usually a DIY type of guy), I called them and told them. They sent a guy over immediately, and he had it assembled in under an hour!

 

[LongLasting]

If you are looking for...

real wood (no pun intendid), dispite the lame name - give Aunty Fanny's a try.

I have found the quality to be far superior to the cheap crap from many stores out there. They usually have a couple sales per year as well.

 

[SexyCJinCalgary]

Wolvie, I saw an absolutely fascinating lamp at Finesse. Was a 5' high rectangle with multiple doors, each with a shaded light behind the door -- picture a magician's box with three parts kind of idea -- but this had five or six little doors. A very chic, I thought, and quite unique method of providing variable levels of light in one fixture. Last I was there, many of the unique items were on clearance due to flooding in the store during the nasty overages of rain in July.

 

[wolverine]

Thanks, sweetie. Although I think I'm too late for any post-flood bargains, I'll check out Finesse but mainly because I've never even been there before.

 

[dakota30]

I would be wary of the Brick. I think they will be the next to go down like SportChek and Suzy Shier did.

Take for example the 'free' bed when you buy all the other pieces. That's great, except by the time you are done paying $400 for a $175 night table, and $700 for a $400 dresser and so on, that free bed ended up costing you $1500 because the matching pieces are overpriced, if you had just bought it straight out, it was $1000. They do the same thing with buying the couch and loveseat, get the chair free. The couch and loveseat are overpriced, so the cost of the free chair is covered for them. You paid for the free chair, you just didn't know it.

 

[wolverine]

I checked out a few other places today.

XS Wares is having a relocation sale. Nothing much for big-ticket furniture, but it's a great place for accessories like wine glasses, soap dishes and kitchen utensils.

Kobler and Scandia, which are side-by-side on Mayfield Road, has some nice stuff. I may ending buying a couple of things from there once I measure things out.