Ask "Decorator Deb" - Shopping for Furniture for First Home

Hello, I’m happy to be a guest blogger about interior decorating and home staging on Edgewater-Davidsonville patch.com.  Here’s a question I recently received from a reader:

Q.  I just bought my first house and don’t have much money to buy furniture.  Do you have any ideas about where to shop for inexpensive, but decent, furniture?

A.  I’m happy to help you with this.  First of all, you may want to consider visiting consignment shops and garage sales to shop for furniture.  You can find some really nice things for a very reasonable price, but it may take you awhile to find items that you like and are in good condition. Please be aware, however, that there is always a risk of bed bugs in buying second hand upholstered furniture, including mattresses.

Another idea is to watch for furniture sales in local furniture stores.  Many stores are running sales at this time of year.  Of course, I always recommend stores that specialize in furniture, but department stores such as Home Goods, Target and Pier One, also carry some inexpensive furniture.

Finally, I’d like to suggest that you shop online retailers, such as overstock.com, which have very reasonable prices.  However, you need to be careful.  Read the reviews for the items BEFORE you purchase them.  Some furniture items they stock are not made for “hard wear.”

The old adage “you get what you pay for” is true, however, so please be cognizant of this fact.

If you have any questions for me, please comment below or
feel free to email me.  Or, if you would like a one-on-one consultation,
please let me know.

Thank you and have a wonderful week!  Happy Decorating!

“Decorator Deb”