Online Custom Furniture Experience?

[kingmoochr]

We're shopping for new living room furniture for the new house. Was about to settle on a compromise from Living Spaces, but then I discovered JoyBird (good lookin' Facebook, your stalking of my life finally paid off). It's custom furniture in styles and sizes that work for us, and they have a generous "try it" period and not unreasonable delivery fees.

Anyone on teh barf ordered furniture online and been happy/unhappy with it? Anyone order from JoyBird or have other suggestions?

Clarification: Anyone experienced with Joybird, Benchmade Modern, Interior Define, or another similar company? Looking to spend 3-4k for 2 pieces.

 

[Yakoo752]

I've ordered things from Houz and swear every time I will never order from them/online again

I went through 3 bathroom vanities before I received one that wasn't damaged

I went through 5 side tables before I received one that was acceptable, not I didn't say "wasn't damaged"

I refused delivery on all of them that were deemed unacceptable.

same with large format prints/frames... I've never received one not buggered.

ymmv

 

[CoorsLight]

Go to House of Values in San Mateo.

It's a strange company, and you may have to pore through a bunch of catalogs to pick exactly what you want. But it's worth the effort.

Free delivery in San Mateo county. Great service. The manufacturers they work with are great quality. I've made 5 purchases there and will not consider furniture shopping anywhere else as long as I'm in the Bay Area.

 

[295566]

Don't buy from Living Spaces. It took over 2 months of escalating through customer service reps over email and phone calls for them to even admit that I had a legit warranty claim. This was less than 6 months after purchasing a couch, brand spanking new, and it basically imploded on itself and was completely and totally unusable. This was also the third time that it happened (they replaced it twice before). Not sure what was different the third time, but in the end I had to sue them in small claims to get my money back. Fuck them.

 

[mercurial]

Online furniture is garbage. Furniture is all about fit and finish, and when you purchase online, you can't gauge either. Also good furniture costs real money. The materials are expensive and the product requires hand workmanship. There is rarely a way to get a killer deal and a great product.

 

[kingmoochr]

Online furniture is garbage. Furniture is all about fit and finish, and when you purchase online, you can't gauge either. Also good furniture costs real money. The materials are expensive and the product requires hand workmanship. There is rarely a way to get a killer deal and a great product.

You didn't look into the company did you? Its not from a Chinese shipping container. I said online, not cheap.

 

[MikeyRocks]

If you know the exact models of the furniture, give these guys a call:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dimensional-outlet-furniture-oakland

I was in the same situation a few years back when shopping for bedroom furniture. Found the exact model I wanted at a furniture store in Elk Grove, was quoted somewhere around $5k.

Somehow I found these guys and gave them the exact brand and model of the furniture and they beat the price by almost $1000.

I'm sure they'll deliver to Pacifica, they delivered to Vallejo when we ordered our furniture.

 

[kingmoochr]

The issue in having is I need smaller stuff. Makes the custom route really appealing. Especially with being able to custom size from Benchmade. Do they just order from big manufacturers?

 

[Yakoo752]

Online furniture is garbage. Furniture is all about fit and finish, and when you purchase online, you can't gauge either. Also good furniture costs real money. The materials are expensive and the product requires hand workmanship. There is rarely a way to get a killer deal and a great product.

You didn't look into the company did you? Its not from a Chinese shipping container. I said online, not cheap.

he said cheap and you equated it only to costs

there is something to be said about high quality furniture that uses high quality materials and high quality construction

there is no way for you to determine quality (construction and materials) from a website.

 

[TerryM]

I needed to fill a new house with furniture and had a space issue in some rooms. Looked around in some local stores and found brands and models I liked, then nosed around on the internet and found retailers near the manufacturers (North Carolina) that sold the same pieces for around half the price. The retail sales person handled the whole thing - fabric grades and samples, cushion grade, etc. - and connected me with overland shippers they worked with.

The whole thing was pretty painless and saved big $. I felt a little slimey using the local stores that way, but did give them the chance to reduce price and they couldn't come close. Truly half price including shipping. That's not custom sizing like you asked about but another data point for you.

 

[kingmoochr]

he said cheap and you equated it only to costs

there is something to be said about high quality furniture that uses high quality materials and high quality construction

there is no way for you to determine quality (construction and materials) from a website.

Even when the website lists all the materials and has videos of the constructing? Don't get that at Macy's or Ashley. You seem to have equated online with buying from a photograph.

 

[kingmoochr]

I needed to fill a new house with furniture and had a space issue in some rooms. Looked around in some local stores and found brands and models I liked, then nosed around on the internet and found retailers near the manufacturers (North Carolina) that sold the same pieces for around half the price. The retail sales person handled the whole thing - fabric grades and samples, cushion grade, etc. - and connected me with overland shippers they worked with.

The whole thing was pretty painless and saved big $. I felt a little slimey using the local stores that way, but did give them the chance to reduce price and they couldn't come close. Truly half price including shipping. That's not custom sizing like you asked about but another data point for you.

Where did you start locally?

 

[bruceflinch]

After the ex moved out I replaced the furniture I wanted to, from consignment stores. Took a few months & I bought only what I really liked & wanted.
Spent less than $1000 for 2 big pieces & 6 smaller ones.

 

[mercurial]

I looked at joybird, I guess they might be an ok option if you are looking for ultra mid-century modern pieces (unless you live in an Eichler home or are planning to move to palm springs soon, going all-in on that style isn't great IMO; but that's a personal judgment call.)

However, the prices are definitely not cheap, and yet much of the furniture as advertised are made of "sustainable kiln-dried wood" and shit like that. Kiln-dried, as opposed to wood that is still moist? Sustainable as in, veneer or some kind of crappy mangowood? Poor quality materials seem to be pretty common with mid-century modern statement pieces.

If I am paying $600 for a coffee table it had damn well better be made out of a real hardwood.

 

[TerryM]

Where did you start locally?

In Santa Cruz - SC41, Modern Life, Natural Selection. In SF - Room & Board, MScape. Rowe is the manufacturer we wound up with for one small sofa and another compact but queen-size sofa bed. SC41 and several other stores sell that brand. The retailer in NC is Cross Creek Furniture.

A friend also had good luck with Zebra Sofas in San Rafael/San Anselmo They make furniture to order, all supposedly manufactured in CA. There are several similar stores like that around - California Sofa, Sofa Creations. I think they make more than just sofas.

 

[kingmoochr]

Sweet, thanks Terry. Recent posts on joybird show tanking customer service and delivery times, signs they grew faster than they were able to accommodate. Currently looking at Benchmade modern, but I'll check those out as well. I'm just looking for sofa/ sectional/ daybed type items.

 

[CoorsLight]

Sweet, thanks Terry. Recent posts on joybird show tanking customer service and delivery times, signs they grew faster than they were able to accommodate. Currently looking at Benchmade modern, but I'll check those out as well. I'm just looking for sofa/ sectional/ daybed type items.

Dude, if you buy upholstered furniture and you go to House of Values after you do it, you'll kick yourself for spending way too much money on too little quality.

I bought a sectional from Scandanavian Designs on sale and got an additional $550 off. I still got a crappier, more expensive piece than if I had gone to House of Values to get a sectional commissioned with my preferences for upholstery, stain, etc.

Go there and see what kind of prices they can get you on quality shit. Don't find out later that you got ripped off.

 

[kingmoochr]

Dude, if you buy upholstered furniture and you go to House of Values after you do it, you'll kick yourself for spending way too much money on too little quality.

I bought a sectional from Scandanavian Designs on sale and got an additional $550 off. I still got a crappier, more expensive piece than if I had gone to House of Values to get a sectional commissioned with my preferences for upholstery, stain, etc.

Go there and see what kind of prices they can get you on quality shit. Don't find out later that you got ripped off.

I'll check it out too, but I'm working with a small, weirdly laid out space, which makes the custom route the most appealing.

 

[wally]

I'll check it out too, but I'm working with a small, weirdly laid out space, which makes the custom route the most appealing.

I bought a z chair custom made from total design furniture in LA. It's higher quality than all of the ones I've seen in stores. No visible hardware etc. Oh and cheaper too. Got to pick exactly what stain and fabric I wanted and it was delivered to my house by the owner himself. Nice guy, great chair.