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[queendiva]

While shopping and doing errands on Saturday morning the two stores that were the most crowded: the big ReStore ( lots of furniture, HH, building supplies, etc) and the upholsterer. 

The upholsterer said he has never been so busy. Larger jobs are booked several months in advance. I ordered Sunbrella fabric to have my outdoor cushions redone by early May and I was none too early getting the process started. Clearly upholstery shops are few and far between any more.

People were shopping for everything at ReStore. I found a great small crystal lamp with shade for just $10.00 and was happy to wait in a long line to purchase.

Seems as if people are looking to care for and update their homes' interiors on a budget.

That has been my plan for the longest.

I scored a beautiful Ethan Allen bookcase with glass doors earlier in the week from a consignment store I visit when I am in town. Perfect for DS & DDIL. I was told when I picked it up the following day that they had multiple offers on it. Good thing I saw it first!

[stevieb]

Good for you for being more fearless than I... Any shopping I'm doing these days is pretty much for essentials and while I've always tried to avoid long lines, I'm avoiding them these days like, well, the plague... 

[haddon9]

@queendiva Funny you should mention upholstery!  I have a sofa and pair of chairs in my living room that I purchased from Ethan Allen over 25 years ago.....time for an upgrade! 

The chairs are in good condition but the sofa is in excellent condition and I don't have the heart to get rid of them but they are so dated.  I'm tired of them too.  So I'm thinking of looking into either having them reupholstered or having custom slip covers made for them.  

I have a feeling though that getting the sofa reupholstered will cost more than getting a new sofa that costs somewhere in the middle.

I didn't realize that it has gotten so popular all of a sudden.

[PickyPicky3]

About 3 years ago I bought an old Ethan Allen bench with drawers from a Craigslist seller for $50. This was part of a king size bedroom set and was the full width of the bed. I needed something to hold a large TV.

I took it to a professional furniture painter who made it beautiful for $150, including delivery back to my house. It still looks great and I've gotten many complements.

I'm glad to hear that the Re Store and upholsterer are busy. For a while I thought people had stopped buying used furniture. I love mixing furniture from different periods. 

[queendiva]

@haddon9 : similar to your situation: back in 2009 I had a perfectly good LR sofa and mismatched chair . They were both comfortable but it drove me nuts that they were obviously mismatched. I chose a wonderful chenille fabric to reupholster both pieces.

Yes, it would have been a lot less $$ to sell those two pieces and buy new.

[Snowpuppy]

I do have a Re-Store here and they had a beautiful, never installed Kohler kitchen sink I was drooling over! But I waited too long and it was gone.

I've made the move to repurpose or buy used/vintage when possible. Why not save an item of great quality from the landfill while saving yourself $$$ ?

I had some dining chairs reupholstered and while pricey, I couldn't duplicate the quality of the workmanship at any price. No regrets there.

[stevieb]

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@haddon9 wrote:

@queendiva Funny you should mention upholstery!  I have a sofa and pair of chairs in my living room that I purchased from Ethan Allen over 25 years ago.....time for an upgrade! 

The chairs are in good condition but the sofa is in excellent condition and I don't have the heart to get rid of them but they are so dated.  I'm tired of them too.  So I'm thinking of looking into either having them reupholstered or having custom slip covers made for them.  

I have a feeling though that getting the sofa reupholstered will cost more than getting a new sofa that costs somewhere in the middle.

I didn't realize that it has gotten so popular all of a sudden.

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@haddon9  I had a beautiful Highland House sofa that I sought to have reupholstered and yes, it was less costly to buy another sofa... That said, if you love your sofa and can afford to do so, go the upholstery route... To this day I wish I had and the sofa I replaced is still missed... The replacement is nice, but not like the one I let get away...

[jlkz]

While in Naples, I found a 5x7 oriental wool carpet  in shades of gold / tan with a black edge for $30.  Glad we drove down this time because it is coming back with us.

If you go to Restore, don't forget to check out the rugs under the furniture displays !

[AuntG]

Could it be because older things were made better? We've decided not to replace things because of the poor quality of the new things we look at. 

[haddon9]

@stevieb Before looking at new I plan on looking into getting the sofa & chairs reupholstered or custom slipcovers made just to see how they could look and what the cost would be. If it's doable for me that is the way I plan on going.

They are beautiful pieces and so well made!