Seeking Help in Picking Furniture and Draperies

There's a place up in SF I used to go to called Bus Truck (or something like that)...huge selection, great quality, and reasonable prices. Congratulations and happy nesting!

I like Z Gallerie stuff, but they are probably more pricey than you want to spend. Just remember... if you buy quality to begin with you don't have to replace as soon as you do with the other stuff.

Congrats on your baby boy!!

My theory of decorating has always been to buy "disposable" furniture while my kids are little, and as they get older and less prone to spilling things, to invest in better pieces.

That being said, I love Ikea. Great prices and really pretty well made (in our last house, we even re-did the kitchen with Ikea cabinetry and got SO many compliments from people who thought we had spent way more than we did).

Also, I was just in Cost Plus the other day and noticed that they have some fantastic items such as bookshelves, beds, couches and desks. Who knew? I bought their Soho bookshelf and I must say it looks fabulous here in my living room, and I got it at a great price. (They have a friends and family sale going on, but you can probably just ask them for a coupon and they'll give it to you - that's what I did!)

If you want to splurge a little... Restoration Hardware is sooooo fabulous. Sometimes they have stuff on sale so you don't have to spend a fortune. And it's great for little accent pieces to make your Ikea stuff look more upscale. =)

Good luck and have fun decorating!

"Zachary Furniture" in Walnut Grove (14165 Market st., Walnut Grove, CA.) ###-###-#### Delivery available to the Bay Area! Enjoy the drive out to the delta.
Store hours: Wednesday-Friday 12-6 Sat & Sun 11-4
My Good friend owns it and I know she has better prices on her furniture than any bay area store, yet sells the same high end things. The atmosphere is amazing, she has it set up very modern. The furniture is high quality. Unique affordable home furnishings, accesories, area rugs, wall art and bedding. I love the stuff she has there. You can custom order the furniture in a huge selection of fabrics.
Until the end of December get free interior design conulting with purchases over $1000. I'm not just promoting it, I really ,really love the stuff she has there. The owner is Mary Jane, and tell her Liz sent you if you go. You could seriously fill your whole house from her store inventory. Enjoy!

Hi A.,

We bought a much larger home last August and have not finished furnishing it for a few reasons, but one main reason is that all furniture shopping seems to be online these days and we want to touch and feel before we purchase something. This past weekend, we went to Vallejo and found 5 furniture stores in the span of two blocks. We went from store to store and found great, quality furniture at extremely reasonable prices. We got a bunk bed with both matresses (solid Oak) for $649 and a great breakfast table/nook (solid Oak) that seats about 7 for $699. Delivery only $29 to El Cerrito. Of course we wanted to buy more, but will do that over time. Try B&N Furniture Warehouse @ 3684 Sonoma Blvd, Vallejo, 94590 ###-###-####. Everyone was having a sale too!!

My theory is that rents are so expensive in the Bay Area that businesses (especially one's that need a lot of space) are moving into the outskirts. Because there are so many stores on Sonoma Blvd. it is very competitive and you can negotiate (especially if you have cash).

Good luck!

Wow, back to normal with a 15 day old??!! Not bad.

You don't say anything about your taste or budget, so it's a little hard to advise. Since you seem to want to do it all at once, I assume you're not too picky, and then I would highly recommend Ikea. Ideas are all laid out for you, and it's about as affordable as you can get. The sofas aren't really durable, but if you don't need a sofa to last more than a few years it's a good start. Also, spending a lot of money on certain furniture pieces (like sofas) can be a waste when you have really young kids.

And I second Catherine's suggestion of Cost Plus. They have some really nice stuff these days, I like it much better than Pier 1.

Hi Archie

Try Craigslist and consignment stores for furniture and ready made curtains are much cheaper than custom. Basic metallic blinds are also reasonable, and companies will come out and measure for you.

All the best

M.

Check out IKEA. Its a great place to shop with the kids and there are a lot of ideas there to look at. They even have a babyroom you can nurse the baby in in case you are shopping a while.

I love decorating! I'm into the french country look in my home so all of my draperies are made by Waverly.

I'm not sure if Target still carries Waverly but I did buy some valances there last year. I also found Waverly Valances and panels at Lowes. I found one pattern I liked at Lowe's but it didn't come in a panel just a valance so I tracked them down on ebay and bought them there.

I believe Jc Penney also sells Waverly. Custom made window places will also carry Waverly but of course that gets pricey to get the custom made stuff.

I bought my furniture from an assortment of places so I really don't have any suggestions for one place to go. I'm more of a bargain shopper so i'm always looking for the best deals. Ashley Furniture is a good place to check out for affordability.

As far as giving your home your own personal touch with a accessories, art work, mirrors, etc. I LOVE Homegoods! Homegoods is related to TJ Maxx, the entire store is just home decor. One of those treasure hunting stores where you never know what you will find since it is discount.

Good luck!

Hello =)

My name is Kris (just found out that I'm pregnant for the first time!!!) and I am a home & office designer. If you are interested in seeing my work, please email me @ ____@____.com and I can forward you images of my work.

My rates are very reasonable (most of my profit is from the store discounts of the items I select for my clients, which you would be paying retail for anyways), and my expertise is definitely worth it.

I also have great knowledge of eco-friendly and non-toxic materials and furniture, which will benefit the quality of life for your young family. I work out of my home in Antioch, but have clients from Santa Clara to Oakland to Martinez.

Thanks for your consideration & have a lovely day =)
Kris Dava
Owner/Designer
Kriz*ma Designs

There is a TON of stuff on Craigslist these days. Dining room furniture is great to buy used because it doesn't wear out very much.

Hi A., I found that when my little one was sleeping it was the best time to pull out my sewing machine. Go shopping for your favorite fabrics, and make your curtains. You will love them more than anything you can purchase. Happy sewing...

i love scandinavian designs...some stuff a little pricey but nice and worth it. as for curtains etc you can find nice ones for cheap at COST PLUS, PIER ONE and URBAN OUTFITTERS...i usually go online for curtains from UO. good luck and have fun!

I personally love Ikea, it's well priced, and if you choose carefully, good quality.
I have a couch from there which I bought over 6 years ago - it's been jumped on by two kids and a dog, puked on and everything, but it's got machine washable covers and so still looks like new.

Have a lot of fun making your new house a home.

Hi Archie,

It really depends on your taste in furniture, but I love Cost Plus World Market and we recently got an amazing deal on bedroom furniture and a sofa at Rosso's in Morgan Hill. We got our Z-Gallery dining set on craigslist.org for half the price it would have cost us at Z-Gallery so that's another great resource.

Good luck.
S.

Custom made draperies are very expensive. My brother got his window covers from Ikea and altered the length himself. If you have standard size windows, you can probable do the same or take it to a dry cleaner who can do alteration for you.

We bought our sofa from Stanford Designs in Newark (they have a store in SFMart and this is their warehouse). They have two big sales a year. They used to have selected styles of sofa on sale during the sales as least back then when we bought our couch. You can bring your own fabric and can do limited modification with the style. You might want to call to find out if this is still true. If you have the time, you should check them out before the sales. It is pretty crazy during the sales.

Hi there. If you are going to "invest" in some good furniture I would suggest protecting it from the sun with window film/tint. Me and my hubby have a window tinting business located in the East Bay if your interested we are also on the interenet at Cali Tint Bay Area. Good luck and they're are a few good places that I recommend such as Bassett, Ethan Allen, and JC Penny's is also wonderful. We are licenced and bonded and can give you an estimate for your windows if your interested. Good luck
C.

We used B & Z trading company in Livermore. I think it was on L Street, just after 1st Street. You need to put the legs on the table and couch when it arrives, which was super easy. They also do not deliver, but the furniture was SO AFFORDABLE and they had a great selection. We were in the same position when moved into our home a few years back. I have been so pleased with the quality of the furniture for the price and even more pleased that it stands up well to 3 children. We actually will be looking for a bigger dining room table and plan on going through them again.

Good luck and congratulations on the new baby! :)

Jen