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where can I get an affordable couch?

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Photo of Clarisa R.

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09/06/2006 Clarisa R. says:

I remember going to this Goodwill Outlet place with my friend a looooong time ago, but I can't remember where it is and I can't find it online. Have any suggestions for someon looking for a great deal on furniture?
Photo of Tiff T.

Elite '08

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09/06/2006 Tiff "Tipsy" T. says:

There's always http://austin.craigsli... if you can't remember where the Goodwill Outlet is. I believe the Salvation Army store(s) might carry some furniture deals, too.
Photo of Jesse A.

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09/06/2006 Jesse A. says:

I'm pretty sure Texas Discount Furniture has the best deals in town.
Photo of Clarisa R.

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09/07/2006 Clarisa R. says:

Thanks for the tips!
Photo of Carrie C.

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09/07/2006 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

The Goodwill you might be thinking of is the one on 183 near Burnett Rd.  You actually have to take the northbound exit before Burnett to get to it.  

The Salvation Army is a bit more expensive, but they usually have one or two good pieces at the mega-large store on South... Congress I think.  If not, it's South 1st, but I'm 90% sure it's on South Congress.  They're a bit more expensive.  To get to that one, go down South Congress until it crosses 71 where the Chuck E. Cheese and a Wendy's is at.  The store is on Congress, to your right, pretty soon after 71.
Photo of Carrie C.

Elite '08

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12/28/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

This is ancient but I need to know where y'all would go to find an affordable couch.  Craigslist is dead to me as everything on there fits at least one of these categories:
- covered in dog hair
- covered in cat hair
- puked on
- peed on
- floral
- from 1986 but only 10 years old
- hideous
- overpriced

I plan on looking around IKEA and Eurway but if you know of an outlet or resale (shouldn't that be resell?) shop, plz lemme know.
Photo of Jaime M.

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12/28/2007 Jaime "my mouse turns into this little rainbow" M. says:

I haven't done any browsing yet (I'm in the same situation as you but I need a dresser and I'm totally fed up with CL), but there seem to be a TON of shady-exterior discount furniture places on North Lamar/North Burnet. I plan to do some investigating in the next few weeks as even Ikea seems out of my price range on this particular item!
Photo of Carrie C.

Elite '08

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12/28/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

I've been to both Texas Discount Furniture and Alex in the past but never when I was seriously looking for furniture and the stuff that I liked in both places was out of my price range.  Looking at the Ikea and Eurway websites, the sofas were reasonable but so bland.  I might like them up close though.  I wish we had more auctions here.
Photo of Jaime M.

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12/28/2007 Jaime "my mouse turns into this little rainbow" M. says:

My good friend bought a cute Ikea couch that he thought was medium brown in the store and online, but he brought it to his house and it was dark purple (basically his least favorite color).

So beware the magical color-changing Ikea couches. But if you pay to have it delivered (pretty expensive, but he's rich and has a bad back) they'll send people out to take it back to the store for free within 90 days.
Photo of Jaye J.

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12/28/2007 Jaye "Artsy-Fartsy" J. says:

When y'all say reasonable, what are you thinking? IKEA? Please, take a word of advice and spend some time sitting on that sucker if you plan on keeping it for a few years.

You can clean up a couch that *looks* like vomit (not smells like) with a cover and some pillows. Ask me how I know...
Photo of Michelle C.

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12/29/2007 Michelle "Trapezelicious" C. says:

I still think Craigslist or garage sales are a great bet.  Friends of mine have great couches from both places.  Assuming you cannot be convinced about these two sources, I agree that IKEA is a good option.  Not sure what your definition of "reasonable" is, but I got our couch at the Pottery Barn outlet in San Marcos for...$600, I think?  It's been a while since I purchased furniture there, but they used to be willing to bargain with you, which helps a bit with the pricing.
Photo of Allison P.

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12/29/2007 Allison "button classic" P. says:

Try Sofamart on Burnet. They have some cute couches that are in the $500-$800 range and are better quality than Ikea.
Photo of Hoa N.

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12/29/2007 Hoa N. says:

If you go the thrift or garage sale route, you have to be willing to look for awhile and it can be very worth it. I love love love my current couch. It is the perfect scale for our small living room and you can fit alot of people on it (important because we entertain often).  

I found our vintage sectional at the Goodwill on Lake Austin 9 years ago for $75. An interior designer friend ooh and ahhed over it saying that it had "good bones" and, unlike most inexpensive contemporary couches, is constructed with hardwood. But we had to live with some ugly fabric for several years before we could spring for recovering it (not cheap--but in this case worth it because as my friend said, a comparable quality-made couch would run between 4 and 6K!).

Before that, I found a gorgeous vintage loveseat at a church yard sale for $5. It was covered in a crushed velvet material in a deep gold color. It was a sofa bed, back when they were made with some serious metal. That thing was *heavy*. It looked great when paired with a garage sale Persian rug in reds and beiges. It served us well for several years.
Photo of Jaime M.

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12/29/2007 Jaime "my mouse turns into this little rainbow" M. says:

Yeah, reasonable is under $300 for a couch, under $75 for a dresser in good shape (nothing that can't be fixed by a coat of stain or a cheap slipcover). Prices for everything are outrageous.
I am a cheapy cheapy cheapskate. My mother raised me this way, and I can't seem to get over it, but it's been OK so far. The woman scoured and scrounged until she found a new couch and chair (still in packaging and with tags) at a garage sale for $150 that were in an ad in the paper the next day for $1,500. It may not be my taste, but it was exactly what she wanted and looks a lot nicer than the $2,000 set stolen out of the same room a month before.
My current home is not awe-inspiring, but all my furniture save one "desk" (really a sofa table from Target, $90) was given to me by people tired of their own stuff or bought from a garage sale for under $30.
I just can't justify spending real chunks of money when I grew up in a beautiful home where my mom would SPRAY PAINT the couches if she got tired of the color, and it'd look damned good (you'll have to trust me on that one). That is to say, taste doesn't have to be expensive.
Photo of Hoa N.

Elite '08

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12/29/2007 Hoa N. says:

I've seen those couch spray paint products. Cool to hear that they work!

In the fall, UT has a big sale of used things that students leave behind. I've heard you can get some amazing finds. http://www.trashtotrea.../
Photo of Robin S.

Elite '08

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12/29/2007 Robin S. says:

One word: Ikea. Try the Hemnes Daybed. We use it as a:

guest bed for one
guest bed for two
TV room sofa
storage unit

It comes in white but can easily be painted. for 379, I thought getting all the above in one little piece of furniture was amazing
Photo of Jaime M.

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12/29/2007 Jaime "my mouse turns into this little rainbow" M. says:

Hoa, this wasn't any couch spray paint product. This was watered-down acrylic sprayed from a bug sprayer. Bright blue. It ended up making the fabric couch that had been blue and white striped look sort of like denim.
Photo of Stephanie S.

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12/29/2007 Stephanie "shoeshine girl" S. says:

I just some a nice brown pleather couch at Garden Ridge for $349.
Photo of Ginamarie H.

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12/29/2007 Ginamarie H. says:

I second Sofamart in Furniture Row! I just bought a nice couch for $500. They also have pretty okay discounted furniture back in the warehouse. Just ask one of the sales reps where that area is. They're pretty nice.
Photo of Stephanie S.

Elite '08

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12/29/2007 Stephanie "shoeshine girl" S. says:

saw, not "some".  I hate not being able to edit.
Photo of Ed L.

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12/29/2007 Ed "MoJo Filter" L. says:

Clarisa, I just thought of a place you might want to check out.

Wrights Furniture
www.wrightsfurnitureon...


And I wrote a small review if you are interested.
Photo of Artis T.

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12/30/2007 Artis "dat boi" T. says:

austinfreecycle may have a free couch for you.  and then there is goodwill, craigslist under furniture or garage sales.  you should be able to find something suitable well within your price point.
Photo of Carrie C.

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

Jamie said:
Yeah, reasonable is under $300 for a couch, under $75 for a dresser in good shape (nothing that can't be fixed by a coat of stain or a cheap slipcover). Prices for everything are outrageous.
I am a cheapy cheapy cheapskate. My mother raised me this way, and I can't seem to get over it...

______________________________ ______________________________ ________________________

That's pretty much how I feel.  Unfortunately, most of the couches on craigslist in that price range are butt ugly and need to be in the free section.  Reasonable to me is really the fair price for the item.  Like Michelle said, $600 for a new Pottery Barn couch probably isn't that bad at all, but I don't have $1500 or even $600 to spend on a couch.  I'll look around Goodwill but I have very specific things I'm looking for and I think buying it new would be my best bet.  The Hemnes Daybed sounds perfect, Robin, but I am worried a bit about comfort with IKEA.  

I'm not looking to buy a sofa immediately.  I got a year end bonus and was thinking big but after bills and rent it doesn't look like I'm going to have enough to spare on a couch so I'm just going to buy some nice shampoo or something.
Photo of Carrie C.

Elite '08

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

Goodwill is kind of on my shitlist for right now anyway.  I know they put people to work but they need to pay them more than 25-cents above minimum wage.
Photo of Michelle C.

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12/30/2007 Michelle "Trapezelicious" C. says:

Carrie, if you want to PM me with your cell number and your couch criteria, I'd be glad to keep an eye out for you.  I go to garage sales every (yes, every) weekend and would be glad to give you a call if I spotted something interesting in your price range that fit your criteria.

No pressure, though, if you'd rather not. :)
Photo of Carrie C.

Elite '08

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

Thanks!  I might do that if I can save some money from my bonus.
Photo of Carrie C.

Elite '08

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

But uh... I'm also now draming about cars to take me to the HEB because I HATE carrying groceries on the bus.  Stupid, I know they're money pits and I'd just get myself into a worse money situation than I'm already in, but I have this giant urge to visit used car lots today and look at anything pre-1984.  

Thank God they're closed today.
Photo of Allison P.

Elite '08

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12/30/2007 Allison "button classic" P. says:

If you are not in a hurry, keep an eye out for the Four Hands Warehouse sales that happen every so often. Tara H got a badass coffee table for $40 that she donated to me :)

Not sure what the style or prices are their couches are but they deeply discount their furniture and it is all high quality and brand new.
Photo of Carrie C.

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

I'll do that.  Their warehouse is really close to my apartment too!
Photo of Carrie C.

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12/30/2007 Carrie "Carrie C." C. says:

Just mentioning this - the reason I don't want an IKEA couch is that I have a couch now that is cracked and ratty black leather that my cats like to claw but the cushions are filled with down and they're very very soft and I am completely spoiled by the cushiness old black couch.

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