Students at Philadelphia Schools

[Nittany Lion]

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure if this is an appropriate place to post this question, but I figure I'd give it a shot. Can anyone currently living in Philly throw out some advice on best places to buy furniture in/around the city? I'm going to be new to the city this fall (Jefferson) and I'm a little nervous about making the move...I currently have NO furniture of my own (lived in the dorms all 4 years at undergrad doing the RA thing ) I've googled around to try and come up with a few places but I'm really interested in getting some personal feedback. I'm looking to get a bed, dresser, etc. delivered (standard stuff). Anyone want to share any good furniture-buying places/experiences? Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[tigress]

Well it depends on what kind of furniture you're looking for. We got all of our major furniture (sofas, bed, dining room table) from relatives (actually, you may want to ask everybody you know if they have extra furniture, maybe in the basement, or maybe they're replacing some of theirs, and if they would be willing to give it to you). For filling in the other odds and ends we've done a lot of shopping at Ikea. There are two Ikeas in the Philly area; a new one actually in Philly and another one in Conshohocken. Smaller things like dressers will fit into your trunk or back seat, most likely. Quality in the store varies and you'll have to shop around, but it's fun

There are also some used furniture stores that are slightly sketchy but have good stuff. We got our fancy breakfront from a store like that, and for an extremely good price. I don't remember exactly where it was, but when my husband gets home I'll ask him.

You could also check craigslist and other classifieds. If you can get to the suburbs there have been a lot of yard sales recently, as well.

Good luck

 

[epitomedoc]

I would say you can get anything your heart desired at Ikea, but it costs a lot to have them deliver stuff. For beds and dressers, I would say go to Center City (the downtown area) and look in one of those stores with the huge signs about furniture liquidation. I had two days to furnish my apartment when I moved up here, and I got my entire bedroom set for $300. I don't remember the names of the places, but they're located close to the Gallery Mall. Maybe on Chestnut between 11 and 17? I'm sorry I couldn't be more specific. Good luck.

 

[Nittany Lion]

I would say you can get anything your heart desired at Ikea, but it costs a lot to have them deliver stuff. For beds and dressers, I would say go to Center City (the downtown area) and look in one of those stores with the huge signs about furniture liquidation. I had two days to furnish my apartment when I moved up here, and I got my entire bedroom set for $300. I don't remember the names of the places, but they're located close to the Gallery Mall. Maybe on Chestnut between 11 and 17? I'm sorry I couldn't be more specific. Good luck.

Thanks so much to both of you for replying. Thanks for the IKEA suggestion...IKEA is great and I'm definitely going to go there for the smaller things (dresser, desk, etc.) My main concern is getting a bed though; I know IKEA stuff is mostly D-I-Y, which is fine, but as far as a bed goes, I'd much rather just find somewhere that can deliver and assemble it for me. I wish I could get stuff from relatives, but unfortunately, I have a really small family and no one seems to be able to give anything up at the moment. Thanks for your input, though, I really appreciate it! Keep it coming!

 

[tigress]

My husband says he thinks the place is at 40th and Market but he's not entirely sure. Oh, and he said to make sure I mention that it's a weird, slightly sketchy place, but they do honest business. There are a bunch of other used furniture stores, as epitomedoc said. You might just drive around looking for them.

 

[lightnk102]

i've purchased two beds in the past 5 years, and both of them included delivery and set-up. i don't remember the 2nd bed place, but i know that sleepy's for sure delivers. bed-shopping is a bit weird, becuase apparently, even though you're in a regular store, you can haggle and bargain the price down. just a heads up on that. i was surprised.

for furniture - if you need delivery, it could be tough. you can try craig's list and see if anyone in the jefferson area is selling specific furniture (or check the jefferson classified ads online on pulse). ikea, as someone mentioned, is also a good deal. see if one of your classmates with a car is heading over there and hitch a ride. also, Jeff is 1 block away from antique row (pine street), so you could get furniture at one of the cute antique second-hand stores run by equally cute doddering old italian men, and then just find a friend to help you carry it back to your place. i've never actually gone into the stores, so i don't know how prices are.

i personally got a used dresser off of craig's list, a nightstand and desk from home, and i'm likely just going to buy bookcases from staples or something.

 

[nutmegs]

I wanted to say craigslist and ikea but everybody already said it

my roommate got a bed from ikea and the assembly wasn't bad, especially for the price.

 

[Wednesday]

You don't need to buy a bed, just a mattress. They usually (always?) come with a metal frame and often you can get same or next day delivery.

 

[Jack1919]

There's also a few places on Chestnut Street between 16 & 22nd (I think one of them is called Somnia) but I don't know how expensive they are. Also, like everyone else said IKEA....

Then again, you may be oppossed to something like this, but if you walk around the Rittenhouse Square and Fitler square areas on any given nice weekend you will see numerous people having little sidewalk/garage sales and you can get some real good stuff. Also look in Craiglist under For Sale/Free. People will title this "curb alert," which basically means their putting some furniture by the curb for anyone to take. It may sound too adventurous/sketchy for some, but you can find some real good stuff this way.

Good luck.