Use patio furniture as front room furniture?
m...@privacy.net
anyone ever think abt using patio furniture indoors as
front room furniture?
You can buy a well made set of patio furniture....
chair, love seat, coffee table, end table... for abt
$500 total. It is lightweight and sturdy and made of
plastic "wicker".
Anyone doing it? Work ok?
see link
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2519819
rox
<m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
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Buying furniture that's cheap but uncomfortable (and be honest no one wants
to lay on wicker patio furniture and watch TV on a lazy Sunday afternoon) is
not frugal as you will have to replace it for something more functional and
comfortable. And patio furniture is rarely "sturdy" at that price.
You can buy a full set of real living room furniture at a second hand or
thrift shop for under $200. Or you can go to yard sales. I live 14 miles
outside of New York City, one of the most--if not the most--expensive areas
to live in and I paid $50 for a couch that was in perfect condition. I
found a sturdy "This End Up" chair at the curb--they are all wood, no
cushions, and look like packing crates--very easy to clean. I bought 2 new
pillows for it, so that cost me $20. Even with the cost/time to clean a
used set you'll be better off in the long run.
If you are not in a hurry, you can be selective about what set you buy. You
might even find one for free on craigslist or freecycle
h
"rox" <roxann...@att.net> wrote in message
news:SKntj.607202$kj1.3...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Although...if you're planning to have an outside patio or deck and are in a
temporary need for inside furniture, there's nothing wrong with buying for
the outside and then waiting until the snow melts to move it from the living
room to the deck. We did that when we bought our house and found the perfect
outside set. We couldn't afford both the outside and the living room
furniture at the same time, and we hadn't found anything we loved for
inside. It worked great for us for 3 months, although I wouldn't have wanted
to do it for much more than that. Once the snow melted, I was ready for a
real couch! Good luck!
Lou
>
> anyone ever think abt using patio furniture indoors as
> front room furniture?
>
> You can buy a well made set of patio furniture....
> chair, love seat, coffee table, end table... for abt
> $500 total. It is lightweight and sturdy and made of
> plastic "wicker".
>
> Anyone doing it? Work ok?
I've seen students do it, and a couple of people just out of school,
furnishing a first apartment, not started their first job yet. My sister
and her husband bought a small (600 square feet) beach house years ago, and
patio furniture was some of their indoor furniture for the first couple of
years (but had a "real" couch and chair as well).
I wouldn't recommend it unless you have no choice.
You can do better (both comfort and looks) for the same money or less - I
have a full size, comfortable, good looking couch I bought at a second-hand
furniture store. The guy in the store said it was a display model at some
furniture store, and when they were done selling that season's stuff, his
store got the items that were on displayed on the store floor. I forget
what I paid - something on the order of $50-$100, plus a $10 delivery
charge. When I replaced my dining room set (Hitchcock, table and six
chairs, good quality stuff we inherited and used for years, but not our
preferred style) I put it on consignment at that same store - I think we got
$100-$200 for the set. Sadly, that furniture company went out of business
in 2006.
I also have another real couch in my home office - bought on sale at a
department store, covered in the fabric of my choice. It's also a sleeper,
opens up to a queen size bed with a mattress. Paid $200 for it, delivered.
I've had both items for years, and they still look and feel like new.
One day a coworker and I were driving back to the office after going out for
lunch and passed a motel that had a sign out front saying they were
redecorating and selling all the room furniture. We stopped, and she bought
a really nice sleeper couch for $50. That evening she went back with some
friends and they bought two more - and when they got them home and opened
them up, one had a full set of sheets and two good pillows folded in.
When I moved from my first house, I had to get rid of some stuff. I sold a
good, clean, working refrigerator for $50, and a sturdy, like new set of
patio furniture (pvc pipe furniture with cushions) for less than $100. A
few years ago, I gave away a large deep freeze I no longer needed. When my
mother-in-law passed away, we sold her kitchen set (table and four chairs),
two living room upholstered reclining chairs, a bed frame (with mattress)
and dresser, for $85. It was either that or throw the stuff away - I was
more than willing to donate this stuff to some charity, but places like
Goodwill wanted to charge us to come and get that stuff.
This sort of thing is catch as catch can - you have to be aware of what's
being offered, sometimes in unconventional places, and prepared to make a
quick decision and act on it, so it won't do if for some reason you need
furniture right now. But if there's no urgency, wait and look around.
Tony Sivori
The only way I would consider that is if you have a patio, and you plan to
use it a lot. You could use the patio furniture as temporary living room
furniture until you could buy real living room furniture. Then move the
patio furniture to the patio. Otherwise, I don't think it would be money
well spent,.
If there is a Wal-Mart where you live there is almost certainly low end
furniture discounters. You should be able to get real living room
furniture for about the same price, but by the time you add end tables it
probably will be a little more.
If you simply can't afford it, you could buy some $20 bean bag chairs
until you can pay cash for your furniture.
In times past I would recommend used furniture, just as many in this
thread have already done. Now, I specifically recommend against used
furniture. Bed bugs are making a comeback, and since DDT is long outlawed,
they are very difficult to get rid of.
The common methods of transmission are hotel room stowaways in luggage and
used furniture, and not just mattresses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug
http://magazinearticles.angieslist.com/featuredarticles/2004_8.htm
m...@privacy.net
>Although...if you're planning to have an outside patio or deck and are in a
>temporary need for inside furniture, there's nothing wrong with buying for
>the outside and then waiting until the snow melts to move it from the living
>room to the deck
yeah that was one idea... to move the patio furniture
outside when I can finally afford better furniture