Table, chairs, sofa... where on earth to buy?

My wife and I do sometimes walk through large furniture stores, up here Kraft or Kabs. But we don’t get happy there. Somehow a lackluster uniform mess. A thousand corner sofa sets, one flashier than the other, uncomfortable to sit on, only good for lounging. Wardrobe shelves for the living room hardly available anymore, anyone who owns more than three books seems to be an endangered species for furniture manufacturers, but ultrawide media racks instead, the giant screen is staged and turned into a furnishing highlight. Hello, Frauke and Franz, welcome to our parlor, look what we have for the great TV.
A nicely crafted piece is rare, laminated chipboard or otherwise coated dominates. “Fronts selectable” is said then, another word for pressed waste wood that is just slightly dressed up.
We often actually find something at IKEA. Yes, there it is chipboard too, at least often. But more delicate, also designed more cleverly. The sofas are smaller. The dining table is a table and not a ping-pong table. Chairs, there is still the Arne Jacobsen tradition, making much out of little. Rounded shapes, plywood laminates. We like that. Take the Lack coffee table. Only 10 euros. Some coated wood material, filled with recycled paper. Square. Small. Take four pieces, gladly in different colors. Put them closely together, a big table. Or at a small party, each couple gets one, for their drink and a piece of pizza to nibble on. Should there be dancing... bam, the little things are quickly put aside. Furniture comes from mobile. Somehow the mainstream producers have forgotten something there. Or are we customers such that we demand “more is better”? Does it always have to be thick, only Almased is allowed on the table? Karsten

For us it was:

Lamps, wardrobe, chairs, dining table, bar stools, bed, children's room, closet, sofa, and wall unit.

Manufacturers are various. Large furniture stores get everything that is common.

. A nicely crafted piece is rare, chipboard laminated or otherwise coated dominates. Fronts selectable it says then, another word for press waste wood is just a bit disguised.

...

We often actually find something at Ikea.

We spent a lot of time choosing the right furniture and then obtaining the corresponding offers. All very exhausting – but can still save a lot of money.

1: Compile assortment (hard to compare because big furniture manufacturers like e.g. Wöstmann sell the same item under different names)

2: Offer the same assortment to 2 to 3 of the big furniture manufacturers and have them underbid each other. For us, there was: the large one with a representative in Bietigheim and Sindelfingen, a big one with representatives in Göppingen and Esslingen Sirnau, a Wohnland from Reutlingen, and Europe’s largest furniture store from Senden. In the end, Sindelfingen and Senden were almost on par. On average, about 25% was discounted on the installation price (not the MSRP). Everything not sold in the package price is hardly available afterwards at such conditions.

3: Good quality costs money… e.g. E.Schillig was not on the level of W.Schillig for us. Rolf Benz may look nice but is not comfortable for us.

4: For some furniture parts, it is also worth going to the carpenter.

Have fun

We - at least approximately

- new sofa €3,500
- new dining table €2,000
- 8 new dining chairs €3,200
- new box spring bed €1,500
and lots of lamps, mirrors, etc.

I don’t find the €15,000 so surprising now.
What have you spent on new furniture?