New furniture
So the place that I had seen that had really lovely furniture had a Memorial Day sale last weekend. No interest until July 2009, so that's good - payments, or if possible pay off in big chunks. I think it'll be paid for well before that date, but it's nice to have two years to do it.
So here are some photos.
This is the bed (um... obviously, haha. Whoops.). I emailed the landlord about bedroom sizes, because I wanted both the headboard and foot board. The largest bedroom is 11'2" x 14'4", so this bed should fit either way. Even if I wanted to use the middle bedroom, it's 11'1" x 13'.
As noted on that photo (I took it from the site), it has little secret compartments in the foot board. At least half the length of the post is hollow, but at the top there's a little thing placed in there so you could put just little things (a ring, a watch, what have you) in the top. The top piece lifts out, and then there's the hollow deeper area.
The nightstand I purchased from the same collection. They had one that was nine inches wider, but I thought that would be too big (this one is 19"). It's unfortunate that they are the same price, but I still think the other would have been too wide - and really, almost big enough that it could be used as a side table in the living room or something.
This one also has a secret compartment. With this collection, at least, all the pieces that are shoulder length or shorter (of course that's relative, but it's pretty much dressers and shorter items) have some sort of secret storage.
That's all for now, but I did see a couple other items that are interesting and I may want to purchase in the years to come:
This lovely chest of drawers.
This chest as well. I really like the way it's built - all those different drawers. Again, both of these pieces have secret compartments. If this piece was shared between two people, I think you'd need to get at least one other piece for bigger items (if you had lots of pants, jeans, etc), but I can't remember exactly how large it was.
This was all from PM Bedroom Gallery; I went to the one in Naperville, IL. I just chose that one because it's closest, but apparently it's also the largest showroom in the area, so that was good too. This company began in Wisconsin, has showrooms in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and allows orders online so people all over can order things. Someday when I'm rich, I'll buy my mom a NICE bed from here and have it delivered.
The salesman was also extremely nice. Not pushy at all, and actually tried to sell me a lower cost mattress than what I purchased. He even sent me a thank-you note for coming in to see him! That is really customer service. I've worked in retail for many years, and I think because of that I expect higher standards of service than companies (I think of Wal-Mart a lot here, though Michael's Crafts also comes to mind) seem to feel are necessary (ie, if I ask where something is and you say, "I don't know", I kind of expect you to maybe find someone who WOULD know). Cornell was the real deal. I even yelped about him!
When I was looking for stuff, I looked in places like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc. Their items were also pretty expensive, and I just didn't like them as much. Plus the fact that 100,000 other people have the exact same furniture. At PM Bedroom, it's all made from scratch by woodworkers from the Midwest. It's not made until it's ordered, because I got to choose what type of wood (Oak or Cherry; I chose Cherry - I never knew how luxurious this wood is), and what type of finish (they have 7 or 8 - I choose natural). Even with the nightstand, I got to choose the finish and what kind of hardware is used on the drawers. They're built really well, with that English dovetailing that excites me when I watch Antiques Roadshow (I love it, don't mock) and the drawers are really sturdy as well. It will take about 5 weeks for this set to be ready for delivery, which is perfect because that should be about a week after moving. The delivery is free, and they will set it up for me free of charge as well.
Long-winded, I know... but if anyone stumbles across this and is from the midwest (or elsewhere and wanting some great pieces), and looking for bedroom furniture (they have a few other pieces as well), go here! You won't be disappointed.
So here are some photos.
This is the bed (um... obviously, haha. Whoops.). I emailed the landlord about bedroom sizes, because I wanted both the headboard and foot board. The largest bedroom is 11'2" x 14'4", so this bed should fit either way. Even if I wanted to use the middle bedroom, it's 11'1" x 13'.
As noted on that photo (I took it from the site), it has little secret compartments in the foot board. At least half the length of the post is hollow, but at the top there's a little thing placed in there so you could put just little things (a ring, a watch, what have you) in the top. The top piece lifts out, and then there's the hollow deeper area.
The nightstand I purchased from the same collection. They had one that was nine inches wider, but I thought that would be too big (this one is 19"). It's unfortunate that they are the same price, but I still think the other would have been too wide - and really, almost big enough that it could be used as a side table in the living room or something.
This one also has a secret compartment. With this collection, at least, all the pieces that are shoulder length or shorter (of course that's relative, but it's pretty much dressers and shorter items) have some sort of secret storage.
That's all for now, but I did see a couple other items that are interesting and I may want to purchase in the years to come:
This lovely chest of drawers.
This chest as well. I really like the way it's built - all those different drawers. Again, both of these pieces have secret compartments. If this piece was shared between two people, I think you'd need to get at least one other piece for bigger items (if you had lots of pants, jeans, etc), but I can't remember exactly how large it was.
This was all from PM Bedroom Gallery; I went to the one in Naperville, IL. I just chose that one because it's closest, but apparently it's also the largest showroom in the area, so that was good too. This company began in Wisconsin, has showrooms in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and allows orders online so people all over can order things. Someday when I'm rich, I'll buy my mom a NICE bed from here and have it delivered.
The salesman was also extremely nice. Not pushy at all, and actually tried to sell me a lower cost mattress than what I purchased. He even sent me a thank-you note for coming in to see him! That is really customer service. I've worked in retail for many years, and I think because of that I expect higher standards of service than companies (I think of Wal-Mart a lot here, though Michael's Crafts also comes to mind) seem to feel are necessary (ie, if I ask where something is and you say, "I don't know", I kind of expect you to maybe find someone who WOULD know). Cornell was the real deal. I even yelped about him!
When I was looking for stuff, I looked in places like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc. Their items were also pretty expensive, and I just didn't like them as much. Plus the fact that 100,000 other people have the exact same furniture. At PM Bedroom, it's all made from scratch by woodworkers from the Midwest. It's not made until it's ordered, because I got to choose what type of wood (Oak or Cherry; I chose Cherry - I never knew how luxurious this wood is), and what type of finish (they have 7 or 8 - I choose natural). Even with the nightstand, I got to choose the finish and what kind of hardware is used on the drawers. They're built really well, with that English dovetailing that excites me when I watch Antiques Roadshow (I love it, don't mock) and the drawers are really sturdy as well. It will take about 5 weeks for this set to be ready for delivery, which is perfect because that should be about a week after moving. The delivery is free, and they will set it up for me free of charge as well.
Long-winded, I know... but if anyone stumbles across this and is from the midwest (or elsewhere and wanting some great pieces), and looking for bedroom furniture (they have a few other pieces as well), go here! You won't be disappointed.