Why Furniture Is So Expensive & How You Can Save Money On Furniture & Decor

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:21 - Material Costs
03:45 - Construction & Build Quality
06:11 - Custom/Handmade
07:12 - Supply Chain & Profit
08:49 - Brand
09:07 - Where Should I Spend Money?
11:05 - Buying quality or getting ripped off?
13:32 - Shopping Tricks

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[ryansoo]

When I moved across the country (Canada) I brought no furniture with me and had very little money so I got a job in a mid to high end furniture, appliance, electronics and mattress store. The staff price on what they sold was anywhere between 50 and 90% off retail! I bought the highest quality stuff they sold, custom ordered leather furniture from Italy, a premium pillowtop Queen mattress set for $495, a $9000 solid wood bedroom set for $2000 - it was amazing!

[amberlightrunner]

Your videos are always so concise and articulate, they've been so helpful!

[jayehm]

We're currently going to some furniture shops for furniture planning because we're about to move from an apartment to our own home. Thanks for this video!

[TheSoberBear]

I've spent quite some time watching your videos and you've helped me completely transform my lounge. Thank you, Reynard ☺

[delicatevenusflytrap]

Always the best guidance and clear explanations. Thank you!

[jessicapinto]

Brilliant tips again Reynard, especially the what is between you and the ground 👌👌

[hchayes]

Flimsy cardboard backing is what arrived with 3 new hutches We bought for our kitchen upgrades. The description of the product hid this fact in descriptions.

[Goalsplus]

This is a vital subject for our planet. You covered it well. I hope you can slip a little of this advice into other videos. Quality is cheaper over time but it's a confused mess in the market place.

[shale]

Reynard, just wanted to say a huge thank you for making your videos. I am finding them very enjoyable and as well as helpful and informative. They are also very comforting and shot very professionally. I really love the changes you've made to your apartment too, and particularly loved all the storage solutions and how different colour schemes work together. Thank you ever so much and keep up the good work!! Some lovely products on Bellroy too and I shall be purchasing a laptop carrier.

[juliem.]

Your explanations of design are very helpful. Thank you.

[joymon]

Very informative video. I learned so much, thank you!

[millieolson]

Too avoid high costs and landfill bound furniture, I decided to design and build my own bookcase to fit one end of my lvrm. 72" tall and 60" wide and 7.5" deep. I wanted to build it using poplar wood, but when I priced the wood, it came to $450 +/-. Too much!! I ended up using some big box store glued up wood for the shelves that I ripped to width and cut to length. I did buy 2 pcs of 8' poplar ($92) for the sides though. I significantly cut the price and ended up painting the shelves instead of staining as originally planned. The uprights I stained and clear finished. But I was a bit amazed how costly it was to "do it yourself". I mean I coulda gone to Ikea... But its a nice build and I'm happy❤

[FigaroHey]

I don't have a lot of money and I live in furnished or semi-furnished rented apartments, so I can't really collect a lot of furniture. It means I have only a few pieces of my own. In my most recent apartment, it came with two sofas, both of which were old, stained and broken-down. They both folded out to beds (studio apartment) and both of them were in such poor condition and so cheap that it hurt my back to sleep on either of them. I had to buy my own sofa and ask the landlord to remove one of his (they were totally different styles and colors, too - clashing) to another apartment.
I live in Poland (I'm not Polish) and at first I thought that Ikea was my only option for the sake of money and ease of purchase and delivery. But the more I researched Ikea sofas, the more worried I got that the sofa would not hold up for very many years as I was reading a lot of reviews of people saying they were replacing a 15-year-old Ikea sofa with the same model and the quality was vastly poorer and the new version had broken down quickly.
I happened upon a Polish furniture shop, run by a team of 10 or so Polish people, not a corporation with obligations to the bottom-line and pleasing share-holders. They build the sofa when you place your order, deliver it themselves using their own employees who are trained and skilled in putting the furniture together (they don't contract out to a delivery company). Then the guys who deliver and put together your furniture explain everything about care of the piece of furniture and they take away all the packing for the furniture.
I bought my sofa (Optisofa, if you're reading this in Poland) in September, 2021. It's October, 2024, and the sofa still looks completely new. The seat (I chose a bench seat that's one cushion because I sleep on it at night) is quite firm and supportive, which I like. As it warms up, it gets softer, but then within a short time after someone gets up from sitting a long time, it goes back to a neat, tidy, tailored look. I've slept on it every night for three years apart from a few weeks when I've been away on holiday, and it's still as firm and comfortable as it was the first night (again, as a mattress, it softens up and adjusts to your body as it warms up, but without ever feeling too soft to support you).
Going with a local company, a company owned by a real person and staffed by a team of people who know that the quality of their work is the guarantee of their jobs was the best decision I've made when it comes to buying furniture. Optisofa's designs tend to suit more modern interiors; I'm not sure I would find something there if I lived in an old building where the rooms seemed to be asking for something more traditional.
I strongly recommend looking around for locally-owned shops where you deal with people who have real authority over their own work (instead of having to conform to impersonal corporate policies). When the people who take your order are responsible for making customers happy THEMSELVES, when the guys who deliver the furniture are responsible for setting it up and explaining it THEMSELVES, when the people who build the furniture you order are responsible to the whole team as well as their boss for delivering a well-made product, then you have people who really take pride in their work and are invested in their company.
Try to avoid huge, international corporations. I would rather wait until I'd saved enough to buy from a traditional owner-operated company than a corporation, thanks to the great experience and quality I got from Optisofa. And by the way... the sofa I bought was not more expensive than a much worse quality sofa at the highest price-point in Ikea.

[itsinthemorning]

I love the reverse image search. I saw a drawer that I liked but it cost 900 Bucks and the exact same drawer with a slightly darker wood tone is available somewhere else for just 200 Euros (its both MDF with Real-Wood-Veneer, the price difference is insane).

But I noticed that it also has its limits sometimes. I would like a apothecary-style floor lamp with switchable bulbs. In europe I can only find some that have the LED built in and you can't swap it out. Meanwhile in America they are much more readily available. Its weird.

[anpc]

Do you have any tips or guides regarding reviews or trusted sites, I find it’s hard now to know if something is good or bad, trustworthy or not.

[YF]

Hey reynard could you please upload a video or more videos on a minimal desk setup? The last video I think was about 3 years ago? Much appreciated!

[elisebrown]

You have the best voice. I love your videos, but you could have a second career narrating any sort of guided meditation or relaxation videos/podcasts/audiobooks.

[Niko-ftnk]

Hello, I love your content and I was wondering if you take suggestions for topics for future videos? If so, I need help decorating my dad's apartment because unfortunately he smokes in there. Do you have any suggestions for things that are better suited for smoking homes? IE leather sofas instead of fabric, no rugs or carpet, types of paint to better hide smoke stains, etc. Obviously this would not be an endorsement of smoking but it's the internet so I'm sure people will point out the dangers anyway lol.

[irenepollak]

Cardboard is used very frequently as a construction material for furniture.

[applesauceandhoney]

do you know if other countries also have this white label thing?