shopping advice?

[keryx]

I need a new bed. I was going to just go to IKEA, but the reason I need a new bed at all... is because my 2-yr-old IKEA bed broke. Not in a joint-coming-apart way, either, but in a vital-piece-of-particle-board-cracking-in-half way. So maybe I don't need another IKEA thing, even if it is only $200. Putting this one together took 2 people roughly 6 hours. Not to mention the 2 hours to put together the dresser that also cracked (when being moved - slightly more forgiveable).

I really like the low, modern platformishness of this bed. Where do I find something a) solid, b) flat & and c) put together by someone else that also has the euromodern or midcenturymodern thing going on? How much money is reasonable to spend on bedroom furniture (presumably I'm not going to replace the bed with another in the same shape and color, so will also want a nightstand and dresser/teeveestand)?

Comments

[mirvana.livejournal.com]

I would look for a store that specializes in futons for a low, platform-like bed base, and then shop around for a mattress that you like--one with a 10-yr. warranty. You might have to pay more than Ikea but look at it this way--do you want to keep paying them $200 every two years?

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I definitely DO NOT want to buy a bed every 2 years. I particularly don't want to haul it home and put it together.

I'll check out the futon store - I wouldn't have thought of that. I went by the higher-rent IKEA (EQ3) in town today and found something I really like, too.

[gypsyriver.livejournal.com]

I always start with places like freecycle and thrift shops when looking for furniture. It may not be made with eco-friendly materials like IKEA, but it keeps it from ending up in a landfill, and it's already put together. Other than that, I second the futon-store suggestion - I've seen a lot of flat beds advertised alongside futons. Or maybe a waterbed with the sides off. Maybe the broken particle board could be replaced with a piece of plywood? Or mended with straight hinges?

[keryx.livejournal.com]

It's temporarily slightly mended with with glue and clamps. I hadn't thought about hinges, though I have doubts (particle board breaks in these really jagged, dust-making patterns - so it ends up in big chunks and would be hard to either line up hinges to or screw into at this point, and it's the most significant weight-bearing part of the bed).

Currently I'm working on just sleeping on the right side of the bed, which is still vertical. :)

I will freecycle/thrift many things, but absolutely not my bed. It's a weird thing I have - I slept in beds other people gave me for years, and it's absurdly important to me that mine be "mine".

[tupelo.livejournal.com]

I generally like Ikea just for the pageantry of going up there, but when we bought our TV cabinet I was disappointed to find that the pre-drilled holes were off-spec just enough that one of the doors sits about half an inch higher than the other. It's not major but it does bug.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes! The day-long IKEA trip, with a big car and all that. I still have to go to IKEA for the futon cover (cat having destroyed the last one). But it's less pageant cause I just go and hang out for the weekend with my BFF in Mount Vernon.

Screwed up pre-drilled holes suck. That's never happened to me, but it would slowly make me crazy.