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EVG posted:Any advice on a good place to shop for quality couches? A friend if mine is moving and taking the opportunity to upgrade from his old stuff. He doesn't like the modern/minimalist look of stuff from IKEA, and we already looked at Crate & Barrel, CB2, and Pier 1 already with no luck. If he likes more traditional/classic type stuff, he should try places like Ashley and other less hip furniture stores. I looked there and also at similar places and their inventory on couches was mostly non-modern styles. It was weirdly like walking into someone's wealthy parents' house. Crate & Barrel and the like are generally more trendy so that won't work if that's not what he likes. I don't know anything about the quality of such places but I assume there are reviews. Oh, you guys should also look on Wayfair.com and get an idea of what kind of thing he likes. They have an asston of stuff to look at so maybe you can narrow it down, then find a real store where he can sit on the ones he likes.
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Apr 27, 2013 19:18
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Thanks! Actually going to see the Axis sofa at C&B, it has some nice colors and a classic shape, and was on the Apartment Therapy list of top ten comfiest couches. It's not on display at the Chicago store , so wouldn't have known about it otherwise. Thanks for the Wayfair suggestion too! http://m.crateandbarrel.com/axis-sofa/f1158
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Apr 27, 2013 19:45
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Eggplant Wizard posted:It was weirdly like walking into someone's wealthy parents' house. Crate & Barrel and the like are generally more trendy so that won't work if that's not what he likes. Funny, that's exactly what I feel about Ashley, Raymour and Flanigan, American Signature Furniture, etc... all the low/mid-cost, low-design furniture places. It amazes me that crap like huge overstuffed sofas and ridiculous sleigh and four-post beds are still "in" enough to keep these places afloat. I'm also amazed that a lot of these pieces have very intricate upholstery and woodwork. I guess the cheap foreign labor allows these places to sell full, "eye-catching" bedroom sets for $1200. Of course, the whole set breaks within two years. I never understood why such furniture is still popular across a large part of America. I find it ironic that "fancy" furniture appeals to the everyman but the clean lines of straightforward, sophisticated pieces only seem to appeal to people with a knack for design. I wonder if straightforward furniture would be more popular if it were easier to access. Most of America is lucky to have an Ikea within two hours, much less a West Elm, CB2, or better. Although, I must say Eggplant, that Crate and Barrel does sell a lot of stuff that borders on "traditional," or, at least, wouldn't look out of place in a traditional setting. In most stores they section off the upstairs furniture showroom into modern/contemporary and traditional areas.  Who buys this crap!? Fixed Gear Guy fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Apr 27, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 19:48
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Funny, that's exactly what I feel about Ashley, Raymour and Flanigan, American Signature Furniture, etc... all the low/mid-cost, low-design furniture places. It amazes me that crap like huge overstuffed sofas and ridiculous sleigh and four-post beds are still "in" enough to keep these places afloat. I'm also amazed that a lot of these pieces have very intricate upholstery and woodwork. My parents are so guilty of buying furniture like that. Which is weird because my Dad restores antique wooden furniture like dressers, cabinets, etc that are absolutely gorgeous and timeless. So they KNOW what good furniture is and what quality furniture is, but they spend thousands on weird crap like that. Actually about 4 months ago they bought a new living room set. I always like it when they buy new stuff because I get their old stuff. Anyway they bought a big sectional sofa, looks decent I guess. But the cushions can't flip over. That's right. They bought a $2,000+ couch whose cushions are actually not cushions, they're fixed to the frame. So you can't flip them over. You can't take the cushions off the couch at all. It's a giant piece of junk! If someone spills something on it, they're hosed. Like, the whole thing will be ruined. EDIT: In their defense we live in a small town and there's two furniture stores within delivery distance. One is Westco, and the other is a locally owned place that sells the same stuff as Westco.
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Apr 27, 2013 22:01
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razz posted:My parents are so guilty of buying furniture like that. Which is weird because my Dad restores antique wooden furniture like dressers, cabinets, etc that are absolutely gorgeous and timeless. So they KNOW what good furniture is and what quality furniture is, but they spend thousands on weird crap like that. Maybe your dad is desensitized or something? He's seen so much good furniture (it's too late, he's seen it all) that it's just "normal," so he wants something "not normal" for home?
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Apr 27, 2013 23:11
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There's a lot of strong colors going on there so I would pick a solid neutral color, maybe with an interesting texture. The grey of the top half of the wall is interesting, so a lighter version of that would work. Stark white would probably look the best, but there are obviously issues with that as bedding. This duvet has the kind of clean look I think would go well.
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Apr 29, 2013 14:49
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Who buys this crap!? The huge, Wal-Mart sized Ashley near my house is closing this coming weekend, so maybe the style is finally dying out. Though the store cleared itself pretty quickly, so 
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Apr 29, 2013 21:06
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vonnegutt posted:There's a lot of strong colors going on there so I would pick a solid neutral color, maybe with an interesting texture. The grey of the top half of the wall is interesting, so a lighter version of that would work. Stark white would probably look the best, but there are obviously issues with that as bedding. Thanks! We did just what you suggested. A slightly-textured duvet in an off-white. Looks ace.
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Apr 29, 2013 21:57
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I got most of my furniture from a RoomStore that was closing down. Got a real good deal on a bedroom set and a mattress/box spring. Going out of business furniture stores are the best places to buy stuff from, but if you get there at the tail end of the sale you'll be left choosing from ridiculous four poster beds and grandma sofas. My couch is from Ashley. Haters gonna hate.
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Apr 30, 2013 00:27
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This question is for NYC goons. Does anyone have any ideas what to do when moving to a new place a month after your lease is up? Our lease ends May 31st but our new place isn't available until Jun 31st. In the meantime we need a place to stay (in NYC, jobs and such). Our budget is $3000 for the month. I was looking at extended stay hotels, but nowhere really posts prices and they're hard to find. Any suggestions?
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Apr 30, 2013 01:37
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Kingnothing posted:This question is for NYC goons. https://www.airbnb.com/s/Manhattan-...&price_max=3010 You won't be in Manhattan but you can easily do around $3000, keep in mind that the prices posted don't include Airbnb's service charges. dexter fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Apr 30, 2013 |
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Apr 30, 2013 02:50
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The landlord can't extend you for a month?
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Apr 30, 2013 02:51
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:The landlord can't extend you for a month? We haven't gotten a chance to sit down with him, but it's unlikely. It's a big rental company in the neighborhood and he's a bit of a dick.
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Apr 30, 2013 04:27
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I got to have another look around the place I'm gonna be renting last night and the wallpaper in two of the rooms is truly hideous. I've asked the letting agency to ask the landlords if they'd be willing to do anything about it before I move in, because I really don't want to have to try and work with bright red/green floral patterns in the living room or striped bright blue/green/brown in the main bedroom. Hopefully the landlord will be accommodating, I just want a magnolia blank slate that I can turn into a Real Home(tm).
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Apr 30, 2013 09:55
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Kingnothing posted:This question is for NYC goons. I stayed here for a couple of months in 2008, it was fine. http://www.affinia.com/New-York-City-Hotel.aspx?name=Affinia-50 No idea about pricing (it was business) but from the looks of their website you should be able to find it quite easily.
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Apr 30, 2013 17:17
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Red Oktober posted:No idea about pricing (it was business) but from the looks of their website you should be able to find it quite easily. I used to live 3 blocks from that place. It says they're currently undergoing renovations, but doesn't make it clear if the hotel stay open during that period. I think they'll probably be able to do better than staying long term at a midtown hotel that's happy charging business rates. Trying out AirBNB, looking especially at places like Astoria and Queens, would probably be where I'd check first.
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Apr 30, 2013 21:45
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I just moved into a new place, and there's a cord that looks like it is a cable cord, but my landlord does not know what it is. I plugged it into my TV and I get nothing, which isn't surprising. Is there any way I can check and see what I can do with it? Would I go through each individual cable company, or is there some sort of weird cable database that will tell me if my apartment had cable at some point and with who?
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May 2, 2013 06:49
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What bizzaro world do you live in where you have more than one cable company? If you do actually have multiple cable companies I'd call them all and give them your address, I'm guessing only one of them will actually have your building wired up. Worst case scenario they all come out and test the line for signal.
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May 2, 2013 06:52
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It may be that it was once attached to a roof or attic mounted antenna.
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May 2, 2013 12:50
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FISHMANPET posted:What bizzaro world do you live in where you have more than one cable company? The magical land of Chicago. I think I figured it out, I'll have to talk to my roommate to see if we want cable.
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May 2, 2013 16:29
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How often do you all find yourselves hunting for a new apartment? I ask because I've been in my current place all of two years but am thinking of moving already after a recent bad run of broken appliances and wanting to be a little closer to work.
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May 2, 2013 22:42
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Ciaphas posted:How often do you all find yourselves hunting for a new apartment? I ask because I've been in my current place all of two years but am thinking of moving already after a recent bad run of broken appliances and wanting to be a little closer to work. I like to always stay knowledgeable about similar units in the area. I'm in an amazing place right now that I hopefully won't be leaving anytime soon, but I think two years is a pretty common length of time to stay in an apartment for a young person.
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May 2, 2013 22:49
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I've been in the same complex since Sept 1 2006, but I've lived in 4 different units. The first one 9 months, the second one 2 years, the third for 2 years 5 months, and the current unit for 1 year 7 months. I'm guessing we'll be staying in this unit for at least 2 more years, after I went through all that work to paint all the walls and stuff it full of Ikea furniture.
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May 2, 2013 23:20
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Ciaphas posted:How often do you all find yourselves hunting for a new apartment? I ask because I've been in my current place all of two years but am thinking of moving already after a recent bad run of broken appliances and wanting to be a little closer to work. I've moved every single loving year since 2002. It is incredibly tiring. I'm hoping this last one will be the last for a while.
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May 2, 2013 23:50
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Interesting stuff, thanks. I suppose I don't really have any complaints per se about my place (the only one being having to unplug the smoke detectors near the kitchen when I want to cook; drat things go off just for preheating my oven, and it's not like it's smoking or chemical-ridden or anything  ). The office management was reasonably quick to respond to maintenance requests, like 24 hours, save my ongoing battle to get aforesaid detectors replaced.Right now I'm paying $975/mo rent+water and getting covered parking, 1000sqft 2bed2bath, all electric kitchen (ugh), electric water heater (less ugh). The Crest floorplan at this complex, if anyone cares. About ten miles up the road I've discovered that a unit for the Granite floorplan for this complex is coming up in mid June (right about when my current lease ends). It's the same footage and rooms, but has a gas range and water heater, newer appliances, and an attached garage for the same price (except trade the water part of the rent for forced basic cable--never heard of that one, but whatevs). I'm almost scared to go see the place this weekend and have the other shoe drop, seems like a drat good deal compared to where I'm at. It would mean moving though, obviously, and I feel terrible wrassling friends (gently caress the local movers) into helping me do it, especially because I'm fat and slow like that guy in the DirecTV referral commercial 
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May 3, 2013 00:21
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So I've gotten a new job that pays more and I want to move into an apt with more room so I want to upgrade to a two bedroom. I've thought about staying with my current apt complex but I've also thought about moving out as well. Some places have a price ranges instead of a price. Does that mean you can negotiate in that range? If so, do you have any control in negotiation or do they base it off your application?
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May 3, 2013 09:12
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Moved five times between September 2008 and March 2013. That seems to be one or two times more than most of the people I know, but it's not a million miles away. Moving is an absolute pain but it's worth it to get into a nice place. Think about how many hours/year you spend in your apartment.
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May 3, 2013 09:15
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CheeseSpawn posted:So I've gotten a new job that pays more and I want to move into an apt with more room so I want to upgrade to a two bedroom. I've thought about staying with my current apt complex but I've also thought about moving out as well. Some places have a price ranges instead of a price. Does that mean you can negotiate in that range? If so, do you have any control in negotiation or do they base it off your application? It might be dependent on the length of your lease.
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May 3, 2013 09:16
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Ciaphas posted:How often do you all find yourselves hunting for a new apartment? I ask because I've been in my current place all of two years but am thinking of moving already after a recent bad run of broken appliances and wanting to be a little closer to work. I moved about twice a year for 4 years until I got into this unit. How much moving sucks tends to vary a lot based on how much you own, but it is never fun. My current apartment is actually really not great, but the location combined with what was basically moving burn out has kept me here for 4 years. I am finally considering a change of view but after you nest for a while it can be hard to get that motivation to move. CheeseSpawn posted:So I've gotten a new job that pays more and I want to move into an apt with more room so I want to upgrade to a two bedroom. I've thought about staying with my current apt complex but I've also thought about moving out as well. Some places have a price ranges instead of a price. Does that mean you can negotiate in that range? If so, do you have any control in negotiation or do they base it off your application? Price tends to vary for a few reasons. One is just that their units vary. Like they might list "1 bedroom units 1200-1500" and it comes down to some being bigger, or some being updated. Another is lease length, as they tend to give you a discount if you go for a longer lease. Also depending on where you are the low end might be the price of a low income unit. That part can be a bit deceptive. Depending on the place it is always worth trying to negotiate. It will really come down to if there is any demand in the area. If there is low demand and the unit has sat they might be flexible to get you into the unit. They also might have no power to negotiate prices at all and it will be a take it or leave it situation. I know here in Seattle the rental market is vicious, and most landlords have no need to negotiate. Juriko fucked around with this message at 09:51 on May 3, 2013 |
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May 3, 2013 09:44
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We try to stay in the same apartment as long as reasonable, because it's not all that common you can find a new one right in the same area, and finding new local haunts and getting a whole new neighborhood is a pain. When we moved to Boston in 2010 we ended up going through three apartments in two years, which was a total nightmare. We're on our second year at the last of those, and we would like to stay here until it gets too small for our family (it's a 2+ and we have a kid, so when #2 rolls in it'll get snug). In general I hate moving and I hate having to re-establish myself, so I would like to move as little as possible. I appreciate that this isn't an issue for other people, especially if you don't have kids and don't have interest in mingling with your neighbors.
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May 3, 2013 14:08
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Ciaphas posted:How often do you all find yourselves hunting for a new apartment? I ask because I've been in my current place all of two years but am thinking of moving already after a recent bad run of broken appliances and wanting to be a little closer to work. I'm moving in June and it'll be the fifth time since 2008. Longest I've been in one place is a year and 9 months (this place). Those were all in roughly the same area since I've been a grad student here. This time I'm moving back to my home state (but a town totally new to me) so it'll be a bigger adjustment. I am not looking forward to doing the whole one-day pack up apartment -> drive several hours -> unpack in new place thing, though. Moving 5 min away is so much easier and that's bad enough. Dishwasher and laundry in unit though  and another room + attic  Ashcans posted:In general I hate moving and I hate having to re-establish myself, so I would like to move as little as possible. I appreciate that this isn't an issue for other people, especially if you don't have kids and don't have interest in mingling with your neighbors. I don't have kids and I don't like talking to people but it's still a real hassle. If nothing else you have to figure out what level of not talking to is acceptable to each neighbor without them thinking you're a witch or something. This time I have to figure out all new doctors, restaurants, utility companies, etc. too.
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May 4, 2013 03:54
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Eggplant Wizard posted:I don't have kids and I don't like talking to people but it's still a real hassle. If nothing else you have to figure out what level of not talking to is acceptable to each neighbor without them thinking you're a witch or something. This time I have to figure out all new doctors, restaurants, utility companies, etc. too. I've done all of my moves by myself, often without a car. Only the last two have been done with a friend helping me with a car. I AM SO SICK OF MOVING. It's not even funny how sick of moving I am. I've probably spent something like 10,000 on moving (and related stupid Japanese apartment fees) every year for the last 6 1/2 years.
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May 4, 2013 04:03
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tarepanda posted:I've done all of my moves by myself, often without a car. Only the last two have been done with a friend helping me with a car. I AM SO SICK OF MOVING. It's not even funny how sick of moving I am. I've probably spent something like 10,000 on moving (and related stupid Japanese apartment fees) every year for the last 6 1/2 years.  Dude.I've always had friends help me and cars and Uhauls usually.
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May 4, 2013 04:21
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Oddly, I think the part I MOST dread about moving isn't the packing or the pleading-with-friends-who-will-no-doubt-be-less-friendly-suddenly for help moving bit, but the bit where I have to park the moving truck in front of like four or five people's parking spots while we pack everything. Bluuuhhhh not looking forward to that one.
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May 4, 2013 04:22
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One of the nice things about being a permastudent is that all of my friends also move a lot so we help each other for the low low price of pizza.
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May 4, 2013 15:28
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I lived in my old place for three years before I moved. When I moved here, I had zero idea of where the good places to live were so I just kind of took a shot in the dark and signed a lease on my current place which turned out ok but not great. Now that I've been here a year I know the area better and found a place with a YARD and a GARAGE in a better neighborhood for only $100 more a month so I'll be moving there in a couple weeks. I'm intending on staying there for a couple years unless I end up hating it. I'm just going to go ahead and hire a moving company because I feel like a dick asking my coworkers to help me move since my other coworker uses them as free manual labor every chance she gets and they all hate it, and I haven't made any good enough friends outside of work yet that I can ask. I had a guy come and look at my place to give me an estimate and I'll get some numbers Monday. If I can swing it, I might even hire packers 
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May 4, 2013 17:18
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Man, hiring packers. That's either living the highlife or a recipe for chipped, broken, torn and missing belongings, I'm not sure which. About to go look at the apartment I posted about. If I don't find any reason not to take it I will probably snap it up (attached garaaaaage), since I haven't found anything else. It brought up a question though: my current office requires 60 days moveout notice, but my lease is over with in less than that. How does that work out, am I going to be forced to sign a one-month lease and pay prorated rent for the excess days? Is that even legal?
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May 4, 2013 18:27
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Ciaphas posted:Man, hiring packers. That's either living the highlife or a recipe for chipped, broken, torn and missing belongings, I'm not sure which. You'd better just tell them ASAP and see what happens. It's so dependent upon your particular lease and locality and the personalities of the staff and and and
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May 4, 2013 18:36
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Thanatosian posted:Two ways to find places like this: 1) Newspaper classifieds and 2) walk around neighborhoods looking for "For Rent" signs. I know it sounds ridiculous in the age of the internet, but a lot of these places that are amazing finds are owned by old people who frequently don't own computers. It takes some serious legwork to find them, but you can sometimes stumble across a diamond in the rough. This is how I found the new place I'm moving in to at the end of June. I tried using internet resources to find a new apartment and everything was horribly outside the price range of my budget. So I legged it one weekend around the area I wanted to move to and took photos of all the for rent signs. Got home and start calling. Nearly everyone I spoke to was an older person. The place I ended up renting is owned by a small business owner who has a car cleaning business and isn't net savvy. Got a great deal on a beautiful place just by pounding pavement. Sauer fucked around with this message at 20:09 on May 4, 2013 |
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May 4, 2013 20:03
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Eggplant Wizard posted:You'd better just tell them ASAP and see what happens. It's so dependent upon your particular lease and locality and the personalities of the staff and and and Just talked to them and walked through the lease, they stood firm that I'm beholden to a month-to-month prorated fee for that excess time. Bugger. Oh well, only another $100 down the sinkhole I guess. Now I just need to decide if I really want to move to this place at the beginning of July in the Las Vegas heat. On the one hand, moving. On the other, attached garage and gas range and debatably better neighborhood. (edit) Oh another question came up while I was looking at the new place. My choices for security are either a $500 refundable (haha) security deposit, or an $80 nonrefundable waiver, meaning I'd be responsible for abnormal wear and tear on moveout. I feel like just paying the $500 is the better option here, since I can at least potentially get it back, whereas with the other one I'm at least $80 in the hole. That sound right? Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 20:34 on May 4, 2013 |
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May 4, 2013 20:12
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