New House Stuff Discussion

[AKDoug]

Purchasing furniture for our newly remodeled house 15 years ago was the least satisfying expenditure of money I've ever done. When it was all said and done, we could have bought a pretty nice new car outfitting that house AND I still didn't get the quality I wanted. We had to cut corners in areas I now regret. We paid top dollar for a complete cherry Amish bedroom set and it looks brand new to this day. We went cheaper on the dining room table, chairs and buffet. I should have flipped that around as the bedroom furniture is rarely seen and the dining room is used more heavily. I guess the good thing is that the dining room stuff is still working and I now can afford the top of the line stuff I wanted for the next house.

I am lucky in that the wife and I very much like the timelessness and simplicity of Amish and Shaker style furniture in natural wood. That type of furniture is easy to find in good quality. Once you head down the modern or ultra-modern paths, it is more difficult to find stuff in the same level of quality that isn't twice the price of the Amish stuff.

[D-der]

I'm in complete agreement on the Shaker / Amish manufacture,
18 years ago we bought an oak dining room set with an oiled finish,
built like a brick shit house, wheat back Windsor chairs, hand fit, no
hardware, I'm impressed every time I oil it, keep it oiled and any wear
adds character, still is beautiful and if taken care of will be in a hundred years.

[Poconnor]

When we bought our “fancy” house I did not know that a new house meant new furniture. We went high quality. It was expensive. Hancock & Moore leather sofa and love seat. I am lucky that I live near Amish. I really like their wood furniture. Stick to oak; other woods get expensive fast. A word of advice when buying from the Amish. Don’t buy from “Amish” tourist shops. Buy where the Amish themselves buy. The price difference is significant. I was surprised to learn that sensenig’s furniture in new Holland pa is one of Hancock and Moore’s biggest dealers but it makes sense. The Amish & Mennonite see the value of quality. In regards to kids and nice furniture; we didn’t let the kids on the new furniture. My mom was the same way. Growing up if I watched TV in the living room I sat on the floor. We did have a rumpus room that had my toys and a swing.

[SD]

It may be worth a trip to; https://www.hickoryfurniture.com/she...rand-type.aspx . We have purchased some Amish furniture in the past directly from them no complaints but we had a friend who ordered a complete oak dining room set and the table warped and the maker did not feel obligated to correct the problem. For good wood furniture we have purchased from a Canadian company Durham, movers have mentioned about the stuff is heavy. Patio furniture is from Costco, plastic wicker with cushions covered with Sunbrella material 5+ years used and abused but holding up good. Best wishes settling into the new home.

[UNK]

I read this thread and not two days later the wife says Lets go look at furniture I was well prepared. Doing a bit of research I ran across this store. This page I think is worth the read.

https://furniturefair.net/blogs/lc/t...ture-companies

[rob_s]

Wife and I merged our houses when we bought this one. I brought a good quality sofa/love seat combo for the family room that was a bad color choice for our new life together, in hindsight (too light, shows stains). She brought the master bed (a metal frame and box springs supporting a phenomenal, and presumably expensive, mattress). I brought the nightstands (ikea, but top of their line, such as that is)). She brought the kid’s furniture. She brought a dining table & chairs, since replaced. We bought a (too?) large living room sofa and coffee table from Macy’s furniture that appears to be (6 years later) good quality and we are generally happy with both.

Since then…

We bought a second coffee table, dining room set, and sideboard from https://scandinaviandesigns.com/ and we are quite happy with that stuff too. Her lineage is Norwegian, and I’m a failed architect, so that design style is perfect for us.

We bought new kid’s furniture, and I wish I could tell you where from. We basically waited until both kids were able to get rid of the kiddie shit and work with adult-sized stuff, with the idea that they could keep using this furniture until they move out, and maybe beyond. It’s good-ish quality. I’m honestly just hoping for “until they move out” as I don’t want to be the one dealing with moving it later.

Right now we’re hunting a patio sectional for under the tiki hut. Like some have said in this thread, patio furniture is a bit of a sticking point. Hard to find places to go look at it in person, and I can’t decide if I care about quality (the outdoors here are harsh on things) but I know I care about comfort, otherwise we won’t use it. I’d really, really like to build it but the wife doesn’t want anything that “looks homemade” and also doesn’t want it built in. So there will be an alcohol-fueled patio-furniture shopping outting in our near future.

Lest anyone think the alcohol-fueled bit weird, we have discovered that we enjoy chores and “boring” spending much more when we spruce things up. Have to go visit the financial planner? Go out for dinner and drinks after. Parent/teacher night? Dinner and drinks before! Furniture shopping? Drinks between stops, and dinner after!

[RJ]

Assuming this is ok with the OP, I’m going to broaden the thread slightly to include new home options for networked devices in the age of ‘the Internet of Things (IoT). If not, I can start a different thread.

We just moved into a new construction ‘smart’ home. I’d like to outline my experience as I try and put some of these systems online. As some of you know I’m retired out of the Aerospace biz, so I’ve got a smattering of knowledge and a lot of spare time.

I have 500Mbps service to the house via fiber/ONT. My network router is a 3 year old Netgear Nighthawk r7900p tri-band. My house is small (1,693’) so I don’t see needing a mesh. I currently implement WPA2 via a strong password, with SPI and firewall on. I use MAC address filtering and reduce router signal power where possible.

My existing devices include the usual stuff; smart phones, tablets, laptops, an audio system, streaming TVs, and a printer. The home also features WiFI-enabled devices such as a thermostat and garage door opener. Mrs RJ wants to have her washer/dryer, and fridge, online as well. Plus a Roomba (sadly no Claymore, which would be useful). I’m also leveraging some old iPhones to provide a networked surveillance video / monitoring capability.

I’ve had some initial success. My ‘home’ screen with the icons that represent the Apps for all this is below. As I get these online I’ll post back with a quick synopsis of each and how it went.

[orionz06]

Assuming this is ok with the OP

It's all new house stuff! Anyone can chime in, it's all stuff all of us have some level of need or experience with.

[MickAK]

I can speak highly of the Sonos sound system and speakers. My neighbors might not.

Depending on your level of handiness a custom platform bed with the storage options you desire and a custom foam mattress is a lot better than many off the shelf options.

I need cameras next.

[luckyman]

Assuming this is ok with the OP, I’m going to broaden the thread slightly to include new home options for networked devices in the age of ‘the Internet of Things (IoT). If not, I can start a different thread.

We just moved into a new construction ‘smart’ home. I’d like to outline my experience as I try and put some of these systems online. As some of you know I’m retired out of the Aerospace biz, so I’ve got a smattering of knowledge and a lot of spare time.

I have 500Mbps service to the house via fiber/ONT. My network router is a 3 year old Netgear Nighthawk r7900p tri-band. My house is small (1,693’) so I don’t see needing a mesh. I currently implement WPA2 via a strong password, with SPI and firewall on. I use MAC address filtering and reduce router signal power where possible.

My existing devices include the usual stuff; smart phones, tablets, laptops, an audio system, streaming TVs, and a printer. The home also features WiFI-enabled devices such as a thermostat and garage door opener. Mrs RJ wants to have her washer/dryer, and fridge, online as well. Plus a Roomba (sadly no Claymore, which would be useful). I’m also leveraging some old iPhones to provide a networked surveillance video / monitoring capability.

I’ve had some initial success. My ‘home’ screen with the icons that represent the Apps for all this is below. As I get these online I’ll post back with a quick synopsis of each and how it went.

Man I hate my Samsung fridge; the thought of buying something more complex than what I have no has no appeal.

I’m assuming washer and dryer are mainly to get notifications when the cycle is done? Why the fridge?