Unless you ship everything you need from wherever you’ve come from, you can’t avoid furniture and appliance shopping. And in Australia IT IS NOT CHEAP!
We were advised to buy things like fridge, washer, bed etc from the UK and ship it over which is definitely cheaper if you’re after new items.
But we didn’t know where we were coming to and what kind of apartment/house we’d have so didn’t want to buy a new fridge, for example, that might not fit in the space allocated for a fridge! Also, as you know, I’m a thrifty type and I like the idea of upcycling my furniture. Take a look at Loryn Loves to see what I've been up to; like my dining room table and side tables. Obviously there are things that we’d rather buy new, like our bed and cot mattresses.
There are various ways to go about furniture shopping and if you’ve got the time to look around then you’re going to be better off than if you buy the first thing you see. Obviously if you have the cash to splash then go wild! There are some amazing furniture stores here!
Good Old Ikea
I’m a fan of Ikea but I try not to buy too much from there, I don’t want my living room to look like I’ve ordered everything right out of the catalogue. In saying that, their storage solutions are fantastic. Don’t be surprised though, when you arrive at Ikea and find the prices are 20% higher than in the UK. And definitely don't forget to check out the Ikea bargain Corner. We got our cot for half price because there was a scratch on the underneath of it!
Homemaker Hub at DFO, South Wharf
This centre is fantastic for new furniture with shops like Freedom, Provincial and Beacon Lighting. They do have some good offers during sale time.
Gumtree
As in London, Gumtree can be hit and miss. But you can find some fabulous bargains, especially from people that are moving interstate or abroad for work. Many of them have only been here for a short while and are being moved with short notice so will have newer goods at better prices. Many appliances will still have their warranty in place. Again, you need to be patient, new goods are uploaded every day so take a look each morning as the better bits get snapped up quickly! I wouldn’t buy things like mattresses from Gumtree. We found this great dining room table and chairs on Gumtree for just $50. It was owned by a young IT geek who had probably never had a dinner party in his life. You can of course go and check things out with no pressure to buy.
Op Shops
Charity shops are a great place to find bargains. Some stores, like Salvos and Vinnies, will sell larger furniture items like bed frames and dining room tables. I’m a fan of wooden pieces that can be sanded and given a new lease on life. Things like vases, platters and crockery can all be washed and if you find a style you love then why not. I found these two lamps at a charity shop which I spray painted and recovered. The lamps are all tested before they are put out for sale.
Negotiating
Word on the street is that appliance stores expect you to negotiate on white goods. You should be able to knock at least ten percent off the asking price.
Marked or Showroom pieces
We were able to do one better than negotiating on our fridge. After going through the options with the salesman and deciding on our fridge, he mentioned that he had a ‘marked’ model in the back. It was a brand new fridge but had a grey scratch mark on the top of it. You can’t even see the scratch so we took it and paid 40% less than the retail price,including warranty. You will also find that some shops sell their showroom models at cheaper prices.
Sales
At the moment there are huge sales on in all stores because it’s the end of the financial year. The stores want to get rid of their wares rather than have to stock take it for their tax return so you can find discounts up to 70%.
And that my dears is that. If you’d like to see more of what we’ve been doing in our own home then take a look at Loryn Loves.
Happy Shopping!
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