biggish data

Try to look in your local stores, I can't emphasise that enough. I had a real problem here with sofas and finding one that was of my liking. There just doesn't seem to be very many of those huge, sink in and disappear sofas like you get in the UK.

Most of our furniture is local. This way we keep the community going and don't have to go far. We tend to buy handmade, wooden, specially crafted stuff that you can stain yourself. We live in a really old house, so Ikea's furniture would just look stupid and rather naff.

Our fridge, freezer and washer and dryer came from the little electrical appliance shop 3 minutes from here. Because we are so local they deliver for free. The same for our sofa, end tables and coffee table - came from the furniture warehouse up the street. Again, delivery is free. Price wise we haven't paid over the odds. Because they wish to stay competitive and in business, they are reasonable in price. I'd rather pay $30 more than an online price if it means a local gets a commission (rather than some unseen superstore). We live in a small town and keeping people in business here is important to me.

Anyway, the point of this post (if I can remember it) is that you should look locally, don't be put off. You may be pleasantly surprised at the odd bargain and gorgeous piece of furniture.

Yup, looking locally seems to have worked for us - I'm in love with half the things in the shop NEXT DOOR, I'd buy half the shop if I could afford it. It's an absolutely massive place on all four (or is it five, I forget?) floors of a huge downtown building - I hadn't realised initially that they were using more than the ground floor (full of uber-modern weird-looking sofas and things that didn't appeal that much at all) and C. had warned me that it was 'really expensive', so I'd not even bothered going in... then I wandered in one afternoon, found the chest of drawers of my dreams (mysteriously reduced to a price below those of the crappy flimsy ones in Target) and... yeah, I'd like EVERYTHING there, please. They now have me on their mailing list and sent me a postcard about some special discounts this week... hurrah!

As for what you said about the 'huge, sink in and disappear' sofas..... mmmmm, that is what I'm after! Finally I'm living in a place with enough space to fit in the perfect sofa, and I can't find one! C. fancies one of those sectional, modern things, but... noooooo, I want the kind of sofa you can live on, damn it!!!

I also agree completely about being more than willing to pay extra for something from a local business rather than some giant online place (I would never buy furniture online without seeing it unless it was really, really, really cheap, anyway - you never know what it's really going to be like 'til you've seen it!), but... not double the price, which seems to be what we'd have to pay in some of the places round here.

I agree wholeheartedly with you both, however I live in Old Town Alexandria in VA, where the small furniture shops here want anything from $3,000 to $5,000 just for a chest of drawers. The pieces are lovely and one or two would be great, but with needing so much, I need to spend less. I will ask if they are due for any sales though as that might work!

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-06-20 07:29:00

Here's the big North Carolina outlet.........

http://www.furniture...com/about.shtml

Thanks Rebeccajo !!

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-06-19 20:48:00

Ohhhhhh, Britty, I feel your pain!!

We spent four weeks searching for a chest of drawers (just something simple & nice, we're not that picky!) and couldn't find anything that wasn't utterly horrendous*! Finally we found the perfect one, in a furniture shop next door to our building (oops, should have checked there first!)... I don't think it has a website, and in any case it's mostly damned expensive - we were just lucky to walk in on the day they were selling the perfect chest of drawers at about 50% off.

Now we're after bedside tables and a bookcase... I know the kind of bookcase I want, the kind of thing you could pick up in your lunchbreak in the UK. Here? Nope, nothing doing - gaaaahhh!!

I haven't been in the store, but we have some catalogues from this place... they seem to have some pretty nice stuff, but again, a bit pricey. I quite fancy a few of the things in there, though...

I cannot WAIT for Ikea to open here - I was all excited last year because it was due to open 'in the spring'. Now it's opening, hmm, in the autumn, next spring, who knows. Bah.

(*edited to say... okay, that might have been a slight exaggeration. But several evenings/weekends were spent driving round everywhere that sells furniture within a god-knows-how-many-miles radius, and failing to find anything that was even close to what we had in mind!)

Oh FeatherB you have made me laugh !!.... Its sad but nice to know that other Brits are in the same situation. When I bought a house in Essex, I basically spent an hour at Next, half an hour at Matalan, and 15 minutes at DFS (they only had two nice sofas so it was an easy decision), and basically had furnished my entire house on a Saturday afternoon. Thanks for the link - they did have some nice bits there and they have a store 7 miles from me so Im off there tomorrow for a look (and hopefully a purchase). My USC husband doesnt understand and thinks Im being too picky! I thought I would never get over the "this isnt bread its cake" saga when I first came here but that pales into insignificance now....... Thanks so much and Ill let you know how I get on !

Thanks to the other posters too for the info - much appreciated.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-06-19 20:46:00

Having just moved house, I embarked on a shopping trip for new furniture. What a disaster !!! I am used to shopping at Next, M&S, Debenhams etc and can't find anything similar here in Northern Virginia / DC. Everything is either too modern or a bad replica of something from the 1800's. I managed to purchase a sofa from Thomasville but thats it! I like Ethan Allen but for all the things I need, there won't be enough cash.

Does anyone know of a store that has similar items to Next and M&S, isnt too pricey and has fairly good quality stuff? Any help would be appreciated!!

thanks

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-06-19 20:22:00

S.M.S visa collection from the embassy

Don't despair !! SMS are actually very very good at what they do. Im sorry your experience wasnt so great but they are right that they cannot schedule delivery without the passport in hand. I had to deal with them on a couple of occasions (i stupidly opened the brown envelope you ARE NOT supposed to open when my passport/visa was couriered to my home in London). SMS were great with pick up and delivery, and arrived on time every time. Once they have your passport in hand I am sure they will provide an excellent service. Good luck!

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-02-13 16:19:00

Visa arrived BUT...............................

I was very over protective with my x-rays - actually purchasing a hard back cover for them to travel in my hand luggage so they wouldnt get damaged. What a waste of time and money !! No one ever asks for the x-rays and the officer at the POE looked at me strangely when I offered them to him. Dont worry at all about not having your x-rays.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-18 08:14:00

HP "Steak Sauce"

Wow, where do you live Britty? There must be a lot of ex-pats there.

I consider myself lucky to have Wegmans that sell the bare essentials (Digestives, Baked Beans, real HP Sauce).

Im in Alexandria VA. There does seem to be a lot of ex-pats here and that must be because of the close proximity to DC. Unfortunately everything imported is very expensive but the $6 for a Heinz tinned pudding was well worth it !!

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-18 07:53:00

HP "Steak Sauce"

Steak Sauce is just plain evil and nothing like brown sauce.

I had a Heinz tinned syrup sponge pudding last night with birds custard. My local Harris Teeter is stocking so much British food now, and my local Whole Foods are also jumping on the bandwagon. An Irish guy has opened a fish and chip shop near me now too and he stocks all British chocolate, crisps and cakey things. Just waiting for Warburtons to appear and I will be one happy lady.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-17 16:01:00

On my cable box, it's on twice, once in a east coast and then a west coast equivalent of the time slot. I can't for the life of me figure out why they'd start a soap opera for a month and tout the hell out of it, then just move it like that! I was originally happy that they'd be showing Coupling daily, but then I realized I was going to miss out on the fix I'd just grown attached to! Barsts!

my thoughts exactly. We were bombarded with ads for hollyoaks months in advance, and then they suddenly move it to a ridiculous slot with no notice??? f***ing idiots.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-31 21:10:00

But aren't the reallllly bad "documentaries" worth watching every so often? The one about people who love their life-sized dolls was classic! Or the I'm-a-sex-addict episode!?

I absolutely loved watching all those documentaries when I was in England. I saw the life-sized doll one!

oh the life sized doll one was hilarious. Ok so you send off for one of these dolls, and pay your 6,000 pound. Why the hell would you then agree to a film crew filming your life with it!!!! Can you imagine if you watched that and realised you worked with one of those guys?? Every time you were alone together in the kitchen you would run away screaming!! So funny though - especially at the end when it was announced that the girlfriend of one of the doll owners had decided to leave him as he spent more time in bed with his doll than her. BUT IT TOOK HER ABOUT A YEAR TO LEAVE !!!!!!

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-31 21:07:00

I didnt realise they were moving Hollyoaks to a 3am slot tonight !!!!! I am so furious with BBC America. Do you think we should oppose their decision as a group? there is no way I can stay awake until 3am. Im sure you cant either.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-30 21:11:00

I just can't understand why they can't show Eastenders.
Annoying isn't it? They used to show Eastenders on BBCA, but they stopped because it was "too expensive" and "nobody was watching it" (mainly because they showed it in Omnibus form on Saturday mornings).

There was a demonstration outside of the BBCA headquarters when they cancelled it.

Maybe with BBCA's new improved format (i.e. not just 24hrs/day Cash in the Attic) they could bring it back. Sadly I think they won't because they have it on Pay-per-view now I believe on Dish Network.

I have to admit to watching Cash in the Attic and Bargain Hunt. It reminds me of London when I would call work on a Monday morning with a hangover and make up some story about having to work from home. I would curl up on the sofa in my PJ's with a bacon sarnie, and watch all the way through from Trisha to Car Booty !!! I am going to try the website mentioned on here to get Eastenders though. That would make life perfect !

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-30 19:52:00

I was very surprised and happy when I flicked onto BBC america and saw that they show Hollyoaks 5 day a week! lol! It's only about 6 months behind the UK so soon I'll be watching episodes I havent seen!lol!

Oh isnt it just great? Its been running for about a month or so now and even my husband watches it religiously. He evens know all the characters now. His faves are Mercedes "Mercy" McQueen and her sister Carmel. I wonder why???! I love curling up on the sofa at 10.30 with a Cadburys Caramel (a real one from World Market!) for a half hour of bliss. BBC America is getting some more good stuff too I believe so hopefully soon it will be all I watch. I just can't understand why they can't show Eastenders.

britty

Female

United Kingdom

2007-07-30 14:28:00