Where to buy naice furniture

[LePetitPont]

We are about to move from our first home which is furnished with cheapy ikea and odd bits of Argos flat pack. It's seen better days so we want to buy some decent, solid wood, grown up stuff.

But where from?! We had a look at barker stonehouse but weren't too keen... like habitat. Looking for contemporary with a vintage twist!

Ideas from experienced naice furniture buyers appreciated

I would work out your budget and check out auction houses for a few good pieces and build up slowly. I also have some bespoke stuff but that's exxy so most important thing is to establish your budget then have fun.

Heals? John Lewis? Or local auction house for some vintage bits?

Oh and Liberty of London.

Much depends on your budget!

Swoon Editions does lovely furniture - you have to wait for it once you've ordered it as they save money by not storing stock in the UK but it isn't very stylish, good quality and good value.

Also, think about how you can use the pieces as your needs change. We have 3 very large antique wooden cabinets / cupboards in the living room at the moment. One is used for books, one has had shelves re positioned and holds a 49" TV (so nice to shut the doors and hide it when not in use) and one has pegs and a rail up inside so it's used as a coat and boot cupboard.

I've also bought more contemporary solid wood stuff from here: www.indigofurniture.co.uk/plank-grand-tallboy-8062

Personally I would go for high quality old pieces from antique shops and flea markets. You'll probably want to keep them for life but should you move and a piece doesn't fit, you can sell for the same or more than you bought it for. Win win!

We have also fairly gradually replaced all our flatpack with bits we have chosen from our local antique market. It's not all 'antiques', lots of things from house clearances and lightly upcycled things. As we live in a rural area we get some real bargains. I suspect 'antique hunters' buy stuff from there, polish it, then sell it for four times the price in a more fancy shop.

We go regularly just for a trawl round. It's worth researching to see if you have a similar place.

We have also hunted salvage type places and I have one unit from next as I just happened to be exactly what I wanted.

I still have some IKEA stuff- it is great for the playroom and the malm drawers for our bedroom

We have some from made.com which I like a lot. Cheaper than habitat but looks a bit similar. I also second the vote for swoon. Both had very good customer service. Have gone right of John Lewis as the quality seems to have dropped through the floor

Ps. We also have liatorp from IKEA which I think passes as naice (35 steps to the instructions, though...)

Unless you have a massive budget I'd stick with your flatpack until you have a clear style in mind.

We've slowly changed and have a bit of a solid oak / elm and painted style going on with a losely connected furniture theme by having ercol in the dining room, lounge and conservatory. The colours gently blend from one room to the next - essential as its a smallish house but we didn't want just one colour. We have the Ercol pebbles nest of tables which was the start of my theme.

I buy from ebay, preloved, auctions, charity shops and dealers. Critically as I've got older I plan my layouts and schemes.

Good quality branded contemporary used pieces hold their value so you can normally move them on at a similar price to that paid if they turn out to be not quite right.

Places like West elm
But also bespoke, go on local Facebook recommends sites and ask about people having furniture made and find someone local.

I agree Heals and West Elm might suit you. Also the Conran Shop should be to your liking.

Latredoute has some nice bits, some mid century modern style. I also love anthropologie.

Also there's a lot of upcycled and antique furniture in Etsy.

Finally replaced our Ikea stuff, which had given great service at a very low price, this year with really lovely pieces from these people www.berrydesign.co.uk

Swoon!

Myakka, John Lewis, Indigo, Lombok and vintage here.

I like Oka
Neptune also good and reasonably priced.
I also have things made
For cheap stuff some next bits can be ok

You might like this website. Some of the stuff is just so gorgeous and different.

www.peppermillantiques.com/

Oooh I like the Swoon website!
Hadn't heard of that one before.

My first thought was David Linley, but £11k for a sofa is ridiculous (to me at least).

Arighi Bianci in Cheshire has some quite eccentric stuff in!

I just bought something from made.com. Great design and not too pricey! Yet to see how long it'll last but impressed so far.

Swoon and Made are cheap and cheerful if you don't want to invest too much in fashion pieces that may date. But never buy a sofa you haven't sat on!

I'm struggling to find anything that isn't bog-standard light oak at the moment. We have an old house and I'm struggling to find furniture modern enough for everyday life yet traditional enough to go with the windows and fireplaces