When you buy an RV, you buy a “house” full of furniture.  RVs come fully equipped.  But, the same cannot be said when you buy a house.  Sometimes homes come furnished, but the one that Tom and I bought did not have any furniture in it.  And we no longer owned any furniture.  So, how much furniture do you have to have in order to live in a place?

Fortunately Jackie and John Hartley, our wonderful daughter-in-law and son, donated some pieces of furniture to the cause.  I can remember giving John furniture for his first apartment.  I never dreamed I would have to get furniture from him!  The two of them gave us a bedroom set with two nightstands and a dresser and a sofa.  Jackie decided she didn’t need two desks and gave us one of them.  They also gave us a card table with four chairs and a patio table with four chairs.  The most generous donation was a practically new mattress set for the bed.  I’ve been enjoying sleeping on it ever since.

We put the sofa in the living room and are using the dresser as a very nice entertainment center.  One of the nightstands is next to the sofa and one is next to the bed.  We set the card table up in the dining area with the four chairs around it.  And the desk is in the office, which is where I am sitting as I write this post.

But how much furniture do you really need for a house to be functional?  And where do you buy furniture during a national pandemic?  After a couple days using the sofa, we decided a new sofa would be our first purchase (after the 70″ television that Tom bought before we even moved in).  You never really know whether or not a sofa is going to be comfortable until you sit on it.

So we decided on a style (recliner sofa with a convertible console) and a fabric (something soft but durable) and headed to Ashley Furniture.  They seemed to have some nice furniture at reasonable prices.  We hooked up with a nice salesperson and he found us the perfect sofa within minutes, following our guidelines exactly.  The price was good and it was very comfortable.  We also found a dining room table and chairs.  But we decided just to get the sofa for now.

Writing up the order, however, was where our shopping experience turned sour.  First, the salesman wanted us to add the protection plan.  We declined it and he cut the price for it in half.  That seemed a little shady, and we still declined.  Then, if we wanted it delivered, it was an additional $99 for them to drop it in the garage.  If we wanted it put in the house (the white glove treatment) we had to pay another $150.  We told him we would carry it in the house ourselves (probably with some help from John and Jackie).  By the time we paid and got out of there, we didn’t feel like the furniture was so reasonably priced.  And the sofa won’t be delivered until September 29.

Consequently we bought several pieces of furniture online, at Wayfair.  Their prices are a little higher but it is free shipping and you know exactly when you will get the piece.  We ordered two bookshelves and a little bedroom nightstand and both came the same week we ordered them.  No pressure for upsales or hidden costs.  I wanted to order a recliner from Wayfair but Tom says a recliner is something we should try before we buy.

Our goal, at this time, is to get the furniture we need to live comfortably and functionally in the house.  We have plenty of time, once we feel comfortable going in stores again, to get the rest of the things we would like to have.