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Dear All,

We are wondering what the general opinions are from everybody concerning buying furniture for the apartments.  Initially our thoughts were to buy one of the furniture packages that are on offer from various companies due to convenience etc.  However after looking round our local Ikea it seems to us that we may be able to get everything we need cheaper.  Also buying things seperately ourselves means we get to choose exactly what we want.   However I suppose one of the drawbacks of this is trying to ensure it all gets delivered ready for when we go over.  

Any thoughts or comments from anybody that has already furnished their apartments would be greatfully appreciated.

Regards
Alison & Simon

Hi Alison & Simon

I personally did not like many of the furniture packages and those I did like had a lot of items that I wouldnt want, so I opted for the DIY method of buying.  I think with the likes of IKEA and some of the smaller independant stores around Murcia you have a lot more choice and the prices are much lower, yes its a pain going from one to the other but at least you keep that individualism that makes a home ' Yours ' . I think the thing to remember with these aparments are that they are not the biggest of places and therefore you a limited for space, stick to the old saying 'less is more' as long as you have your essentials, everything else can be built on as you go along.  Just my own opinion and everyone will differ, I think a lot will buy packages more for convenience than anything else because of the timescale of travelling to and from their home country and not wanting to spend their whole holiday shopping.

Good Luck and I am sure you will enjoy buying & Furnishing  for your new place in the sun no matter which way you choose

Carol

Hi Alison and Simon,

I agree with Carol.  A lot of the furniture packages we looked at were quite dated and those that weren't, were very expensive.  The main advantage we could see with the furniture packages was that they would deliver everything for you, install everything and you could just walk in to a fully furnished and equipped apartment.  But that comes at a high cost.

Then there is the option of buying individual items in Spain which certainly means you get what you want and what you have room for.  But the down side to that is time to shop around, co-ordinate deliveries and assemble/instal everything when it arrives.

The third option is buying in the UK and shipping over.  Again that means you get what you want and what you have room for, and it also gives you more time to shop around in the UK at places you know of and have more time to visit.  But the down side to this is the cost of shipping and having to assemble/instal everything.  

We have gone for option 3, mainly because buying two apartments we could not afford the cost of the furniture packages we liked in Spain.  We have fully furnished and equipped both apartments with exactly what we want, including lovely patio and terrace furniture, for around £4600 per apartment.  The furniture package we liked at Murcia Furnishings worked out at £8000 and did not have the patio/terrace furniture that we have bought .  The shipping cost for all our goods for the two apartments has worked out at £2600 plus VAT, which split between the two apartments is £1500.00 per apartment.  We have booked Polarair to do our air con at a cost of £1700/£1800 per apartment and that means (if my maths is right!) that we have furnished each apartment, shipped the furniture to Spain and installed air con for the same price that we would have paid for a decent furniture package in Spain and with better patio/terrace furniture!  

The big down side to this is that my husband will spend about three to four days with a screwdriver in his hand assembling everything, installing lights etc!  But purely on the basis of cost, this has been the best option for us.  

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and hope that this info has given you an idea of the various options.  Whichever you choose, it's fun shopping!

Debbie

Hi,

We looked at furniture packages & while they are useful in terms of lack of hassle, they do not offer much flexibility once you want to start chopping & changing items from the list.

We are far too busy to arrange shipping from the UK & subsequent delivery & installation so we ended up going for individual pieces from DFS in San Javier. They were also able to sort out lighting, white goods & the all important shower screen!! The best advice they gave us was that you don't need to have the place fully furnished from the start, get the basics (sit, sleep & shower) then add other items as you wish.

We dealt with English staff which made a big difference & they are able to deliver & install everything.

Have we spent a bit more than buying in the UK & shipping over?.......probably

Is it worth it for the amount of time & stress saved?...absolutely

cheers

Peter

 

Hi Debbie

Interested in the patio/terrace furniture that you have bought for your apartment, as we are still underside about shipping or buying in Spain. One of the areas I am undecided about is the patio/terrace furniture, as we have not as yet seen these items in the UK that look up to the job at a reasonable prise. Could you tell me what you have decided on and where you have bought it, similarly it would also be interesting to know about your other large items such as Beds, Sofa and things?

Regards

Phil

Hi Debbie/Carol - Like Phil, we are also undecided about which option to choose, buy here ship? or buy in Spain? - The one thing we agree with is about the furniture packages, they mostly were too big for what we needed and as you say Debbie, the better ones are just too expensive - We are also buying 2 apartments ( 2 and 3 bed ) ( Are we Mad? ) and it only just hit me about the shopping for the 2 of them. So it would be a great help if everyone who has completed and furnished could give us an idea of what they have bought and what fits well. Many thanks

Thanks everybody for your comments so far.  We have pretty much decided that furniture packages are not going to be for us and it would be better to buy things seperately ourselves.  Like other people have asked, for those that have already bought furniture where would you recommend?  

When you start looking to buy furniture you begin to realise how soon it will be before you own a place in the sun.


Alison & Simon

all

You will laugh at me, as I have not sold my house here in UK which was a must to obviously release equity for furniture etc... Hmm ...well I have told the kids the most exciting part of moving house is starting from scratch and live like campers for a while......in order for us to take our time and choose very carefully what we want .... My 8 yr old thought this was fantastic as he loves camping....... Hasnt gone down quite so good with 16 yr old daughter ....... You can only get away with so much
 .............. Anyway my lovely new pad will be very individual and I can guarantee no one's apartment will have the furniture I have .......... I like to be different so we are having platfrom airbeds (designer of course) ..... Lovely canvass green arm chairs....hey not just any old chairs these fold away in the evening to free space up for our dynamic dance  floor with spotlights I may add !!! So hows that for individuality guys & gals ?????

Your impressed I can tell ...and the folding chairs can double up for terrace too .... see I am smarter than I look

BRILLIANT!!!!

Sounds fantastic Carol!  

We have bought a leather 2.5 seater sofa bed for each apartment and a leather swivel chair, with a small side table to go between the chair and the long window.  We have also bought a TV/DVD unit for each apartment.  The hardest thing to find has been a dining table and chair set small enough to fit in the apartments but we shopped round and managed to find a 120 cm black glass/chrome dining table with black leather chairs for one apartment and a 120 cm light oak table with brown leather chairs for the other apartment.  The glass/chrome set was from a shop trading on E-Bay and the oak set was from a company called Furn-On, again online.  We got the double beds (wooden frames with mattresses) from Bensons when they had a sale on and then single metal bed frames with mattresses from Homebase (same as Argos).  The bedside cabinets are from Ikea and we have also got a couple of slim dressing tables in light oak for the main bedrooms (Homebase/Argos).    We managed to order quite a few items from the Homebase furniture catalogue whilst they had a 20% weekend on (daughter works for Direct Group who are provided with 20% vouchers for family/friends).

We bought one set of patio furniture from a local garden centre that had a sale on (large black glass table and six chairs with parasol) and the other one was from, believe it or not, Land of Leather.  They had a promotion on large wicker patio sets (round glass wicker table with six chairs plus parasol).  We have also bought two outdoor armchairs and coffee table set (B&Q) to go with the black glass patio set and two black sunloungers with side table (Tesco Direct catalogue).  Also managed to get a round "love sofa" in wicker rattan with cream canopy from E-Bay shop (Living It Up) to go with the wicker patio set.  We just need to get a couple of wicker rattan sunloungers to finish that apartment off but are getting those from Spain.   We have also got a couple of mosaic patio tables and four chairs to go on the balcony outside the front door for each apartment (again Homebase)

We are buying the white goods (but in silver) in Spain, plus TVs, microwaves.  Everything else has been bought in the UK - pots, pans, cutlery, bedding, towels, curtains, lamps, light fittings and bathroom fittings - all now packed up and shipped off!  It has definitely saved money for us - as I mentioned earlier we have furnished and equipped the apartments, shipped everything out and installed air conditioning for the same price as two furniture packages in Murcia Furnishings, plus we have exactly what we want and better patio/balcony furniture. 

The big down side to all this is obviously the time to set everything up - the other thing is that we had to rent a storage unit for a month from a place called Ready Steady Store to gather everything together.  All the companies we had bought from delivered goods there and the staff at Ready Steady Store were quite happy to sign for deliveries if we were not able to get out of work!  The cost of that was £120.00 for one month, so not a major additional expense.

Hope this has given you some food for thought.  I had to set up a spreadsheet  with all the items listed, plus cost, shop bought from etc, so I could keep track of everything - yes I know - sad but very necessary!

Debbie

Hi all, after we bought our furniture package from Murcia furniiture we met our lawyer the next day and his assistant gave me the details of Lesley, an English girl living in Spain nearby who furnishes apartments.  She does not have a warehouse so you can not see the furniture, like other places, but she will show you apartments that she has already furnished and you get an idea of what she has done. She will take you around the best places to buy furniture to your taste, and will take you to local markets to buy material that you choose for your curtains etc... Living in the area she has a sound knowledge and knows where to go for bargains.  Basically she works personally to your specs. She said she can furnish your apartment at half the price a pack would cost.  I only wish I had heard about her before hand, but I promised her I would mention her on the forum.  If you are interested give her a call on Spain, 966 765 419 or  spanish mobile 627547286. 

I guess regarding where to go it for furniture it is a personal thing and very much depends on wether you will be living there permanently or renting out. I for sure did not want to spend a fortune on furniture to think it would proabably get damaged after a few years of renting our apartment out.

Pauline

Hi, I am pretty much there for furniture, still to get dining room chairs and patio furniture. I got the furniture from IKEA, it is all easy enough to put together, and total cost including lights, bathroom and kitchen equipment was less than 1500€, Washing machine, Fridge, Microwave, TV and DVD took the cost up to around 2500€.  LikeDebbie, I also got my aircon from PolarAir - think they offer a very good price.

Ted