Where to Buy Furnishings??

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:54 am

Hi All

I just secured a place to rent and I need to buy a few things for the unit. Amongst some of the items: bed, microwave, cutlery, plates, vacuum, iron etc.

I know there's IKEA and Courts. I think out of the stuff that I need to buy, the bed might actually cost quite a bit considering I need the mattress and the frame. I've checked out the catalogues of IKEA and Courts and I'm looking to spend around min. $400 ~ $700 for a queen size bed! This is excluding delivery and assembly.

Can anyone recommend any cheaper place to buy beds?

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Tue, 09 Oct 2007 1:00 pm

also has anyone ever used a air cooler before?? I need to get one too.

cbavasi · Post by **cbavasi** » Tue, 09 Oct 2007 8:12 pm

hi - i bought a queen sized mattress for our guestroom from: Rolands Furniture Center - 502 West Coast Drive - #01-300. Tel: 67732311. i saw them listed in the paper and found a very reasonable mattress for $280 including delivery. They have less expensive and more expensive - but i didn't want my guests being too comfortable

. Have you tried Mustafa for your cutlery, microwave, dishes, towels...etc.? Bonus is it's open 24hrs!

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Thu, 11 Oct 2007 9:38 am

cbavasi wrote:hi - i bought a queen sized mattress for our guestroom from: Rolands Furniture Center - 502 West Coast Drive - #01-300. Tel: 67732311. i saw them listed in the paper and found a very reasonable mattress for $280 including delivery. They have less expensive and more expensive - but i didn't want my guests being too comfortable . Have you tried Mustafa for your cutlery, microwave, dishes, towels...etc.? Bonus is it's open 24hrs!

Hi cbavasi, thanks!! I shall check it out. Did you pay $280 for just the mattress (i.e. without the frame?) I haven't been to Mustafas but I'm planing to go, I heard it's really cheap there ... hopefully reliable as well as I plan to use them for a long time. Haha, I notice IKEA knifes tend to rust a little. Not sure if other people have this sort of problem.

cbavasi · Post by **cbavasi** » Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:41 pm

yes - $280 without frame - (including delivery) - but they had ones that were less expensive. the shop is in a housing estate so it's not super flashy or anything - but most of the mattresses are from the US.

seasider · Post by **seasider** » Thu, 11 Oct 2007 4:33 pm

If you need a few electrical items, try the small independent shops and you might get a better deal. We use one on Geylang Road - sorry I don't know the name but it's just above Lorong 24A. It's a small shop but they can get you almost anything very quickly. We've bought all our recent stuff there (not least because they wheel it round the corner and install it within half an hour!).

Balestier Road should have similar places.

If you do go to Best Denki, Harvey Norman, etc., the prices are pretty fixed but you might be able to get some freebies thrown in or, if you don't want a listed freebie, a discount.

I don't find Mustapha to be cheap - it's pretty average but there is a good range. You could also try Parisilk at Holland Village but just be aware that they quote prices for cash and before GST. I know quite a few people that have rung them, got a good price, gone all the way over and then found out the inclusive price for credit. They are ok at throwing in freebies though.

Pots and pans, well we needed it all in a hurry and went for an Ikea starter kit! 5 years on I'm still using it and adding to it, as I like plain white crockery. Most of the department stores sell a range called Patra that's reasonable and I buy that as well.

If you're ever up in Bangkok you can get some great silver cutlery at Chatuchak market a lot cheaper than you can get it here.

Beds - sorry, can't help, got mine custom-made in Indonesia.

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Thu, 11 Oct 2007 6:01 pm

wow thanks for all the tips. i think for plates and cutleries, i'll most likely get them from Ikea as i do recall them being sold in a box set for say a family of four at quite a reasonable price.

I'm only concerned about bed since it's quite a big item and i don't want to be buying something too expensive or too cheap (if the frame decides to give way halfway in our sleep!) but so far the ones I've seen with mattress and frame cost at least $450.

in any case, thanks for all the tips, i shall check them out.

seasider · Post by **seasider** » Thu, 11 Oct 2007 6:12 pm

My advice is not to skimp on the mattress - you spend about a third of your life on it.

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:54 am

Hi seasider

I went to IKEA over the weekend and tried their beds. I don't know if it's just me but even their spring pocketed mattress which is classified as "firm" is way too soft compared to the ones that I've slept on. Furthermore I wld think they're rather pricey for a non-branded bed? I saw a few ads in the papers over the weekend advertising for furniture so I guess I'll pay them a visit this comin weekend.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 15 Oct 2007 1:20 pm

Will agree with seasider on that. One should NEVER skimp on the mattress. A bad mattress will effect you entire waking life in addition to not letting you get a good nights sleep. Additionally, one should regularly turn/flip the mattress to keep it from getting a set (depression). It will last you for 15 years or more if a good one and taken care of. A bad one can give you health problems in a matter of months though.

mayamomi · Post by **mayamomi** » Mon, 15 Oct 2007 2:53 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:one should regularly turn/flip the mattress to keep it from getting a set (depression).

thats a good one, how come i never thought of it ... will do so tonight!

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Mon, 15 Oct 2007 7:25 pm

nowonder my mom flips the mattress every now and then! makes sense

I gotta find some good mattress - the likes of king koil, dunlop-sometjhing - names which i'm familiar with.

cbavasi · Post by **cbavasi** » Mon, 15 Oct 2007 9:02 pm

If you are in the market for a King Koil or the like - be prepared to spend. We have a King Koil and paid over $2000 US. I was under the impression this was for a short term post... if not, agreed - you should bust out and get the best you can afford. You should still check out that Rolands place - they had mostly US mattresses and quite underpriced. You can also go to Robinsons - they have a good selection of King Koil - but most start at $800+. (ps - you're right about those IKEA mattresses... we had one when we were first married and i swear it gave me the worst back problems. it wasn't until we splurged i realized it was the mattress!)

synkronize · Post by **synkronize** » Wed, 17 Oct 2007 1:55 pm

cbavasi wrote:If you are in the market for a King Koil or the like - be prepared to spend. We have a King Koil and paid over $2000 US. I was under the impression this was for a short term post... if not, agreed - you should bust out and get the best you can afford. You should still check out that Rolands place - they had mostly US mattresses and quite underpriced. You can also go to Robinsons - they have a good selection of King Koil - but most start at $800+. (ps - you're right about those IKEA mattresses... we had one when we were first married and i swear it gave me the worst back problems. it wasn't until we splurged i realized it was the mattress!)

Holy crap!!! I didn't know King Koil was that expensive!! *Faints* What more when I need a queen size bed for the 2 of us (was hoping for a King size but I think the price is out of my budget). I'm going to be based in Singapore permanently hence I've been reminded numerous times by my mom lately that i shouldn't skimp on the mattress. and I'm assuming you paid 2k for it and is excluding the frame eh?

speaking of IKEA, was checking out their bed frames and they look rather flimsy. I don't think I want to have it crash in the middle of the night. haha

road.not.taken · Post by **road.not.taken** » Wed, 17 Oct 2007 2:17 pm

synkronize wrote:Holy crap!!! I didn't know King Koil was that expensive!! *Faints* What more when I need a queen size bed for the 2 of us (was hoping for a King size but I think the price is out of my budget). I'm going to be based in Singapore permanently hence I've been reminded numerous times by my mom lately that i shouldn't skimp on the mattress. and I'm assuming you paid 2k for it and is excluding the frame eh?

speaking of IKEA, was checking out their bed frames and they look rather flimsy. I don't think I want to have it crash in the middle of the night. haha

$2K would be cheap for a King Koil. Some are well over $10K. Flats are getting so small, I wouldn't want to buy a king-sized bed in Singapore now -- I think you're smart to go with the queen size. This is a challenge as you seem to have a beer budget but champagne tastes.

There is a MegaMattress store on Balestair Rd, with lots of different brands and Shanghai Heng Long on Joo Chiat, same thing -- they carry lots of different well known brands. Consider going to the source as well: Mattress International makes their own, on Ubi Crescent somewhere.

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Where to Buy Furnishings??

Where to Buy Furnishings??

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