Home shopping for your new place – Splurge or save?
Not sure where to start? Which shops to visit to get more bang for your buck? Well, I’ve had my own personal dilemma of going through that last year, the year I got married and moved to our new house.
I realize it’s a tough call to decide which furniture piece or drop lights would fit the overall theme of our house. “Which ones are more practical in the long run? Would it match the chairs or would it be an eyesore?” These were some of the questions I had to deal with, plus, fitting everything into our budget, of course.
Where to splurge or save…
Table of Contents
Splurge
| Lights | Furniture | Accessories | |
| Philux | Yes | Yes | |
| Restoration | Yes | Yes | |
| West Elm | Yes | Yes | |
| Casa Consunji – excellent curated pieces | Yes | Yes | |
| Dimensione | Yes | Yes | |
| Illuminati | Yes | ||
| Lightitude | Yes | Yes | |
| Crate & Barrel | Yes | Yes | |
| Pottery Barn | Yes | Yes | |
| Triboa Bay Living | Yes | Yes | |
| BoConcept | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Design Story – scandinavian pieces | Yes | Yes | |
| Kuysen – luxury pieces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Habitat | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Decoliving (carpets) | Yes |
Since most of these stores are inside the mall (SM Megamall, Powerplant Mall, Glorietta, BGC), they have higher prices. Even if Philux and Restoration accept commissioned work, and they have more elegant showrooms, it’s still considered a splurge for me. Some of their sofas sell for Php 200,000! Kuysen pieces are also designer pieces from Europe.
Online shops and local independent makers, with proper communication and translation, also sell and make excellent pieces. #supportlocal
Save
| Lights | Furniture | Accessories | |
| Mandaue Foam | Yes | Yes | |
| Décor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Home Cartel (online) | Yes | Yes | |
| Lumina Concepts | Yes | Yes | |
| Furniture Republic | Yes | ||
| All Home | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Landmark Dept Store | Yes | Yes | |
| Furniture Source – for all things IKEA (online) | Yes | Yes | |
| Our Home | Yes | Yes |
All Home usually has monthly sale events, so watch out for those. Mandaue Foam has regular sales quarterly, which they announce on their website and social media page. Both of them have their own loyalty programs too which may either earn you points or get you more discount.
From what I know All Home and Furniture Republic source their furniture mostly from Malaysia. Good quality but not as high end. Mandaue Foam either sources from Indonesia, Malaysia, or locally from Cebu. The reason why they can really bring their prices down is because most of their wood are laminated MDF, not real wood. Make sure to inspect the workmanship and quality before purchasing.
The trick to saving in these shops (except for those inside the mall) is to offer cash payment. Usually the will agree to give 25% discount with a minimum purchase amount, like Décor Manila. I got several drop lights, chairs, coffee table, and an art piece from them and paid in cash, with door-to-door delivery.
Custom Made
Material: Gmelina wood
| Name | Location / Account | |
| Rawtura | I had our bed frame and bed bench made by Rawtura. Excellent workmanship, although I had to wait at least 2 months for completion and delivery. What I like about the co-owner, Anna, is that she helped suggest the right wood and staining for our bed frame. I chose Gmelina wood material with floating edges and hidden drawers, with bedside table. | IG: @raw.tura |
| The OldWood | I see their items on Instagram and Facebook. Same with Rawtura, they also customize anything– buffet tables, bed frame, console table, shoe cabinet, trolley, etc. | IG: @theoldwoodph |
| Mandaue Foam | I had our sectional sofa made here. From existing designs, you can customize the fabric, spring, and leg material without extra cost. And you get it within a month. | Shaw Blvd; Quezon Avenue |
| Urban Italia | They customize sofas, bed frames, even carpets | Edsa Greenhills |
| IDO | They customize sofas, bed frames, shelves, and have ready-made items too | New Manila |
| Tiendesitas | Need a live edge wooden table? Name it and they have it. | C5 Pasig |
| Fabric Life | For curtains, blinds, bed headboard | Broadway Ave. |
| Kangyee Trading | Located in Binondo but all transactions made via phone call – for made-to-order stainless and aluminum doors | Binondo Manila |
The owner came to visit and get exact measurements and within 2 weeks, he personally delivered and installed it on our front door.
One-stop shop / Areas
- Quezon Avenue is lined with various lighting stores, tile depots, and furniture stores (Mandaue Foam and Wilcon Depot can both be found here)
- SM North Edsa’s interior zone
- Landmark Department Store
- The SM Store – for good quality beddings, linens, and pillows; sometimes you’ll score great deals during their 3-day sale
- Lazada – online | I got lots of organizers and styling accessories at a discount during their mid-year sale. Sometimes it’s easier to just type in keywords on your mobile phone than walk around for hours in malls
- Ace Hardware
- Wilcon Depot
- MC Home Depot
- CW Home Depot
- Granada Street – for handicrafts, aluminum/PVC windows, curtains & blinds
- LRI Design Plaza in Makati
- Dapitan Arcade – I heard there are lots of good cheap finds here for styling / DIY projects. I’ll try to visit one of these days and post updates here
Whether you’re living in a townhouse, apartment, or condo unit, it all boils down to your budget and styling. Invest in good art pieces like Michael Cacnio or Orlina, low-maintenance stylish rugs, add personal touches like photos and other memorabilia.
Do you have other home shopping tips? Share your thoughts and leave comments below.
xoxo
9 Comments
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Lexi
House tour please! 😊 I imagine the outcome to be beautiful!
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Haha next time😅