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…

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

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

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One-stop shop / Areas

1. Quezon Avenue is lined with various lighting stores, tile depots, and furniture stores (Mandaue Foam and Wilcon Depot can both be found here)
2. SM North Edsa’s interior zone
3. Landmark Department Store
4. The SM Store – for good quality beddings, linens, and pillows; sometimes you’ll score great deals during their 3-day sale
5. 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
6. Ace Hardware
7. Wilcon Depot
8. MC Home Depot
9. CW Home Depot
10. Granada Street – for handicrafts, aluminum/PVC windows, curtains & blinds
11. LRI Design Plaza in Makati
12. 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