Moving House

Hildah

Just a heads-up for anyone maybe moving house or needing household items. I've had to buy everything from scratch and there are huge variations in prices.

Some of the bargains I've found:

Curtain Poles and Roller Blinds : Kavanaghs in Ballyfermot do 8ft wooden curtain poles for €15, HomeWise roller blinds, 6ft are only $12, 4ft are $6, 3ft are $3. Identical items in B & Q are more than twice the price.

If you register with HomeStore and More, they send you a text message with their offers for next month, but in advance of them being advertised. Quote the code texted and you can get the discounted price before the general release. I got duvet covers for 50% off, 2 weeks before they went on sale.

B & Q in Naas have retractable outdoor clothes lines priced at 7.35, but when you go through the electronic self-serve checkout, they're come up at €4.70 (same item is on sale in Aldi this week for €14.99)

Heatons have large overmantle mirrors half price at €20, 16pc dinner services half price at €14.95

Power City have 3 x cordless Philips phone set at half price, €49.95, but if you book it online and pick up instore, it is €47.95. In fact, all their items are less if you book online, and specify which store you're picking up from.

I have spent the last 6 months sourcing and buying stuff for my own house, if anyone has any questions, I'm the bargain basement shopper, lol. Today, I got a glass over-bath shower screen for €5.00 in B & Q!! Normal price is €105

I'm not advertising any of these stores, I just know how difficult it is to furnish a home, and how costly.

Another tip I have is the auction rooms, I go to Mullens Laurel Park. Stuff is top quality, sometimes a bit antiquey for most, but I got a pair of very fancy french bedroom chairs, which just need a lick of paint, for $10 the pair (plus commission and tax, worked out about €12)

Just trying to help

blueirishangel

Very interesting - thanks!

Have just bought house and should be moving in in a couple of weeks and starting from scratch so all tips are welcome!

Where is Mullens Laurel Park? What sort of a place is it?

Hildah

Mullens Laurel Park is in Shankill, just as you come off the roundabout from the motorway for Bray. They have auctions every 6 weeks, catalogue with pictures are available online at www.mullenslaurelpark.com They give "guide prices" which are spot on 98% of the time. Every friday in the Irish Independant (Property section) they detail what auctions are coming up around the country. A lot of "Fine Art" and "Antiques" but also some modern stuff.

A lot of antique shops buy from here, and then mark-up by 500-1000%, it's phenomenal. What the shops can't sell, they punt back to the auction to get rid of. I got an item that I had seen in an antique shop, it was priced at €1500, I bought that item (THE one, not a similar one, I noted the serial no.) at Mullens for €300.

If it's a modern item, the antique dealers don't bid, and thus bargains are to be had. I got a stereo cabinet, mahogany, for €10, they have sofas that need recovering for €20-€30, solid wood dining tables (seat 6-8) for €80-€100, sometimes including chairs.

Mullens don't ask for a deposit in advance like some other auction houses, you fill in a form, viewing is normally on a Saturday, auction on Sunday, you must pick up item and pay in full by the following Wednesday. They can arrange delivery for a nominal fee.

I've gotten great furniture there, but it depends on your taste. It's good fun too, but you need to set your limit in your head before you go. If you are nervous of going mad, you can put in a commission bid, it's where the auction house bids for you up to the limit you set yourself. More often than not, you will get the item for less than your top offer.

If I can give you any help whatsoever, it would be my pleasure. I was determined to furnish my house, well but cheaply, but not with junk. I've learned how to get a lot for my money.

Oh, and congratulations on your new home

Hildah

Oh, just thought of other bargain places.

Nicolls in Nutgrove Shopping Centre have cream, lined, eyelet top curtains 90cm x 90cm for €25 the pair.

Kavanaghs in Ballyfermot also have single and double duvet sets (nice, with ribbon detailing) for €10 each. Thick, plush seat pads for dining chairs (4 different colours) are €6 each

In Newhall Retail Park, South Naas (exit 10 off M7 motorway) there is a new "Clearance Warehouse" open, with everything from garden furniture sets to household cleaning items at rock-bottom prices.

For cheap household detergents (Comfort, Bold, Ariel, etc) there is a unit in Robinhood Industrial Estate, opposite "The Landlords Shop" that sells catering sizes of everything to the public. It's the same stuff you can get at the Long Mile Market, toilet roll bales, catering tins of Nescafe Coffee etc, but at the cheapest prices in Dublin.

As I think of more stuff, I'll post it.

blueirishangel

Thanks for that!

Auction website looks great, but I've no experience at all with auctions so I might leave that for a while.

Might try that Clearance Warehouse at the weekend and also Kavanaghs in Ballyfermot.

Thanks!

Hildah

More tips......

Marks and Spencer sell top notch furniture, but it is very highly priced. They have a sale on at the moment, and are open to offers on ex-display models. You don't normally think of haggling at M&S, but I got a dining room table and 4 chairs, originally priced at €2770, for just €450. Their autumn/winter stock is just arriving, and they want to get rid of their summer stuff quickly. Offer less than half what they're asking, the worst they can say is no. It greatly improves your chances if you can take it away immediately, with no delivery from them incurred. Brass neck required! But worth it.

Dunnes Home are selling off their furniture at less than half price, mirrored console tables, garden sofa's, etc. Wicker chairs are only $20 (this is at Cornelscourt branch this evening). They are not so open to haggling fyi.

B & Q Newhall, Naas, have 4 halogen spotlight bars for your kitchen lighting, for only €9 including bulbs in their clearance section. Equivalent in Argos is €53.99. If you bought the bulbs on their own, it would cost €14.99, so that's a bargain and a half.

Cheapest place for shower enclosures (which new homes generally don't come with) is www.showerdoorsdirect.ie They deliver nationwide free, and at the moment they give you a €50 voucher if you recommend a friend and also throw in a free chrome toilet brush holder and glass/chrome shelf. They are based in Ballycoolin, but you can't pick up or view items other than online. Guess that's why they're so cheap. E.G. 800mm x 800mm chrome corner entry enclosure is €250 delivered, cheapest in Ireland from what I can tell.

Homestore and More have mirrored bathroom cabinet with sliding door reduced from €29.99 to €14.99

Mattresses and beds: Littlewoods Direct have a July sale on, and have really good offers on Silentnight Mattresses and Divans, a lot are half price. Trouble is, you need to trawl through all their offers on their website, but it's worth it. They deliver free to anywhere in Ireland and if you are strapped for cash, you can pay by the month. Beware though, the interest is over 30% APR. but if you paid over 2 months, it doesn't work out too bad. They ring in advance of delivery to arrange a convenient time, and they give you a date at time of order.

I need to get out more! lol, but I'm on a mission. My task is to furnish my home for less than 2k.

discostu1

This is great stuff lads, hoping to buy amd move shortly, a lot of your stuff is nationwide which is great but anyone with any specifics for furniture value in the Cork City area

The Lone Ranger

Jesus Hildah, your fairly on the ball with all those bargins.
keep um comin:D

Interesting101

Hildah wrote: »

Today, I got a glass over-bath shower screen for €5.00 in B & Q!! Normal price is €105

How did you manage this? Was it just in clearence?

Hildah

Yes, it was a "clearance" item. B & Q in Naas are getting rid of all their ex-display shower enclosures and screens. They're called "Managers Specials". The fact it was on display means the fitting kit is missing, but they are easy to source for under €15. The screen itself is in mint condition, but not boxed.

Another good place for bathroom stuff is a place in Fonthill Retail Park. It used to be Tubs and Tiles or one of those places, but it closed down and now just has a huge "Clearance" sign over the door. It's the next turn after PowerCity, it's beside Arramount Furniture. They have porcelain tiles from €5 per sq yard, shower and tap mixers from €10, shower downlighter spotlights are €5. Some shower trays and enclosures left, and sanitary ware. It's a bit like a builders yard when you go in, all dust and boxes everywhere, but fantastic bargains on shower/bath stuff. They don't open on a Monday btw. Oh, and they had internal wooden doors for a tenner.

bazual

Thanks for this Hildah, We are just at the end of a build at the moment and currently furnishing the house.

A few places that we have purchased in and I would highly recommend are

http://www.mattressman.co.uk (Free delivery to Ireland and saved a few hundred on the equivalent beds mattresses over here)

http://www.thelightingsuperstore.co.uk (We are currently looking at lights locally and have priced the same ones on this website and it works out about €120 cheaper for 5 lights on this website than locally even with the £20 delivery charge)

In our bedroom we have a super king bed which we have found it difficult to kit out for bedsheets and duvets etc.

I would recommend Heatons/TK Max/Littlewoods Ireland website/Guineys for bedding and curtains some great value. We saw a pair of curtains in Guineys for €300 cheaper than the exact same ones in Hickeys Homefocus

Let me see another great place for curtains/curtain poles was Shaws, they have some great curtains reduced at the moment.

As for electronics gear, I havent looked past Richersounds in belfast, they have some fantastic prices on all your entertainment needs, and have there own forum here on boards.

For Kitchen appliances, we went with Seamus Watters in Cullaville in Armagh. They bet prices locally in total by about €600 and were about €200 cheaper than anywhere else up north. We dealt only by emails and phonecalls, he was really helpful.

Hope this helps a few.

B~

costacurta

bazual wrote: »

Thanks for this Hildah, We are just at the end of a build at the moment and currently furnishing the house.

A few places that we have purchased in and I would highly recommend are

http://www.mattressman.co.uk (Free delivery to Ireland and saved a few hundred on the equivalent beds mattresses over here)

http://www.thelightingsuperstore.co.uk (We are currently looking at lights locally and have priced the same ones on this website and it works out about €120 cheaper for 5 lights on this website than locally even with the £20 delivery charge)

In our bedroom we have a super king bed which we have found it difficult to kit out for bedsheets and duvets etc.

I would recommend Heatons/TK Max/Littlewoods Ireland website/Guineys for bedding and curtains some great value. We saw a pair of curtains in Guineys for €300 cheaper than the exact same ones in Hickeys Homefocus

Let me see another great place for curtains/curtain poles was Shaws, they have some great curtains reduced at the moment.

As for electronics gear, I havent looked past Richersounds in belfast, they have some fantastic prices on all your entertainment needs, and have there own forum here on boards.

For Kitchen appliances, we went with Seamus Watters in Cullaville in Armagh. They bet prices locally in total by about €600 and were about €200 cheaper than anywhere else up north. We dealt only by emails and phonecalls, he was really helpful.

Hope this helps a few.

B~

What type of kitchen appliances did you get from that place. Me and my girlfriend have recently bought a new house and are trying to kit out everything from scratch. hoping to get decent items as low as we can. Kitchen is fitted except for appliances, kitchen is set up for the in built type of fridge and dishwasher.(cant think of the correct term for them but i'm sure people will know what i mean by in-built)

Also we're looking for cheap flooring for the downstairs(wooden type effect flooring or something along those lines) and one single type of carpet running from the stairs landing and all 3 bedrooms. any help with cheap places for these would be greatly helpful.


oh and we're also having to do the bathroom and en-suite from srcatch too so helpful hints with these too would be greatly appreciated:D:D:D:D

Davy

costacurta wrote: »

oh and we're also having to do the bathroom and en-suite from srcatch too so helpful hints with these too would be greatly appreciated:D:D:D:D

B&Q have bathroom stuff onsale at the mo, a lot of the stuff is the top priced stuff reduced, rather than the cheapest option. Might be worth a quick look.

homer911

If you are a member of a credit union, this co. offers fixed price conveyancing. I have nothing to compare it against though

http://www.homebuyhomesell.ie/

Chuckchuck

Great bargains you got there. With regards to HomeWise can you post or pm me their web address can`t seem to find them. Good luck with your new house. Thanks

bazual

costacurta wrote: »

What type of kitchen appliances did you get from that place. Me and my girlfriend have recently bought a new house and are trying to kit out everything from scratch. hoping to get decent items as low as we can. Kitchen is fitted except for appliances, kitchen is set up for the in built type of fridge and dishwasher.(cant think of the correct term for them but i'm sure people will know what i mean by in-built)

Also we're looking for cheap flooring for the downstairs(wooden type effect flooring or something along those lines) and one single type of carpet running from the stairs landing and all 3 bedrooms. any help with cheap places for these would be greatly helpful.


oh and we're also having to do the bathroom and en-suite from srcatch too so helpful hints with these too would be greatly appreciated:D:D:D:D

We got 4 appliances from watters electrical as got the rest in sales. Your best bet is go into DID/Harvey Normans and pick out what you want and give watters a call for their price.

These are the 4 we got and saved about 1000 euro
Bosch WTE84307 Exxcel Dryer
Bosch WAE28467 Exxcel Washing Machine
Bosch HBM43B260B black Double Oven
Fisher & Paykel DD605HBK

Our laminate floors we got in Classic carpets in Waterford, got a great deal on them and they look the same as any of the semi's we saw. Got carpet from them as well.

As for bathroom stuff, for the on suites we got the toilets and sinks in Aldi and for main bathroom got them in a regular bathroom place.

B~