Buying tips

Furniture Buying Tips

The Function...The Focus...The Find

The Function... Practicality and use are very important design principles. How will we use the family room? Are pets a consideration? How about lounging teenagers who will be watching videos for hours? Or, will the sporting events on ESPN consume the attention? Leather... is that for me, and will I be happy with the expense? Think about the dining room, do you like to entertain and cook and linger after dinner for conversation and fellowship? If so the dining chair must be comfortable- don't buy it if it is not. These are just a few practical questions to think about as you begin the decorating and design of your home. Value is important. Donahue's offers great quality with incredible style at affordable prices.

The Focus... Find out your "Style." Donahue's sells companies products that are known as style leaders in the furniture industry. Use our website to examine the various styles available. Decorating is a personal expression of your home and personality - a statement about you. Know what YOU like, what colors please YOU, what best expresses YOUR individuality. If you like a neutral, quiet, uncluttered, contemporary feeling for your home, do not think you will be comfortable in a casual, colorful, country, cluttered environment. Take a picture, or photo that appeals to you, and examine what it is that YOU like about it. Critically examine your room and take out all the things you dislike. "Spring house clean" and edit what you have.

The Find... When you find exactly what it is you are looking for, you will be thrilled! Donahue's offers a wide, varied range of styles and selections to choose from. After careful consideration as to the use of the room, the best expression of your needs and personality, YOU are now prepared to make a selection .Enjoy!!!

This will ensure strength and durability. Wood not only looks great, it is strong.

These joints secure two pieces of wood together and multiply the gluing surface area. This actually magnifies the strength of that joint.

This simple barrier prevents air, dust, pens and papers from passing between drawers. You shouldn't be able to take the drawers out and see one big open space.

Corner blocks strengthen the joints and help to ensure that furniture remains square. Drawers open and close, and the furniture holds up better. Corner blocks are literally small pieces of wood glued into strategic corners. Not rocket science maybe, but very effective (and a little time consuming).

Alignment ensures visible uniformity of lines on the front of the case. Take a look at the piece from a distance. Do the drawers and doors look wobbly? They shouldn't.

Satin smooth drawer interiors protect garments and other items stored within. If you rub your hand on the sides, bottom, or back of drawers and it feels like the drawer needs a shave, you'll be sure to find splinters in your socks (or underwear) sooner or later.

Multistep hand-worked finish adds lasting beauty. For some people it seems reasonable that all furniture needs is wood and a quick coat of spray paint or stain. The trouble is, furniture made like that looks like it was made like that. (Don't you have a friend who has finished some do-it-yourself furniture?)

We'll tell you an important furniture secret. Good finishes take, more than anything else, time . ..time . . .time . . . Most good furniture requires from 9 to 15 steps to have a finish you will love when you buy it, and love 30 years (and more) later. Some steps are:

• The wood must be sealed to be protected from moisture
• A base coat is applied
• A first coat of stain is sprayed and then hand wiped to enhance the wood grain
• Hand sanding
• More stain, hand wiped, more hand sanding until final color desired is achieved
• Spray clear lacquer to protect wood and finish from daily use
• Hand polished

Back panels nailed and screwed, not just stapled. The back panel of your furniture should provide support to the entire case. Nails and screws make the back panel an integral part of the furniture, staples don't.

Smooth running waxed drawer system allows drawers to operate easily. For those of you who are skiers, the principle is the same; wax reduces resistance. Take a drawer out, rub (carefully) in the drawer glides. (If you cannot find a drawer glide, that is a problem in itself). Is it slick? By the way, for your present furniture you can rub a candle (unlit) in drawer glides once in a while.

Good furniture is made "square" (that's a craftsman's term). But houses settle, and some houses have been known to be made a little crooked. Those of you who have ever tried to put up wallpaper (especially if the wallpaper has lines) know what we mean. Levelers are a neat way to make up for all of nature's and house builders' idiosyncrasies.

With upholstered furniture it can be hard to see what is underneath the fabric. And that is too bad because the hidden items make your upholstered furniture comfortable. It takes many steps and a lot of time to make a quality piece of upholstered furniture.

About fabrics... We know that fabrics are the pizzazz. They look great and feel wonderful, and truly make upholstered pieces come alive. Take your time with fabric selection and enjoy that process. Do not even limit your fabric selection to those options offered by furniture manufacturer. Upholstered furniture can easily be custom made with fabrics you select from anywhere. Furniture manufacturers should be happy to work with you in telling you how much fabric you need for specific pieces of furniture, what type will hold up best and how to get the fabric to them. (By the way, if you do send your own fabric, make sure you clearly identify what side of the fabric you want showing! We often receive fabric that looks good on both sides and we get nervous if we have to guess which side to use.)

1.Frames should be made of five-quarter, kiln-dried hardwood. They should be machined to follow the contours of the furniture.
2.Major joints should be reinforced with corner blocks that are glued and screwed to the frame.
3.All joints should be snugly fitted, glued, screwed, and double dowelled for lasting rigidity.
4.Individual steel coil springs should be connected to each other with twine. 8-way hand tied is a quality standard that requires a skillful worker to tie correctly.
5.Steel bands, in addition to coil springs, provide extra support for seating areas.
6.Webbing, which serves as a base for coils, should be non-absorbent and odor free (polypropylene is good).
7.Covers for the springs should also be non-absorbent and odor free.
8.Layers of fire retardant polyester fiber should be under the seat deck.
9.Edge roll provides a firm shape to the seat edge.
10.Cushions should have high-density, top-quality polyurethane foam as the core.
11.The back of the furniture should have a woven polypropylene base support to the coil springs.
12.The back needs coils springs as much as the seats do, for support and comfort. Woven polypropylene should cover the back springs.
13.Finally, cotton or polyester fibers should be layered around foam for the ultimate in back comfort.

Donahue's Furniture showroom is open 7 days a week
Monday and Wednesday 8am to 5:30pm,
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8am to 8pm
Sunday 11:00am to 5:30pm all times est.