Hi all,
Was just looking at some new furniture for the home and didn't want to spend a lot. I know second-hand furniture can be quite cheap on online marketplaces like Facebook but if I had wanted to get new ones, Kmart's furniture is relatively cheap.
Has anyone here ever had Kmart's furniture? How were they, quality and value wise?
An example of something I'm looking at is this dining table here: Stewart Dining Table
Thanks all!
In my opinion it depends a lot on the actual item that you're purchasing.
I've found that their chipboard tends to be inferior to IKEA, in that it IKEA use denser (stronger) fibreboard with a combination of solid soft/hard wood pieces. Also, IKEA furniture appears to be engineered in a way that doesn't require large areas of the chipboard to take weight, or have significant span with a furniture item, whereas because chipboard, especially when placed horizontally has very little strength, it will warp, which I've seen with many of K-Marts timber only products.
Fit and finish also seems to be pretty hit and miss. Vinyl faced edging has be spotty (rough/burred edges), and veneers have been also thin, and appear to be more papery than competitors. Nuts, and bolt connections can be hit and miss, where I've found stripped shanks on nuts, poorly machined screw heads, and also bolt holes that don't align so a nut will strip a thread because it's being applied at an angle.
IKEA often use cam connections for chipboard to chipboard butt joints, whereas I've found that K-Mart furniture uses Philips head brass fibreboard screws, which when (easily accidentally) over torqued simply lose their hold between the two pieces, creating a loose connection.
On the other hand, when you can find something that uses a powder coated steel frame that supports a chipboard span, or shelf, then I've found that they tend to hold up better.
Or, their dining chairs, whilst well built in terms of a mass manufactured item I think use fairly cheap low density foam for the seat padding, so initially it's relatively comfortable, but has become compressed, and hard when sat on. Though structurally the chairs are very sturdy, but it's kind of mute seeing as they're not overly comfortable to sit on.
Similarly, their hollow tube steel dog beds, that use Allen key machined screws tend to become loose over time. I had to over torque the machine threads into the frame with my impact wrench, slightly curving the steel thread opening. It's no big deal, as they haven't loosened as yet, but it's something that have to do at all, let alone retighten the screws every month or so because they were getting loose.
If someone asked me should I buy a K-Mart piece, my advice would be, if it's for an open inspection, or as a piece that will see little hard use, and is essentially display, and provided it's cheap enough, go for it. Otherwise, I'd spend the extra and either buy something from IKEA, or something solid.
This is all just my opinion, and my experience having bought various K-Mart furniture over the years.
Thanks for the insight; you're definitely a lot more technically minded than me!
No worries. :) I hope my post helped, sorry that it was so long.
It’s frustrating to me because not all K-Mart stuff is garbage. Their woollen quilts are actually really good value, and they’re quilt covers are also good quality. Even stuff like some of their homewares are really good value, and are reasonable quality.
They absolutely could make better quality furniture, but they’d likely have to invest in their manufacturing, and it would increase the cost, in which case I think they’d have a tougher sell as compared with other furniture sellers.
Whatever you buy, try to be sustainable and not make it "fast" furniture, as the insta Kmart mums tend to do with the homewares, etc.
I agree, and thanks for the reminder. That said, I tend to take good care of my belongings though so I stretch their lifespans even if they're 'fast' things — 'fast' furniture, 'fast' fashion, 'fast' items.
A lot of the larger Kmarts have furniture on display so you can go and check if it’s the quality you’re after.
I find it’s perfect for the price and I’ve never had an issue with it.
Thanks for the suggestion and your thoughts.
You. Get. What. You. Pay. For.
Buy cheap buy twice.
Ultimately it comes down to the actual item wether it is sturdy enough. Some cheap stuff looks a bit off but is built quite well. Other cheap stuff looks the part, but is likely to fail fairly quickly as it’s built with substandard materials and design.
I think I'd rather quality used over Kmart or an of those cheaper brands.
YMMV
Kmart furniture isnt to bad for price and the quality isnt bad as well, will last for awhile too.
Did you end up buying the Stewart Dinning Table? How sturdy is it? I'm thinking of buying one, and they don't have an example at my local.
Hi, nah I didn't. I ended up getting a secondhand Lisabo (Ikea) table for around $100. I think it works and does the job for me. Conditions may vary but if you can pick up a decent one on Marketplace, I think it's decent.
Yeah. I have no transport and no local Ikea, so it's Fantastic Furniture or Amart Furniture for delivery. The Kmart table is cheaper and looks good but…who knows?
Anko.
Kmart is a $2 shop on GEAR.
Full of crap. You get what you pay.