It's the start of a new year, and the student body faces many challenges. In the midst of buying books, trying to get into classes and surviving the humidity, some students are also dealing with furnishing apartments and houses.
"I never knew how much there would be to buy for a two bedroom apartment" second-year College student Lindsey Horne said. "When you add living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom it is insane."
It's insane for those who sell furniture,according to Gordon Latter, one of the owners of Kane Furniture and Interiors.
"We have students coming in who rush around for the same day or next day delivery," Latter said. "But then they are usually not [in their apartments when we deliver]. Instead they are out looking for other stuff."
Latter said bedding, bookcases, desks and small scale bedroom furniture constitute most of the sales.
"But it is definitely the bedding that the students are most interested in buying," he said.
Bedding indeed proves to be one of the most crucial items according to students.
"My bed is definitely my favorite piece of furniture," second-year College student Caroline Clark said. "It is cheap, comfortable and pretty."
Sometimes the wait for the comfortable bed is a not so comfortable one. Second-year College student Ashby Leavell said she spent time sleeping on the floor until her mattress arrived.
"My family had this really beautiful, upholstered bed with a very irregular mattress, so I waited for a long time for a special mattress to be made," Leavell said. "When it never came, I just took my brother's mattress."
Bedding might be the most cherished furniture in student apartments, but kitchens are the hardest to equip, according to some.
"In the dorms you had your own little set of silverware and you were set, but now there is so much to buy," Horne said. "Now I have a rice cooker."
While many students buy new furniture, some use hand-me downs from parents and siblings in their apartments.
"I got this twin bed from my sister who is 28," second-year College student Carin Usrey said. "So it's a little old."
Horne has also opted to use hand-me downs in her apartment.
"Most of the stuff in our living room is from our parents," she said.
Whether bringing in the old or buying the new, parents are the deciding factor, according to Latter.
"Students usually come in with their parents or cell phones on which they talk to their parents," he said.
Mid-July marks the beginning of the student furniture shopping, but Latter said the week before registration is the busiest.
So for students who are still looking for the perfect furniture, it is time to gear up.
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