Furniture Update

So it turns out it was back in February that I last posted an update about the furniture situation. At that point, we had a bed, a single plastic chair, washing machine, fridge, microwave and a single element induction cooktop. Things have improved since then, although, as with everything else in India, it wasn't easy :-)

Sofa

Actually, this part was moderately easy. We trudged around a number of furniture stores looking for sofas but we found them all a bit expensive. We're not sure how long we'll be staying in India (the plan was to eventually head to Europe, but with no definite timeframe), so we didn't want to get something really expensive. We also looked at secondhand ones online, and it was while looking online that Gopal came across a manufacturer that was selling direct. The first time we went to have a look things didn't go so well. After riding to the other side of the city, the guy we were supposed to meet didn't show and after half an hour we left. The owner (who was out of town) was very apologetic and promised us that everything would go smoothly if we would come back again. We did, a couple of days later, and this time, we made contact and were led through a maze of streets to where they had some sofas available to show us.

They had three different types to show us, as well as a catalog of pictures. We walked over to their workshop and had a look at their manufacturing process in action, as well as the materials they were using. Gopal was happy with the quality, so we chose one design and asked for a few customisations to the feet and padding. The next day, we met the boy at a fabric shop to choose the covering fabric (faux leather in our case), and they started work on it. At that time, I posted that it would be done in a week. My experience of Indian time is that you need to double or triple whatever time estimate you are given. However, in this case they were true to their word and a week later, our new sofa set was delivered to our house:

Sofa!

The living room is fairly dark and it was hard to get a good picture, but you get the idea :-)

Table and Chairs

Getting a table and chairs was a far more involved process. Our bed was made by a local carpenter who worked steadily and did a good job, but isn't really particularly skilled at either the design or the construction. For the table & chair and the headboard, we turned to another carpenter Gopal had worked with on another job years earlier, who was very skilled. When I posted in mid-February, I said he was working outside right then and should be done by the end of the week. Well, by the end of the week, we did have something:

Table and Chairs, partly finished

Three chair frames were constructed, but with no seats, and the other three chairs were still in pieces. And nothing was sanded or finished yet. The table top looks fairly smooth in this photo, but was not as level as it appears here. Over the next week or two, it warped a lot, and the boards separated from each other, so it wasn't a particularly good surface for doing anything.

At this point, the carpenter went AWOL. He was no longer working on other apartments at this complex, and he wouldn't answer or return calls. Gopal resorted to having to go to his house to try and get hold of him. The first time he wasn't there (or was hiding). The second time, at around 6am, he basically ran away when he saw Gopal coming, and then phoned the neighbour's son (who he works with/for) to bring him a motorcycle to escape. When the neighbour's son left again with another carpenter with him, Gopal followed him, surmising that he was going to the same worksite where our carpenter was working. He didn't follow surreptitiously, he rode right along side them where possible, stopping whenever they stopped and making it very obvious what he was doing.

Eventually they stopped for some tea, and Gopal followed them in and had tea with them. They asked why he was following them, and Gopal told them that he thought they would lead him to the carpenter, and they said yes, that was correct. The boy left to do other things and Gopal took the other carpenter to the worksite. He got promises from both the carpenter and the boy that they would come on Sunday to look at the work needed and would then resume work. And the boy was true to his word, came on Sunday and send the two carpenters around to our place to finish work the next week. (This was probably 6 weeks after he had last done any work).

At that point, we changed our practices somewhat. Gopal had paid the carpenter in advance for some materials which were never bought. So he didn't give him any more money for materials, instead, going with him to buy whatever else was necessary, and only giving them small payments at the end of each day's work. We also made them leave their tools at our place each night, so they would have to return until the job was finished.

Eventually the other chairs were done, the seats were made and attached, and a new marble top was added to the table. While they were here, we also had them construct the other things he'd promised to do (and taken materials money for): a coffee table, a headboard, and a small unit to contain our router & UPS setup. Here are the finished chairs:

The chairs are covered with the same faux leather as the sofa. The table has a lovely marble slab top, which is pretty, smooth, very very heavy and cost about $50. They do still need a tiny bit of finishing, but here is the current setup:

Bed

The bed has also been improved with the addition of a headboard:

The headboard is attached to the wall and the bed is freestanding next to it. The wires are from the power socket that used to be behind the headboard, but is shortly to be integrated into it. That's a task for Gopal to finish off.

Coffee Table

The coffee table has a marble top. It still needs sanding and polishing, which is something we'll get around to eventually. It's usable as it is though. The white chalk lines on it and the table are insecticide chalk to keep ants off it.

This was all finished off by the end of April, and the total price we paid for everything (table, chairs, coffee table, wall unit, bed and headboard) was around $800.