My house rabbits ate my armchair - such is life - so I decided to buy a new one. The criteria was that it had to be gorgeous and cheap as it was likely to be eaten.

I'd looked at IKEA but there wasn't anything I fancied. Likewise with M&S. The thing was I wanted to something that looked expensive - but wasn't. I'd been on made.com quite a few times and was intrigued - they had armchairs valued at £990, going for £249. What was the story?

Made.com claim to save you 70% by allowing you to buy designer furniture direct from the makers. There are no warehouses, showrooms or middlemen, according to their spiel. And they do this by waiting until they get a decent number of orders for an item and then getting the manufacturers to produce a batch especially for them.

So I went for it and ordered the gorgeous Flynn armchair which you see here for £249. And a counter underneath stated that it would go into production in a matter of days and hours. What I didn't notice was that it also said it would take fourteen weeks to deliver.

Time passed. I was looking forward to getting my armchair. More time passed. I looked at the space where the armchair would sit. More time passed and I forgot I had even ordered the thing. 'Aren't we getting armchair?' My husband asked one day. 'Oh yeah!' I said and I called made.com the next day to find out what was happening. That was when they explained that the counter only refers to the production process starting and has nothing to do with when you will get your goods. Once guided through the site I could see that, yes, I had misunderstood. My armchair wasn't late at all.

And one fine day about a week ago - when I had forgotten all about my Flynn armchair - I got an email telling me it had arrived in the country, and would be with me in a week. It was May, yet it felt like the week before Christmas.

And then Christmas came! And my armchair is SO gorgeous! It's a really sturdy piece of furniture (I was slightly worried to be buying a chair without trying it) - it looks classy as hell and it sort of hugs you when you sit in it; it feels like a £1,000 armchair.

I think made.com is definitely worth looking at if you want a decent bargain - but remember to check the section called 'Delivery and Returns' under your item (the counter ticking away has nothing to do with you). As well as discovering how made.com works, I've discovered Chew Stoppa so far it has kept my bunnies away from my lovely new Flynn armchair.