Furniture shopping can be stressful even under the best of circumstances. How do you choose furniture that will fit your home, both in terms of style and spacing? How do you know when you’ve found ‘the one?’ What if you change your mind? What if you find something you like better? All these questions and more can be summed up for many furniture shoppers in one simple phrase: Am I making a mistake?
But never fear! Here at Moore’s Furniture & Mattresses, we’ve guided countless people through the process of choosing their dream furniture. Check out some of our biggest and most important furniture buying tips, and take away the stress of shopping for your home!
Mistake: Not Accounting for Space
Sizing your furniture may seem simple enough–just whip out the tape measure, right? But making sure furniture will fit in your home can be far more complex than that! Obviously, measuring your space and your piece is a great first step. Make sure you have the size of your space in mind while shopping, and let salespeople know what the absolute limits are so that you don’t go over! But also consider that furniture–especially quality, handmade furniture constructed with natural materials–will always have slight variations. Double check with your own measurements, rather than fully trusting what is on the tag or product listing.
Furthermore, custom-order furniture can also be prone to these variations, and may arrive with a few more or less inches than the average. Ask your salespeople what sort of variation to expect, especially if ordering furniture with multiple pieces like a sectional. If every piece has an expected variance of a few inches each, that difference can add up significantly!
Finally, it’s important to consider the route furniture will have to take to get into your home. A finished basement is a great place for a sectional… if it can get down the steps safely! Measure your doorways and ask the experts at your store about your space and what to expect, so that you can avoid delivery-day drama. At our Chester Springs furniture store, we have a team of in-house delivery drivers who know the ins and outs of moving furniture–if you find yourself there on a weekday, feel free to ask for advice with your delivery!
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Mistake: Shirking the Fabric Samples
If you’ve ever been in a furniture store, you’ve almost certainly seen the imposing wall of fabric samples. At our Pottstown furniture store, we have entire sections dedicated to browsing fabrics! Any store that offers custom-made furniture will have a collection of offerings in all the available colors, patterns, grades, and textures for shoppers to peruse. It can be overwhelming to narrow down your options, and some may find themselves wanting to just grab the first color they like to get it over with, but being thorough and thoughtful is key to getting furniture you’ll adore!
Take your time to browse and pick out a selection. If possible, try to see the fabric samples you choose in as many lighting conditions as possible, so you can get a better feeling for how it’ll look in different contexts. Many materials can look completely different in natural light versus artificial light. Some fabrics that seem to match perfectly in certain conditions will differ in others, due to a phenomenon called metamerism. To really understand how fabric will look in your home, ask to take home a sample! With a sample, you can compare it to what you may already have, and see it in your home lighting conditions.
Don’t forget to ask your salespeople about fabric patterns and textures and what they’ll mean for your furniture. Consider things like how a heavily-patterned fabric will line up across cushions and sections, or whether a certain texture is more prone to pilling than others. Knowing what to expect will allow you to make an informed decision when committing to a purchase!
Image via Moore's Furniture.
Mistake: Assuming Local Shops Are More Expensive
It can be easy to assume smaller, more ‘boutique’ style furniture stores will be more pricey than your big-box furniture stores, trading quality for cost–but in actuality, many stores, including Moore’s, have comparable pricing on the furniture offered! Our prices are competitive, and we will often price-match with other local offerings. We try to offer quality furniture at the fairest price-point possible.
While quality furniture will always be priced higher than more disposable or entry-level furniture offerings, we strive to offer a greater level of value with the services we provide. We believe the comfortable atmosphere and customizable experience offered by smaller retailers is a value that can’t be beat. And as a local business, we provide accessible customer service by real people who work at the very same store, rather than a call center.
At Moore’s Furniture, we’re also proud to provide a white-glove delivery service by a dedicated team who works in-house–which also helps keep the costs down! By focusing on managing our own delivery service, rather than contracting it out to third parties, we not only ensure a high-end experience, but also keep costs down for the customer!
Image via the author.
Mistake: Avoiding the Investment
Let's not beat around the bush–furniture can be expensive! Plenty of people go into furniture shopping with a mindset of pinching pennies, which can be wise, so long as it’s not the only thing being considered. Obviously, working within what you can afford is always a smart move, but if you automatically go for the cheapest option in furniture shopping every time, you risk making a poor investment into low-quality furniture that could end in disappointment.
Cheap furniture that looks good tends to have the drawback of being cheaply-crafted, with less-durable materials. A more affordable couch can be great at the start, but in only three or four years, there’s a good chance it will deteriorate to the point of being unusable. Compare that to a couch made with solid materials and skilled craftsmanship, designed to withstand daily use for ten to fifteen years, or even twenty to twenty-five! Repeatedly buying cheaper furniture over the years can add up fast, while budgeting to invest in heirloom-quality furniture might just save you money, time, and the headache of shopping for something new later down the line.
When shopping, consider how much you’re willing to spend compared to how much of your life you’ll spend on a particular piece of furniture. How much is it worth to get kitchen chairs that won’t be wobbly in the next five years, or a recliner that will stay comfortable, attractive, and supportive? By weighing your budget against your wants, you can make an informed investment into furniture that’s just right for you.
Image via Moore's Furniture.
Mistake: Rushing Into A Sale
Sometimes, it can be tempting to rush through the sales process–whether you’re currently lacking furniture and need a place to sit, or just eager to get the whole process over with. But patience is key to picking out furniture you won’t regret! By rushing the process, you risk making mistakes, or choosing something that’s just “good enough.” With furniture, you have to live and work with what you get on a daily basis, and settling for something you don’t love can be a disappointing experience.
No matter what factors there are, slow down and take time to consider what you want, and leave yourself with time to work around deliveries, manufacturing schedules, and customization. Shopping in the modern day is often an exercise in instant gratification, but quality furniture–and especially custom quality furniture–takes time to make right!
Your best approach to furniture shopping is to go into it knowing that it will take time and effort, and much thoughtful consideration. Don’t be afraid to connect with your salespeople and work with them over the course of days or weeks to settle on something that will make you happy. If you feel rushed, either by situation or pushy salespeople, don’t panic and don’t settle for something you don’t want! Furniture can be very important in our lives, and you’ll want to grant yourself the patience to go through the process of buying it at a pace that suits your needs.
Image via Pixabay.
Mistake: Color–Too Much, or Not Enough?
Settling on a color for your furniture can be one of the hardest and most involved choices when picking out a piece. How do you know if a color is right for your space? Will this fabric clash? Will this shade match? Will this wood stain look bad next to the flooring? How do I choose a color palette? Many people have written on this topic, including us here at Moore’s Furniture, but it can still be daunting–you don’t want to realize you hate a color after spending a lot of money to get a piece in your home!
First off, may homeowners decide to skip the color debacle at all and to simply play it safe with neutrals. And while there’s nothing wrong with neutrals, they aren’t what everyone likes, and overusing them in a space can lead to a room feeling a bit dull. Don’t feel the need to use neutrals as a crutch, if they aren’t what you want in your home! You don’t need to be afraid of committing to a bit of color.
The second color mistake many homeowners make is relying on their furniture as the starting point of their home design color palette. It seems to make sense, because after all, couches, tables, and bedframes are big, eye-catching pieces. Shouldn’t they dominate the room? But a much better place to start is with the accessories and smaller details, such as rugs or paintings. Use the little things that you love in your space to build a coherent, cohesive design palette and theme, and work from there. That way, you know from the start what colors you like, and what you want to build your home around. It takes a lot of the stress out of choosing fabrics or paints, as well, if you already know what you’re looking for!
Image via Pixabay.
Mistake: Depending on Designers
Similar to the last point about color, home design is another sticking point for a lot of people. Some stores offer designer services, and whether you’re working with an in-store designer or an outside agency, they can be a huge help for people who aren’t sure where to start! But at the same time, sometimes designers and their clients have opposing visions for the end result of a furniture order. What to do?
Even if you aren’t working with a designer, you might find yourself at the whims of design trends, either online or in magazines. In the modern day, there’s a lot of ways to find home inspiration, which can be a huge help for anyone who doesn’t know where to start–but it can also be overwhelming! Lots of people have opinions about the right or wrong way to decorate, and many beginners to home design may find themselves lost. Again: what to do?
At the end of the day, your home is your own. You’re the one who has to live there, work there, eat there and sleep there. If a green couch or white table catches your eye, but your designer says to avoid those things, consider whether you’d be happier with or without them in your home. After all, your designer isn’t the one who’s going to be living there, you are! Don’t take designer or trendy opinions to heart instead of following your own desires.
Image via Pixabay.
Ultimately, the biggest mistake in furniture shopping is settling for something that won’t make you happy. We hope our tips here helped you better understand what to expect when you begin to shop–if you found our advice helpful, why not check out some of our other posts on quality furniture, or potential issues to watch out for?
If you’re ready to take the plunge and start shopping for your home, stop by one of our showrooms today!
