Furniture is an important investment for your home, no matter your budget, so getting it right is key. Buying furniture, whether it is for your first home or because you’re redecorating a room, should be both fun and exciting and not considered a task, because it doesn’t need to be! People who dislike furniture shopping do so because they are unprepared, overwhelmed or just can’t picture what the furniture piece will look like in their home.
This, however, is easy to change. With a little planning and thought, you can enjoy the furniture buying process and relish in stress-free shopping and come away with some great pieces for your home.
Make the most of samples
Just because a sofa or shelving unit looks great in the showroom or online, doesn’t mean it will look great in your home, especially when it comes to the colour. When it comes to big furniture purchases, such as sofas and dining tables, it is always worth asking for fabric, paint or wood samples so that you can see and compare it with other furniture in your home.
Good sofa stores will offer colour and fabric sample swatches that you can take away, whilst many tiling shops will offer some sample tiles for a small price. You will find that some companies charge a small fee for samples, but this is better than spending thousands on a piece of furniture which may not work in your home.
Don’t buy rugs online
When it comes to textile shopping, and especially rugs, you are much better shopping in-store rather than online. It’s extremely difficult to see what colour, texture or pattern looks like on a computer screen – you might think something is red, but really is could turn out to be watermelon pink.
Texture is another thing which is difficult to spot online. A big fluffy rug could turn out to be a hassle if the pile count is wrong for your space and is too thick to fit under furniture or door frames. You must always judge whether a rug will work in a room in person, rather than online.
Test of time
Furniture should be built to last, meaning that it should stay looking good over time. Depending on where you shop, a lot of upholstered fabrics will come with a stain-resistant finish, at no extra cost, to give your furniture an extended life.
If you buy contemporary furniture, such as crushed velvet furniture, then you may need to invest in a special treatment to keep it looking fresh and easily remove stains and spillages. However, a lot of pieces are rigorously tested for resistance to warping, cracking and fading, so if you want a long-lasting piece of furniture, be sure to look out for this information.