Read our seven-step guide on how to buy furniture without making mistakes that will end your living space in a disaster. Also, we added our recommendations of furniture as well.
Buying furniture for your home is a great experience and can be a nightmare if done on a whim. There is a thin line between a decorating success and a disaster when buying furniture for your new home or purchasing for upgrades or redecoration for rentals. Below is our seven-step actionable advice to explain how to buy furniture without making a disaster.
1. Know your space.
When buying furniture, plan before buying. This includes understanding your living space, whether it’s a living room, bedroom, dining room, or a common hall. Every space is different in terms of its area, functionality, and vibe, which has to be matched with usage of pathways, windows, radiators, doorways, and hallways for delivery. In short, every room has a different size and area to accommodate furniture items; always plan according to your home before making a purchase.
Speaking of purchasing, always do a lot of research and check reviews before ordering a big investment furniture piece for your house. For premium wood furniture, we recommend shopping at Oak Furniture Collection, which is made from one hundred percent premium woods from North America and has a reputation for delivering quality furniture items for each space in a house.
2. Visualize your style.
That includes selection of color palettes, style of furniture, and how it will be paired with the surroundings, including the wall color, drapes, rugs, sofa/couch colors, and items for accents. There is a whole research waiting for you to be done when it comes to color combinations between furniture and their surroundings, design styles, and material selection for fabrics, wood for frames and top layers, etc.
Then there are styles to choose from: modern minimalism, farmhouse style, boho chic, and industrial, for example. You also have to consider which style is going to be more practical considering if you have kids and the number of people in the house. All of these considerations are significantly going to impact both the vibe of your space and the final spending.
If done wrong, no matter how much you spent, you will end up in a design disaster. The solution to this is to have a furniture layout for every space of the house; in this way you will have a long-term plan for purchasing furniture, fabrics, wall paint, and décor items.
3. Don’t Pigeonhole.
There is a common misconception that being restrictive to one style is going to look out of this world, but in fact, bringing in variety can make things more interesting in a space. We recommend not being limited to a strict color palette, design language of the interior, or any other constraints.
While doing so, just make sure that the different settings are used in a cohesive way. The end result of mixing various styles and finishes will be a home that is more personal to you and not predictable to visitors in a charming way.
4. Beware of trend traps.
Access to content showcasing how to decorate and select color combinations is now easier than ever thanks to the rise of content on Instagram and TikTok, like reels and picture illustrations. But they come with a problem: sure, the luxurious spaces they showcase make sense to their house setting, but it may not be applicable to your home with a different design.
We recommend always using trendy colors and designs for accent items like sofa cushions and other décor items. The colors for big items should be selected with longevity in mind, like neutral or earthy tones.
5. Always consider budget first.
Furnishing a typical home can drain serious cash, especially when you are not strategic about your spending. To stay in a good budget, the first thing to do is to avoid the temptation to buy many cheap items just to fill space. Second, prioritize big items when spending money over small decorating items. Also, set an overall realistic budget, which should also include the delivery fees and other costs like taxes and assembly.
Speaking of budget, we recommend considering the Paulo Furniture Collection from Oak Furniture Collection, designed to be gentle on wallets without compromising the premium wood quality and delivering minimalist designs for your living space. Premium quality American walnut woods and sleek designs are made to complement any living space without breaking the bank.
6. Consider Functionality
This is one of the most common mistakes made by furniture shoppers, as most of us spend a lot of time selecting color palettes, wood types, and fabric textures. Overlooking the functionality of each piece will not only cost you more but will also waste a lot of your time in the long run. There is no need to fill up your living room with a chest with drawers, a console table with storage options, and a cabinet with drawers in one space, as selecting just one with ample storage will save your money and will not overcrowd the place.
In our explanation of how to buy furniture for your decoration or recordation plans, we also recommend considering the best time of year to purchase, which is usually holidays or other special days when furniture shops push serious discounts. In this way, you can save a considerable amount of money and can use it in your décor too. Just make sure that you are going to be smart in your spending and are prioritizing quality over quantity, as furniture items are a long-term investment.
