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How To Buy Home Furnishings Online Without A Second Thought

Buying home furnishings online is quite a detailed undertaking. Oddly enough, it also saves tremendous logistical planning.

 

On one hand, you get to shop from the comfort of wherever you happen to be at the moment instead of whiling away an afternoon in one showroom after another until you find accoutrements that suit your home’s form and function. Depending on whether you choose to buy from the online home of a local store, you may even spare yourself delivery costs by paying online and picking up your furniture personally a nearby location.

 

Of course, you could always have your purchases brought directly to your home. From purchase to moving it in, you barely have to leave your living room.

 

There is just one drawback, of course: you’re spending considerable money on something you can’t personally size up to determine how it will flow with your home’s look or just how comfortable it will actually be. It takes a discerning process to land the perfect set of furniture online and acceptance of some risk, but it is still entirely possible to conclude your virtual redecorating without one regret.

Measure Thrice, Buy Once

Here, you have to plan for every contingency. This isn’t just a matter of your new sofa being size-appropriate for your living room. It also needs to fit through the door to get there. If it’s either destined to go up or down stairs in your home or you happen to live in a second-floor or higher apartment, how will you get it up to you? Measure everything carefully, from your current couch for comparisons to your doorway, the width of any stairs and hallways it may travel down, and all expected bottlenecks.

Get A Feel For It

For starters, especially when buying couches, chairs and ottomans, see if you can get your hands on some fabric swatches. These pieces have to actually be comfortable to lounge upon, in addition to the upholstery suiting your existing decor. It also helps to actually see the coloration in your home’s own lighting, so you know exactly how it will come across to visitors.

 

While you’re at it, browse the site for any authentic user pictures of the item you’re considering in their own homes. West Elm and Anthropologie in particular are known for these inviting social features. If your retailer of choice doesn’t offer this option of seeing items in a real-world setting, a search of Pinterest, Google Images or Flickr for the piece’s name may turn up a few snaps to evaluate.

Mock It

At least as far as physical dimensions are concerned, you have options to suss out how your new furniture will lay in your space. Create a mock-up of the new arrangement by taping out the dimensions or cutting out an appropriately sized piece of paper on the floor or walls. This will also allow you to tinker with actual arrangements to get a feel for what will work. Feeling creative? Arrange a few cardboard boxes in similar sizes for a three-dimensional impression.

Read The Fine Print

Before you place your order, be especially sure that you can return large items, even if you’re responsible for the shipping or restocking. Sometimes, upholstered pieces with non-standard coloration, among other items, are non-returnable. Also check out the delivery fees carefully. These are sometimes charged in place of normal shipping costs, and sometimes billed in addition to them for oversized items. Factor everything into the cost before you finalized your order.


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Whenever possible, we always highly recommend swinging by a showroom to see your chosen pieces in person. Sometimes, the naked eye spots something about furnishings in person that just don’t convey authentically in photos. This also afford you a chance to take pictures of your own and, most importantly, test the comfort of the furniture yourself. Seeing and feeling is always believing.

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