Home Decorating Stores
Shopping Guidelines

It’s fun to shop for furniture, but very often people go into the home decorating stores without a clear sense of what their needs are or their budget.

Before going into the home decorating stores

for home furnishings

Measure the doorways and if applicable the elevators to determine delivery access to the home.

You want to be sure the piece you just fell in love with will fit. Once you place a special order for a piece of furniture, it’s yours. If it doesn’t fit, you may be stuck with something you can’t use.

Collect any samples that you might have including paint, carpet and fabric from the other furnishings in the room. Take photographs of the room, and go thru design magazines for photos of the rooms and home furnishings that appeal to you.

Pack these samples and clippings in a file folder and bring it with you to the home decorating stores when you shop. This will help you stay focused and give the sales people an idea too, of what you may be looking for and what your room is like. It’s okay to just want to look and see what the store may have to offer, but do ask if you don’t see it.

Don’t start your shopping two days before an event.

Buying furniture can take time and you don’t want to feel pressured into buying something just to have. If you are not sure about something, pass. If it is still available when you are sure then it was meant to be. If not, that means there is something better for you waiting. Don’t rush it.

Give yourself time to absorb everything and look at other home decorating stores to get a sense of what is available, but don’t get bogged down with too many options or opinions.

The more opinions you seek the more you will get.

Do however get all the advice you can from the salesperson. Be sure you feel comfortable with them and that they are knowledgeable. They will know what they have to offer particularly if you don’t see what you are looking for. They also are aware of incoming stock and catalogs to special order. Take advantage of their help. They want to be of service.

Schedule an appointment if you are going to need a lot of time with a salesperson and try not to shop on the weekends. Pick a weekday for more undivided attention.

Home decorating stores can be tricky to your sense of proportion. Carry a compact tape measure and measure everything before you buy.

• Walk through the showroom and look around. Do you have some pieces at home that could be used in the same manner?
• Are the home furnishings arranged in ways you haven’t thought of? Without buying a thing, you can get a lot of ideas to take home.

Set your budget.

There’s nothing more discouraging than finding a piece you can’t live without only to find out its way out of the ballpark. While it’s a good idea to buy the best you can afford, you don’t want to spend every penny you have on one piece and not have any decorating budget left.

Avoid paying too much for the quality you are getting just because you bought a recognized name.

Fabrics look different at home than they do in the home decorating stores.

Always ask to borrow a sample to take home to see in your own lighting. It will look different under different conditions. Look at the swatch during both the day and at night. Check to see how it looks with the other pieces that are already in the room that will remain including of course the wall color and flooring.

Some home decorating stores will allow you to take home a piece on approval.

Never buy seating without testing it out first.

The pitch to the seat, the heights of the back and the depth of the seat as well as how high it sits off the floor are considerations to take.

If the style isn’t on the floor that you are considering, at least test another piece from the same manufacturer to compare the quality. But it’s hard to get a true impression without actually sitting on it.

Examine the finish.

Paint or stain should not be used to camouflage flaws in the wood. If it is a translucent stain it should be even and the grain of the wood should show through. If the finish is opaque, the consistency should be even, never bubbled or showing strokes.

When buying furniture, it is important to choose wisely.

Buy furniture you know to find useful, since you’ll probably be living with it for long time. Each piece will want to have a purpose whether it is utilitarian or decorative. Think about the function of each piece and be sure you are spending money on something you really need.

Finally remember that mixing is now in full fashion. Buying interesting things will give personality to your home. You want your room to look like it evolved over time. This gives your rooms character and warmth. It is fun too, to be surrounded by beautiful things that have a history or story associated with them.

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