Are you getting ready to purchase new furniture for your home? Are you looking at living room, bedroom or dining room furniture? Regardless of what room you’re furnishing, the process is similar to buying a car – there are so many styles, colours and choices that it can take some time to find the perfect pick. The key is to be a savvy shopper…but do you know what mistakes commonly occur when buying furniture? Check out these 10 mistakes to avoid when purchasing furniture!

  1. Forgetting To Measure What’s worse than having your new furniture delivered to your home to only find out it won’t fit inside? Too often people will forget to measure rooms, doorways, hallways, stairs and even elevators which turns into a trip back to the furniture store. Before you head out to the store, take measurements of everything including windows! You want to make sure you have enough clearance in your home to accommodate the new furniture. And last but not least, remember to measure the furniture in the store too.  
  2. Forgetting About Scale That pub height dining room table sure looked great on the showroom floor but will it take up too much space in your home? Just because something looks wonderful in big store doesn’t mean it’ll be functional in your space. Find a happy medium between the size of the room and the scale of the furniture. Consider drawing a mockup of the room and noting the dimensions to get a better picture of how much space certain furniture will take up.
  3. Ignoring Colour Furniture colour may look different in your home than it did when you saw it in the store and this is mainly due to lighting. Perhaps you have a lot of natural light in your home and you originally viewed the furniture in the back corner of the store. Lighting may affect the way it looks in your home, so be sure you pay close attention to colour.
  4. Forgetting Its’ Use How will your furniture be used? Do you have pets or kids? If so, you may want furniture that is durable enough to withstand their abuse. For instance, you probably wouldn’t want white or light-colored fabric if your dog likes to occasional nap on the sofa! And did you know 22% of shopper wanted to re-pick their sofa’s because they didn’t choose the right one the first time?    
  5. Choosing Trends Over Comfort Furniture tends to be something you have for years which means comfort and practically are extremely important. You want to purchase furniture that will be appealing for many years instead of basing your selection off of fads and trends which quickly come and go.
  6. Buying Online While everyone loves the convenience of online shopping, furniture is one of those things you need to double check. Pictures of the furniture could look great online but you can’t get a real feel until it arrives at your house. Imagine you bought a recliner and when it arrived, it wasn’t as soft as you would have liked. This type of situation happens quite frequently which is why you should check out the furniture in person before ordering it online 
  7. Picking Looks Over Functionality Like mentioned earlier, furniture can come in a variety of styles, looks and colours which makes it a little difficult to shop. However, don’t sacrifice functionality for looks because you (and others) may regret it. For example, a dining room table with two chairs and a bench seat looks cool, but when your family eats at it every day, that bench seat won’t provide the back support some people want while sitting. If that happens, you might be a part of the 11% of dining room furniture shoppers who made the wrong choice too.  
  8. Ignoring Sales People Sometimes sales people get a bad rep for being too pushy or aggressive but in reality, they are trying to help you make the right decision. They can show you furniture within your budget, give you suggestions and even point out which pieces are ideal for kids, pets, entertaining etc. When you check out one of the best furniture stores in Canada, like Surplus Furniture, you’ll be surprised how friendly and helpful the sales staff is!
  9. Impulse Buying Buying anything on impulse is a bad thing and that is especially true with furniture. Take your time to select the furniture that fits your needs and style because it’s not a small purchase you can easily fix. If you get a dire urge to buy something specific, take a deep breath and walk around the store for a little bit. Give yourself plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons (if any) before running to the cash register to check out.
  10. Going Over Budget Furniture is an investment because it’ll last for years but that doesn’t mean you should go over your budget for it. Before you start shopping, set a budget and stick to it because you don’t want to break the bank over something like a bedroom set. You might not sleep that well at night knowing you overexerted your finances. Not to mention, 12% of shoppers wanted to re-pick their bedroom furniture because they didn’t get it right the first time. However, your budget will go further at a discount furniture store!  Now that you know the 10 terrible mistakes when buying furniture, you can avoid a big (and costly) headache when shopping.