How to Shop for Furniture May 31, 2010

Shopping for furniture can be a difficult task or an exciting adventure. It’s up to you. If you follow this advice, you’re more likely to enjoy shopping and find the right pieces of furniture to fit your home and lifestyle.

• Decide What You Need
  Measure the space where you’ll put the new piece, keeping in mind that you’ll need room between other pieces for walking and traffic patterns. You might want a sofa but realize that you really only have room for a loveseat or a pair of armless chairs. Write the numbers down so that you can confirm them when you find something that you like.
• Set Your Budget
  There’s nothing more discouraging than finding a piece you can’t afford. Set you budget and don’t look at things that would break the bank. While it’s a good idea to buy the most expensive and best constructed piece of furniture that you can afford, you wouldn’t want to spend every penny you have available on one piece of furniture and then not be able to paint the walls!
• Plan Ahead
  Do some research on the internet. Find reputable manufacturers and see what they have to offer. You’ll most likely be able to see everything that each company makes, get exact dimensions of each piece, see the different finishes available, and see the pieces arranged in decorator rooms. If you see something you really like, you can order the company’s catalogue to be sent to your home.
• Learn All You Can Without Leaving Your Home
  If you find a piece you like, look at the fabric options or wood finishes available. Try to picture the piece in your home. Locate a store in your area that carries the line of furniture you’ve found. Check their opening hours.

Once you’ve decided exactly what you need, how big it should be, how much you can spend on it, and gotten all the information you can on companies, finishes, styles, and fabrics, it’s time to see some pieces in person.

• Go to a Furniture Store
  It’s almost impossible to determine if you’ll like a piece of furniture from a picture. You’ll want to see it first-hand. If the store you visit doen’t have the exact piece you’ve found on-line, at least you ean evaluate the quality of the line, see the different finishes available, and determine if the company makes things that have a look you like. If you’re looking for a coffee table, you might be able to see a side table. You’ll get an idea of how your piece will look and you’ll feel more comfortable about ordering the piece at the store or on-line if you’ve seen it in person first.
• Visualize All the Elements
  Fine furniture stores use professional decorators to create fully-decorated rooms. In these settings, the merchandise is shown at its best. You can get an idea of how the piece you want will look in a real room. You might get ideas for other decorating, too. If the walls are painted an interesting shade of a warm mocha, you can ask the exact shade if you think it would look good in your home. It can be almost like going to a decorator showhouse and you can buy anything you like.
• Get Things in Perspective
  Remember that furniture show spaces are spacious with high ceilings and no side walls. You have to keep the size and scale of your own rooms in mind. A piece that looks great in a cavernous showroom might be too large for your living room.
• Get Decorating Ideas From the Pros
  As you walk through the showroom, look around you. Do you see interesting accessories? Do you have some pieces at home that could be used in the same way? Is a picture placed in an unusual way that would add interest to your space? Does a mirror reflect a beautiful view or add depth to a space? Is the furniture arranged in a way you hadn’t thought of? Without buying a thing, you can get lots of ideas to take home.
• Talk to the Sales People
  A furniture showroom will not have every piece that a particular company makes. If you don’t see the item you want on the floor, inquire about placing a special order. Be sure that you feel comfortable with the sales person and get someone who is knowlegeable about your chosen company. Some stores have specialists for each line. Inquire about the availability of different wood finishes, sofa skirt options, or alternative arm styles.
• See the Fabric Choices
  Each company that builds upholstered furniture supplies their showrooms with fabric samples. You can choose from a full array of colors, patterns, and textures. If you’re not sure about colors, ask to check out fabric samples or a matching pillow. You’ll be able to live with the fabrics for a day or two and see the different choices in changing lights.
• Place a Special Order
  If the store doesn’t have the piece you need, place a special order. In many cases, you will not be able to take advantage of special sale prices, and you might have to pay additional shipping charges. But it will be worth the price to get just the piece you want.
• Take the Piece Home
  Some furniture stores will allow you to take a piece home “on approval,” meaning that you can see how it will look in your home, but return it if you don’t like it. After all, you’re making a big purchase and should have a right to change your mind. Make sure that you can return even a special order piece if it is not right for your home. You might be asked to pay the charges the store incurred to get the piece from the factory to their store.

Article written by Coral Nafie courtesy of ArticlesBase.com