There are so many different places to purchase furniture that it can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. And then, once you find a store, there are hundreds of different items to choose from with no clear way to figure out which one is right for you or your home. 

And if you’re looking online, the selection might seem endless, but how do you know if the site has excellent prices or quality products? Here we will go through why it is so difficult to buy furniture and how to handle it.

1. The color issue

Colors can be deceiving. Sometimes they look one way in a catalog or online and another when you’re standing in a store holding that piece of furniture. The lighting, color of your walls, and other items in your home influence how a color look. Many people choose colors based on memory, which also can lead to problems when they get it home (it doesn’t always match what they imagined). You might not know where to find in-stock furniture, but there are various options. If you’re buying a large item, such as a couch or a table, see if you can get fabric samples shipped to you. Choose upholstery fabric that compliments your room but is nevertheless lightweight enough to move about if necessary—all that moving around might harm delicate materials.

2. The space issue

As anyone who has bought furniture before can tell you, there’s often a difficult trade-off between what a piece of furniture looks like in your home and how much space it takes up. Some of today’s most famous pieces are oversized and super deep, which will make your apartment or condo look small or too crowded, even if it works for you functionally. For example, a sofa as long as one wall makes for an exciting centerpiece—but it won’t leave much room to do anything else. Shopping online helps to simplify things when selecting furniture that fits your lifestyle. You can try out sofas by looking at photos side-by-side with other pieces and decide whether they take up too much space or not enough!

3. The lifestyle issue

All that said, it’s important to note that buying furniture can be a headache for various reasons. First, you need to consider all sorts of things: Is it comfortable? Does it have clean lines? How does it fit in with your decorating style? And—perhaps most importantly—is it within your budget? It’s no wonder that furniture shopping can feel like more trouble than it’s worth. But thankfully, there are some ways to make things easier for yourself: Hire a designer, compare prices online and read reviews before making any purchase. After you’ve done all that work, sit back and enjoy life!

4. Your style vs. other people’s preferences

When people think about buying furniture, they often focus on their style and preferences. That’s why so many people end up with too big chairs or oversized tables that just don’t fit in with any other pieces in their home. You may love a piece, but you won’t have it for long unless it fits your lifestyle and matches your other furniture. 

This leads to our following reason. There are several options: every one of us has a favorite merchant or shopping website. However, finding what you’re looking for at your favorite retailer might be difficult. Because there are hundreds of alternatives to consider and thousands of decisions to make when purchasing new furniture for your house, the process is more complicated than many people imagine.

5. How your tastes change over time

Your tastes in furniture and decor change as you age. When you’re 20, you probably prefer modern, streamlined furnishings. When you’re 40, your preferences might have changed to favor handcrafted wood pieces with natural accents. As someone in their 60s, you might find these styles too opulent—you prefer more classic looks. People tend to buy new furniture when they move or remodel; there are just so many options out there that it can be hard to decide what works best for your new space.

6. Don’t Sacrifice Quality for price

Unfortunately, shopping at a discount often means sacrificing Quality. Do your research and know what kind of wood you want to buy (oak? pine? birch?), how many coats of finish you need, whether you can hire professionals to put it together, and what features are worth spending extra money on. For example, if you spend $150 on a couch but have to use assembly required stickers because it doesn’t come pre-assembled, did you save money? Not in our book. The same applies to upholstery: because something’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s better made than more expensive options.

7. Buying too many pieces at once

We get it: Everyone wants their home to look amazing with only minimal effort. They think that buying one new piece of furniture will make it look like they got a whole new look–no need for paint, rugs, or anything else. But the truth is that buying too many pieces at once can have the opposite effect. When mixing and matching lots of different styles and trends in one room, it can make your home look messy, cluttered, and overdone. It’s hard to keep your home looking fresh if you’re constantly swapping things in and out instead of committing to just one or two pieces at a time.

8. Impulse buying and fads

It’s tough to avoid impulse buying when you go furniture shopping. You see something, it looks great, and you buy it–even if you had no intention of spending money there. After all, who can resist a sparkly new sofa? The only way to beat that impulse is to give yourself a specific amount of time–say an hour–and ask your salesperson to keep track. Set an amount in mind before you leave home so that even if they have something great, you’ll stick with your limit. You may not get anything because there are always better deals just around the corner, but if it’s exactly what you’re looking for, then have a budget and be ready to buy! 

9. Buying quality items that are already assembled

While the number one item to look out for when shopping for furniture is deciding whether it’s better to buy something that’s already pre-assembled, it’s also important to make sure you pay attention to other items, such as how long a piece has been in production if it’s been tested by professionals, does it come with a warranty or can you buy one separately? The last thing you want is to make the mistake of buying something and then see that the manufacturer was only testing a prototype!

10. Buying off the rack at a discount

This tip doesn’t just apply to furniture shopping. For example, if you see a great pair of pants or a shirt on sale, and they’re not quite right, you might decide to buy it anyway. But when you buy something right off the rack and then expect it to fit perfectly just because it’s “on sale,” you’re doing a huge disservice. It doesn’t work that way. You need to wear clothing that fits appropriately for maximum comfort and style. If the fit isn’t quite right, don’t buy it no matter how good the deal is!

Conclusion: Getting new furniture is a great way to update your lifestyle and revitalize your home. It can be intimidating to buy furniture, but it can be a lot of fun with the proper knowledge! Focusing on what you need and keeping in mind what will work best for your home and family will help you make the right choice.

We hope that these 10 tips help you buy new furniture easier! With so much information out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. While we hope this helps, we wanted to also give some maintenance advice for all of our readers who already have furniture pieces in their homes or maybe looking to buy used furniture.