Shopping for furniture can be a bit overwhelming. After all, buying furniture is nothing less than an investment. The table, chairs and sofa set that you buy today will probably stay in your house for a few years, maybe even longer depending on how well you maintain it. Not to mention, purchasing articles to fill your living and drawing rooms is not exactly cheap. In fact, it can cost a fortune depending on what kind of material you’ve chosen, whether you’re getting it custom-made or if it belongs to a high-end brand. This is precisely why one needs to be extremely careful and avoid furniture buying mistakes while decorating their home.
Common Furniture Buying Mistakes You Must Avoid
Whether you have just moved into a new house or are simply planning to give your home a makeover, be wary of making these common furniture buying mistakes.
- Rushing into things without research
- Forgetting to measure the room
- Buying everything at once
- Ignoring your lifestyle
- Not paying attention to the colour
- Going over your budget
Let’s take a look at each of these furniture buying mistakes and discuss ways to avoid them.
Rushing into Things without Research
The first and most common furniture buying mistake people make is going shopping without doing any research.
Before you make any purchases, spend some time window shopping or browsing catalogues online. This will not only help you learn more about the different options available in the market but also give you an idea of the average price and the quality of the material. If you’re buying new furniture from a reputable brand, do some scrolling through their review section to see what others are saying. In fact, you can also ask questions on relevant social media forums about quality, cost and maintenance of the item you are planning to purchase.
Rushing into things is another important mistake to avoid while shopping for furniture. More often than not, people rush into buying things because either the salesperson keeps pushing them or they simply want to get it over with it. Needless to say, it’s a wrong approach – because if you’re spending your money, you better do it wisely. Instead of making a quick decision, take your time to sit on the sofa or mattress, open and close all cabinets and drawers and check fabric swatches. You should only make a purchase once you are completely satisfied that a certain article will fit right in with your overall décor.
If you don’t know where to start your research, here are some of the top furniture and home décor trends in Pakistan that you should check out.
Forgetting to measure the room
This is one of the most crucial mistakes to avoid when buying furniture. After all, no one wants to live through the horror of buying an expensive couch and then being unable to place it in their living room because it just won’t fit through the door, right? If you have to take it up the stairs or through the elevator, it’s even worse.
A common furniture buying mistake most people make is that they only measure the area they would be placing it in. They don’t think twice about whether their new dining table or sofa will be able to fit through the doors, down the hallway and around the corner before it reaches its destination.
If you’re getting your furniture custom-made, ask the store or the vendor to send someone over to get the measurements. Even then, make sure they measure everything, including the width of your door frame, more than once to avoid any errors. Meanwhile, if you’re buying ready-made furniture, measure everything yourself (multiple times) and write down the dimensions on a piece of paper instead of relying solely on your memory. Given how expensive and stressful furniture shopping can be, there is simply no room for making any sort of mistakes!
Buying everything at once
Even if you are buying furniture on sale, avoid buying it all at once.
Although you might think that filling your entire home with furniture in one go is both time and cost-efficient, the truth is it’s neither. If you buy your sofa set, dining table and chairs and bedroom set all at the same time, there’s a good chance you’ll end up regretting your decision later down the road. One of the most popular furniture buying tips, according to most interior designers, is to buy the main pieces, such as the couch and dining table, first. You can then buy the accompanying items, such as the coffee and side tables, a little later. Of course, you need to maintain a theme, but it’s also important to know how a certain piece of furniture looks in your house before buying additional ones. This will also help you avoid buyer’s remorse.
Moreover, shopping from different stores and adding statement pieces to your home is the perfect way to add a little bit of your personality to your décor.
In addition to that, don’t ever tell the salesperson that you’re buying furniture for a new house. Because if you do so, they’ll likely advise you to purchase the entire bedroom, living room and drawing room sets. Do not fall for that.
Ignoring your lifestyle
Not being practical is one of the most common furniture shopping mistakes homeowners are guilty of making. Believe it or not, putting your lifestyle above the latest trends is one of the best tips for buying furniture.
Whether you are shopping for furniture online or buying it from a showroom, only select pieces that will suit your lifestyle. For instance, if you have young children or pets in your home, don’t buy a light-coloured couch for your living room as cleaning all the spills and stains would be a hassle. Similarly, you shouldn’t have a dining table with sharp edges or a delicate glass coffee table if you have little ones running around the place. On the other hand, if you often host dinner parties and luncheons, you should consider buying a bigger dining table with more chairs instead of a smaller set.
Always be realistic while making such decisions, as your personal needs are the top things to consider when buying furniture. If something doesn’t appear to be the right fit for your home and lifestyle, it’s useless to spend money on it.
Not paying attention to the colour
If you’ve ever painted your house, you would know that what looked like a nice beige colour in the hardware store can look muddy brown in your kitchen. Just like wall paint, your upholstery and the colour of your new furniture may look different depending on where you’ve placed them, the amount of natural light in the room and time of the day. What may look like a nice grey couch at the furniture shop may look like a baby blue sofa in your living room, which is something you probably want to avoid.
Meanwhile, if you’re buying furniture online, thoroughly read the reviews. If possible, ask the company to send you fabric swatches to ensure the colour is close to what it seems on your laptop screen.
Going Over Your Budget
Last but not least, stick to your budget.
Among all the furniture buying mistakes you can make, ignoring your budget is probably the worst.
Before you visit a store or browse through websites on the internet, decide on a particular amount that you can spend on furniture. This will help you streamline your search as you’ll only look for pieces that are affordable. Another important tip here is to pay in cash instead of a credit card. The reason is pretty simple. If you’re making the payment by cash, you likely won’t be tempted to spend more than what you’ve decided on. However, paying by credit card might make you reconsider your decision and implore you to go over your budget.
On a side note, if you’re having a hard time deciding between different types of furniture, take a look at our detailed guide on choosing between wooden and metallic furniture.
For more home décor tips, head over to Zameen Blog, the leading lifestyle blog in Pakistan. You can also share your suggestions and queries with us at blog@zameen.com. To receive the latest updates about home décor, lifestyle and real estate trends, subscribe to our newsletter on the right.
