When you are getting ready to redecorate, there are 5 things you must know before purchasing furniture. In today’s blog post, I will be sharing a little bit about my process and how shopping for your home is much more than picking out “pretty” things.
Before we dive in, I want to share a story where I have been called in to resolve a past client's decorating dilemma.
With access to HGTV and other DIY television programs, it encourages homeowners to decorate their homes on their own. And by all means, go right ahead! However, with that newbie decorating courage also comes heavy precaution.
For example, purchasing a new living room set.. seems simple right? Tell me if this sounds familiar. You went to your favorite store and purchased a brand new living room set. It looked absolutely beautiful in the store! You sat in it, thought it was comfortable, it was the perfect color, and you said “This is the one! Let’s get it” .. BONUS - It’s currently in stock and could be delivered to your home in three days - perfect!! A few days go by and it is finally Delivery Day. The delivery men are carrying your spankin’ new sofa and you point to where it goes. After the furniture is placed, you realized that it really doesn’t fit in your living room. It looks massive and swallows up your entire space. However, you just spend your hard-earned money on a living room set and you feel stuck.
Trust me, I understand your frustrations and my heart goes out to you. There is nothing more disappointing than receiving the furniture that you absolutely *loved* in the store and to your dismay, you discover that your purchase was an epic fail. But don’t be ashamed, I’ve seen this happen more than once. But it could be worse! I’ve seen situations where someones beloved sofa couldn’t even make it into their apartment. Although the sofa was the perfect size for their living room, it was too big to fit through the elevator. Can you imagine?! There are “furniture dismantling services” available but still… the horror!!
Design by AMA Designs & Interiors LLC
When you hire an interior designer, we take these experiences and several factors into consideration when decorating a home. Aside from budgetary restrictions and your design style, here are my 5 things you must know before purchasing furniture.
5 Things you Must Know Before Purchasing Furniture
- Your Room Size: Before starting any type of decorating project, I always measure the room first and note the locations of doors, windows, columns, etc. We take these measurements and create a digital floorplan of your room. It’s important to know the dimensions and locations of architectural elements before shopping for items.Of course, it’s never too early to go online for design inspiration but you have to know if your dreamy sofa will fit in your newly decorated room.
- The Right Size Furniture: Aside from measuring the room, we shop for furniture that fits the room. We go back to our floorplan that we drew, and place the proposed furniture in plan to see if it is the right size.
- The Right Scale: Aside from the size, we consider the scale of the furniture too. If you have a small room with average ceiling heights, a bulky reclining sofa with a high-back may look completely ridiculous. Sometimes sofas are really deep, in a small room a 40” depth sofa and love-seat may feel overbearing. Or vise vera, if you have a grand room with small-scaled furniture, your room may feel like a dollhouse with miniature furniture. The proportion of all the items is very important.
- Functional Layout: We make sure that the new furniture arrangement is functional. Functional in the terms that it fits your space and works in plan. We make sure there is enough space to circulate around the furniture, open doors, and have space for walking traffic and to pass through to another room before you purchase.
If you aren’t in the market for new furniture but need help with space planning, we offer floor planning services a la carte. We take your room measurements and existing furniture dimensions, and recreate your space by arranging your items in the best layout possible. For more information, check out our floor plan services here.
5. Quality of Furniture: For your everyday items that get the most wear and tear, it’s important to purchase quality furniture. We understand that price point is a major factor, but if you can splurge for a better sofa, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. In the long term, you could have your sofa for 10+ years, rather than purchasing an inexpensive sofa and replacing it every 2-3 years. I feel that curating the perfect room is a balancing act between splurging in areas that get the most use and saving somewhere else.
As you prepare to redecorate your home, I hope you keep these tips in mind for the next time you are shopping. If you loved this post, leave a comment below or share it with a friend!
Getting ready to start a project?
Sign up for our
for design inspiration and tips!
Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of decorating on your own?
Check out
packages. We handle all the design details and manage your project from concept to completion. We understand how overwhelming a design project can be, that’s why we will handle all things related to your project, so you can go back to enjoying the finer things.