Design & Decor

5 Common Furniture-Buying Mistakes to Avoid

Story Highlights
  • No.1 - Forgetting to take measurements
  • No.2 - Buying the entire set
  • No.3 - Buying everything at home time
  • No.4 - Putting the big with the small
  • No.5 - Buying too-small rugs for your living room

So you have bought the house, the paperwork is signed, and you cannot stop marveling at the glorious place that now belongs to you.

We bet the first thing that you want to do is fill the place with the best and latest furniture and décor!

Right?

You have paged through every single design catalogue known to man and you can already picture yourself sitting comfortably in your new chair.

Don’t let the excitement get the better of you: it is very easy to make mistakes when furniture shopping.

Here is how to avoid them:

No.1 – Forgetting to take measurements

Yup – there is nothing worse than going shopping for rugs or drapes only to find out that you have no idea what size or length you need to buy.

Been there, done that!

You also don’t want to buy a couch only to find out that it doesn’t fit into your doorway.

Measure your home, the room, and the area before you go furniture shopping. When you get to the store, measure the furniture as well to ensure that everything will fit into your home.

You don’t want any last minute surprises after you already spent the money.

No.2 – Buying the entire set

The first thing you need to accept is that you are going to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the choices you have, especially if you are a first-time furniture shopper.

Buying a matching furniture set might be tempting but don’t fall for it.

Your sofas and chairs don’t have to match. Your coffee tables don’t have to be best friends in terms of texture.

Design is all about telling your unique design story and you are allowed to play with layering and different colours. Play around with different textures to find your own unique design style.

You might be surprised at what you come up with.

No.3 – Buying everything at home time

Unless your name is Richard Branson, there is no way your credit card will hold if you decide to buy everything all at once.

You are allowed to buy bits and pieces here and there as or when you can afford it. It is tempting to have your entire home furnished at once but be practical.

Splurge on the main items like sofas or dinner tables and chairs, and let it breathe for a bit before you add extra pieces.

Be careful about buying ‘trendy’ items. These go out of style sooner than you think.

No.4 – Putting the big with the small

An important aspect that most furniture shoppers forget is the scale of the items in your rooms.

If you buy large items you can’t buy teeny tiny items to go with it. It will cause a disproportionate effect and it will make the room look off balance.

Having said that, don’t focus too much on matching large with large or small with small.

If you want to add some variety in sizes, go for it. But make sure that it is in proportion to the rest of the furniture.

No.5 – Buying too-small rugs for your living room

Rugs are a wonderful way to decorate a room and they can easily make a room look bigger than it actually is.

The living room becomes the focal point of any home, so don’t make the mistake of buying the wrong rug for it. After all, a small rug can make the room look smaller and cramped.

In order to make sure that you buy the right size carpet for your living room follow this rule of thumb: the carpet should be big enough for the front two legs of each sofa or chair to stand on it.

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