My brother recently asked me which stores are my go to for great furniture. I think he is slowly starting to want to refresh his house to reflect his current style. He still has same furniture from his first apartment from 2008. Everything is brown, dark, and very masculine. Now he is happily married to the best sister in law I could ever ask for and they have a newborn baby girl that I love more than life itself. I did eventually respond to his inquiry but I found it difficult to nail it to one complete sentence LOL. It all depends on the budget, level of quality and style. Thanks to the internet, it makes the list of vendors even larger. However, I decided to attempt to list all of my favorite go to stores for fabulous furnishings in this blog post.
Home decor: HomeGoods, At Home, Pier 1, World Market
HomeGoods has always been my numero uno place for home decor items. Once in a while I score a piece of furniture or rug of my dreams, but it has never failed me in finding beautiful items without spending a lot of money. Since moving to Charlotte, I have found that At Home is a great place to find decor as well.
High End Furniture: Restoration Hardware, Arhaus
I still recall the day I walked into my first Restoration Hardware store. I was visiting my aunt in Indianapolis, and she took me to the mall that was near her fabulous home (now that is an blog post itself). I remember walking into that Restoration Hardware and falling in love with everything my brown eyes laid upon. It was that day that I found my dream leather sofa. Funny thing that I am sitting on said sofa as I type this. Kind of a full circle moment for me.
Glam Furniture: ZGallerie, High Fashion Home
MidCentury Furniture: West Elm, Joybird
Mid Level Furniture: Furniture Row, Value City Furniture
I kind of struggle to put Value City Furniture in this mix for it has come a long way in terms of style and quality since I was starting on my own. I remember when Value City Furniture was the place to get cheap furnishings. However, their revamp of their products, services, and marketing in the recent years has earned their spot on my list of faves.
Furniture Row has been a favorite of mine since I moved into my first apartment after undergrad. I never heard of the store until I moved to the Midwest. They have great pieces at great prices. However, like Value City Furniture, they have also revamped their products by broadening the price points and style selection. You can now customize a good amount of their furnishings with no extra fees. I furnished just about every room of my first house through Furniture Row. It seemed every time I would dream up a piece in my mind, it would show up on their showroom.
Starter Furniture: IKEA, Target, At Home, Novogratz
Accent Furniture: Pier 1, World Market, At Home, Target
Online stores: Wayfair, Overstock, Amazon, Hayneedle
Now I am not one to purchase furniture online often for two reasons. First, I like to try it on for size. I shop for furniture like I shop for shoes. I do not care how pretty it is. If it isn’t comfortable, then I ain’t buying it LOL. I teach this philosophy to my clients as well. Second, I don’t want to deal with the hassle of trying to return said item if it did not work out. However, in the recent years, I have gotten more comfortable with it. My faves listed all have an easy peasy return process and offer free shipping. I am still leery of purchasing items that are to support bodies. However, anything else such as tables, accent pieces, art, mirrors, light fixtures and rugs (basically what I can’t fit in my Nissan Maxima LOL) I will order in a heartbeat.
I think I have covered all of my faves. What are some of your favorite places to shop for beautiful pieces for your home?