Planning simplifies furniture search

Browsing for furniture can easily overwhelm even the hardiest of shoppers. You've decided to buy a new sofa or dining set. You set out on a Saturday ready to buy, but when you get to the furniture showroom, you see so many choices that it is impossible to decide. Or, you see nothing on the floor that is to your liking so you become discouraged and leave with nothing. Does this sound familiar? If so, perhaps the following tips can help. 

• Before you go shopping measure your room to determine the size you are looking for. Most furniture showrooms are very large, making the furniture look relatively small. Be careful-- when you get the furniture home it may be too big for your space. Always take your tape measure with you.

• Take paint color chips, a swatch of your drapery fabric, a cutting of your wallpaper, and even photographs of your room with you to the store. This will help you make good color choices. Many stores let you bring fabric swatches home with you, which can be very helpful when trying to coordinate colors and patterns.

• Focus your shopping efforts. Even if you need several new pieces, shop for only one or two pieces at a time. Trying to do too much in one day gets overwhelming. When I take clients shopping, we may look around to see what is available, but we concentrate our time looking at one or two high priority items.

• If you don't see what you are looking for on the showroom floor, be sure and ask a salesperson for help. They can look through catalogs to find what you need. Often a variety of sizes, styles and finishes are available, but you won't know unless you ask.

• Be prepared to wait several weeks for custom furniture to arrive. Don't wait until the last minute to go shopping. If you have a deadline in mind, such as your daughter's wedding shower or husband's birthday party, plan ahead.

• No matter how good a deal it may seem, don't buy an entire living room suite if all you really need is a sofa. The extra furniture pieces will undoubtedly crowd your room, and the look will be too "matchy-matchy." Chairs should coordinate with the sofa, not necessarily match it exactly.

• If you decide to order furniture pieces from a mail-order catalog, watch out for the shipping charges, which can add a substantial amount to the purchase price. Be aware and budget accordingly.

• Take only one or two other people with you to shop. Those others could be your spouse, a close friend or your designer. Any more than that and you'll have too many opinions to consider.

• Consignment stores are great places to look for furniture. If you see something you like, buy it right away, as their inventory changes frequently. By the same token, if you don't see anything this time, check again next week.

This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper Group papers on Aug. 5, 2006.

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All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna Jacoby.