Buying furniture is an investment. So that’s why it breaks our heart to see that investment spoiled away by a few easily avoidable mistakes. We see these mistakes made time and time again, so we’re here to make sure that you don’t fall victim to them too!
01. Choosing a low price tag over quality
Let’s be real: nobody likes to spend more money than they have to. If you can save a couple of dollars here and there, we all want to! But when it comes to the furniture that you will be living with every day, sometimes its the wiser decision to spend a little extra to ensure you’re getting the quality you need.
Here’s the thing: cheap furniture is often made cheap. This is fine for temporary items, purely decorative items, etc. But for items such as lounges, beds, storage units, and dining sets, all the things you are going to be using every day, you need to be able to trust that they can keep up with you and will last for as long as you need them to. And unfortunately, that $50 dining set might just not be able to.
This isn’t to say that all of your furniture needs to be the most luxurious, high priced designs you can find – keep your eye peeled for those bargains! However, when shopping around for furniture, keep in mind that it is an investment. A slightly bigger spend now can sometimes save you big time down the line.
02. Not reading assembly instructions properly
Ever put together a piece of furniture and had a pile of screws and mysterious extra pieces left over? One common mistake we see made is people skimming through their assembly instructions and mostly guessing how to put their piece together. This is a big no-no and could cost you in the long run.
By skipping a few steps in the assembly process, you could be decreasing the strength, durability, or structural integrity of your new product which can quickly lead to damage and a hefty repair (or replacement) fee.
When putting together your item, take a bit of time to have a cuppa and read through the instructions thoroughly first. And then get to work assembling and we guarantee you’ll have no mystery pieces hanging around once you’re done!
Not too handy? No problem! Most furniture retailers (ComfortStyle included!) offer you affordable assembly options to help you save time and the headache of putting together your new addition. Sometimes a small investment short term can pay off big in the long term.
03. Getting hit by surprise hidden delivery fees
There’s nothing worse than finding a perfect new lounge that’s well within your budget, just to find that the delivery fees completely smash that budget to smithereens.
We see this a lot with online-only brands. Many often charge an arm and a leg for delivery of even the smallest of items as they are usually shipping from over east which can be pretty pricey.
Here at ComfortStyle we manually calculate all of our delivery fees for each order to ensure we are offering you the best and lowest fee possible from the nearest W.A. location possible.
04. Not opting for that optional fabric guarantee
We get it, nobody wants to add an extra fee on top of an already pricey purchase. But by not safeguarding your shiny new sofa with a fabric guarantee, you’re running the risk of saving a little money now, but spending a lot of money on repairs, stain removers, and cleaning products later.
Obviously, nobody ever expects to stain or damage their brand new furniture, but mistakes happen. And if you have pets, children, or like to eat around your fabric or leather furniture, mistakes definitely happen. Furniture brands will often offer you a fabric guarantee when purchasing a new fabric item as they know the wear and tear each fabric takes over time.
For example, here at ComfortStyle, we offer a furniture care brand called Guardsman. These package products often come with a cleaning set designed for your specific item, and then a guarantee that promise full protection of your fabric/timber/etc or they will cover the cost of your whole lounge/chair/etc replacement! Pretty good deal in the long run if you ask us.
05. Not getting a design that suits your space
You can find 100 items of furniture that you love, but deciding if it will suit your space well is a whole other battle.
Our tips for avoiding a furniture-room clash are these:
- First, stick to similar colour palettes for your items. E.g. if you have dark timber, stick to that tone of timber. If you have mostly cool neutral colours, pick fabrics and timbers that are cooler in tone.
- Second, you can make a mood board on Pinterest of your room and pin each item you have and are considering, to get a visual idea of if your room will work with your new perspective piece/s.
- Use our View In Your Home tool! Under all of our products we have a handy link to a tool that will help you preview your selected product in your home.
06. Forgetting to measure your space
The old adage of “measure twice, cut once” applies to furniture buying as much as it does to handyman skills.
The last thing you want is to bring your beautiful bedding suite home only to spend hours trying to fit it all into place like a giant game of Tetris.
Instead, before you click ‘add to cart’ or swipe your credit card, be sure to whip out the tape measure and quickly plot out where your new addition/s are to go.
On all product pages, we have a full set of dimensions ready to go for you so you can double (and triple) check that all the items on your wishlist will fit perfectly in their new home.