Although I put careful thought into most items that come into my home, there are some pieces that just seem to create extra nervousness or hesitation. I can buy a lamp at the drop of a hat, but a rug or a side chair, well that's when the hemming and hawing starts. What's with that?
It might be that a lamp is easier to replace if you make a poor choice and something larger might feel more permanent, but for me, it usually comes back to reviews. I'm actually ok choosing a sofa for my home and in a fairly rapid manner. There are thousands of people who share their comments if they a piece feels shaky or stain easy.
When it comes to rugs and chairs, the most feedback you usually receive is on color. It's usually something short like, "It's lighter than the color pictured online." Although picking up a chair at a flea market is easy, you sit in it, flop around and just decide. Online purchases, for me, are tricky. Chairs are almost as pricey as many sofas these days and they seem like more money for less seating and I often have reserve.
What piece of furniture stalls you out? Do you have chair phobia like me? Hesitate when it comes to rugs or floor coverings? Still unsure about sofas? What item would you rather buy in person if given the chance? Let us know below!
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Anything you sit or lay on (sofas, chairs, mattresses). I could never buy without trying first to make sure its comfortable. Reviews are so subjective, one person's hard as a rock is another's just firm enough. Plus all those things are difficult to return because of the size.
I would never buy anything with fibers (rugs, upholstery, etc.) online without free-return guarantees or samples first. I want to sit on chairs or sofas, I want to touch the fabric. It's about more than mere color accuracy.
We just selected chairs for the Library where I work from online sources, but the vendor we chose to actually order through brought us a sample to test-sit -- that's why we boughrt from them instead of other bidders. (The sample influenced our color choices, too, since we loved the way it looked -- otherwise we might have chosen other fabrics from the sample cards we obtained.)
I prefer to buy locally, where I can complain to the store if it's not right.
Anything that I sit in. The most beautiful chair can be totally unsuitable for actual sitting. (Ask me about my desk chair)
It took me 4 months to pick a new desk. Color, shape, size, quality, and cost were all factors. What made it even worse, though, was that after I finally made my choice I had to wait almost 2 months for it to come in. 2 months of agony over whether I made the right decision. It all worked out though.
I would hate to buy a couch online only to have it arrive and discover it's completely uncomfortable. I did order counterstools online as I had no choice (searching for modern white/chrome stools where I live is like looking for buried treasure, a fantasy).
I'm pretty flexible in this regard. I'm not sure there is any one item that I wouldn't at least check out online.
Probably a house - I would need to know exactly what I was getting into. But before I buy anything, I'm always 100% certain, and it is very rare that I purchase anything impulsively.
Like others, I can't online shop for anything that I am going to sit and lie on. Out of those, I find shopping for mattress is most intimidating. Not sure why, but I feel like there are so much more concerns that I need to be aware of and the options (oh my god!)!
I bought a pair of vintage chairs with ottomans on Ebay. At soon as I saw the picture, I knew I wanted them. The furniture was made by an old, established, well respected AMERICAN furniture company, and I knew the chairs would be well built and comfortable. And they ARE! I love them.
This was my third attempt to find chairs for my new living room, and the first two tries were from brick & mortar stores, but once the chairs were here, YUCK!
I think if you find a brand you trust, you can buy on the net. And if you want vintage American made furniture, as I do, Ebay is a great source. I often wonder why AT doesn't do Ebay fabulous finds.
PS I also bought my first house sight unseen. It was a gut rehab, and in my defense, I had seen the architectural plans. (That first house remains my favorite, six residences later. It had stone turrets, oh my.)
For me, it depends of lots of factors but for most of sit on, lie on items, I'd prefer to go and test it.
If online's vendor after-sale services are poor I'd turn my feet and opt for another one: that'd be a hassle to send a matress back...
Just bought a vintage Danish Mod dining set on ebay. I trusted, and LOVE what I got. I've also bought Eames chairs on Ebay.
I bought a vintage Herman Miller Aluminum Group office chair on eBay for my home office, but I had sat on similar chairs first. These included a brand new one, and a vintage one that was not the color I wanted. So, I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting. I was not disappointed.
I live in the arctic and have no choice but to order online/catalogues. Unfortunately there are only a couple of stores that will ship furniture here for a reasonable price. One is sears haha.
My roommate is moving away and taking all the furniture with her at the end of the month and now I'm stuck trying to find decent stuff. I brought up my own furniture but sold it a couple months ago because there was no room (and no 1 bedroom apartments to rent in town).
With the seasons changing I am really craving going clothes shopping... unfortunately that's all online too lol! However, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world!
Our sofa is from Amazon. I love to lounge, but wasn't finding what I wanted in our price range (between 800-1500) in a sectional. I hated the idea of leather but we went for it and I actually love it. It is really really comfortable and the munchkin can't destroy it. It was quite scary to buy online, but I would do it again.
I once bought a couch online. It arrived and it was so uncomfortable, so so uncomfortable. I will never do that again.
I bought a media center from Crate and Barrel over the weekend and I mulled over it for a week. I had it in my "cart" for an entire week before I finally did it. I was sick from nerves the entire time. For one, it was an expensive purchase. For two, they don't have it displayed in a store, so I had to buy it based on what it looked like in the pictures. All you can really do is hope for the best.
Anything you sit on, by all means try it out. Having just spent the last two months looking for a couch and chair I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to sit on it before purchasing. So many differences to consider besides price.
I like seeing everything in person after doing my research before I decide on any furniture, lamp, or rug.
"...if you want vintage American made furniture, as I do, Ebay is a great source. I often wonder why AT doesn't do Ebay fabulous finds."
Ditto.
My home is filled with lovely furniture & decorative pieces purchased thru eBay - I'd be at a complete loss without eBay!
I bought my sofas sight unseen. I ordered them directly from High Point, and obtained the upholstery number from swatches at a furniture store. They were custom. I picked the back, arms, legs, pillow type, everything that I wanted, and the only thing I worried about was the fabric. I was afraid I would be off by one number, and polka dot or stripped sofas would arrive instead of the hunter green corduroy velvet I wanted. I only did it because I couldn't afford the sofas at a retail, but ordering from the manufacturer saved me about 60%.
bepsf-I knew I wasn't the only one. If I was starting over today, with a clean slate and an empty house, I would buy everything on Ebay.
A rug. Can't seem to find one in person and the ones I find online I feel unsure about how they will look/feel... rugless for about 4 years...