This Popular Home Decor Brand Is One of the Best Places to Shop for Eclectic Furniture

When shopping for new furniture, it’s tempting to play it safe in terms of color, fabric, and style. Furniture is a big investment, and it’s OK to feel wary of taking home-related risks. But on the other hand, choosing furniture that stands out from everyone else’s is one of the best ways to really make your home feel like yours.

Whether you opt for an interesting pattern for upholstery or combine materials in a fresh way, there’s something refreshing about going the more eclectic route. If that sounds exciting to you, then you’ll definitely want to add Anthropologie to your shopping list. 

While you might know it more for its clothing and gifts, Anthropologie has an impressive home collection, including tons of unique furniture offerings for the whole home. Most of the seating options are customizable, and despite how distinctive the offerings are, they’re versatile enough to fit a range of style preferences. The brand is a favorite of designers, home stagers, and AT editors alike, so we decided it was time to do a deep dive on Anthropologie and its myriad of home goods.

Anthropologie was founded in 1992, but its roots go back to 1970, when the first Free People store opened in Philadelphia. It began as a project for an entrepreneurial class that its co-founders, Richard Hayne and Scott Belair, were taking at the University of Pennsylvania, but quickly became a success and was renamed to Urban Outfitters.

As the original customers grew up, the company launched Anthropologie as a way to keep appealing to its audience. One year after the first Anthropologie store opened in Wayne, Pennsylvania, the company went public as URBN, and now has five distinct brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN (now rebranded as Anthropologie Weddings).

Anthropologie was originally founded as a lifestyle brand geared towards 30- to 45-year-old women, with a focus on artsy, upscale clothing and decor. The brand ethos hasn’t changed much, and it’s still known for its eclectic, whimsical vibes. In addition to furniture (both indoor and outdoor), you can also shop decor, tableware, lighting, rugs, and more. 

Yes, Anthropologie has 260 stores located across North America and the United Kingdom. Keep in mind, though, that while most of those stores do sell some home products, there are very few places where you can shop for furniture in person. In fact, the only home-focused Anthropologie location is in Pittsburgh, but it’s an outlet store with discounted furniture. Most stores showcase a few furniture products as floor models, so in-person furniture shopping is typically reliant on luck. Fortunately, 18 stores offer Home Design Studio services, which allow you to work with a stylist to furnish your home using Anthropologie home products. 

While Anthropologie might not be the best place to shop for furniture in person, it makes up for it in the number of custom furniture options. Over 100 sofas, beds, and chairs can be personalized by fabric, size, and more, and you can take advantage of free virtual styling sessions and swatches delivered to your home to make the process easier. 

Yes, Anthropologie delivers. The brand offers unlimited furniture delivery at a flat rate, depending on the order total, delivery type, and location. White glove delivery starts at $149 for orders under $1,000 and $249 for orders over $1,000, with an extra fee applied for some deliveries to Iowa, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Furniture cannot be shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories. Smaller furniture is dispatched via doorstep delivery for a smaller flat rate fee. 

Anthropologie does offer returns on furniture within 30 days, which isn’t typical of most furniture stores. You will need to ship your furniture back, and some products are subject to a restocking fee, but the pickup is free. Otherwise, products returned within 30 days are refundable, while products returned after 30 days (but within one year) are refunded via merchandise credit. 

Anthropologie offers white glove delivery on large furniture items like sofas and beds, so you don’t have to deal with any assembly. For smaller furniture pieces that don’t arrive put together, assembly is about what you’d expect: a bit annoying, but nothing too challenging. You might need a second person to help out with heavier pieces, but that’s the biggest potential obstacle.

Yes, Anthropologie offers a variety of sales throughout the year, including furniture-specific deals. There are the usual holiday-specific sales during Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, as well as end-of-season sales, particularly in the summer and winter. Anthropologie also hosts a few sales exclusively for AnthroPerks members throughout the year, so it’s worth signing up. In addition to special deals, AnthroPerks members get a discount during their birthday month, plus easier order tracking.

Anthropologie also has a great sale section (including home and furniture goods) and hosts many “sale on sale” promotions to make way for new inventory. Another popular promotion is free shipping on orders that hit a certain threshold, which is typically active during big holiday sales events. Right now, Anthropologie’s Big Summer Sales Event is live, with an extra 50% off sale products and free shipping on orders over $50.

Yes, Anthropologie is a great place to shop for furniture if your style is more eclectic. The retailer excels at designing furniture that’s distinctive and hard to find elsewhere, whether you’re shopping for unusual patterns, colors, or shapes. Plus, many furniture items are customizable and the return policy is impressive, which gives you a lot more flexibility when shopping. Likewise, if you’re looking for home items beyond furniture, Anthropologie offers tons of interesting decor, including vintage-inspired lighting, colorful dishware, luxe blackout curtains, whimsical kitchen storage, and actually pretty bath mats.