Feather: Renting (Really Nice!) Modern Furniture Online Just Got Easier

Buying furniture can be one of the most stressful, expensive, spreadsheet-ridden activities an adult can undertake. Sure, it’s an amazing luxury to be able to buy furniture (and have somewhere to put it), but it can still be a LOT of work, not to mention commitment. Now, thanks to one company, you can rent stylish pieces from companies like West Elm: all the grownup satisfaction, with a lot less commitment. Keep reading for three reasons renting furniture might work for you, as well as three sample rooms to give you an idea of style options and total costs.

Feather offers approximately six options at a range of prices and aesthetics for each major furniture category: sofas, dining tables, dining chairs, sideboards, dressers, bookcases, and so on. Overall, dealing with Feather seems pretty straightforward. They have their standard contracts, policies, and delivery times, but seem open to communication and compromise if you tell them exactly what you need. For most situations, here’s what you need to know:

Minimum Rental Time: 3 months
Delivery Cost: $99 +$49/weekend delivery
Pickup Cost: $99+ depending on number of pieces
Delivery Time: 3+ days (quicker is sometimes available for an additional charge)
Delivery Areas: New York City, parts of New Jersey, and San Francisco Bay Area
Delivery Service: White glove, including assembly whenever necessary

It might not have occurred to you to try renting furniture, especially if you associate the process with shady rent-to-own companies. This is a different setup, although only you will be able to determine if the financials work out better for you than any of the other options available. Here are three reasons you might love renting…

Feather is not a rent-to-own company, but it does give you an excellent opportunity to try out different styles and sizes of furniture before committing all of your money forever. For example, we accidentally had two sofas in our living room for a while (long story) and it revealed to us that we really, really love having two sofas in our living room! We’d planned on having one plus two reading chairs, but now we know to start saving up for another sofa. You’ll also get a chance to see how you feel about living with a bright, bold piece, such as the royal blue velvet Aline sofa.

I’m sure there are plenty of you that, for one reason or another—work, family, health—move places knowing it will only be temporary. If you’re moving to San Francisco for a one-year contract and don’t want to research and buy a whole apartment’s full of furniture that you’ll just have to sell or move at the end of the year, renting might be the perfect solution. Our sample living room below comes to $2,604, which is what you’d pay for a sofa alone at West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and other similar retailers. If you’re only going to be living somewhere for a few months or even years, renting provides a comfortable, cozy middle ground between investing way too much and basically squatting.

During most of the year, there are three of us living here, and we have the perfect amount of furniture for the three of us to be comfortable, with a little extra seating for guests. However! When the holidays roll around, we often host 6 additional adults and 2 additional children—minimum—and suddenly our couch and reading chair and four dining tables are woefully insufficient. We could potentially buy the cheapest IKEA pieces possible and then find spaces to stash them the rest of the year, but we could also rent extra dining chairs for as little as $8/month and a sofa for $24+/month. If you like to entertain in style and don’t have extra storage space, renting holiday furniture for November, December and January might be the most elegant solution for you.

To give you an idea of what all Feather has to offer and how much you’d need to spend to furnish your home, I’ve put together a living room, dining room, and bedroom using the current offerings. (These don’t include items such as decorative accessories, but you could potentially acquire many of those at thrift stores.) I’ve also found similar pieces at IKEA—probably the most affordable furnishing option—and West Elm for an overall price comparison.

Carmine Arm Chair: $64/month
Lazlo End Table: $8/month
Maya Table Lamp: $13/month
Wilmington Chaise Sectional: $89/month
Wagner Coffee Table: $18/month
Acorn Leaning Bookcase: $25/month
Total: $217/month

Comparable Pieces from IKEA
VEDBO Armchair: $299
LOVBACKEN Side Table: $59.99
RANARP Table Lamp: $27.99
NORSBORG Sectional: $899
VEJMON Coffee Table: $129
Billy Bookcase: $169
Total: $1,583.98

Layla Dining Table: $22/month
Adelphi Chair: 4 x $11/month = $44/month
Burnley Cabinet: $32/month
Preston Floor Lamp: $11/month
Seafarer Table Lamp: $10/month
Total: $119/month

Comparable Pieces from IKEA
STORNAS Table: $399
IDOLF Chair: 4 x $59 = $236
STOCKHOLM Cabinet: $329
KLABB Floor Lamp: $99.99
HANSAKOGG Table Lamp: $54.99
Total: $1,118.98

Durham Upholstered Bed: $19/month
Dreyfuss Dresser: $51/month
Francesca Wall Mirror: $18/month
Farmhouse Bedside Table: $18/month
Dusk Table Lamp: $19/month
Total: $125/month

Similar Pieces from West Elm
Grid-Tufted Bed: $799
Modernist Dresser: $1,299
Industrial Wall Mirror: $199
Modernist Nightstand: $399
Etched Table Lamp: $99
Total: $2,795

Do you think you’d ever rent furniture? Have you? Tell us all about it!