How To Choose The Right Furniture - Get It Right And Stop Wasting Money
Many will argue with me, but I believe furniture is the key ingredient to any home. Homeowners can spend huge budgets on renovations with the most stunning architectural plans, but if they fall short on the furniture, then all the hard work can be undone very quickly.
Furniture helps to bring a space to life and helps create an inviting room that you want to spend time in. However, when it comes to actually shopping for furniture, many people can find themselves overwhelmed. After all, it’s not just a question of choosing a piece that you like in the shop. The furniture you select should be functional, long-lasting, and work well with the rest of your design.
If you’re wondering how to pick the right furniture for your space, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Functionality
Whilst we all want our homes to be beautiful, we must first ensure they are functional. Each person or family use their home in a different way. This is why it is essential to keep your own unique needs in mind when choosing furniture pieces. Think about how you use your space, do you love to entertain large groups, host movie nights or play family board games every Sunday? Think about whatever it is that you love doing in your home, and make sure your furniture aligns with this.
Consider the Users
Once you understand what the functionality of each space should be, you can narrow down to what pieces you will need.
Every home has different needs and priorities in their homes. It can be tempting to follow pinterest or instagram images and replicate the designer, but if that is not appropriate for how you use your home then it is a wasted purchase. If you have 5 kids and a truck load of pets, then a white-on-white interior, whilst it looks stunning on instragram, is just not going to work for you.
Think about who will be using this space and what will make it comfortable for them. If you have older relatives visit every weekend, is there a comfortable place for them to sit? If you have big outdoor barbecues through summer, do you have enough outdoor seating to allow for this.
By working through these guidelines you can quickly narrow down your furniture choices to make sure the pieces work best for your home and lifestyle.
Make Sure It Fits Your Plan
Each furniture piece that you buy must fit two parameters– your budget and your space.
Aside from the design concept guiding your choices, you will also need to keep the dimensions of your space in mind. While a piece may work brilliantly well with your concept, it may be too large to work in the room and may throw the balance.
Another issue is actually getting them into your home. It is always imperative to look at at the access to the room, not just the dimensions once it is in there. That means reviewing doorways access, stairs, tight turns etc.
Lastly, you always need to keep your budget in mind. Going over-budget with one piece often means that you have less to spend on other items and will have to alter your plans. In order to avoid this it is always best to stay on-budget as far as possible. You should also have a list of priorities; this will determine what you would be comfortable going over budget on if necessary. If possible, build a little wriggle room into your accounts that you can use if you fall in love with a piece that you might not otherwise be able to fit in your budget.
Happy furniture shopping!
