Over the last few years Furniture has been one of the fastest growing e-commerce categories. It is not surprising when you consider that the larger furniture items need to be ordered and delivered even if you go to a traditional store. This furniture buying guide will offer guidance and is full of useful tips to help you buy online.

Index
Introduction to Buying Furniture Online
How to Find the Furniture You Are Looking For Online
Furniture Stock Availability
Retailer Returns Policies on Furniture
Furniture Delivery Costs
Beds and Mattresses
Sofas
Armchairs
Tables
Chairs
Storage Furniture
Office Furniture
Other Furniture
Furniture Brands
Top Furniture Searches
Useful Websites

Introduction to Buying Furniture Online
Every type of furniture is now available to purchase online. Larger items like sofas, tables, cupboards and beds are now ordered in great volume as well as the smaller necessities such as storage furniture, coffee tables or office chairs. Comparing prices on furniture is one advantage of shopping online to find cheap deals but more importantly is the speed at which you can find items you want. Online shopping can be particularly useful for more difficult items to find like antique furniture or custom built storage units. It is the choice and ease of ordering that has propelled the growth of shopping for furniture online. There are even more things to consider when buying furniture online when compared to buying consumer electronics or media and this furniture buying guide will give you a few useful tips.

Top

How to Find the Furniture You Are Looking For Online
Searching for furniture on a search engine results in potentially millions of listings to sort through, even when you get a little more specific and search for something like a leather sofa. A shopping search engine like Cubalaya helps as it returns images and details of specific leather sofa products from various retailers, although you could still get 1000’s of deals back. The key to good furniture shopping online is using very accurate and often more detailed searches. For example, you may know that you are looking for a dark brown 3-seater leather sofa? A shopping search engine will then allow you to refine by brand, style or price so you are very quickly looking at relevant deals.

Top

Furniture Stock Availability
This is always a key issue when ordering goods online but with furniture it is an area you will soon find yourself focusing on. Most furniture today is made and sourced from overseas. The stock is often large in size so retailers will hold limited availability. It is not unusual to order a sofa and then find out it mat take 4 – 6 weeks to deliver. Also if you buying furniture with urgency, maybe because you just moved house, you will want to ensure delivery is prompt. Many specialist online retailers now emphasize products where they can deliver rapidly and this is also true of furniture. Furniture has become a fashionable commodity so once a product is out of stock it is usually unlikely to become in stock again. Finally you may have spent time carefully selecting a complete look for a room, ordering many different types of furniture, only to find the final piece you need is out of stock, so check this carefully for everything before making any orders.

Top

Retailer Returns Policy
Never has a returns policy been more important than for clothing. Online retailers have moved on a lot in recent years and they have begun to understand the size of the opportunity if they put the right mechanisms in place to allow customers to order with confidence. A lot of furniture can be chosen purely online where you have high quality images, zoom functionality and detailed product specifications but there are some elements that you will always need to try to be sure you have the right product. Also due to the size and nature of furniture it is always possible something can get damaged in transit so check carefully upon delivery. Good retailers have developed a very good returns policy to manage these things and grow their business. Check the small print carefully; do you need to keep all original packaging and labels intact? Is there a free returns service or do you pay a fee? This has become an essential part of buying furniture online.

Top

Furniture Delivery Costs
There is plenty of cheap furniture available online. A bargain leather sofa may not be such a bargain once you have added in the cost of delivery. Items like beds, tables and chairs are all large often heavy items that will often come at a cost for delivery. As always look out for retailers who offer free shipping but the only way to do a true price comparison is to compare total cost versus total cost.

Top

Beds and Mattresses
The first decision to make is what size bed do you want and need. This is obviously important in relation to the space you will need but it is advisable to always buy the largest size bed you can fit into the space. It is generally accepted that the more space you have, especially if you sleep with a partner, the more comfortable you will be.
Bed Sizes

Bed Name	Small Single / Child	Standard Single	Small Double	Standard Double	Queensize	Super Kingsize
Measurements	30" x 75"	36" x 75"	48" x 75"	54" x 75"	60" x 80"	76" x 80"

Your next key consideration will be the bed style. For example, if you are buying a child’s bed you may want to go for a themed type, although they quickly grow out of the theme you decide upon. You will also need to decide if you want a divan style bed or standard bedstead structure. The divan style bed is a covered frame, sometimes with drawer compartments underneath for storage. The main advantage of this type of bed is that they are plain without the strong design features of other beds and are very compact- often taking up less room. They are also cheaper usually than standard bed frames as they constitute a simple wooden frame covered in cloth, but are very strong.
Of the standard bed frames there is a huge variety to choose from. All different types and quality of wooden beds are available as well as an increasingly wide range of metal beds. Next there is the general style to consider, such as modern, contemporary, antique, rustic, minimalist, Victorian, poster beds, and so on. There is also a wide range of more specialist beds to choose that may be more relevant for your needs. For example, bunk beds can be ideal if you have several children but limited space. Other specialist types include wall beds that can be stored away into the wall to give you extra space, ideal for studio or small flats, adjustable beds for greater flexibility, guest beds where one fold away bed is stored under the main bed and even ottoman beds.

The final decision is possibly one of the most important when buying a bed as it can seriously impact on your sleep and health; choosing the correct mattress. A modern mattress is a new type of foam mattress often called ‘memory foam’ which is made from visco elastic. It is called this as it is specially developed to be more comfortable to sleep on by giving under body weight and not trying to resist too much to the weight. It also reacts to heat giving a softer feel as it warms up. However once you get out of bed it retains its natural shape.
These mattresses are now very common, but remember that if you buy a cheap mattress there is probably a very good reason why you got that bargain. The same rules apply to most mattresses, that the deeper the density the more comfort and support you will get.
The more traditional type of mattress is known as a pocket-sprung mattress. These will often have their own dynamic name and system developed by the manufacturers each claiming to give better support and comfort.
Finally, it is worth noting that you can also get a zip mattress, which is really two separate mattresses that can be joined together so that each individual gets the mattress of their choice. It is questionable how necessary this is now with modern mattresses providing much better support than in the past.

Top

Sofas
A good starting point when buying a sofa online is the size. There are two key elements to the sizing question; firstly how many people do you want it to seat and secondly actual dimensions for the space it is going into. Most sofas are a two or three seat variety but there are also larger versions and corner sofas are also very popular where more space is available. Spend some time thinking about the room layout and how best to utilise this for example could two 2-seater sofas be more effective than a large corner sofa depending on your room specifications and layout. Also by having two separate sofas you can also mix and match different materials and patterns that may be a more exciting look.

When considering the actual dimensions bear in mind the styling and design of the sofa can have an impact. For example a sofa with a high back may be inappropriate near a window ledge or a sofa with extra wide arms might not fit a tight space. Also consider how you are going to get the sofa through the door or window, up the stairs or around a very tight corner? Finally you should consider the depth of the actual seating part of the sofa as this is something that is particularly important depending on a person’s height in relation to comfortable seating position.

Once you have decided upon the sofa you can choose the material. Fabric sofas come in a huge variety of textures, patterns and colours and are usually cheaper than leather. Leather on the other hand is available in an increasing number of colours and is great for wiping down to keep clean.But remember that leather can get very hot if in direct sunlight, so make sure that it won't be sitting in the sunlight all day.

Top

Armchairs
In many cases these will be purchased as part of a set with your sofa. Armchairs can be purchased separately from many online retailers and this can be useful if you are buying for a specific reason such as a smaller room or replacing worn armchairs on an existing set. Leather armchairs have become increasingly popular like leather sofas.

Top

Tables
Once you have decided where the table is going and what the table will be used for will quickly help you narrow down what you are looking for. A pine dining table with room for 6 chairs will deliver a more fruitful search than trawling through thousands of dining tables. This is another product that can be very bulky and most will come with the legs detached. Larger extendable dining tables may even come in separate segments so if you are concerned about putting this together yourself it is worth checking with the online retailer. Rather than looking for a cheap coffee table think about the style of coffee table and add that to your search criteria, for example ‘contemporary metal coffee table’ to deliver more specific results.

Top

Chairs
With the increase in home computers and the time people spend on computers at home it has become very important to select a good quality office chair to use at home as well as the office. Not only will it provide comfort but it is now recognised that it is an important health aspect in particular in relation to repetitive strain injury (RSI) and back problems.

Ergonomic chairs are designed and built with the human form and support in mind. They will provide the opportunity to adjust the height of the chair, the seating position and armrests to ensure maximum support and comfort. They will usually have excellent support for the lower back, which is a problematic area.

There is an enormous range of chairs to choose from. Executive leather chairs for the office boss or lower cost plastic chairs if your budget is a little tighter. Executive chairs can also be purchased in fabric, which is usually cheaper, but remember that these wear out more quickly than leather. Be mindful that some of the executive style chairs are considerably larger than a standard office chair so one must first consider the space available. Also consider the size and style of desk you have, as the chair has to match it and fit comfortably in its space. Many of these chairs come pre-assembled and due to the complexity can be a little more complicated to put together.

For regular household chairs, you might want to consider folding or stacking chairs. These can be perfect for extra seating when you have visitors or for chairs in the children’s bedrooms that are only required temporarily. But cheaper chairs and furniture usually suit children's bedrooms better, because there will be less heartache if they are damaged or stained.

Check that you are looking at the genuine article if you are buying antique chairs, as this is harder to tell online. You can contact the online retailer to discuss and ask further questions as well as arrange a visit to view the chairs.

Top

Storage Furniture
The choice available online is enormous. Everything from traditional wood cupboards to modern storage boxes can be sourced and ordered online to help keep the home nice and tidy. The usual rules apply and you should always check on stock availability and estimated delivery time when ordering. Wooden furniture especially larger more intricate items like a chest of drawers or a large cupboard may need to be made to order and if coming from overseas can take several weeks. Also try to get all the measurements, it would be very disappointing to order a large storage unit only to find the numerous drawers are far too small for the intended items.

Top

Office Furniture
Office furniture is available from numerous specialist retailers. Filing cabinets of every type and size can be ordered, so pay attention to the drawer-width to make sure it will match the size of your files. Discounts can sometimes be acquired if buying volume or by becoming a member of a retail outlet. There is also a lot of good-quality used office furniture available, so this might be a good way to find a bargain.

When ordering a desk it is important to consider the actual work space required. If you intend to place a computer, printer, desk lamp and other various items on your desk think about the depth and width that will be realistically required as well as the available space in the room. It is very easy to overlook the size needed for these items, and end up with no desk-space to work on.

Top