In today’s retail world, you’re never far from a bargain, but there’s often a downside to this. Things that are cheap often aren’t built to last, and you may find that you have to replace big items more quickly than you might like.
You might find your time and money is better spent in researching major home furniture purchases and increasing your budget to get items that you’ll get many years of use and enjoyment out of.
Dining chairs – comfort is as important as style
Many householders are guilty of thinking first about looks and second about practicality when it comes to choosing major items of furniture for their homes. One place this often happens is in the dining room. It’s logical – to an extent. When you invite people over, the dining room is the only room your guests will spend a significant amount of time in. So you want to create a great first impression. However, when buying a table and chairs, it’s not just the first impression that counts. You want your guests and your family) to be comfortable when they sit around your table; not just impressed by how it all looks.
If you’re after a great combination of style and comfort, then it’s best to go to a retailer such as Vivendo that does all the research on those fronts for you, sourcing the most well-made and designed furniture from a community of Italian furniture manufacturers. At Vivendo, you’ll find a huge range of beautifully crafted dining chairs that would grace any home – it’s just a matter of finding the style that you like the best.
Second sofa or first guest bed?
When you buy a sofa bed, it’s clear that you want to get a double use out of one piece of furniture. But before you make the purchase, think about how often you’ll be using the bed function versus the sofa function. If you’re planning on it being a guest bed on a rare occasion – a couple of times a year, say, – you’d choose a sofa bed with the main focus being its comfort as a sofa. However, if you have a regular visitor who stays overnight, then the bed function might be more important to you.
When looking at different sofa beds, don’t be embarrassed to ask to see the bed opened up, and have a lie-down on it, to see how it feels. Also make a note of how easily it converts – could you do it by yourself, or would it require a second pair of hands? If space is at a premium, look out for sofa beds that also offer some kind of storage – many have a drawer section where you could keep spare bedlinen and blankets, for example.
The coffee table – a place to set down a drink or to use as a footrest?
A coffee table may sound like a straightforward purchase, but there are so many different styles and shapes, not to mention the materials that they are made out of, so it can take quite a while to find the perfect coffee table for your living room.
As well as looking good, it also needs to be functional. Perhaps you want to store magazines and games underneath it – many have clever storage solutions included in the design. You may also like putting your feet up when you’re on the sofa – if so, the coffee table height needs to be checked out vis-a-vis the height of your sofa.
Consider the space in your living room. Do you have room for a big centrepiece coffee table, or would it be better to have a nest of coffee tables that you can put to one side when not in use. Regarding the material it’s made of, think about your household. Do you have young children who will smear handprints on a glass coffee table?
The best choice for a child’s first big bed
When your toddler first moves into a big bed, how many years do you want to get out of it? Granted, if you’ve got more than one child, you may be able to ‘recycle’ it. But, if you want to buy a bed for a longer time scale for just one child, think about getting a modular hi-sleeper that they can first have a tented section underneath to play and store their toys in, and then you add a desk as they start school and eventually need somewhere to do their homework. If you want a bed to see your child through to their teens, it’s probably best to ignore whims of buying racing car or princess beds!
Of course, these are just some of the home furniture decisions you’ll be making over the years, but it’s nearly always the case that you get what you pay for, and that the more research you do before you buy, the more likely you are to make the right choice.