5 Top (Online) Furniture Store Recommendations

You asked, so I wrote! If you follow me, you know I love to shop and today I am sharing my 5 favorite online places to source furniture! You must be asking yourself “how much furniture could one person possibly need?” Well, let me summarize the last few months of my life – I have renovated/flipped two homes, I took on a second office at my brokerage Royal LePage Regina and I just did a renovation on the upper storey of my home! To summarize, one gal needs a lot! Read below while I review hours of online searching (and a few bottles of wine) all with personal purchases and experiences from each site. Nothing in this post is sponsored just one interior obsessed gal trying to help another.

Wayfair – Compiled of many brands, Wayfair offers simple shopping. Browse by category or room. Search through the search bar or check their sales section… it doesn’t get much easier than this. Think it could be overwhelming? They’ve made it easy to keep your ideas and favorites organized with “boards” that will sort and store your inspiration. I’m sure you have all seen their commercials or heard someone talk about it! But what is it really like? This is actually the site I have the most experience with, my “go-to” if you will. My first purchase from this site was made a few years ago and although not a great story, in the end, it was a great experience. First order (ever) arrived damaged. Disappointed and unsure how the company would deal with it, I called in. From the way the conversation went in the first 5 minutes, I could tell I had nothing to worry about. They offered a full refund or a second ship of the same product… without having to return the first. They suggested we donate the first and use the second item that would arrive soon. We did just that and Wayfair made their mark in my mind. I since have placed multiple orders and found their customer service to be above the rest. Some items have come damaged but that’s to be expected every once in a while when you’re shipping items (sometimes) across multiple states and provinces. Each time, Wayfair has impressed me with their customer service and product quality. Aside from outstanding customer service is the selection. You can’t beat a space that literally offers everything. Normally if I go to another site, it is because I want to see if I can find a better price or different color of something Wayfair already offers.
Overstock.ca – (Make sure if you’re Canadian, you browse the Canadian site, they do have different inventory and not all ships across the border.) A site compiled of many brands and products, Overstock is similar in many ways to Wayfair. It offers the same boards and easy search categories. Unlike Wayfair, I have only made a few orders from this site. Unfortunately, my experience hasn’t quite been the same. I currently am dealing with a recently placed order (for the new office). For one item, only half showed up and of the half that arrived, the box was destroyed and the item was sticking out the side (clearly bent). Another item (completely separate) has now been delayed in delivery and a third is supposed to arrive later this week. I contacted customer service and was told it would take 1-2 business days just to get a call back to discuss where part 2 of item 1 might be. They said they will “note” damage of my item but cannot suggest a solution at this point. In the past, my orders have arrived on time and without issue, however, the current situation has me questioning their system… it should not take two days just to acknowledge part of my parcel is missing. (Keep you updated!)
UPDATE: The rest of the parcel arrived a week later and even more damaged than the first. A third package wasn’t far behind and, the same thing, damaged. After speaking with three different people the last lady finally felt bad for me and refunded my items. I was told they would come pick up one item because they didn’t think it was an “unsaleable” amount of damage but the other two were ready for the trash. I was to keep the item 10 business days so they could retrieve it and ship it back. Surprise? They never came. Although Overstock seems to offer the same sort of quality and selection as Wayfair, I believe it’s their shopping company that sets them apart. Conclusion, I will not be using Overstock going forward. It was a headache and almost a month from start to finish where at the end, I still wasn’t ahead. I had to re-source everything and wait again.
Hayneedle – I stumbled upon this site when looking for accent chairs. When you change your decor as much as I do, you look for affordable pieces to fill the home. For the most part, the saying “you get what you pay for” holds true but every once in a while you luck out! And although I’ve only placed one order through this site, I feel like it was a positive enough I can recommend to others. With all these sites, you have to do your research. Read the customer reviews, I swear, no one will be more honest than a p*ssed off customer! I also like seeing the product in a real home and if you look, customers can add them in reviews. No special lighting or fancy decor, just real people, real houses and real opinions. With my one and only order from here, we had shipping that to this day I don’t believe… 2 days and we had a full chair and large ottoman on our doorstep, in one piece! The boxes were in perfect shape and the items were assembled. Not only that, I managed to order during a site-wide sale and scored the chair for (what I thought was) a steal!
Joss & Main – This is a last resort, it also is a sister store to Wayfair. Joss & Main is American and from what I understand rarely has items that ship internationally at a reasonable price. In the past, I have ordered when I had my eye on something specific. Unfortunately (for the sake of the outrageous international shipping) this then means a drive to the US border is also required, which adds not only money for gas but also my time. And to me, my time is worth more. To my disappointment, I always seem to struggle with their delivery delays and that’s tough when not only is it delayed but you also have to plan an afternoon away to drive and pick up. I recently had an order with them rescheduled 5 times before I finally got upset and threatened to cancel a fairly large order. The reason they stay on my top 5 is because they often have prices that everything considered, make the order (almost) worth the hassle.
Ikea – Yes! Ikea. Unlike the sites above, Ikea only sells their products. In the years past, I always thought of Ikea as cheap and poor quality. I’m unsure which changed, their quality or my opinion but either way, I am now a fan. Offering a basic selection of colors, Ikea tends to be fairly customizable and easy to design a certain space. They offer most products in a variety of sizes and (bonus) now have shipping drop points in cities that don’t have a store-front! If you followed along, one of the items we chose to put in our own home was the Billy bookcase. With small modifications, we actually took this basic looking bookcase and made it look like a custom built in. (Hello, toe kick/trim, crown molding and beautiful gold handles.) Annoying part to Ikea products? The million pieces and hours you’ll spend cursing under your breath as you put them together!