A home has many different parts that make it functional, safe, and comfortable to live and work inside of. The roof should not leak, the walls need insulation to control the inner climate, windows and doors should be secure, and the heating and cooling system should be in good order. But a house is not really a home unless the interior decor, from wallpaper to carpeting to furniture, is all good quality and fits the homeowner’s tastes. Sometimes, furniture wears out, breaks, or goes out of fashion, and a homeowner can visit any furniture store to find something new. Rugs, table lamps, a loveseat, a mission dresser, and much more are out there for any budget, taste, or house size.
Working With Furniture
Furniture is more than just a chair or a bed that does not fall apart when sat upon. Any furniture store has a dazzling variety of pieces not just to show off their inventory, but because dressers, tables, shelving units, and more come in different sizes, prices, and function, not to mention style, and knowing what to find for a home is critical. Even color is something to think carefully about when designing a room, and in a 2017 Interior Design Trends survey, over a third of the respondents said that they would select a neutral color palette if they were to decorate their homes. Meanwhile, interior designers recommend updating a room’s decor once every five to 10 years, so color changes may be a part of that, especially if the family grows in size or if the furniture changes, too. Clashes with carpet, wall, and furniture style can be a real headache.
Find the Right Furniture
Visiting a furniture store can be overwhelming if one does not know what to look for, but taking inventory of one’s home and the vision for what it could look like is a great start. This may also apply to someone who buys a home and the previous owner left behind wallpaper, old carpets, or random pieces of furniture that the new owner does not like. A room may even change its entire purpose this way; if an adult child moves out, the older parents may convert the child’s bedroom into a study or art studio, which would necessitate buying new furniture such as a desk, lamps, bookcases, or whatever else is needed.
Other rooms may simply update their style. Walls can be repainted or carpets uprooted and replaced (this may involve a contractor), and a room’s decor can be reconsidered from scratch. A bedroom may take on a “mission” style of the colonial Midwest, where furniture is plain but practical, with straight lines and hard corners and edges, and simple brass handles and knobs break up the wooden surfaces. Mission style lamps ma y have stained glass shades and simple wooden or metal bases, and these lamps should be positioned so the bare bulbs do not blind someone looking at them. A room’s theme could also be based on a new color or around an existing, beloved piece of furniture such as a leather couch or an antique armoire. Going to a furniture store for new pieces will be much easier with a theme or style in mind, and old pieces may be replaced with new ones, or if a room is being repurposed, some items may be bought for the first time. Employees at a furniture store may also lend their expertise on decorating, anything from choosing a color to finding good drapes or choosing the right color of wood for furniture.
A furniture store is also where critical pieces such as a bed may be bought, and a new bed must have a durable frame as well as good mattresses. Beds come in different sizes, from twin size for a single occupant to queen or king for two occupants, and some beds may be longer than others, and have headboards or not, and metal or wooden frames. A bed will be bought for a room being converted into a guest bedroom, for example, or someone who recently married and moved may get a king size bed for two.