I recently had a few questions come up from readers asking for tips on buying furniture and decor online, without ever being able to test items ahead of time. Admittedly, it is a gamble, but I thought I’d share my tips for what I look for and how to make the best decisions when shopping for home items online!
This post is sponsored by Wayfair and contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Selling our home fully furnished and decorated, we had to replace a lot. We have some local home decor stores, but not a lot of big chains or shops we can pop into and actually test items. So I bought nearly everything for our new home online, with only a few exceptions. I’ve shared many of my purchases from Wayfair over the years (there’s been a lot)! But I’m not sure I’ve shared how I search their site (because they have so many products) and create a short list of items I’m interested in. Recently, they’ve added the “Wayfair Verified” section, which focuses on top-rated, expert-vetted products that are trusted for quality and performance.
Helpful Tips for Buying Furniture & Decor Online
Here are some other quick tips when shopping for furniture, rugs, decor, and lighting online, regardless of retailer!
- Read the reviews! While some sites I shop from don’t publish reviews on their site, Wayfair tends to have some of the most extensive review sections out there. I love that they let their customers publish photos with their review. In many situations, those photos have helped me decide one way or the other against a certain product based on what I see in those photos. Stock photos can sometimes be deceiving!
- Look for brands you already know and trust. Popular brands I’ve purchased on Wayfair include Visual Comfort, Annie Selke/Dash & Albert, Hooker Furniture, and more! But in many situations I can find the items at a better price on Wayfair than at other retailers.
- Order samples. Many products on Wayfair’s site offer free fabric samples, and I highly encourage ordering and testing them (I share some tips on testing fabric here). Another trick for ordering a rug “sample” is to order the smallest size (typically a 2×3) and use that to gauge if you love the colors, texture, etc. It’s much easier to return a small size than a large one, and if you love it, you can always use it as a coordinating door mat!
- Read the details. So many reviews I see with complaints online are about details that were specifically listed in the product descriptions. Read and then re-read the description. It’s also helpful to view products on multiple screens, since they don’t all display the same.
- Double-check the dimensions. I think this is a really big one when it comes to ordering online! You see something, love the overall vibe, and assume it’s the scale you envision in your head. I’ve found many times with more affordable furniture, it can arrive and be almost half the size of what you pictured! So try and find something in your home of similar size (or use it for comparison) to make sure it’s what you’re wanting!
- Know the return policies and windows. I see a lot of frustration around returns windows and costs. Just because a retailer accepts returns, doesn’t mean they are free. So, especially when you’re buying a larger item, make note if returns are even an option, what the return window is and find out who covers the cost. In some situations, it may very well not be worth the risk! I’m fortunate in our market with so many short-term rentals that if I absolutely hate something, I can usually list it on Facebook Marketplace and recoup much of the cost.
- Wayfair Verified Checkmark. Items with the purple checkmark on their site now indicate that they’ve gone through a 10-point inspection related to quality of materials, ease of assembly, functionality & features, high ratings with low returns, market-tested value, and more! You can see their verified top sellers here.
Wayfair Verified Purchases
Next I thought I’d share some recent items we’ve purchased and love that also happen to be Wayfair verified!
First up are these slipcovered swivel chairs I bought for the carriage house. Since we went with a striped banquette in the adjoining dining nook, I knew I wanted the living room area to be fairly neutral. So I bought this set of upholstered swivel chairs (and also got this coffee table and indoor/outdoor rug)! After the recent water leak and having the floors torn out, the chairs are in my office for now, and this is how they look straight out of the box without any steaming or anything. They come fully assembled and are a great size! Sometimes really affordable chairs tend to be small, but that is not the case with these. The fabric is very soft, is performance quality, and the slipcovers can be fully removed and washed. When I saw a friend share she has them (and she has young children), it sealed the deal! They are offered in six colors and you can also order free fabric samples to test! I’m excited to put the room together once the floors are wrapped up!
SOURCES: Slipcovered Swivel Chairs | Honeycomb Wool Rug
This past weekend, we assembled our first actual bed for the house! All the others are backordered, but the cat room officially has a bed which is the typical hierarchy around here 😉 I love a wingback bed, but didn’t want to spend what I did on our custom fabric version, so I went with this viral Tilly bed in the Talc fabric (it has over 10k reviews!). This is another one you can order free fabric samples for, and I highly encourage that! I love that this is still very light and neutral, but the fabric has enough striation and tones that it will help hide any marks. The bed did require assembly, and I’d recommend having two people for the job, but it was fairly straightforward and I love how it elevates this room! Now we just need the box spring we ordered to arrive (hence the gap). I went with a 9″ box spring with our 12″ mattress, after reading a lot of reviews that the gap is hidden when the combo of the two is around 21”’!
SOURCE: Upholstered Wingback Bed
The vanity we used in our pool bathroom is also Wayfair verified! It comes in a bunch of other sizes on their site, but this 24″ little guy was perfect for this space that we can only access from outside. The striped shower wall tile, faucet, and sconce are also all available at Wayfair. The mirror is one I’ve had for ages, and finally put it to use. They hung it too low, but I also think it might be too small for the space so may go back to the drawing board on that one. We used this mirror (also Wayfair verified) in our Omaha entryway, and I love that you can get pretty specific with the side and finish you need! They just installed the shower door in here on Thursday and it got cleaned Friday so it has very much been a work in progress and needs some zhushing now!
SOURCES: Vanity | Shower Wall Tile (Azul & Bianco) | Sconce | Faucet
I loved these nightstands I ordered for our guest bedroom so much, I ordered them again in the smooth white version for the carriage house bedroom. They come fully assembled and you simply have to add the cabinet hardware. Once again, the carriage house bedroom space will be 100% ready to go once the floors get wrapped up! You’ll also see this rug make an appearance again, and I’ll be using these designer look for less hanging lamps to free up nightstand space for guests!
GUEST BEDROOM SOURCES: Nightstand (Antique Taupe) | Striped Rug
Other Recent Online Purchase Favorites
And while not Wayfair verified, here are a few other recent finds we’re really loving! Consider them “Sarah verified”! The first is our coffee table, which we are so happy with! We love the tone of the wood and it’s a nice, large size without totally taking over our living room. I’ll sound like a broken record on Annie Selke rugs, but I’m always so pleased with the quality. This woven wool & sisal rug is no exception (we also have it in our bedroom)!
SOURCES: Coffee Table | Woven Wool & Sisal Rug | Ralph Lauren Lamp
I recently added these umbrellas to our pool deck and they helped bring all the resort vibes to the space! I like that the poles are metal, painted to look like wood, so they’re more durable and won’t fade or need to be restained like wood would.
These woven counter stools were the perfect height for our carriage house kitchen island. I knew I wanted backs on whatever stools I chose, but I didn’t want them sticking up too high and taking up a lot of visual space in this smaller room.
CARRIAGE HOUSE KITCHEN SOURCES: Woven Counter Stools | Faucet
I hope you found these tips helpful. I can’t wait to share more of our new spaces with you soon!
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