Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Buying furniture online ~ it's not as bad as I thought it would be

I'd been wanting to make some changes to my living room for a long time. 

There's enough brown in the desert without having it indoors as well. After many months of trying to decide how to de-brown the furnishings, I concluded I needed to dump one of the loveseats and replace it with two matching light-colored upholstered chairs. 

I had seen literally hundreds of chairs I liked online but couldn't imagine buying any of them without seeing, touching, and – 
most importantly – sitting in them first. So I spent a day in Albuquerque driving to too many furniture stores, and the selection 
was dismal. I found nothing suitable. Against my better judgment, I ordered a pair online and hoped for the best. 

As expected, getting them delivered to the middle of nowhere was a fiasco, but they eventually turned up at the local hardware store. 
I picked them up Saturday and then the real fun began: getting the loveseat out of the living room.

Where's Ethel when I need her?



The loveseat is destined for the goodwill shop on my next trip to town; 
meanwhile, if Smooch misbehaves, I can send her to the garage for a comfy timeout.



Some assembly of the chairs was required.



I was pleasantly surprised by the straightforward instructions and existence of all parts.



The zippered flap which gave access to the assembly area was a little annoying, 
but a few strips of duct tape took care of that temporary problem.



Overall, the quality of the chairs is much better than I expected. Granted, we're not talking Thomasville or Ethan Allen, but these seem to be a good value for the price. I purchased them from Wayfair (and they're not paying me to say this). I chose Wayfair because their selection is enormous, their website is easy to navigate and provides all sorts of filters to help narrow down choices, and unlike some of the other popular furniture sites, e.g. Joss & Main, customer reviews are available. I filtered my search by customer rating and read every stinkin' review before hitting the buy button, so I was reasonably sure of what I would be getting.



And what I got were two very comfortable, attractive, sturdy chairs...
which Smooch will ultimately trash if I don't keep a cover on the one she will be allowed to use.



So far, she's not crazy about her new chair and is complaining about 
the lack of arms against which to curl up. She'll get over it.



Now that I've learned that buying furniture online isn't as bad as I thought it would be, I'm ready for more. 
I've been looking for a smaller coffee table for over three years.
I wonder if Wayfair has a filter for "doesn't attract dust"?



11 comments:

  1. Good morning! The chairs look great, adds a pop to your room. I'm in love with the photo of the loveseat outside the gate, it's beautiful.

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  2. Looks great! It's always fun seeing the views indoors !

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  3. Excellent!
    After all sorts of research I bought an Ikea sofa while being told that it wouldn't last one third as long as an expensive one. That was my point; it's for me and the dogs and if it wears out and is scratched to hell by the cats in a few of years, I'll get another one just like it and still be ahead of the $ game. It's really comfortable too and I had a great time assembling it.
    Looking forward to your coffee table!

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  4. I'm not sure I like it, could you bring the love seat back in so I can compare? Or, I think you need another blanket for the other chair, I really like that look.

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  5. I really like the chairs! Their weight, print, and style go well with the other leather couch and the mission style rocker. I also like them unbalanced with the blanket. Great job! One might look in a second hand store or a vintage stores for a smaller coffee table or one could temporarily replace the glass with a smaller wooden top until you find what you want. xoxo

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  6. Great job on the chairs. I think you picked perfectly. It's always a little iffy thinking about buying things online without a test drive, so to speak. Hope your quest for a coffee table is as successful.

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  7. I like them but they do seem a bit too light for your dusty world. A throw blanket though will help.
    Have you done the Johnny test yet ?

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  8. I love Wayfair! (And they are not paying me to say that either) I bought 2 cribs for my grandbabies this past December, they replaced one piece because of a scratch during shipping, no questions, no problems. They are a great company to work with and you are right, they have tons of items for sale! Like the chairs, hope you get a chance to sit in them too! Loving your blog. =)

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  9. Great chairs, good sitting posture with straight back. In France we have many nice chairs and armchairs covers, all styles with straps and elastics. when they dirty, poof in the washing machine, when you wanna a change, poof, buy another one, they cheap

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  10. Amazeballs! When I looked at the photo with your brown couch just sitting out on the pavers...I thought, gosh she can really take a good photo. The lighting is amazing. Then I had to laugh wondering how the hell you moved that monster by yourself.

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  11. An American in Tokyo5/28/14, 6:42 PM

    Nice! I like your new chairs!
    I've had a couple of hits and misses over the years by buying things over the internet, but I agree with you, an easily navigated site with filters and reviews are a good thing. Thanks for motivating me to revamp my apartment as well!

    Poor Smoochie, she misses her comfy spot!

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