Forget Pottery Barn And West Elm: A Cheaper Place To Buy Furniture Is Expert-Approved

Are you ready to say goodbye to boring furniture, but find exclusive stores like Pottery Barn and West Elm out of your budget? Well, you're in luck, for there's a cheaper place where you can buy quality furniture, provided you're prepared to invest some time and effort. And if a good hunt gives you an adrenaline rush, that helps, too. The place in question? HomeGoods, according to Kim Gordon, the founder of Kim Gordon Designs.

Elaborating on her love for HomeGoods, which is operated by TJX, in her exclusive interview with Hunker, she says, "During COVID, we found ourselves desperately searching for items to finish our clients' homes! We ended up in our local HomeGoods, and that was the beginning of a MAJOR love affair." The reason homeowners and designers alike are drawn to a HomeGoods store is its large inventory that gets cycled out multiple times throughout the week. As a result, their collection is constantly changing, making for a unique shopping experience on every visit and across locations — a feature that Gordon uses to her advantage. "We go to the different HomeGoods stores near us to find specific items ... We were not motivated by pricing initially, but we were SHOCKED to find amazing prices. And the opportunity to PERUSE and be surprised by the vast array of items literally from all over the world was outstanding and exciting!" Since HomeGoods is an opportunistic buyer that grabs seasonally trendy cast-offs or excess production from different manufacturers at steep discounts, it passes them on to consumers to keep things affordable.

Although HomeGoods' furniture carries a cheap price tag, it doesn't automatically make it an amazing deal. You must still examine the pieces for quality, as you don't want a product that will show signs of heavy wear and tear six months down the line. "Purchasing furniture anywhere is an art in selective caution!" warns Kim Gordon during her exclusive interview with Hunker. And perhaps this rings truer for HomeGoods.

While other interior designers agree that there are rare times when you might spot unique or rare accent pieces at an excellent price, most advise against buying large furniture pieces at these stores. That's because their quality is usually mediocre, which only worsens as the piece collects bumps and knocks, the longer it remains on the shop floor. However, when it comes to smaller items, like side tables, vanity seats, or accent chairs, HomeGoods can be an excellent choice. To ensure you wind up with a high-quality product, be brave and examine it closely. "The first thing I do in our HomeGoods is lift the piece up," says Gordon. Then she puts it to multiple tests: "Is it heavy? Does it feel solid? Do the wheels and drawers work? Are there any scratches? Will it last?" If it's upholstered, you must check for the fabric's quality — a heavy, woven texture is better than a print. Similarly, pick wooden, mid-century pieces that look and wear better than metal fixtures.

While trying to save money when decorating your home, you don't have to keep your sights restricted to HomeGoods alone. In fact, other sister stores under the TJX flagship — think HomeSense, TJ Maxx, or Marshalls — may also offer good buys that read designer without the matching sticker price. But to score the best deals, hit the stores when they aren't too crowded. The best time to buy furniture is early in the day, say around 10 to 11 a.m., on workdays. You can up your game even further if you shop on the days they restock. You can find out the information about new stocks on their app or from the store's managers.

Even though HomeGoods offers competitive pricing year-round, it also marks down its products after a stipulated period. Marked with red price stickers, they can usually be found stashed at the back walls or around the checkout counters. If you're nifty with your hands, you can even pick furniture with a few nicks or paint scratches and demand a further discount against the damage, and rectify the defects later at home.

Finally, as she was concluding her exclusive conversation with Hunker, Kim Gordon offered up a crucial wisdom nugget: "Consider hiring a professional to help you organize and prioritize your project and create a worksheet with dimensions and shopping lists. The amount you'll pay will save you thousands of dollars and lots of time."