Living Room Transformation Part 2: Buying Furniture & What To Look For

Let me tell you, there’s nothing that makes you feel more like an adult like reno-ing and decorating your house. If you checked out Part 1 of our Living Room Transformation, you’ll know that we put in the extra leg work to prep ourselves for as much success as possible. And now that we’ve placed our order for our pieces, I feel like there are definitely some things to keep in mind when you’re making those big home decor purchases. 

Furniture can add up and be pretty pricey, so knowing what you’re in store for, picking the right pieces, and finding the right retailers to buy from is key to avoiding the headache that most definitely comes with having your own house. 

 

 

 

 

Choosing The Right Pieces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This might seem obvious, but there’s a total art to choosing the right pieces. Dave and I have watched our fair share of HGTV shows and done the legwork (and made the mistakes) to know that there’s definitely an art to interior design. I guess that’s why they call it interior design, isn’t it? I broke down a simple path to finding the right style, aesthetic, and pieces for your space here in the Part 1 of our Living Room Transformation. 

Noob tip? Make to measure, MULTIPLE times… it seems dumb, but trust me, it’ll save you tons of headache. Measure, measure, measure.

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online Ease

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For most of us millennials, if it doesn’t have an online presence… I mean, does it even exist? Most brands and even those “traditional” furniture companies have an online presence now, but I find that it’s best to find those that are pretty robust. Being able to access other customer reviews, make the final purchase when you’re ready, and not having to feel pressured by a sales associate in store is important for making the right choices. We love Structube for this exact reason. After checking out the pieces we liked, we promptly went online to check it all out. They also have a really thorough breakdown of dimensions, so y’know, you can triple-check your measurements. 

Can you tell that measuring is important?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Offline Assurance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As much as I love my online retailers, there’s something about trying something on in-store… especially when it comes to furniture. The colour could look different in different lights, it could be different than it appears on the flat image online, and best of all, you get to actually feel out the piece. We made sure to do this with our Kinsey couch that we’ve been obsessed with. Making sure that it was just as comfortable in person as it looked online was important… I mean, Friday-night Netflix binges are on the line here.

I love that as much as Structube is as equally online as they are offline. Their showrooms serve up major inspiration and you can go in to double-check your wishlist is exactly what you want.

    

 

 

 

 

 

Delivery, Customer Service, and Convenience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, when you’re shelling out those dollars, you also want to look for convenience. You don’t want to have to rent a truck just because the furniture company doesn’t deliver (trust me, this actually exists… I’m shocked). When we chose Structube to buy our living room furniture, we loved that they had a flat fee for home delivery ($90), no matter how many pieces you buy. The showroom associates as the stores were also SO helpful. They not only gave us design advice, but also helped us to put our order together to make sure we were making the most out of our purchases. It felt like having an interior designer… without the designer costs.

OUR EXPERIENCE

BUYING STRUCTUBE FURNITURE

Structube really blew us away with checking all the above boxes. We had purchased items here and there from Structube in the past, but never something of this size. Structube was the best option after combing lists of retailers because of their online-offline ease, their customer service, and their convenience. That, on top of the fact that their pieces and styles are 100% up our modern industrial aesthetic. 

We ended up finalizing the list of pieces we were coveting. If you saw our last post, you’ll know the list was pretty extensive haha Below are all the pieces we picked up for our new living room and I am tingling with excitement. 

1. Evo Coffee Table ($499)
2. Taj Nesting Table ($159)
3. Fiddle Leaf Plant ($149)
4. Kinsey Leather Sofa ($2299)
5. Newport Mirror ($159)
6. August Pillow ($15)
7. Berwick Bookcase ($219)
8. Juneau Pillow ($19)
9. Vista Wire Tray ($19)
10. Rouen Table Lamp ($39)
11. Kemp Armchair ($469)

We spent a grand total of $4045 for ALL of this (which was well below our budget)… Wahoo!

As we speak, our items are sitting pretty in their boxes in our living room. We’ll be unboxing them and setting them up… which means Part 3 and the final reveal of our living room will be coming to your eyes soon! The delivery was absolutely impeccable. We simply clicked a couple buttons, made our order, received a call to schedule a delivery time that was best for us (they were also SO amazing with being flexible after having to change it), and tada! It arrived. The delivery team was so careful, helpful, and so respectful of our home. 

The entire has been such a pleasure. I really tried to find something to critique, but couldn’t find anything! Don’t you love it when that happens? 

We hope this helped you if you’re redecorating or thinking of making a furniture investment (they are total investments, aren’t they?!). And here’s to the anticipation, the excitement, and the pure adulting that’s to come from our new living room! I’m doing everything I can to keep the reveal a secret (hence the sneak peaks above)… but I just can’t wait!

 

mel inspired

 

What do you look for when buying furniture? Have you ever tried Structube?