Use these furniture shopping tips to get the best value for your dollar

Learn to recognize value and quality when you see it

These furniture shopping tips will help you to choose the best furniture you can afford.

By using comparison shopping to foster your creativity and amaze your family and friends with the scope of your creative ideas.

Once you have answered the questions on the workbook page connected to the room you are thinking of decorating in your home, you'll find it is inspirational(and great fun too) to take a day, or an afternoon if that's what you can fit in, for yourself and do what I like to call "Comparison Shopping."

Plan a day when you won't have any other commitments, invite a friend if you wish and make lunch part of your day. The purpose here is to take time to immerse yourself into the world of home decorating. It will be a day to set yourself free from previous prejudices and limitations.

This is going to be a day when you let yourself be a child again and enjoy all that could be. You will learn some furniture shopping tips that will help you recognize the difference between poor and high quality furniture. You are going to have a price comparison shopping expedition that rivals your wildest dreams.

Pack your tool kit and with plan in hand set out to explore the world of home decorating with a comparison shopping experience.

The number one furniture shopping tip today is that you are not going to spend any money. You have in your imagination a platinum credit card with no limit. You can buy anything you want with no worries and you never have to pay for it.

That being said, do not limit yourself to places you feel you can afford. Remember that this is a comparison shopping experience. Go to the biggest, best, poshest shops in town. Remember that anyone in the world can walk in to any store in the world and window shop.

A great furniture shopping tip to remember: If you feel uncomfortable, just tell them you're a tourist and are just browsing. Ask for their business card in case you find something you may want to re-visit later.

Ask if they'd mind if you took some pictures to get your spouse's opinion. I have never yet had anyone refuse this request. Be sure and take notes so that when you get your pictures printed you can write all the shopping information on the back. Note the store location, price, and any other comparison shopping ideas you may want to refer to later.

Start with some furniture shopping. Look around and get a feel for different styles. Take notes of what appeals to you. Take pictures of arrangements you like. Note how accessories are used and placed. It doesn't matter at this point if you are totally enthralled by a country bedroom in this corner, but love the traditional one on the next floor.

For now, just totally enjoy the comparison shopping experience. Dream, fantasize, and let your imagination run free. There'll be time later to rein in these dreams and get a look you love on your budget, but on this day, we are exploring new territory and searching for gold.

Read the list of furniture shopping tips below to become an informed shopper:

Become familiar with and learn to recognize quality

When you learn how to recognize quality furniture, you will be saving yourself a lot of money and heartache. Quality does not always mean more expensive. You can find a great piece of furniture at an auction or yard sale just as well as you can find at an expensive furniture store. Anyone who watches "Antique Roadshow" as seen that.

From these furniture shopping tips you will be able to recognize value for your dollar investment. We can't always afford the best, but buy the best you can afford. A quality made second hand dining room set will far outlast a cheap new set from a discount furniture outlet.

Value has nothing to do with price.

Ask yourself the questions below to find out the value of an item to you

• How many years will I have this?
• How much will I use it?
• What will the upkeep cost?
• What is the end cost per year?
• How much do I want this?
• How much do I need this?
• Is it worth the price to me?

By the time you have gone through this list in your mind, you should have an idea about the value of the item. Now you just have to decide if you are willing to pay the price.

Furniture Shopping Tips: How to shop for wood furniture:

Note the construction of the dining room tables. Don't be afraid to look under them and see how they are constructed and what type of bracing is used. Move the table.

• Is it sturdy?
• Will it move as people sit down at it or put an item on it?
• Note the weight and sturdiness of coffee and end tables.

Check out bureaus and cabinets. Open drawers and doors to see how they are assembled.

• Are they dovetailed, or are the sides merely stapled together?
• Open and close draws in cabinets to see how smoothly they operate. Note if there is a center slide in the draw to keep it straight when it's opened and closed.
• Are the doors hung correctly. Do they open smoothly, or are they crooked and hard to keep closed?
• Are the edges sanded to a smooth finish or would you get splinters from them if you weren't careful?

How about the hardware?

• Are the handles and knobs securely attached?
• Will you have to replace them in a short time because they are of inferior quality?

Be sure to check out the beds

• If the bed squeaks, not a good thing!
• Does it move when you move? If so, move on.
• Check the bracing underneath the bed. Is it sturdy or merely stapled?

Statistics show we spend more time sleeping in bed than doing any other activity. Make sure you can enjoy a good nights sleep so that you can enjoy the remainder of your day.

Furniture Shopping Tips: How to shop for upholstered furniture:

Feel its weight and strength. Run your hands over the fabric.

• Is this a feel you could live with?
• Would it be warm in winter, cool in summer?
• Is it easy to clean and maintain?
• Does it have Scotchguard?
• Is the fabric pulled tautly so that there won't be any wrinkles within a few months?
• Sit in it and feel it envelop your body. Is it comfortable?
• Is the seat the correct width for your legs, or do you feel you are back in grade school swinging your legs in the high chair in the principal's office?
• Squeeze the arm. Can you feel the wood frame through the fabric? If so, move on.

More Furniture Shopping Tips - Enjoy feeding all of your senses through this comparison shopping experience.

• Feel the finish of the wood. Is it smooth and sensuous to the touch. Wood must be felt to be enjoyed, and if the finish isn't right, move on to another piece.
• Smell the leather, the wood finishes, the flower arrangements and candles that may be scattered around the store.
• Feel the fabrics and run your hand over the wood finishes. Feel the smoothness of bronze sculptures, and the coolness of marble.
• Notice the difference underfoot as you move from tile, wood, and carpeted areas. Note any preferences you may find there.
• Fill your sight with colorful artwork, artistic mirrors, and the myriad accessories scattered around. Again, be sure to make note and take pictures of what moves you and makes you feel good.

When following these furniture shopping tips, let your imagination roam, and your creativity soar. It's your fantasy after all. You can buy anything you really want during this furniture shopping spree. What do you really like? How would you decorate your home if you had unlimited income?

For more furniture shopping tips, don't limit your comparison shopping to furniture stores.

• Think Wallpaper and Paint Stores
• Think Fabric Stores and Quilt Shops
• Think Gift Shops and Florists

Items in these stores will compliment your furniture shopping experience. Shopping and comparing prices and accessories in these stores will help expand your vision of the type of furniture you are looking for.

Furniture Shopping Tips for Paint Stores

The advances in tools for faux painting are amazing. If you haven't visited these stores for a few years, you are in for an inspirational treat. Be sure to pick up plenty of paint chips while you're there. The range in prices of paint is amazing, so be sure and make note of this for your budget purposes.

While you are there, pick up brochures that will help you choose colors for your decorating style.

Also be sure to note the location of the store where you picked up the paint samples. Nothing is more frustrating than to have the perfect color in hand and not remember where it came from!

Furniture Shopping Tips for Fabric Stores

Fabric stores are great places to check out color schemes. This is a great place to shop for a variety of upholstery fabrics. The store clerks are knowledgeable and will be able to guide you to fabrics that are suitable to your decorating style and color preferences.

When you find a fabric you may want to use as a guide for your color scheme, buy a quarter yard or better yet, a fat quarter (the salesperson will know what you mean) to use as a guide for choosing the colors for your decorating color scheme. Check out how to use fabric when developing a color scheme

Furniture Shopping Tips for Gift Shops

Gift shops and florists are wonderful places to check out accessories when comparison shopping. You will find a large assortment of vases and containers in every size, color and price range.

More Furniture Shopping Tips - A Word of Caution

If this is the first time you have attempted comparison shopping for furniture, you may feel overwhelmed by the entire experience.

Perhaps you will walk in and not even know where to start. You may feel discouraged at the many displays and choices available.

You may get what I call the "Magpie Syndrome." This happens when the next shiny object just at the edge of your line of vision catches your eye. You're looking at a sofa ahd notice this really nice coffee table. As you walk over to look at it, you're already thinking, "Look at this darling lamp, and by the way it would look great under that mirror over there."

Before you know it, you have traversed the entire floor and are heading upstairs without do any price comparison shopping, taking any notes or putting together any ideas for your room.

If you find the above descriptions fit your experience, try these furniture shopping tips listed below:

• If you find yourself roaming around aimlessly, bring yourself back to your mission. You are here to get ideas, compare prices and products, and take lots of notes and pictures to help you plan your decorating scheme.
• Limit yourself to comparison shopping only for the room you are working on. If you are decorating the living room, stay out of the bedroom areas at this time. Concentrate only on your current project.
• Wallpaper and paint stores can really consume a lot of your time and energy. They can also give you major headaches. I personally try to stay out of them until I have a fairly clear idea of what I want. Try to have your fabric sample with your color scheme in hand, and you will spend a lot less time agonizing about just the right shade of color you want.
• When trying to decide on wallpaper, if you really dislike florals, don't even open a floral book. If you have your heart set on a country theme, stick with that type of book. There are specialty books for kitchens, bathrooms, etc. Use those if this is the room you are doing.

You will most likely find plenty to choose from using these furniture shopping tips. More choices do not necessarily mean better decisions. Sometimes, more choices only lead to more headaches.

These suggestions should give you some idea about how to comparison shop. Your goal should be to have an enjoyable experience, open your mind to new ideas, and give your natural instincts and creativity free rein to develop a home that is uniquely suited to your lifestyle and personality.

Online Comparison Shopping is an Option for the Time Challenged

If you don't have time to indulge yourself and take a day to enjoy this experience, you can always do online comparison shopping. It is possible to do online furniture shopping for price comparisons, but you miss the sensuousness of the feel, smell, and actual physical sensations you experience with physical shopping.

Exercise - Time to Go Shopping

I highly recommend you take time to identify with your innner thoughts and yearnings by giving yourself the gift of time and connecting with your deepest self.

Plan some time to do some comparison shopping and learn these furniture shopping tips. Take lots of pictures and notes. Be sure and write down prices and locations of items you are interested in. Collect ideas. Keep them in your Room Planning Toolkit. Enjoy the experience. Later on we will consolidate everything you have collected into a concrete plan, and turn this comparison shopping experience into something you can afford. But for this shopping day, The sky's the limit!

For more lessons and exercises look at Interior Decorating Home Study Course

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