Ever heard yourself saying: “I hate my furniture”. Well, you’re not alone in that boat, hating your furniture isn’t uncommon.
In 2021, according to Statista Research Department, UK adults spent nearly 25 billion pounds on furniture – it’s clear to see we care about furnishing our homes.
Whether you’ve made a mistake when buying something new, or the stuff you’ve got is looking old and tired, there are plenty of ways to fix furniture dissatisfaction.
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Daisy scallop marble lamp – Oliver Bonas £139.50
As a seasoned shopping expert, I’ve compiled valuable tips to assist you in determining whether your furniture is worth bringing back from the dead or if it’s time to bid it farewell!
Stay tuned to find out more:
1. Identify Why you’re unsatisfied with your furniture:
Identifying why you hate your furniture is super important; we’re very quick to get rid of things we no longer need, but this doesn’t need to be the case – there are lots of ways we can alter furniture to suit our needs and overcome our home decor regrets.
Keep reading to discover the most common examples with some solutions:
- It needs a clean
It’s amazing what a deep clean can do for a piece of furniture; I was hating on my sofa for a long time because it was stained and dirty, but once I’d given it a deep clean I fell for it all over again.
Renting a rug doctor or investing in a handheld hoover might be a better solution than replacing an item all together.
If you can’t clean the piece of furniture yourself, then look into hiring a specialist or if it’s upholstery, take it to the dry cleaners.
Iggy metal triple plant stand – Oliver Bonas £95
- It’s broken
A broken draw or a loose leg can put us off a piece of furniture and fixing it might seem daunting. However, in my experience, armed with the right tools and a YouTube tutorial, it can be easier than anticipated.
If you really don’t fancy taking a screwdriver to it, then try a local handyman, a friend or even a service like Taskrabbit for some help with a furniture makeover.
- It’s in the wrong place
Furniture placement makes a big difference to how your furniture looks, don’t be afraid to move things around; you want to find a place that lets your furniture be the star of the show.
Tip: Reach out for some interior design advice from a friend whose style you admire; you can offer to cook for them in return.
- There’s too much of it
Too much furniture is one of the biggest interior crimes, in my opinion; there’s nothing worse than overcrowding and disrupting its harmony. Sometimes, you have to learn to let things go.
- It’s badly styled
It can be tempting to ignore furniture we hate and use it as a dumping ground, but a little bit of styling can go a long way. It’s amazing what a snazzy lamp can do; distracting the eye can solve a lot of furniture selection mistakes.
Stackelbergs Stockholm mohair blanket – Arket £179
Flower gold metal candelabra – Oliver Bonas £59.50
- It needs updating
A fresh lick of paint or updating the hardware can overcome furniture disappointment, it might seem daunting, but it takes less time than you think.
2. Identify Your Interiors style
To stop yourself buying something now and regretting it later, it’s a good idea to have a strong sense of personal style so you don’t get pulled in by interior fashion and design trends.
To discover your own interiors style, create mood boards on Pinterest or social media; once you start gathering images you like, patterns will begin to emerge and you can use that as a shopping guide.
Mallie swirl vase – Oliver Bonas £59.50
3. Look at your budget
Budget plays a huge role in furniture salvation and furniture buying, once you have your budget sorted, you know how much you spend on updating or buying new.
4. Get to work
Once you’ve identified the issues, thought about your personal style and sorted out your budget it’s time to get to work on updating the furniture you hate.
For those screaming ‘I hate my furniture’ here’s a quick summary:
- Identify the issue
- Identify your interiors style
- Work out your budget
- Get to work on replacing, fixing, styling, moving or selling
What to do when you don’t like your couch
Once you’ve identified why you don’t like your couch there are several ways you can salvage it. Below are some reasons why you might not like your couch and some solutions for your problems:
- It’s taking up too much space
Try decluttering the rest of the room and moving any bulky pieces of furniture elsewhere or selling them.
- It’s uncomfortable
To make it more comfortable you can add cushions or upgrade the filling. I bought my couch online during lockdown so I wasn’t able to test it beforehand; it’s not the most comfortable couch in the world, but some extra filling would do the trick, for sure.
Cotton satin cushion cover – Arket £12.99
Cotton cushion cover – H&M £24.99
Striped cushion cover – H&M £8.99
- You don’t like the way it looks
Reupholstering your couch is a good way of transforming it into something you love; there is nothing better than picking fabric to suit your own taste and needs perfectly. Plus, you’ll have a one of a kind sofa made just for you.
Takashi Tsushima wool blanket – Arket £79
- It looks dirty and stained
It’s incredible what a good couch clean can do and there are plenty of ways you can do this:
- Take the covers to the dry cleaners
- Hire a cleaning service
- Hire a sofa cleaning machine
- Buy an upholstrey and carpet cleaning machine
- Use a handheld hoover to hoover it regularly
- Give it a wipe using a microfibre cloth and a solution of warm water and a dishwasher tablet
Vax rapid power pro upright carpet cleaner – Argos £150
Shark classic pet cordless handheld vacuum cleaner – Argos £80
How do you not over-furnish a room?
Many of us are guilty of over-furnishing a room – we have a lot of stuff which means we need a lot of storage. If you can declutter and organise then you’ll find it a lot easier to have the right amount of furniture.
Interior design is all about balance and flow; make sure you can move comfortably around the space and you have proper access to everything you need.
how do you arrange too much furniture?
In my opinion, less is always more when it comes to furniture, but I realise it’s not always doable. Therefore, space furniture out and create different focal points.
Tip: avoid suffocating furniture in trinkets and souvenirs – this will make the room feel fuller.
what is the 2:3 rule furniture?
The 2:3 rule of furniture means that the largest piece of furniture should be measure 2:3 of the area, for example, the bed should measure 2:3 of the room. Then the next piece of furniture down from that should be 2:3 of that, and so on.
what to do with furniture you don’t want
Sell, recycle or give away unwanted furniture.
Whether you’re selling or giving away furniture you hate, Facebook Marketplace is a great place for this.
Evelina Kroon wool blanket – Arket £79
who removes furniture?
- Local furniture removal companies
- Local council
- Charities
- If you’ve sold furniture, then the buyer will come and remove it for you if you state that in the listing as ‘pick up only’.
how to get used furniture?
- Charity shops that specialise in furniture
- Antique stores
- Boot fares
- Facebook Marketplace
- Gumtree
- Community noticeboards
- Newspapers
- Put a request out on social media for a specific item you’re looking for – could be your lucky day!