How to (Successfully) Buy Home Decor Online
Are you reluctant to purchase home decor online, worried it might not turn out as expected? Like that burger that looked sooo good in the photos, but showed up at your door kinda soggy and lopsided…? Fresh meals and in-store purchases are always preferable, but online shopping majorly broadens your design horizons and there ARE a few ways to dramatically increase your chances of success!
Choose Stores Strategically
Many brick & mortar stores have online-exclusive inventory: things that aren’t carried in-store but can be purchased through the website. The major advantage here is that you can (usually) return these items in-store if they don’t work out.
Say you love this duvet cover from The Bay, but it’s out of stock at your local store or it’s an online exclusive item. No problem — just order it online, bring it home to decide, and if it’s not quite right you can return it to the store rather than dealing with return shipping!
NOTE: Always check the store’s return policy just in case, especially on sale items.
The Bay | Boutique Vittoria Duvet Cover in terracotta.
Choose Online Retailers with Good Return Policies
If you can’t find what you’re looking for at a brick & mortar store, try use reputable online retailers with “hassle-free” return policies. The star of the show here is Amazon Prime — if you’re a regular online shopper, a Prime membership will serve you well! As for Wayfair, you can return things but there are several rules and restrictions, and you’re on the hook for shipping fees.
Review the Product Dimensions
Photos can be deceiving, so be sure to carefully measure your space and review the product’s dimensions. Then, use your tape measure to help you visualize these dimensions so there aren’t any surprises on delivery day.
For example, people who buy sunburst mirrors are often surprised at how small they are. The piece below is about 15” across, meaning the mirror itself is only about 5”. But it somehow looks larger in the photos… so if you fail to remind yourself what 5” really looks like, you might be disappointed!
Madison Park | Fiore Sunburst Mirror… smaller than it looks!
Review the Different Colourways
I once bought a rug and was surprised at how much pink was in it, and how pink the pink was. “Fuchsia” to be precise — information that was right there for the gatherin’ had I paid closer attention!
Even though I’d chosen the “Ivory / Dark Blue” option, there was an “Ivory / Fuchsia” option too. Multicoloured items that come in different colourways often just contain different blends/ratios of the same colours, so if one of the rugs is named “Fuchsia” and you notice a lil’ pink in a different colourway, you can bet it’s the same fuchsia and it’s pretty darn PINK.
Looking back on these product images above, the pink in the "Ivory / Dark Blue” colourway (left) is apparent, especially in the strip along the bottom. The “Ivory / Fuchsia” colourway (right) tells you just how pink the pink is! See below for more details.
Review Product Images
There are a few things to watch for when reviewing product images:
REFERENCE POINTS: Look for other elements within the photo that show you how the product looks in comparison. E.g. a wood floor that’s similar to your own, or something really white (like a porcelain sink or crisp white bedding) to illustrate how light/dark the product really is.
DISCREPANCIES: If the photos’ brightness and saturation are inconsistent (common with rug images), the more muted photos are often more accurate.
CLOSE-UPS: Close-up images give you a better sense of the accent colours found in the item. When buying something large like a rug, remember that the scale will be SO much bigger in person — the 6x9ish inch image on your screen will turn into a 6x9 FOOT real-life-rug, so the pattern will be way larger and the colours will be more pronounced. Again, had I reviewed the close-ups of the rug from above more closely, I wouldn’t have been surprised by how bright it was!
All the bright colours in this rug were clearly visible in the close-up images.
Review Customer Images
It’s extremely helpful to see how a product looks in a real home, in basic cell phone images with no filters, editing, etc. For a recent bedroom makeover, my client and I weren’t sold on the new rug before viewing customer images (and reading reviews) which described it as lighter in person than in the product images.
In reality — and this is often the case — the rug turned out to be somewhere in between. Inexpensive rugs are made of low-quality materials which can have a sheen to them, so they look lighter from some angles and darker from others. These types of inconsistencies are more common with affordable design pieces, but comparing photos and reviews helps manage expectations and avoid big surprises on delivery day!
Find Additional Images
If the item you’re considering doesn’t have a lot of product or customer images to view, try using Google Lens to help you find more examples:
right click on an image > click “search image with google” > scroll down to “visual matches”
This will reveal the same or similar products being sold by different retailers. You might find additional helpful photos and reviews for the same product on a different website, you might discover a similar product you like more, or you might even find the same or similar item for a better price!
Search images with Google Lens to compare products, prices, reviews, and photos.
Read Customer Reviews
When reading through reviews, watch for common threads, themes, and repeat comments. For instance, if you’re repeatedly seeing some version of “this bedspread looks WAY lighter in person!” or “the background colour of this rug looks more beige than grey in real life,” then you’ve likely uncovered a useful nugget of information.
Occasionally (as was the case with the bedroom makeover rug above), some reviewers may claim the colours are true to the product images while others report it’s lighter/darker than shown. When this happens, simply compare the comments against the photos and do your best to read between the lines.
Create a Design Board
The hardest part about shopping online is not being able to see how your pieces work together. This is where your design board comes in — it’s like a virtual room where you can compare products, test ideas, and make sure your pieces coordinate before purchasing.
This is particularly important with colour. (Even if the images aren’t totally accurate, you can still tell whether you’re on the right track!) For example, while choosing a duvet cover for the bedroom makeover, the design board immediately revealed that the cover with the tie detail (top left) was the better choice. The cover with the button detail (bottom right) leaned a little too indigo, which was obvious once both sets were on the board next to the rug.
TIP: Milanote is an amazing tool for creating design boards, saving product links, and keeping all your thoughts and ideas in one place. You can sign up for a free account, or you can use a program like PowerPoint to create your boards while bookmarking product links in your web browser.
Adding pieces to a design board helps you visualize which option will work better in the space.
Buy a Sample
If the store you’re browsing provides samples, definitely get your hands on some — even if you have to pay. The extra expense is truly worth the peace of mind, especially on larger purchases like furniture or window treatments!
If samples aren’t available, you can purchase the smallest / least expensive version of the item you’re considering. This is particularly useful with rugs — before committing to the 8’x10’, you might order the 2’x3’ to preview the colours/texture/pattern. This will still amount to some extra effort and expense, but it’s way easier and cheaper to return something small!
Online shopping will never be foolproof, but these methods will seriously improve your experience and results! If you’re up for a little bit of sleuthing (and a lot of copy & pasting), your online efforts CAN work out beautifully 😊
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