Top ten lists are great…right? Here is our top ten furniture stores that we would suggest you visit in order to find that right sized piece of furniture at the best possible price. We will try to span the U.S. with this list in hopes that you may be able to find a furniture store near you. I’m sure, just as with any list, we will miss a few well deserved furniture stores. With that said, this post will be a two part list. Not only will it contain my top apartment sized furniture stores that I feel worthy of being ranked, but if you have a furniture store in your region that has quality small sized furniture at value we would love for you to notify us about it. Simply use the comment section to suggest stores of all sizes that you visit frequently. After we get enough entries, we will make a second top ten furniture store list based on your opinions! When submitting your preferred furniture store please try to leave as much details as you possibly can.

Now, back to our list. The stores will be ranked by price, quality, and service. We will also take into consideration any added value that the store may offer such as, warranties, price matching, clearance options, and shopping experiences. This top ten furniture list will not include online retailers. Although some stores more than likely will have a website, their online outlet will not be factored into the ranking. This list will only consist of actual standing storefronts. However, we will entertain the idea of creating a list just based off of online presence. Again, you may not agree with them all, but the list should give you some ideas on where to shop for your next piece of apartment furniture.

Let’s get started:


10. Big Lots Furniture – Big Lots furniture is a subsidiary of Big Lots. Their inventory of furniture consists of overstocked pieces that they may received from a manufacturer.   Big Lots Furniture has nice quality furniture at times. Shopping at this store is all about timing. On those certain occasions they will knock your socks off with pricing. And if you read one of my previous posts, on Big Lots Furniture, it was a major contributor to my first apartment. Inconsistency with styles and furniture is what landed them in spot number ten. They sell whatever is available to them at a great cost. The store is different every time you visit and you’ll never know what to expect. Short on variety, but a well deserved showing for cost.

 

9. CORT Furniture – I came across Cort furniture when I was asked to move by my company. Mainly what they do is provide a relocation service for corporate professionals. Many times when working in a corporate atmosphere you are doing everything you can to climb the corporate ladder. With that task is the responsibility of having to move when the company requests. I have only moved once, but my company recommended Cort furniture and I was exceptionally pleased with their service as well as their furniture. One of the many great things about Cort and the main reason they were chosen as number nine on my list is they eventually sell their furniture after so many moves. They have several clearance warehouses throughout the Unites States that you can visit to get used furniture at an outstanding price. I know…USED? But, for those of you that don’t mind second hand furniture or may like to jazz up old furniture, then Cort furniture is definitely worth checking out. While this aspect is astonishing, their customer service is also top notch. Cort owns one of the biggest apartment locators on the web – apartmentsearch.com, so they know what it takes to furnish an apartment.

 

8. Harvertys – For those of you that live in the Southeastern states such as, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, you probably know about Harvertys. They are a popular furniture store chain that focuses on durability and quality. Their motto is “furniture built for life”. I found that during key furniture holidays such as Memorial Day and July 4th, Harvertys steps up their game and that’s when you can capitalize on some great deals. Their furniture tends to have a high-end feel to it and some of their every day prices reflect it. The color scheme of their furniture typically is of a modern touch with a lot of hues and olive tones.  Again, focus on the holiday sales and you will benefit.  Quality alone get’s them on the list, but from a regional perspective your hard press to find a Harvertys in your area. And that’s why they’re number eight on this list.

 

7. Crate & Barrel – Crate & Barrel was created in the 60’s by Gordon and Carole Segal. The whole concept around Crate & Barrel was formed after a European trip that Gordon and Carole took. During their trip they encountered all different types contemporary house wares. They decided to open up shop in an abandoned elevator factory in Chicago and the rest was history. They currently have over 7,000 locations that span the world. Crate & Barrel makes the list due to their creative furnishings and commitment to environmental responsibility. At Crate and Barrel Green is not a trend it’s their ongoing mission. They do carry furniture, but they are light years above the competition on contemporary home furnishings. Decorating has gotten whole lot easier with Crate & Barrel.  They provide the latest trends and fashion for your apartment at a price that won’t break the bank.

 

6. Jennifer Convertibles – If it’s a apartment sofa you seek then check out Jennifer Convertibles, one of the premiere furniture stores specializing in sofas and sofa beds. From leather apartment sofas to reclining sofas they have just about every size and style sofa to accommodate your taste in furniture. Making the list for their expertise and availability in apartment sized sofas. The sofa is one of the most critical pieces of furniture (after the T.V of course) Jennifer Convertibles will have the size and style for you. From a cost standpoint they have a wide range of collections to fit your budget. The downside for Jennifer Convertibles is finding a location near you. If you live in New York, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, or Washington DC then you should have no problems finding a location. I visited a Jennifer Convertibles location in Brooklyn, New York and it spewed character! I fell in love with this place.

 

5. Furniture Row – Furniture Row makes the list by providing second to none customer service and the quality of their sales associates. They are also one of the fastest growing furniture companies in the nation right now. Furniture Row consists of a row of stores that caters to certain areas in your home or apartment.

They are:

  • Denver Mattress
  • Sofa Mart
  • Oak Express
  • Bedroom Expressions

What puts Furniture Row in a league of their own is excellent customer service. I have found that their reps are the most professional and informational reps. when it comes to their respected field. If you visit Denver Mattress, you’re bound to get a rep that is well verse in the mattress and bed field. It’s not a young kid (no offense to young kids) off the street trying to sell you a mattress. It’s a professional providing you information in order for you to make the right decision. They are not pushy or just trying to make a sell. Furniture Row has a solid on boarding process that trains their reps to become informational and professional and this training of their employees truly shows on the showroom floor.  This same principle applies to Furniture Rows other properties; Sofa Mart, Oak Express and Bedroom Expressions.

 

4. Basset Home Furnishings – Basset Home Furnishing is a furniture store that offers custom original furniture. Created by John David Basset over a century ago the Basset name is one of the premiere family names in furniture manufacturing. From their humble beginnings that started in 1902, they pride themselves on making quality inexpensive furniture. Manufacturing furniture for over a century is one thing, but they decided to take their business to the next level in 1997 when they opened their first store front.  Basset Home furnishings provides just about every service you can imagine from making house calls, building furniture from scratch the way you want and they will even help you develop a budget tailored to your needs…all at no cost to their customers! There warranties are beyond what you would expect from a piece of furniture.

Just to outline Basset’s warranty information:

  • Frames – Limited Lifetime
  • Seat Cushion Core – Limited Lifetime
  • Motion Mechanisms – Limited Lifetime
  • Springs – Five Years
  • Sleeper Mattresses – Five Years
  • Air Dream Sleeper System – Three Years
  • Fabrics – One Year
  • Leather – One Year

As you can see by some of the warranty info, Basset is serious about its quality.

Having several friends in the New York area with lofts that are half the size of my living space I know they depend on having custom furniture made and they always turn to Basset.

 

3. Ashley Furniture – Ashley Furniture Home stores has a business model of Quality, Style, Selections and Service.  They are not far off the mark with that business model either. They are the #1 selling furniture brand in North America.  They are also accredited by the Better Business Bureau which is always nice to see. Their mantra is “We want to be the BEST furniture company”. And although they did not make our list for the number one furniture company, coming in 3rd is not too bad.  They design, build and deliver their furniture. Being able to do the manufacturing and design on their own furniture takes a lot out of their expenses. They effectively take out the middle man and in return, can pass this cost savings on to you. And for this reason is why they made our list. From a price standpoint there is not many furniture companies that will be able to offer what Ashley’s Furniture can. They have rock bottom prices period. When dealing with furniture price is always subjective due to your knowledge of what quality furniture is. But, if you’re going off price alone, Ashley’s furniture is your best friend.  I use the word cheap figuratively, but that’s what Ashley provides…cheap/affordable furniture. Perfect for us living in an apartment or place where you might be moving out or upgrading…right? Landlords! Hear me on this…you should all have an Ashley Furniture credit card in your back pocket!

OK, enough with the love fest. If your want to purchase your furniture as cheaply as possible…check out Ashley Furniture.

 

2. Bob’s Furniture – Having lived on the east coast I know what it means to live in tight spaces. Real-estate is prime in the New England area and you are constantly looking at ways to improve your apartment or tight living quarters. One furniture store that I had the luxury of visiting while on the east coast was Bob’s Furniture.

Originally Bob Kaufman the owner of Bob’s discount furniture got into the furniture business after a motorcycle accident. He was to recover from his accident while resting in a waterbed. Turns out that he loved the waterbed so much he started his own waterbed company. His business model was to sell his waterbeds in existing furniture stores. This go to market strategy was very successful and eventually led to Bob partnering up with a furniture store owner by the name of Gene Rosenberg.  They opened up their first store in 1990 and turned it into success.

I love the story behind Bob Kaufman and how it goes to show that anyone can make it in this country. Bob took an unfortunate accident and turned it into a career. Bob’s furniture is also very active in the New England community. They have an outreach program which is properly named “Bob’s Outreach” they also have “Bob’s High School Heroes” which is a scholarship program that many kids in the New England region get to benefit from.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure a majority of furniture stores on this list all have great stories and contribute dearly to non-profits, but it was very prevalent while my stay on the east coast what Bob’s furniture does for the New England area.

But, let’s not forget the furniture that Bob’s furniture sells. Affordable and functional furniture at its finest is the way I would describe Bob’s furniture.  If you’re looking for a furniture store that takes pride in its community, sells a quality product, and will give you a deal on piece of furniture…you should probably check out Bob’s Furniture. They have over 44 locations scattering up and down the east coast from New York to Virginia.

 

1. IKEA Home Furnishings – A big surprise – HUH? If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time you know just how much I love IKEA and they way they go about selling their small scale furniture. Visiting an IKEA is like visiting a theme park. They have all their furniture displayed in a way that constantly providers feedback to you right on the sales floor. Their furniture line is constantly changing too. IKEA is always on the cutting edge of trends and providing their customers with fresh ideas. They built their clientele off of providing trendy quality affordable furniture.  I designed my entire home office based on one of their mock up workstations. They offer value, excellent customer service, quality products and also provide ECO-friendly furniture. To boot, they have a café that you can have lunch in while you shop. Where else can you shop for furniture and have a mid-day lunch all in the same place? No matter what the space or budget, IKEA will provide you with solutions.  IKEA hands down is my go to store when it comes to furnishing any apartment.

 

Well there you have it. Our Top 10 List of furniture stores where your likely to find quality apartment sized furniture. I’m sure everyone has a different opinion and we want to hear from you. We look forward to creating a top 10 list based on our reader’s opinion. Give us your feedback on where you buy your apartment furniture!