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Apr 16, 2021

A Quick Guide to Buying Furniture Online in Canada

Here is how to shop for sofas, beds, rugs, dining tables, and chairs online in Canada, without regrets.

In this guide we will cover several points that you want to consider before buying a piece of furniture online in Canada.

We will also provide a list of the best furniture sites in Canada. You can jump directly to what's more interesting for you.

Choosing Furniture Online

Have you ever been disappointed with your online purchase of a furniture piece? You are not alone. Ordering furniture online is so easy, but when it arrives, it's not always the good match. Such frustrating situations with furniture bought online are avoidable. We did some research and will provide its results here. We are also listing the best websites to buy furniture online in Canada.

Area Rugs

Buying area rugs is a breeze if you pay attention to a couple of details. Choose an area rug that will extend 24-36 inches (60-90 cm) past the table so that all four legs of a chair pulled out are on it.

Choose easy-to-clean rugs. This would mean that you need to read the descriptions carefully. Go for indoor/outdoor rugs or rugs made from polypropylene. Such rugs are easier to clean, and they are cheaper to buy.

Sofas

Before you go on the online hunt for a new sofa, spend some time planning. Ask yourself the following question:

How many people will you want to seat?

For three people you will need an 84-96-inch-long sofa (215-245cm). The standard back height is 34-36 inches and the depth would be 35 inches (88-90cm). Also, check the seat depth: 22 inches is a standard.

Now think about how the sofa will be used. If you plan to use it for lounging, go with a size longer. If you like throw pillows, get a deeper sofa.

Dining Tables

Start with the details like the look, the feel, and the material of your future table.


Pay attention to the price and the assembly. If the table comes per-assembled (which makes it pricier), such a table may last much longer than the one with assembly required.

Measure, measure, and measure again. For the best fit, leave a 3-foot (90 cm) walkway around the table.

Know the different tables' heights. The standard table is 30 inches high (76 cm). A standard counter is 36 inches high (91 cm), and a bar table is 42 inches high (107 cm).

Dining Chairs

Now over to chairs. Remember to keep 24 inches between each place setting. You need to measure this distance from the center of one chair back to the center of the neighboring chair.


The standard height for dining chairs is 19 inches high (48 cm), but this height can range from 18 to 20 inches.

One important criteria is whether the chair is armless or with arms. If without arms, there is nothing to worry about. With the chairs with arms you need to place a cloth over your table, as the arm may scratch or damage the surface of your table.

Beds

Before buying a bed online, check a couple of things first. You may want to check the assembly guides (what tools needed for the assembly, how to mount the headboard). Also, learn some bed-related terminology. You want to make sure you know what your bed comes with and what's optional and what's included.

When you shop for a bed online, think about your own height. Will you be able to climb in and get out after you install the box spring and the mattress?

Another question is about the headboard. Will it be all visible after you put your favourite pillows next to it? Here is how you calculate the ideal height for your future headboard:

The height from the floor to the mattress top + your height from the waist to the top of your head + 4 inches = smallest headboard height for reading in bed.

Night Stands

Ideally, you pay attention to the depth of your future night stand. Go for the depth of 24 inches. If the nightstand is deeper and larger, you may hit it as you get out of bed.

The top of the nightstand should be even with the top of the mattress (a difference of a couple of inches up or down is fine!).

Visualize Furniture

When you buy furniture online, you see tons of beautiful images, but you may have hard time visualizing the item in your room. Here is what you need to do. Get a roll of painting tape and tape it on the walls according to the dimensions of the item you're about to buy. Then walk through your living space and make sure the taped-off dimensions feel in line with everything else in your room.

Go further. Move some furniture around and see how it feels.

Shipping

That's an important piece in your online furniture experience. Large piece may require additional shipping charges. If white-glove delivery is available, go for it even if it's more expensive. White-glove means that the item is shipped with a third-party service that will ship to your place, unbox the item, and place it where it needs to be.

Refunds & Returns

Educate yourself about the return and refund policies on the furniture site of your choice. Because we talk large items, you need to know the following before buying them:

- how much time do you have to return the item if you don't like it?
- do you need to keep all the packaging when you return the item?
- is there a restocking fee?
- is there a shipping fee?

User Reviews

Before committing to a piece of furniture online, read user reviews. Skip 5-star reviews (some may be fake, some may come from buyers who were too lazy to provide details), and pay attention to 4-start and 3-star reviews to understand the details about the item. Look for trends in praise and complaints (esp. bad customer service, missing pieces in assembly) to get a feeling about the quality of the furniture item.

Ask Questions

If you are planning to buy an expensive item, ask questions. Contact the site with questions like: "Will this sofa fit in my door, which is this large and this high?". This will also help to check on their customer service (a good acid test in case you need to return your purchase in the future).

Best Furniture Websites in Canada

If this list we are only providing the websites from which we've purchased furniture over the last couple of years. The opinion is personal, but we went by the points that we described above and our satisfaction levels with our online purchases were higher than the average ratings.

Amazon Canada

We are fans of Amazon's furniture offering and we make a full use of our Prime subscription. Amazon offers tons of furniture items from small to large pieces. Shipping is fast (only to your door). Returns are no-questions asked.

ModernFurniture.ca

Modern Furniture Canada is an online furniture site from Montreal. They ship across Canada. The selection of furniture is impressive, from vintage to modern. The prices are in line with the majority of other physical furniture stores.

Ugoburo

This is another furniture store from Quebec. They focus mainly on high-quality office furniture. Their selling point is that their furniture is made in Canada, mostly. The office furniture is durable, even if it may be pricey.

Wayfair Canada

Wayfair is a popular online furniture store. We used it a couple of times and wrote an extensive review about it here. Check it out.

Ikea Canada

Ikea does not need much mention as it's a popular name in the furniture world. Now that you can shop online on their Canadian site, it is a good source of cheap furniture. Ikea's customer service leaves much to be desired, though. Getting to the customer service and having them help you may be a challenge.

Costco Canada

If you are a Costco member, check out Costco.ca. The selection of furniture is limited compared to the above furniture sites. But this is Costco - they only sell a select number of items that are in demand. You can find some good gems at reasonable prices on Costco.ca.

We hope that the information from this guide will make your online furniture shopping more pleasant and less frustrating.