Whether you live in a third-floor walkup or a ranch-style house, getting furniture from the store to the right space in your home is a real hassle. You could be able to do 20 pull-ups in a row and still struggle to manhandle a bedframe into place. Fortunately, you aren’t alone — and even better, there are real solutions to ensure your furniture gets from there to here without any damage to anyone. Read on for some tricks and tips today.
Pay for Delivery
Why manhandle a bulky piece of furniture when you can pay someone else to do it for you? However, before you open your wallet, you should know that not all furniture delivery is created equal. Usually, online furniture sellers will offer only standard shipping or freight shipping, which means they will ship items to your door. From there, it’s up to you to get that hefty box into the right room.Because moving furniture from your doorstep can be just as hard as picking it up from the store, this is not the option for you. Instead, you should ask about options for the following delivery types:
- Inside your door. This ensures your furniture gets past your front door and just into the entry of your home. If it doesn’t go far from there, this is a good option for you. However, it’s important to note that if you live in multi-family housing, like an apartment building on the third floor, “inside your door” usually means just outside the front door of your apartment.
- Room of choice. This is the ideal for most women looking for new furniture because it means your furniture will be placed by delivery people in the exact location you want it. Most will even stick around for a few minutes to verify that you like the furniture’s location and move it around if you don’t.
- White glove. This is the most luxurious of furniture delivery options, typically reserved for extremely expensive pieces. White glove services include unpacking, setup, assembly and package removal, so you don’t have to lift a finger to enjoy your new furniture.
Order Flat Pack
Flat pack furniture is the type that comes disassembled in economical, flat packages — the kind of furniture that IKEA made popular. These days, you can find all sorts of attractive, function and economical furniture available in flat pack, which is good considering that flat packages tend to be easier to maneuver around your home than pre-assembled, bulky pieces. Plus, if you aren’t particularly crafty, you can always hire a handyperson to assemble your flat pack; I gave in and hired a WA furniture assembly service, and it was definitely worth my money and time. They even heaved the flat back boxes from the foyer into the rooms I wanted the furniture in, so it was a win-win-win.
Buy in the Store
Online shopping could very well be the pinnacle of human development. The internet contains multitudes, meaning you can find almost any style, size and color of furniture that you can dream up, and you can do so with a few clicks and no human interaction.
Yet, there is one thing that buying furniture in-store has over buying online: bargaining. Furniture stores tend to pay their floor staff on commission, meaning you have some say over how much you pay and what perks you can get if you purchase. While online stores might run occasional deals for free shipping or percentages off, your local furniture stores will be willing to negotiate with you, meaning you might be able to finagle free in-home delivery.
Admittedly, pre-assembled furniture that you buy in-store is more expensive than the flat-pack stuff you find online, but if you have the budget and the time to search stores for the stuff you need, it could be worthwhile.
Hire Movers
Finally, if you are just shifting furniture from one area of your home to the other, you might consider hiring movers to do the heavy lifting. Because you aren’t making use of their trucks or requiring more than an hour or two of their time, their prices for this service will be low. That means you can point to where you want your furniture and see it move for a gloriously low cost.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a feminist. I believe that women are as capable as men at most things in life — and more capable than men at the rest. But moving heavy furniture simply isn’t in most women’s wheelhouse. There is no reason for women to waste an evening shoving, heaving and lugging heavy furniture, risking their back health (and their sanity) in the process. Use one of the above solutions for getting your furniture from there to here, and you’ll be much, much happier for it.