After moving into your own place—one you finally feel proud of—it can be frustrating to feel that furnishing your new, dapper pad is an impossible, expensive task. How can you balance finding affordable items that also are long-lasting and look amazing?
Your furnishings, like your clothing, are a reflection of your personal style, and communicate subtle messages about your priorities and interests, whether you intend for them to or not. Investing time and thought into how you present yourself in your own home isn’t just a way to convey a message about yourself to others, but also how you view yourself.
Like wearing clothes that aren’t your personal style, it’s difficult to feel comfortable walking into an apartment every day that doesn’t feel like your home, because it doesn’t communicate your life and interests.
Discovering brands and stores that mirror your inner aesthetic is key to capturing and communicating your interior decor style, so we have put together a list of what we think are (in our humble opinion) the best stores, both online and brick and mortar, to score home decor finds and deals that help the average guy affordably outfit his apartment to his personal taste.
The Tried and True
Target
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Room decorations, lighting fixtures, stylish organizing options, and small furniture pieces, like stools, chairs and bookshelves.
It’s no surprise that Target ended up on our list. The company has done a great job balancing style with affordability, and it’s easy to wander into Target planning to grab “just a few things,” and walking out with a few interesting decorative finds.
Target’s own in-house furniture brands provide a variety of options to match most aesthetics and budgets: Made By Design focuses on practical but stylish everyday items, Threshold has a casual, classic feel, Project 62 is more streamlined and modern, and Opalhouse is bold and and organic.
Keep an eye out: Target regularly offers a decent percentage discount on its furniture. At the time of this writing, they were offering a 40% discount on all online furniture purchases.
Amazon
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Modern lighting, accent chairs, side tables and coffee tables, rugs, tv stands, bedding.
What can’t be found on Amazon? From furniture to storage solutions, lamps to knick-knacks, you can find it all here, and with Prime shipping, it’s usually delivered to you fast and cheap.
Pay special attention to the reviews before ordering, though, especially those 3-4 star reviews, which often provide the best, most realistic impressions of the product. Some unethical companies have been known to pay customers for positive Amazon reviews through discounts or products, so do some research before making any big purchases, especially.
Amazon, like Target, also offers its own in-house furniture brands. Rivet has options for mid-century modern vibes, and the earthier Stone & Beam brand has a more rough-hewn, modern farmhouse aesthetic.
→ Read now: 33 Affordable Home Decor Picks No One Will Believe You Bought on Amazon
HomeGoods
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Inexpensive decor, small accent pieces, pillows, baskets, glassware, and lamps.
HomeGoods has developed a cult following for its affordable yet stylish decorations. It’s not the best place to pick up furniture or bedding, but for smaller decorative items, it deserves a look.
Note that it’s primarily a brick and mortar store, meaning the online shopping options are limited. Wandering around a store isn’t our first preference, either, but on the other hand, you never know what you’ll be able to find by actually visiting the store in-person.
IKEA
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Large furniture, chairs and stools, organization solutions, lamps, planters, kitchen accessories.
Chances are high you have at least one IKEA product in your home already. The ubiquitous Scandinavian-inspired home goods store can be found pretty much anywhere in the world, and offers nearly everything you could want to furnish your home, from coasters and glasses to couches and full-scale kitchens.
It's also a great place to get the foundation for simple DIY projects that look like they cost a ton more, like our mid-century modern living room side table:
Where IKEA really shines is its offerings for large, sturdy but stylish furniture. Their organization solutions are also top-notch and easy to customize for your living space, so don’t overlook those. We should note, however, that it’s not particularly great for couches, which tend to buckle and slouch after only a few months of average use.
Wayfair
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Large furniture pieces, rugs, lighting fixtures, cheap wall decor, outdoor furniture, pet furniture.
Wayfair offers an impressive selection of home goods, and you can find almost anything you want within your budget. I’ve had the most luck with their rug selection: Even though there are still some ugly rugs on there, it doesn’t take much sifting to find some moderately-priced gems.
They also consistently offer solid lighting options, so if you’re looking to update or add to your lighting fixture game, Wayfair should be on your list of places to check out.
Zara Home
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Sheets, duvets, towels, pillows, blankets, dining accessories, decorative accent pieces.
Zara Home straddles that in-between space where you can find great deals on cool-looking pieces, or it can be just out of a reasonable price range on certain items. Watch for their sales, and focus on getting statement pieces to make it worth your investment.
→ Read now: I Have Over 50 Plants in my LA Apartment, So I Put Together a Quick and Simple Plant Guide
The Oft-Overlooked
Urban Outfitters
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Pillows, blankets, art, small accent pieces, curtains.
In recent years, Urban Outfitters has shifted away from its aggressively “quirky” hipster style to offer home decor that still has personality, but also fits well within the average young professional’s home.
Urban Outfitters’ aesthetic leans more toward zen/boho vibes, so browse their offerings if you’re looking to give your space that “sanctuary” feel.
Nordstrom Rack
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Bed sheets, towels, and kitchen accessories on sale.
Nordstrom might not be the first place you think of when you consider where to find a good deal, but you might have better luck with its more-affordable cousin, Nordstrom Rack. Nordstrom Rack doesn’t just sell clothes (though you should certainly check out their clothing section while you’re there, just in case), but also offers a fantastic array of home goods, as well.
World Market
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Barware, lamps, small furniture, stools, faux plants, pillows, mirrors.
World Market is known for its international flair on home goods and fine foods. The store tries to mimic the feel of wandering through the stalls of a Moroccan bazaar, with colorful wares nearly up to the ceiling, so you’re bound to find something interesting.
H&M Home
Price Point: $$
What It’s Good For: Pillows, kitchen accessories and decor, statement pieces.
H&M is primarily known for its clothing, but its H&M Home line offers a solid selection of beautiful home decor at moderate prices, as well. Their decorative pillows section is especially noteworthy, since it offers many options that have a gender neutral vibe—perfect if you’re decorating a new apartment with a significant other who doesn’t want the full “man cave” aesthetic.
→ Read now: The 13 Best Picks for Masculine Bedding: Comforters, Duvet Covers, and Blankets for Men with Style
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist
Price Point: $
What It’s Good For: Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are both great for scoring deals on large furniture, and even live houseplants.
Yes, we know Craigslist can be sketchy, and “no one” uses Facebook anymore, but you’d be surprised what you can still find on your local Craigslist site and Facebook Marketplace. To lower the “sketch” level, create some firm rules for yourself about how and from whom will you pick up your finds.
The demographics on Facebook are now decidedly older, but this works in your favor. Older people tend to be more established financially, meaning the pieces they’re selling are probably of higher quality. Who knows—maybe you’ll luck out and even find some authentic mid-century modern pieces.
ReStore by Habitat for Humanity
Price Point: $
What It’s Good For: Finding great deals on furniture and home decor that has been pre-loved, inspiration for your next upcycling DIY.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your city, give them a visit before sinking money into brand-new furniture pieces. Granted, some things you aren’t going to want to buy used (be wary of purchasing fabric furniture, which could be harboring bed bugs or other unwanted nasties), but you might be surprised at the things people give away.
I nearly scored a handmade wooden Adirondack chair in perfect condition for $75 at my local ReStore, but it was gone before I could return to grab it.
ReStores also receive donations from Home Depot from time to time, so you never know what you can find!
→ Read now: The Intentional Apartment: An Industrial And Modern Living Room Look
The New Guys
CB2
Price Point: $$$$
What It’s Good For: Barware, plates, and silverware, furniture, mirrors, wall decor, planters, faux plants, rugs, and their collaboration collection with GQ.
Although the prices at CB2 tend to be higher, there’s no doubt you get what you pay for in terms of style. Focus on finding statement pieces to splurge on, especially with their rugs and furniture pieces, and pay attention to their sales to score big on savings.
Apt2b
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Large furniture, especially sectional sofas and dining tables, and stylish storage.
Apt2B provides a good balance of style with affordability. It’s neither the most-expensive option on our list, nor the least, and they offer tons of discounts and ways to save. Primer founder Andrew has has had an Apt2b sofa since 2015 and it's still going strong.
If you’re looking for that perfect dining table, couch, or credenza for your space, check out Apt2B.
Article
Price Point: $$$$
What It’s Good For: Mid-century modern- and Scandinavian-inspired furniture.
The ultimate destination to find affordable furniture that achieves that Scandi/MCM vibe, Article also offers free shipping on orders of $999 or more, with cheap returns and free exchanges, and has a good reputation for its customer service.
CANYON, JuniperPrintShop.com, prices starting at $20.00
Redbubble and Juniper Print Shop
www.redbubble.com / juniperprintshop.com
Price Point: $
What It’s Good For: Wall art by independent artists.
Aside from our own collection of 42 amazing art pieces you can download for free, if you’re looking for more artwork for your walls, check out Redbubble and Juniper Print Shop. Both provide artwork created by independent artists that you can either download and frame yourself, or have shipped to you (in the case of Redbubble).
Redbubble has a more extensive selection, but Juniper Print Shop has more curated offerings you can instantly download.
The Citizenry
Price Point: $$$
What It’s Good For: Bedding, decorative pillows, rugs, unique accent pieces, fair trade goods.
Fill your home with affordably-priced goods from artisans around the world with The Citizenry. The Citizenry travels the world to find the most unique handmade wares, and ensures that artisans are paid fairly for their work.
Because their offerings are sourced directly from artisans, their selections are small batch, so if you find something you like, be sure to snag it while you can, because it might not be there later.
Check out our entire Intentional Apartment series, where you'll find home decor deal picks, DIY projects, apartment inspiration, and rooms designed with affordable options from the stores above.
