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08 Mar 2023

Best places to buy furniture and homeware

Find out which shops customers love for buying sofas, dining tables and more

Hannah WalshSenior researcher & writer

If you're having a springtime refresh at home, you might be planning a big furniture purchase, or a spruce up with some fresh homeware. Before you shop, find out which retailers will offer top-quality products alongside value for money.

We surveyed thousands of people to find out which furniture and homeware shops tick all the right boxes – we reveal the results below.

Shopping for something else? We've also reviewed fashion, beauty and health stores, best DIY shops and best technology retailers. Plus, visit our best and worst shops page for even more retailer reviews.

Best furniture and homeware retailers

When it comes to buying a piece of furniture or homeware that will be in your home for years to come, it's important to pick a retailer that has great-quality products. And with budgets tight, value for money is more important than ever.

With this in mind, we've revealed the customer score for each of the top nine retailers from our survey, as well as the star ratings for value for money and product quality.

Retailer	Customer score	Which? Recommended Provider?
John Lewis (549)	87%
White Company / Little White Company (57)	85%	Yes
Costco (137)	84%
ProCook (66)	83%	Yes
Marks & Spencer (326)	83%
Littlewoods.com (42)	82%
Next (241)	82%	Yes

Table notes: customer score results are based on an online survey of 4,249 members of the Which? Connect panel and 8,003 of the general public, conducted in September 2022. The customer score is based on satisfaction with the brand and likelihood to recommend. Sample size for each retailer is in brackets.

ProCook

Survey respondents liked the range and quality of products on sale at ProCook, and thought it offered value for money too. One customer praised the 'very good range of products, excellent quality and price', while another said the shop was 'well organised and well stocked'.

Furniture and homeware customers told us that they received a five-star delivery service from Next, and thought it offered a good range of quality products too. Several respondents praised the 'extensive product range and 'easy to navigate website', while others told us they liked being able to go into larger stores to view furniture.

Lakeland

Lakeland shone for the helpfulness and knowledge of its staff, as well as for its range and quality of products. Survey respondents rated the aftersales service as five stars, too, and liked the three-year guarantee that Lakeland offers.

Ikea

Ikea is known for its minimalist flat-pack furniture, and it's perhaps unsurprising that it got five stars for value for money. Several shoppers mentioned treating a trip to Ikea like a day out, with one praising the 'good restaurant' and another telling us that the in-store displays are helpful for choosing furniture and homeware.

Find out more: for all our star ratings and the full list of retailers, check out our guide to the best home and DIY shops

How we choose Which? Recommended Providers

Retailers need to meet certain criteria to become a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP), including at least four stars for staff helpfulness, three stars for value for money, and clear and correct returns and faulty goods policies published online.

Why isn't John Lewis a Which? Recommended Provider?

High street favourite John Lewis stood out for its quality, aftersales and customer service ratings.

97% of those surveyed who had bought furniture or homeware at John Lewis said it was good quality, while 92% thought it offered good value for money. Several respondents said that they like being able to view big furniture items on display in store, and one said they shop there for 'quality products at a reasonable price'.

We withheld its Which? Recommended Provider status, though, as its online and telephone purchase returns policy didn't meet our standard on clarity.

John Lewis told us: ‘We offer a generous returns policy, with a 35-day free returns for most purchases. For telephone and online purchases, we'll even refund the standard delivery charge when the whole order is returned in 14 days. As well as being popular with our customers, we’re confident that our returns policy complies with the set regulations, with customers’ rights detailed on our website.’

Find out more: how to get a refund, repair or replacement

Below-average score for Poundland

Poundland (69%) sells a selection of homeware items, such as cushions, throws and picture frames.

It was rated well below the category average customer score of 78%, and was the only homewares retailer to score less than 70%. It was also the only retailer to get two stars for product quality, despite getting four stars for value for money.