Buying a sofa online can be more of a leap of faith than anything. You’re trusting photos, a delivery estimate, and a return policy you would rather not have to use. And the thing here is, you’re testing something in person that’s going to sit in your living room for many years to come and needs to be practical and comfortable for the entire family.
And the trick to getting it right is finding the right retailer you can trust to deliver exactly what you need and help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls of buying sofas online.
FurnitureInstore is a direct retailer offering fast delivery, flexible finance, and they have a wide range of sofas. But are they actually worth trusting? Let’s take a look.
Who Are FurnitureInstore?
FurnitureInstore designs and sources its furniture in-house, working directly with a trusted network of manufacturers to cut out agents and middlemen. FurnitureInstore runs its operations from a warehouse in the heart of the UK, covering over 80,000 square feet, with a showroom at 440-450 Stoney Stanton Road in Coventry where customers can test sofas in person, including comfort testing across fabric, leather, and recliner; plus they can get expert sizing and styling advice if they are unsure of what will fit their space.
The company started as a family-run operation built around honest pricing and good design, and now it brings over 60 years of combined experience across its teams from sourcing materials to final delivery.
Alongside sofas, FurnitureInstore covers beds, mattresses and wider home furniture with a customer service that helps from choosing a design through to getting it built once it arrives.
The Sofa Range
Sofas are the core of the business and the range is genuinely wide; fabric and genuine leather finishes are all available, spanning corner sofas, U-shape sofas, recliner sofas in manual and electric mechanisms, and non-reclining sets from 2-seaters up to full corner and 3+2+1 combinations.
Prices start from £349 and named ranges include the Annecy Genuine Leather Electric Recliner alongside an Express Sofa Range built specifically for fast delivery on selected in-stock designs.
On top of this, every single sofa meets UK Fire Resistant (UKFR) standard and every purchase includes a 12-month warranty covering manufacturing defects as standard too, regardless of how quickly it’s delivered. You can take out an optional 5-year care plan to cover accidental staining, accidental damage, and structural defects; this does come with an additional charge.
You can also opt for accidental damage cover for spills, stains and damage, which matters for a piece of furniture that’s going to see daily use for years. If you’re looking for a specific look, however, you can look into the bespoke sofas, which are built to a custom design request.
Delivery and Stock
Delivery items are important; the last thing you want is to end up waiting months for your new sofa to be delivered. This is where FurnitureInstore differs. They stock most of their own branded items in their warehouse, meaning fast delivery is possible.
In-stock sofas can be delivered in 2-10 working days, depending on postcodes and service, with express delivery available in 24 hours for selected products if you need it faster.
Made-to-order sofas take 4 to 10 weeks, and pre-order specials will follow the dates shown on the product page as new stock lands.
All customers get a call to arrange a date and time slot, followed by contact two days beforehand to confirm the details, with deliveries typically running between 6 am and 4 pm. You can also reschedule 24 hours before the slot so you don’t incur a redelivery fee if you miss your original time slot.
If you need something more for your delivery, there is a Premier Delivery Service for £49.99, which includes sofa assembly and room set up. You can also choose to have your old sofa taken away when buying selected ranges; simply add it on if available at the checkout.
Something worth bearing in mind is that stock levels can change daily, but calling the warehouse directly confirms exactly what is available right now and the earliest possible delivery date for your specific postcode.
Finance Options
Not everyone can afford to pay for a new sofa outright, meaning the type of finance on offer is a huge factor in whether or not you choose a retailer. At FurnitureInStore, options include 0% interest-free finance available on purchases over £499, with payments spread across 12, 24 or 36 months, subject to status through providers including Klarna, PayPal, Clearpay, DivideBuy and Snap Finance.
You can choose your preferred finance option at checkout alongside delivery choice so you’re not waiting longer for an answer, and the whole process is taken care of together, allowing you to choose the right sofa without worrying about having to find the full cost upfront.
What’s the Catch?
FurnitureInstore doesn’t deliver to Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, or the Scottish Highlands at all. Scotland is covered by postcodes across KY, FK, PA, G, KA, ML, EH, and TD areas, which carry a £75 surcharge, charged with TR and CA postcodes at £50. There’s also a stretch of Kent postcodes at £40 too.
Timing is another factor to consider here. In-stock sofas move faster, but made-to-order pieces take up to 10 weeks. Pre-order estimates can run over expected delivery dates too due to external factors outside its control.
Lastly, returns aren’t entirely free either. A sofa can be returned within 14 days in its original condition, but the customer covers the courier cost of getting it back, and this can be expensive, even depending on what you’re sending back.
Final Verdict
FurnitureInstore covers a genuinely wide sofa range at prices that undercut a lot of the market, backed by in-house design, a real showroom for testing sofas in person, and finance that doesn’t require a big deposit to get started. If you’re looking for an online sofa retailer that offers a decent range of different sofas, flexible payment options and delivery across most of the UK, FurnitureInstore is definitely worth looking into.