Retailer Review: HomeGoods - Home Furnishings, Decor, Kitchenware and More

I must admit that I am madly in smitten with the nationwide HomeGoods chain. I fell in love with the store five years ago on my first trip to a store with a friend who had just purchased herself a new home. She raved about their selection of lamps, linens, kitchen ware, serving pieces, dinnerware, wall art, and especially the furniture. I felt like Alice tumbling into a retail Wonderland of ... home goods of all sorts and types, and have never looked back.

As a new homeowner myself, HomeGoods is my 'go-to' and first stop for every possible item that they carry. It's not Ikea, it's not Sears or KMart. HomeGoods' products are both more upscale and pricier than those retailers. However, their goods are not 'disposable', or with a limited life span, as are most things you'd buy at Ikea. If you're furnishing your college dorm room or apartment, or are on a very limited budget, or are renting a place and don't want to spend good money on items you may have to leave behind, then by all means check out Ikea. I can tell you that most of Ikea's furniture is made from particle board, having found this out first hand. My husband had purchased some items for me there, including a coffee and end table. The end table lasted about two months before it suffered a fatal, very obvious and ugly gash on its side, rendering it pretty much unusable. Their stuff is lightweight, so I'm not surprised that it didn't take much to damage the table. Because of the particle board construction, Ikea also sells a 'finishing' product that is recommended to clean and wipe down their furniture, since it's very prone to holding marks, stains, dirt, etc. My new kitchen, in fact, was done entirely in Ikea products, and, sadly, looks like it. (New drawer pulls should take some of the sterile, inexpensive look away, I'm hoping.) In short, you really do get what you pay for.

Surprisingly, many of HomeGoods' prices aren't that far removed from those of bargain brand places like Ikea, Rooms to Go, KMart, Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, and J.C. Penney. What sets them apart is that they carry higher-end pieces at very decent prices, have a fabulous selection of items, are re-stocked three times a week, cater to the local demographics, and have their own credit card, which is valid at HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, all three of which are jointly owned. While my husband had suggested a large, elaborate entertainment system from Ikea whose total price before taxes was $1100, I found a perfectly charming, genuine wood, 'beachy' looking system with very clean lines at HomeGoods for $399. I wanted items for my tiny gardens; HomeGoods has those, too. (Among the pieces recently on display: a heavy stone pelican planted firmly on a piling, with space for an outdoor lantern; St. Francis; garden trellises made of PVC, metal and stone; weather-resistant dining tables, umbrellas and chairs.)

Since I've only lived in my Clearwater, Florida villa for a little over three months now, I'm very, very particular about following the design plan I'd chosen: an understated, earth-toned look suitable for a home 8 miles from the beauty of Clearwater Beach. No heavy, dark furniture. Lots of understated, clever, wall hangings that carry on a water/fish/sea shore theme. Clean lines in my chairs and tables. Unusual pieces. In short, HomeGoods has helped me build not only the home that I want, but how I now view myself: as a Florida resident.

I had shopped frequently at the local HomeGoods in my prior home in southern New Jersey, and always found interesting pieces there. They have a fabulous selection of lamps in particular, as well as wall art, both framed photos, oil based art, metal art, etc. If I have a bone to pick with H.G., it's that there are so many items in their stores - and again, they're re-stocked three times a week, with trucks coming in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - that I sometimes tend to overlook something because it's tucked away on a shelf. You need to make the commitment to spend TIME shopping there. It's a great place to browse, but you run the risk of losing out on something special if you don't commit to making it a search.

The furniture department at HG isn't huge, and it's not the place to shop if you need a bedroom suite or a matching living room set. The store specializes in individual pieces, with heavy emphasis on interesting tables - many of which have the 'distressed' look, or the hand-painted look, chairs - big, overstuffed chairs, recliners, kitchen chairs of funky Plexiglass, Parsons chairs for a dining room set, entertainment centers, display cabinets, wall clocks, storage chests, armoires, and much more. It's really not all that difficult to select your dining room table, then come back in a week or two to find that chairs that perfectly go with your new table have just arrived on the showroom floor.

If you don't already have a HG credit card account, I'd strongly suggest that you get one if you, like myself, fall madly in love with their stock (and their very friendly, helpful employees). The interest rate is low, and on the day you open up your account, you get 10% off of your entire first purchase - so make sure that you open it up on a day you're planning to buy something big and "expensive". I opened mine on the day I snatched up a genuine Lane recliner for $299, plus sofa pillows, accent pieces, a bathroom storage cabinet, and a sheet set. They also have gift cards, so start dropping hints for your birthday, anniversary and holidays. I did, and my daughters' $50 gift card to HG netted me another $50 off of the recliner I'd been searching for and am still loving!

The stores are arranged by categories, which include home decor (a broad spectrum!), artwork, linens and bedding, furniture, cookware, serving ware, specialty foods, outdoor furnishings and garden statuary, artificial flowers, wreaths and potted plants, kitchen appliances, fine crystal and china, and seasonal. They also have large sections of "Clearance" areas in each department, where some pretty good finds are waiting to be snatched up.

Since I live in western Florida, my local HG has an inordinately large amount of "Beach Ware" and outdoor furniture. I recently picked up a darling white three-setting outdoor chaise WITH matching white footstool for only $49 for both pieces. It's perfectly sized for those of us who live in villas, condos and apartments as well as smallish homes. (It would have been terribly out of place at my southern Jersey store, where there are few apartments, moderate interest in outdoor furniture - especially in January! - and much larger homes on big lots.) There are three aisles devoted solely to "beachy" pieces, like sea shell lamps, wall art devoted to beach scenes, starfish, a very cool blue painted little fish-shaped end table (saw it one day, went back for it the next - gone!), nautical clocks, large replications of sail boats, and, of course, pink flamingos in every imaginable use. Among my favorite and recent purchases was my bedroom nightstand lamp: a square Lucite base holding a star fish surrounded by shimmery replications of life at the bottom of the sea; that fabulous Lane recliner, in the perfect fabric and the perfect size; a large glass frog, painted in silvery tones who stands (sits?) guard at the end of the wonderful white shuttered entertainment center; my dining room chairs, perfectly sized and perfectly comfortable in a smashing, easy-care fabric; the squared sea shell themed artwork which sits on my dresser, reminding me every morning that I can "Change my thoughts, and I can change the world...".

I would encourage everyone to pay at least one visit to HomeGoods, but especially anyone looking to freshen up their existing home with one or two cool, unique and well-made accent pieces or a rug or two, new homeowners to comparison price on the well-made wood HG furniture, or those, like myself, who are looking for an entirely new decorating look to match their entirely new outlook on life. I highly recommend this chain!