Once you’ve finally found that perfect new piece of furniture you’ve been searching for, you probably want to get it set up and in place ASAP. Larger pieces, such as a couch or upholstered bed frame, are best left to a professional, as they can get pretty complicated. But smaller and medium-sized pieces are often straightforward enough to be assembled on your own at home, if you prefer not to pay for professional assembly.
To minimize the possibility of damage and ensure your new piece will hold up to use, it’s important to take the proper preparation steps and follow instructions carefully during assembly. Here are a few tips from our furniture pros to help set you and your new furniture up for success!
1) Get your space ready.
Before you open any boxes or dig out any Allen wrenches, you first need to prepare the area where you’ll be assembling your furniture. You should be assembling your new piece close to or in the same spot where you plan on placing it. It’ll be much easier to put your new desk together in your home office, for example, than assemble it in the living room and have to maneuver it upstairs or across the house.
Give yourself plenty of room to work with and push all surrounding furniture pieces out of the way. Prepare a sturdy, even work surface, such as a section of hardwood or concrete flooring. You may need to remove carpet, or you can lay the cardboard box your furniture came in out flat to protect the floors and provide a stable assembly surface.
2) Make sure you have all the necessary pieces and tools.
Once you’ve set up your work area, take your new furniture out of the box and see if all the pieces are there. Consult the instruction manual for a list of parts that should be included. As you’re taking inventory, inspect each part for damage and sort into similar groups. You may want to keep all of the hardware (nuts, bolts, screws, etc.) together, for example. Or, you can organize the pieces by what you’ll need to assemble for each step.
You should also gather any additional tools that will make assembly easier. Some furniture comes equipped with everything you need if assembly is simple. Other pieces though may require you to have your own tools, such as various screwdrivers or a hammer. Make sure you have all the tools you need before you start assembling to help streamline the process.
3) Read the instructions.
Too many people assume that they can figure out which pieces go together when assembling furniture on their own and toss the instructions aside. More often than not though, it’s not as self-explanatory as you think. If you don’t follow the instructions, there’s a good chance you’ll mess up without realizing it and prolong the assembly process, or even damage your new furniture. That’s why you need to read through them in their entirety before you begin.
By reading all of the instructions first, you’ll know what the process entails and be able to go into it fully prepared. Reading through the full assembly process is also necessary so you can determine if you’ll need somebody to help you. The last thing you want is to spend an hour putting together your new furniture piece and then get stuck on a step that you can’t manage safely by yourself.
4) Take your time.
Rushing the assembly process is only going to increase the likelihood that you’ll make a mistake. After putting in the effort to search for the right new piece of furniture, investing your money in it, and spending the time to put it together, it’s worth it to take the time to assemble it properly.
Approaching the process with patience will help keep you from getting frustrated and either giving up or messing up. Spend time double checking your work at each step. This way, you won’t make a mistake that you have to backtrack and undo later.
As a premier, full-scale furniture store in West Bloomfield, Sherwood Studios has everything you need to transform and/or complete your space. Our 23,000 square foot showroom features top-quality furniture, artwork, accessories, lighting solutions, rugs, and more to help you achieve the home interior you’ve always wanted. Plus, our experts will be on hand to answer any questions you have about assembly, style, or anything else.
Stop in today to get all of the home furniture you need!
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