Over the past few years, we have all become more adept at choosing and ordering furniture online without feeling the need to pop to a store with a measuring tape and wallpaper samples.
Of course, nothing compares to feeling the texture of a fabric and inspecting the design intricacies of furniture in real life, but adaptations have been made, and online retail is only becoming a smoother and more convenient experience.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the online furniture stores that we go to on a regular basis, from reliable UK stalwarts like John Lewis, to the quirky homeware brands like Pooky, as well as some best kept secrets gleaned from our stylists and editors.
For those looking for more affordable pieces, there are plenty of high street retailers listed, alongside independent vintage and antiques stores, some British design favourites, and the places to go if you’re looking for little luxuries or an investment piece.
Read on for 45 of our favourite stores to browse when shopping online…
1. OKA
Best for: global influences
OKA’s style is a blend of cultures and aesthetics – it’s quintessentially British, but well-travelled. At the heart of OKA’s collection is a thirst for exploration, evidenced in the abundance of richly patterned furniture and soft furnishings, and global treasures and trinkets.
Shop OKA
2. Liberty London
Best for: Unusual home trinkets
Something of a London institution, Liberty’s furniture and homeware selection is a riotous peek into the more eccentric side of British design tastes. You’ll always discover up-and-coming independent brands, as well as plenty of playful pieces, and of course, the famous Liberty fabrics.
Shop Liberty London
3. Pooky
Best for: Printed lampshades
A go-to for colourful lampshades, unique pendant lights, and eye-catching floor lamps. Pooky was made for country homes, and you could kit out every room with their extensive lighting selection.
Shop Pooky
4. DFS
Best for: Traditional sofas with a twist
A British leader in well-made and design-conscious sofas. DFS sell everything from traditional button-back sofas in sumptuous upholstery, to sleek and modern loveseats in contemporary pastel shades.
Shop DFS
5. John Lewis & Partners
Best for: Reliable basics
The go-to for everything home-related, from your coffee machine to your bed frame. John Lewis is the dependable retailer with an array of furniture and homeware to suit every budget. We love the affordable ANYDAY range.
Shop John Lewis & Partners
6. The White Company
Best for: Elegant neutrals
If you’re shopping for anything neutral, The White Company is the only store you’ll need. The picture of understated elegance, their collection covers soft furnishings, decorative accessories, an array of kitchen essentials, and an extensive selection of candles and diffusers.
Shop The White Company
7. Neptune
Best for: Statement oak furniture
Classic interiors, made with conviction. Neptune is the destination for country-inspired furniture made from quality materials. Here you’ll find solid oak dining tables made for entertaining, sink-in soft upholstered armchairs and exquisite farmhouse kitchens.
8. Graham & Green
Best for: Eclectic accessories
From gold flamingo table lamps, to fringed velvet feature chairs and recycled cotton hammocks, Graham & Green is home to the quirky, unexpected, bold, and joyful. As well as the online destination, they have stores in London and Bath, and an outlet in Chippenham full of treasures to delight and inspire.
Shop Graham & Green
9. Sophie Allport
Best for: Printed kitchen linens
Nobody does playful print quite like Sophie Allport. Her sweet animal-inspired motifs cover kitchen linens, ceramics, and soft furnishings that would be at home in any country kitchen – a Sophie Allport tablescape is really second to none.
10. Homebase
Best for: Under the radar
A trove of unexpected treasures. Homebase is the practical homeowners destination for renovation materials, garden supplies, DIY everything, and a growing collection of brilliant homeware finds and classic shaker kitchens.
11. The Conran Shop
Best for: Investment pieces
A must for mid-century design enthusiasts. The iconic Conran Shop stocks all the design greats, from Arne Jacobsen and Hans J. Wegner, to Verner Panton, Jean Prouvé, Poul Kjærholm, and Charlotte Perriand.
12. Soho Home
Best for: Statement bed frames
If you have ever admired the modern interiors of Soho House, or the country-inspired Soho Farmhouse, then Soho Home brings them to you. The brand was born after guests began asking if they could buy the furniture and homeware on display in their rooms.
13. Birdie Fortescue
Best for: English country with a twist
Whilst Birdie Fortescue’s collection of furniture and accessories look destined for a home in the English countryside, there are distinct influences from and references to her travels. We’re big fans of her lampshade collection and the tableware can’t be beaten.
Shop Birdie Fortescue
14. Vinterior
Best for: Vintage finds
Vinterior is the UK’s leading pre-owned furniture marketplace, which means it has choice and lots of it. The site is a labyrinth of mid-century, antique, Art Deco and more, and you can while away happy hours browsing through it all.
15. Dreams
Best for: Handmade mattresses
Good sleep matters, and quality beds can help. Dreams is the leading UK specialist for beds, and stock a huge array of traditional wooden bed frames, sumptuously upholstered storage ottomans, and the best handmade mattresses.
Shop Dreams
16. Carpetright
Best for: Luxury without the price tag
A British stalwart, and a convenient one-stop shop for all types of flooring. Carpetright is our reliable source of sink-in soft carpets, textured area rugs, pure wood flooring, and realistic laminate. Plus, their clever room visualiser makes it easy to pick the right style to suit your space.
Shop Carpetright
17. Cox & Cox
Best for: Understated finishing touches
Cox & Cox make the perfect complements to an understated home. Their online store is full of neutral colours, whitewashed wood, and textured ceramics – essentially anything you’d find in an elegantly arranged beachfront home.
18. The Country Living Marketplace
Best for: Independent artisans
The Country Living Marketplace is a go-to online shopping destination for high-quality artisan products. From lovingly-made homeware to delicate soft furnishings, and from eye-catching prints to thoughtful gifts and beautiful jewellery, you’re sure to find a keepsake item you love.
Shop The Country Living Marketplace
19. Dunelm
Best for: Affordable surprises
Country and city dwellers alike should consider Dunelm for their basics and homeware must-haves. They stock a vast array of bedlinen, soft furnishings, lighting, sofas, dining chairs, accessories, blinds – you name it. Styles run the gamut from simple and modern to quintessential country.
Shop Dunelm
20. Emma Bridgewater
Best for: Playful tableware
Pattern, pattern everywhere. Emma Bridgewater is another go-to for accessories adorned with quaint – and very British – motifs. Plus, all of the lovely ceramic pieces are made from in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of British pottery.
21. Home Barn
Best for: Well-preserved vintage pieces
Straight from the glossy pages of Country Living magazine, our editors and stylists use Home Barn the find the best vintage and antique furniture for photo shoots, and to adorn our country homes.
22. Garden Trading
Best for: Anything storage
Thanks to Garden Trading, our utility rooms have never looked so good. This is the shop for well-designed kitchen and bathroom storage, as well as attractive versions of humble household products, like bins and floor mops.
23. Selfridges
Best for: Little luxuries
Selfridges are great for branded homeware – Diptyque candles, Wedgewood crockery, and Waterford glassware are all under one roof. But you can also find some brilliant garden and outdoor accessories like a striped parasol or traditional picnic basket.
Shop Selfridges
24. Scumble Goosie
Best for: Painted furniture
Another great find straight from the Country Living stylists. Scumble Goosie is as quirky as the name suggests, selling antique and handmade wooden furniture that would be at home in any country cottage. Plus, any wood piece in the store can be painted, stained or sealed on request.
25. Loaf
Best for: Feature armchairs
The purveyors of squishy sofas. You can tell that Loaf make the comfiest, sink-in soft sofas without even trying them out in stores. Fans of pastel colours and extra deep seating will be spoilt for choice.
26. Nkuku
Best for: Ethical homeware
One of the best sustainable homeware retailers around. Everything they sell, from armchairs to mirrors, is ethical, eco-friendly, and handmade. Nkuku operates with total transparency too, which makes it easier for customers to make informed choices.
Shop Nkuku
27. Alice Palmer & Co
Best for: Everything soft
Simply the best soft lamp covers and ruffled cushions out there. Browse the dreamy website for block printed, striped and embroidered soft furnishings and Moroccan-inspired ceramic lampshades. A brilliant follow on Instagram too for a peak into Alice’s wonderful home.
Shop Alice Palmer & Co
28. Barker & Stonehouse
Best for: Industrial furniture
Barker & Stonehouse is an Aladdin’s cave of a retailer – if you ever visit one of their 11 locations, schedule plenty of time for browsing. Most people would find something online to suit their taste, and it would be an especially fruitful virtual shopping trip if you are a fan of industrial or farmhouse styles.
Shop Barker & Stonehouse
29. Glassette
Best for: Discovering small businesses
The coolest independent brands are on Glassette, where hand-painted ceramics are sold next to mohair lampshades, block-printed cushions and handmade bobbin picture frames. It’s like going shopping inside an artist’s studio.
Shop Glassette
30. Pamono
Best for: Hunting for antiques
Pamono is a brilliant marketplace housing some of the best antique resellers and vintage dealers both near and far. They cover every conceivable design style, era and budget, and it’s a total delight to browse through the site in search of something truly special.
Shop Pamono
31. Toast
Best for: Understated extras
Toast makes homeware for slow living, like organic cotton bedspreads, linen aprons, and essential oil soaps, as well as beautifully designed non-essentials, from a hand-thrown butter dish to a jute water bottle carrier.
32. Heal’s
Best for: Designer pieces
Heal’s have operated out of its legendary Tottenham Court Road store for over 200 years, and its influence on modern furniture retail continues to this day. Online, you’ll find a nice mix of designer pieces (a lot of lighting, some traditional Ercol, and mid-century classics,) alongside the well-loved Heal’s furniture collection.
Shop Heal’s
33. Royal Academy of Arts
Best for: Homeware you won’t find anywhere else
The RA shop is full of artwork, naturally, alongside hefty coffee table books, exclusive artist collaborations, pottery and the most interesting homeware. Not just for art lovers, but definitely for you if you like your accessories with a great story.
Shop Royal Academy of Arts
34. Colefax and Fowler
Best for: Country-inspired fabric
A quintessentially English brand, Colefax & Fowler is renowned for the exceptional craftsmanship that goes into its fabrics and wall coverings. If you’re after a refresh of any upholstered pieces in your home, Colefax & Fowler has every conceivable colour and pattern available.
Shop Colefax and Fowler
35. French Connection
Best for: Modern rustic
Modern rustic is a fairly specific design theme within country homes that rely on raw finishes, a lot of exposed wood and, for the most part, handmade or artisanal products. French Connection’s home collection is a bit of a short cut to modern rustic, plus they have some of the most insta-famous Persian and Moroccan rugs.
Shop French Connection
36. Matches
Best for: Fashion-forward homeware
A real destination for up and coming designers in homeware. Much like their fashion, Matches’ selection of vases, tableware, home fragrance and cushions are achingly cool and covetable. Their cushions collection in particular takes some beating.
Shop Matches
37. Lights4fun
Best for: LED everything
Lights4fun is an absolute must-shop. A total treasure trove of fairy lights, children’s night lights, outdoor lights and the absolute best LED pillar candles with a convincing creamy white base and faux flickering flame.
Shop Lights4fun
38. Cath Kidston
Best for: Prints, of course
Cath Kidston prints are entwined with British culture. Oven gloves are printed in playful polka dots, duster coats are dressed in gingham, and everything from cushions to sofas bear great British motifs like London buses and English garden roses.
Shop Cath Kidston
39. Matches Fashion
Best for: Fashion-forward homeware
A real destination for up and coming designers in homeware. Much like their fashion, Matches’ selection of vases, tableware, home fragrance and cushions are achingly cool and covetable. Their cushions collection in particular takes some beating.
Shop Matches Fashion
40. Daylesford
Best for: Dreamy household goods
Stoneware crockery used in the Daylesford cafe, wicker baskets for carrying groceries and picnics and scented candles inspired by nature – Daylesford sells the everyday accompaniments for a dreamy countryside lifestyle.
Shop Daylesford
41. Selency
Best for: Scouring European antiques market
Selency is what every secondhand and antique shop should be. It is an absolute treat to browse, full of design delights and unique finds at affordable price points. Pieces are sourced from all over Europe and cover every conceivable design era. It is up there with our favourites.
Shop Selency
42. Partnership Editions
Best for: Affordable original art
Partnership Editions aims to make remarkable art accessible to all. They work collaboratively with some of today’s most exciting emerging artists, selling prints and originals from just £60.
Shop Partnership Editions
43. Trove by Studio Duggan
Best for: The interior designer’s eye
TROVE is a new venture from interior design firm Studio Duggan. Their offering embodies Studio Duggan’s signature style – nomadic yet timeless, with an emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. Their pieces are nothing short of extraordinary.
Shop Trove
44. Merchant & Found
Best for: Statements from the archives
We would recommend Merchant & Found for its fabulous 1960s industrial pendant lights alone, which are oversized and perfect for a country kitchen. Have a look too at the 1950s bistro dining chairs and their collection of restored Mucke Melder armchairs too.
Shop Merchant & Found
45. Colours of Arley
Best for: Striped fabrics
Colours of Arley is known for making the best striped fabrics in distinctive colour pairings. They also release a small number of fabulous vintage collections made up of preloved pieces reupholstered in signature Colours of Arley stripes, chosen by journalist and designer, Jess Alavi-Ellis.
Shop Colours of Arley
Rachel Edwards is the Style & Interiors Editor for Country Living and House Beautiful, covering all things design and decoration, with a special interest in small space inspiration, vintage and antique shopping, and anything colour related. Her work has been extensively translated by Elle Japan and Elle Decor Spain. Rachel has spent over a decade in the furniture and homeware industry as a writer, FF&E designer, and for many years as Marketing Manager at cult design retailer, Skandium. She has a BA in French and Italian from Royal Holloway and an MA in Jounalism from Kingston University. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelaed
link