Home Decor shopping with Pier 1 Imports

Lauren Anderson photography

Let’s be real here. Home goods shopping can be a seriously daunting task. Walk into a store get overwhelmed, sometimes purchase the first things you see because the store setup looks nice or just wander around and around feeling like you don’t have a plan. Well Pier 1 Imports and I have teamed up to tell you that it’s much easier than you think! Plus, when you have a new store to head out to, like their gorgeous, just opened, location in The Woodlands, Texas at Hughes Landing, then making a game plan for home decor shopping is a piece of cake.

If I could give you a few tips on home decor shopping these would be mine:

1. Enter with a game plan: be it a list in your head, an head of what your color scheme is or if you are looking for something specific walk directly to that area – and if you don’t know where that area is, just ask! 

Usually I opt to pick up one of the catalogues that usually hangs out in the front entrance of the store and more often than not is on display to catch your eye right away. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, flip through that first – get an idea of what’s new in store, what they’re promoting for the season, etc. If you have absolutely no idea what you want, carrying the catalogue along with you might just give you some of the inspiration you were looking for. Their highly thought out editorial and placement of products in each snapshot is usually spot on and can lead to some creative juices flowing!

2. Start with something small, like a pillow or a throw, and coordinate your color theme around that piece. 

I am a member of throw-pillows anonymous. I love these sorts of pillows and have them all over my home. For me my color scheme was coordinated around a few pillows I found with lime green, yellow and blue patterns – carried that baby around with me and today my living room is filled with greens, blues and hints of yellows – all from the support of that one pillow (okay, so I ultimately ended up buying a pair). For purposes of this shopping trip I gravitated towards this embellished seashell pillow. I love seashells and am an avid collector; they’re a way for me to remember all the beautiful places I’ve been lucky to visit and the gorgeous beaches I’ve stepped foot on. All of them are displayed in a hurricane jar on top of my bookshelf at home. So for me, picking out this pillow to work with was a no brainer – plus it has some texture and the colors are rather pretty and soft.

So moving along with my pillow choice, I can easily hop on over to the strategically placed furniture such as the sofas, lounge chairs or love seats to decide what I need for my pillow to look great with. Remember, almost all home decor stores, including Pier 1 Imports, offer multiple different types of fabric options for their upholstery. So don’t feel like you’re locked into one choice and that’s it!

3. Sit on and get comfortable in any pieces of furniture you might like and want to take home, FIRST! And get comfy, sit, lay, curl up for more than a few minutes. 

Furniture is an investment. Unless your purchasing it for cheapo usage in college dorms or apartments, the furniture you purchase after that phase in your life and moving forward are pieces that may, and hopefully will stay in your home for years to come. With that being said, you need to take sometime to check out these pieces. Say this Pier 1 Imports couch; you need to sit on it, get comfortable, act as if you would act on your couch at home. Don’t worry what other people in the store think, you’re just doing your due-diligence! I was personally drawn to this tufted sofa because, well, it went well with my shell pillow. But above that, the upholstery is a neutral, a beige to be exact – I personally stay away from true white, as much as I love it because I don’t trust myself, or my pup to keep dirt stains off it – and the tufted details give it an interesting factor that acts as almost a small accessory to the piece. Plus, who knows how the store styled the piece – you may look around you and get inspiration from that too!

Lauren Anderson photography

If you enter any home goods store, but especially Pier 1 Imports, with these three steps, I promise you, you will not leave unsatisfied. Hunting for furniture for that new space, home, or apartment can be daunting… if you let it. Don’t let it be a daunting task! Have fun, use your imagination, let the store provoke your creativity and help you figure out what you need. I mean, that’s why stores like Pier 1 Imports are laid out the way they are – you see I entered, found my catalogue, saw the throw pillows, made my way over to that section and right next to it was the furniture that would be aptly suited for my pillow – easy! Plus it should be fun, and I definitely had fun at this new Pier 1 Imports location scouting out everything they had to offer. Stay tuned for more home decor shopping tips with Pier 1 Imports, but in the meantime, have a great weekend!

Outfit details

Shirt: Equipment (wearing an xs) // Pants: Theory // Shoes: Elaine Turner (on sale!) // Bag: Mansur Gavriel (similar) // Watch: Kate Spade // Earrings: Elaine Turner // Necklace: Asha // Ring: Julie Vos

This post was brought to you in partnership with Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help make Girl Wonder Life possible!