LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: One of the most frequently asked questions from expats when they first arrive is: where to buy furniture in NJ ?
Many expats choose not to bring their furniture from home or only a selection. This is in case the furniture does not fit or to avoid unnecessary shipping charges on possibly unusable items. Relocated singles and sometimes young couples, may not even own much furniture back home. Many just want the chance to start from the ground up with new furnishings and decorating. The first port of call then is to find a suitable furniture store.
Like most shopping in the USA, if you need to buy furniture in NJ, there is a huge range to choose from, depending on your needs. So below is listed a range of different retailers that cover everything from high-end to discount bottom-end, and pre-used. Although I have tried to cover as much as possible, when looking for some where to buy furniture in NJ, there may be others that are not listed here.
FURNITURE SPECIALTY STORES (CHAINS)
Ethan Allen: More upmarket and higher end furniture store that offers interior decorating service as part of their services. Store Locator.
Raymour and Flannigan: A regional chain specialty furniture store that caters for all areas of the home. Medium-higher end quality and price. Lounges and sofas are often leather. Store Locator. 
Pottery Barn: Contemporary and medium to high-end furniture and home accessories, available nationally. Store Locator.
Crate and Barrel: Contemporary and medium to high-end furniture, décor, kitchenware and home accessories, available nationally. Store Locator.
Thomasville: A US-based furniture retailer with its own premium-brand furniture sold through Thomasville stores internationally including the USA, as well as independent retail stores. NJ stores are located in Paramus, Woodbridge and Princeton. Store locator.
Ikea: An international big box furniture supplier with mostly self-assembly furniture from Sweden. Popular with expats that want something temporary until they go home or abroad elsewhere. Also useful for those expats that have left all their furniture in their home country and don’t want to spend big on furniture they don`t need long-term. Ikea has only two stores in NJ, at Paramus and Elizabeth.
Pier One: National furniture chain that specializes in imported furniture, medium priced and medium quality. Store Locator. 
Ashley Furniture: A national home furniture supplier. Furniture is low-medium end, lower pricing. Store locator. 
Bob’s Discount Furniture: A national low cost home furniture supplier. Lower cost may often result in lower quality. Store locator.
Fortunoff Backyard Store: A regional outdoor furniture store. Store locator. 
INDEPENDENT BRICK & MORTAR FURNITURE STORES
Despite the proliferation of chain-stores in every retail corner of NJ, there are still several independent shops that operate from a brick and mortar store. Here are a few recommendations:
Hackettstown Trading Post: Situated west of Morristown, this store is popular with North Jersey locals, due to its excellent reputation for service during and after sales. The Trading Post offers electronics, mattresses and a wide range of furniture for all the house. It is known to match lower quotes from competitors and also sells clearance stock regularly. Hackettstown Trading Post is located at 159 Main St., Hackettstown, NJ. Tel: (908) 852-0777. (Hunterdon County)
Flemington Department Store: Like a throwback in history, this one-store department store offers many goods including furniture in an old warehouse type of building. Located just past the Flemington outlets on Route 31, this place is worth a visit just for the experience. Located at: 151 Route 31 | Flemington, NJ 08822. Tel: 1-888-877-2192. (Hunterdon County)
Other popular independent or stand-alone furniture stores in Northern NJ (or nearby) include:
- Bograds Fine Furniture: 81 Hamburg Tpk., Riverdale, NJ Tel: (888) 428-7953. This store has a very large showroom. High end furniture and rugs. (Bergen County)
- Greenbaum Interiors: 101 Washington St, Paterson, NJ 07505. Tel: 973-279-3000. Also located in Ridgewood and Morristown. Very high-end furniture and full interior decorating services. (Essex County)
- British Home Emporium: 89-91 Main St, Madison, NJ 07940. Tel: 973-443-0303. High end furniture, accessories, interior decorating service with customized woodwork. (Morris County)
- Town and Country: 266 Main St, Madison, NJ 07940. Tel: (973) 966-6688. High end furniture, accessories, interior decorating service. (Morris County)
- Rider Furniture: 4621 NJ-27, Kingston, NJ 08528. Tel: (609) 924-0147 (Middlesex/Somerset County: just north of Princeton)
- Lauter`s Fine Furniture: 223 Northampton St. Easton, PA. Tel: (610) 258-6246. Easton, PA is located just across the NJ border from Phillipsburg NJ. Medium-end furniture with competitive pricing and free delivery and set up offered for anywhere in NJ or NY.
BEDS, MATTRESSES
Sleepys: National chain-store mattress specialists that offer bedding and furniture as well. Stores all very similar with a good show room of mattresses to see and try. Store Locator.
P.C. Richards & Sons: experts in appliances, electronics and more recently bedding (showroom). Other stores that sell mattresses include Macys, Home Goods, Sears, Pottery Barn, Ashley Furniture, Ikea and Raymour & Flannigan.
NON-SPECIALTY STORES WITH FURNITURE
Macys: National chain department store that has also some very nice quality furniture although this is not their key focus. Macys have regular sales, and store card holders usually get an extra discount. They also have a specialty furniture business called Macys Furniture Gallery stores which sell sofas, recliners, tables, rugs and lamps, bedding and mattresses. ‘Gallery’ stores are located at Paramus, Springfield, Willowbrook Mall (Wayne) and North Brunswick. Shop Locator.
Bloomingdales: Similar to Macys (high-end) but sales are perhaps not so frequent. Store locator. Bloomingdales also have a furniture outlet factory store with discounted stock located at: 469 Rt.46 W, West Paterson, NJ 07424. Tel: (973) 339-5300. 
Sears: Another department store that sells furniture, as well as white goods and appliances. Store Locator.
Home Depot/Lowes: Big-box chain home improvement stores that stock outdoor furniture and electrical appliances including kitchen white goods, and some self-assembly storage items.
LOW COST FURNITURE OPTIONS
Target: big box merchandise chain store that sells a wide range of goods including a limited range of furniture items. This includes home office, outdoor furniture, and accent furniture such as coffee tables, rugs, foot stools, and other miscellaneous self-assembly furniture such as bookcase shelving etc. It does not usually stock big ticket items such as beds, lounges and sofas or big white goods instore (online range is wider). Furniture is fairly low price with matching quality.
Costco: Sell low cost individual items, often of brands that may not be mainstream. Sell some electrical appliances such as fans, TVs, etc., and a limited range outdoor furniture and furnishings instore. The Costco online store offers a far wider range.
Home Goods: Low cost home décor specialist includes furniture, mattresses and many other items. 
Unclaimed Freight store: These stores sell unclaimed freight, discontinued and odd lots, closeout stock and surpluses, factory overruns and bankruptcy liquidations from domestic manufacturers and importers. The Freight Store claims that because they buy at such low prices, they sell them for up to 70% off of their manufacturer’s retail price. There is a wide range of home goods sold here including brand name furniture. Prices are definitely low however quality is likely to be very variable and there is no guarantee of getting high end goods. Definitely worth a look if you need to limit your outlay or not furnishing an entire house.
STORE LOCATIONS IN NJ
- Clifton: 1030 Route 46 West, Clifton, NJ. Tel: (973) 594-9545
- East Brunswick: 651 S. Route 18, East Brunswick, NJ. Tel: (732) 587-1936.
USED FURNITURE
Decorators Consignment Gallery: Stand-alone consignment store with varying stock and prices. Can be a bit hit and miss but always the possibility for a great find. Store is located just west of Princeton at: 52 Railroad Place, Hopewell, NJ 08525. Tel: (609) 466-4400.
Garage Sales: Children moving out to college, spring cleanouts and relocations often create the need for garage sales in most towns in the USA. Many good pieces of furniture can be picked up this way for amazingly low prices. For people who need things in a hurry, this will not be the best way to furniture shop. However, if you have the time to wait for a particular piece, it is a very good idea. Garage sales are very common between spring and the end of summer.
Antique Stores: While there are too many antique stores in NJ to list separately, many are found in particular locations that attract weekend shoppers. These towns include: Lambertville, Frenchtown, Clinton and Chester. Closer to NYC and with less concentration but still worth a look is Red Bank, Somerville and Montclair, NJ.
Furniture Rental Companies: Large corporate furniture rental specialists such as Churchill, CORT and AFR, all sell their old ‘rental’ furniture through a clearance store or location. Some of these are located at the same address as the furniture showrooms, and some are located separately.
ONLINE STORES
There seems to be no limit to what people can buy online, and this is no different for furniture. Once upon a time, no-one in their right mind would have ordered an expensive couch, bed or accent chair via the internet for fear of getting something they didn’t like. With free shipping and easy-return policies for many online specialty retailers, purchasing has never been easier.
There are now many online sites that do furniture sales of almost any item you can think of. Here are some popular websites that do it pretty well:
Many large retailers mentioned previously including Costco, Sears, Home Goods and several others sell furniture online and often have a far greater range to choose from than instore.
OTHER STORE OPTIONS
If you are looking for something more contemporary, you could check out Contempo Space, which sells online and has a factory showroom at 220 Passaic Street, Passaic NJ 07044; Tel: 888-266-1280.
As you can see there are many, many options to choose from, and you will find it almost impossible to not buy something.
Are there any good stores that you can recommend for newcomers to visit to buy furniture in NJ ?
