Affordable furniture: Mid-range stores that won’t break the bank

What do you do when you graduate from Ikea? Where should you shop when you’ve outgrown the DIY-attitude of easy assembly and flat-packed transport, when your tastes (and budget) begin to expand, and your eye is better trained to spot quality and timeless design over what can be the obvious, ubiquitous choice?

To assist you in your post-Ikea home furnishing adventures, we’ve put together a list of 12 mid-range furniture companies and stores that produce solid, well-made pieces in sophisticated styles and designs that are meant to take you into your next stage of life—and beyond.

Although some of these stores offer goods that are firmly in the realm of luxury, there are plenty of products available starting in the low-$100s and up to $2,000 for larger pieces, like sofas.

From startups like Akron Street, to stylish Scandinavian companies like Hem, here are your best bets for decorating your home with grown-up pieces that won’t break the bank—but won’t insult it, either.

Akron Street

Akron Street

New York-based Akron Street is the brainchild of two Harvard Graduate School of Design grads Hansley Yunez and Lulu Li (read a Q&A here!) who set out to create a line of simple, but beautiful, well-crafted, everyday furniture meant to last. Goods start at $95 for a coat rack and go up to $980 for a king bed.

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This direct-to-consumer online furniture brand has a wide selection of modern sofas, beds, chairs, tables, and more, with products starting at $50 and plenty of larger pieces for under $1,000. Peep seasonal sales for additional savings.

Blu Dot

Blu Dot, founded in 1997 by three Minneapolis friends looking for well-made, affordable, modern furniture, offers just that: Good-looking, durable, classic, contemporary designs at competitive prices.

Hem

Hem

Hem, a furniture and design studio headquartered in Stockholm, works directly with designers to dream up timeless yet delightful pieces like pouf cubes, tripod coffee tables, and thimble stools made of steel, brass, and copper, all manufactured exclusively for its customers.

Interior Define

Bridget Badore courtesy of Interior Define

Another online direct-to-consumer shop (but with showrooms in select U.S. cities), Interior Define offers a bit more customization for its lineup of modern living, dining, and bedroom furniture. Pick the size, material, color, and finish for sofas (starting from low $1,000s), dining tables (starting from $1,000), and beds (starting under $2,000).

Muuto

Muuto—from the Finnish word muutos, which means “new perspective”—is a design-world favorite, and it’s no wonder why. The Copenhagen-based company handpicks contemporary designers to create products that put a fresh spin on Scandinavian aesthetics. You’ll recognize its iconic coffee table and the stacking shelving system from some of your favorite home tours.

Crate & Barrel and CB2

Based in Northbrook, Illinois, Crate & Barrel—and its lower-priced younger sibling CB2—is your one-stop shop for accessible modern home goods, at prices ranging from reasonable to investment-worthy. CB2’s recent collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, Goop, and Crate & Barrel’s acquisition of The Land of Nod add fresh finds to the product lineup.

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters has been beefing up its home goods offerings in stores and online, making it a promising spot for scoring on-trend piece—from beds to linens to lighting—that lean ever so slightly toward the realm of whimsy. Think restrained eclecticism.

Schoolhouse

This Portland-based company manufactures lighting, furniture, and analog clocks, to name a few, creating original products as well as collaborating with outside craftspeople to bring quality American design to the masses.

Capsule Home

Capsule

Los Angeles design studio Capsule Home offers a streamlined catalog of goods ranging from striped pillows to coffee tables, but its their reasonably priced sofas that are the main draw. “Small Space” sofas begin at $399 and sectionals top out at $2,499 (though it’s currently offered at $2,299 for a limited time).

Umbra

Established in 1979, Umbra is a Canadian design company focused on reimagining everyday goods into original modern products that are also affordable. We’re already fans of this $20 trash can, but that’s not all: The brand carries everything from entryway furniture to small kitchen items to charming hooks.

Hay

Danish design-world darling Hay is quickly becoming a destination brand, recently teaming up with Ikea and relaunching its online site, not to mention opening its first store in the U.S. in Portland, Oregon. The brand’s bread and butter are its stylishly functional housewares and streamlined modern furniture pieces.