As someone who recently moved into a new home, I know two things about furnishing a living space: looking through options is the fun part, while the purchase, delivery and setup are the biggest sources of potential headache. That’s why buying local is always the best choice, and if you go with the right spot, it saves you money, too.
In Tampa, our go-to is Dwell & Company. The locally-owned and operated furniture and home goods store always hits that perfect mix of quality, service and price. Being local is a key reason for all of that. With Dwell & Co, you know what you’re getting, you’re getting it quicker, and they can take care of everything for you, from delivery and setup to free personal design services. These are the five factors that make Dwell & Co our recommendation for anyone shopping for furniture for home or office.
Take it for a test drive
This is the obvious one, so we’ll lead with this first. You get to see, touch and try out pieces in person, rather than just ordering online and hoping for the best. I’m certainly not the only person who had a long-awaited shipment come in only to assemble it and think, “Huh, this looked better on the website.”
Seeing things in real life, you know exactly what colors, textures, sizes and experiences you’re getting. It’s certainly better than looking at a delivery and trying to figure out who in the world decided that color qualified as “olive.”
Free design service
One of the most underrated values in all of Tampa Bay is Dwell & Co’s free design service. It’s one of the best deals in town, and it will make your next project look like a million bucks (without costing it). The personally-curated designs are created to match any style, as well as any budget. It’s perfect for new homes, AirBNBs, guest rooms, offices, or any entertaining spaces. Don’t see what you like in the store? They’ll personally source it for you from their dozens of trade vendors – a service typical interior design firms charge thousands for.
The process is led by Dwell & Company’s in-house designers and stagers, who meet with you individually to customize a plan tailored to your exact needs and dreams. To them, curated means that your home is thoughtfully designed around your life – not a one-size-fits-all showroom look. No two projects are ever the same, and their team doesn’t recycle ideas—they listen, assess, and build a plan based on your space, your needs, and your budget.
The best part is that you don’t pay for the service. Dwell & Company provides the expert guidance free of charge, so all you pay for is the furniture you were getting anyway.
Get high-end, designer looks for less
Another of the great perks is the ability to get high-end pieces at significantly discounted prices. In addition to Dwell & Co’s massive warehouse of brand new, designer, and luxury furniture, the store also offers access to gently used pieces from its luxury staging studio. That allows them to repurpose high-end, gently used pieces that you can take home at up to 80% off retail prices.
With Dwell & Company being local, all those luxury pieces stay in Tampa. Living here, we get to take advantage and come with designer furniture for warehouse prices. Between that and the free design services, Dwell & Co can make your space look ready for Hollywood without breaking the bank.
Get your stuff fast
For me, the biggest benefit of shopping local is how quickly your pieces arrive. There’s nothing worse than getting excited about a new couch and then not seeing it in your home for another two months. Once you’ve picked something out and paid for it, you want it ASAP.
No matter what you’re in the market for, you won’t have to wait once you’ve made your selections. Dwell & Company has thousands of pieces in its warehouses. There’s no shipping lag time, no lost shipments – just your new furniture being delivered from down the street.
Dwell & Company’s warehouses are local, which means the majority of their pieces are delivered as soon as a delivery team is available to bring them out. It’s faster delivery and shorter lead times than you get at the big box store, and you get the feel-good of shopping local.
Full service delivery and setup
I’m proud of my friends who went into engineering, carpentry and the like. But there’s a reason I’m a writer and not a mechanic. That makes Dwell & Co’s promise to not only deliver, but also provide full-service setup and trash takeaway in the process, all for one flat fee, so meaningful.
You don’t have to worry about assembly or losing hours of your weekend trying to follow instructions spread across 12 pieces of paper. You don’t even have to worry about breaking down boxes to fit in your recycling. Dwell & Co takes care of it all. Whether you’re handy or not, the stress-free aspect is the big win here. Plus, with professional assembly, you know it’s being done right.
All you have to do is open the door and wave them in.
Shop local with Dwell & Company
The benefits of shopping local are hard to argue. The service, the price, and the selection are all top notch. Dwell & Company’s personal touches are what make the locally-owned store such a Tampa treasure. They aren’t a big box store answering to corporate. They have roots in the community and a passion for providing the type of friendly and supportive service you get from a neighbor.
“We’re a team of professional stagers—people who design and install full homes in a single day for a living,” Dwell & Co says. “We understand speed, quality, timelines, and emotional impact. And we’re willing to go the extra mile for everyone—from a first-time apartment dweller to a luxury homeowner redesigning their fifth property.”
The promise is five-star service, whether you’re spending $500 or $50,000. And that’s what makes their design services work so well. You can meet with a designer at the store, in your home, or even virtually. Their promise, backed up by hundreds of five-star reviews, is that you won’t just love the furniture – you’ll love the entire experience, from picking out your new pieces all the way to the professional installation.
Learn more about Dwell & Company, as well as their full design services,