Key takeaways
- Selling home accessories is all about atmosphere and exact dimensions.
- Large or fragile items require separate shipping rules.
- Showcase products in a real space next to a product photo.
- With Microcart you can quickly open your home webshop.
Home accessories are a rewarding niche to sell online: people like to make their home beautiful, often buy based on feeling and come back for the next season. Whether you sell candles, vases, textiles, prints or small furniture — you can build a loyal audience with a recognizable style and beautiful images. This guide shows you what to look for, from purchasing to shipping.
Choose a style and target group
“Living” is broad; you distinguish yourself with a clear style. Minimalist and natural, colorful and playful, vintage, Scandinavian, rural — choose a direction that suits you and that a group of people can identify with. A recognizable style makes your brand stronger and your marketing easier, because people follow you for the atmosphere, not just for one product.
Purchase or make it yourself?
- Make it yourself — handmade items (ceramics, macramé, candles) give the highest margin and a unique story, but your production is limited.
- Purchase and resell — scale faster; then choose a style and quality that suits your brand. See purchase products for your webshop.
Many home furnishings web shops combine: a few of their own, unique pieces in addition to a carefully chosen range that matches.
Shipping: please note: fragile and bulky
Home furnishings are often fragile (vases, glass, ceramics) or large (textiles, small furniture), and that affects your shipping:
- pack fragile items extra well — protect corners and fill space so nothing slides;
- take volume into account: large, light boxes can be charged by size instead of weight;
- calculate shipping costs fairly or work with a free shipping limit to encourage larger orders.
The general approach is in send cheap packages, although if you are fragile you should consciously opt for sturdier (and sometimes more expensive) packaging — a broken vase will cost you more than the extra packaging.
Photos and styling: this is what you use to sell
When it comes to home accessories, image is everything. People buy the atmosphere:
- show the product in a beautiful setting (styled in a room), so that people imagine how it looks on them;
- also take a clean product photo on a neutral background for the details;
- keep your photo style consistent — that makes your webshop and your Instagram one recognizable whole.
You can read how to do this with your phone in taking product photos.
Respond to the seasons
Living is highly seasonal: fresh spring, summery, autumn atmosphere, Christmas. Plan your collections and your content around those moments, because people renew their interiors with the seasons. That always gives you a natural reason to show something new and bring back customers.
Think of bundles and gifts
Home accessories are ideal for gifts and sets. A candle with a matching basket, a set of three vases, a “new house” package — by bundling products you increase your average order value and make it easy for the customer to give something. A large part of home purchases is a gift. Take advantage of this around holidays and the moving season with beautiful packaging and a personal card; this increases both your turnover and the chance that someone will discover your brand through the gift they received.
Where will you sell?
Your own webshop is the place where your style and atmosphere come into their own — living is all about experience. Combine it with a visual showcase on social media, where interiors do particularly well. The specific approach for a residential webshop can be found on our page about a residential webshop.
Common mistakes
- No recognizable style, so you disappear among all the other home improvement shops.
- Pack fragile items too lightly, resulting in damage and returns.
- Only bare product photos without atmospheric images.
- Not using the seasons to plan collections and content.
Frequently asked questions
How do I distinguish myself with a home furnishings webshop?
With a clear, recognizable style and strong atmospheric images. People follow and buy because of the feeling you radiate, not because of one individual product.
How do I ship fragile home accessories safely?
Pack extra well: protect corners, fill empty space so nothing slides, and choose a sturdy box. The extra packaging is cheaper than a broken product.
Should I make my own or buy it?
Both are possible. Making it yourself gives high margins and a unique story; purchasing scales faster. Many home furnishing web shops combine.
How do I take good product photos for living?
Show the product styled in a room and as a clean product photo on a neutral background. Keep your style consistent across all photos.
Why are seasons important?
People renew their interior with the seasons. By planning your collections and content accordingly, you always have a reason to show something new.
Get started
Choose a style that suits you, put together an assortment (self-made, purchased or both) and take attractive, consistent photos. Pack fragile items and plan your collections around the seasons. Ready for the specific approach? View how to start a home improvement webshop with Microcart. Do you sell more widely? Also see how to sell food or sports equipment online.
Further reading
how to start a home improvement webshop with Microcart
