Rooms to Go simplifies the decorating process with its signature complete room packages and modern, casual aesthetic, making it a go-to for those who value convenience and cohesive design. In contrast, Ashley Furniture, one of the world's largest furniture manufacturers, offers a vast and diverse selection of styles - from traditional to contemporary - with a strong emphasis on durability and flexible financing options.
Let's compare everything you need to know to choose the right furniture retailer for your home.
Rooms to Go: The Quick & Cohesive Room Solution
Rooms to Go built its reputation on an efficient and streamlined shopping experience, primarily by offering coordinated room packages. This approach appeals to first-time homeowners, renters, and anyone looking to furnish an entire space quickly without the stress of matching individual pieces. The brand’s aesthetic centers on contemporary, transitional, and casual designs that fit easily into a variety of modern homes.
- Product mix: Full home furnishings, with a special emphasis on complete, bundled room sets for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms.
- Style/vibe: Mostly modern and casual, with an aesthetic that favors clean lines, neutral colors, and versatile, crowd-pleasing designs.
- Price point: Budget-friendly to mid-range. Sofas typically start around $399, bedroom sets from $799, and dining sets from $299, with bundled room packages offering significant value.
- Quality: Construction primarily uses engineered wood, particleboard, and MDF to maintain affordable prices. It's functional furniture designed for everyday use rather than heirloom longevity.
- Shopping Experience: Known for its straightforward approach, Rooms to Go offers a user-friendly website highlighting its room packages and showrooms with cohesive vignettes to help shoppers visualize the final look.
- Delivery & Assembly: Delivery and assembly options are readily available, often bundled into the purchase price to enhance convenience for the customer.
Rooms to Go is an excellent choice for shoppers who prioritize convenience and want a stylish, coordinated look at an affordable price point.
Shop Rooms to Go: roomstogo.com
Ashley Furniture: The Versatile & Affordable Giant
As a massive international manufacturer and retailer, Ashley Furniture provides an enormous selection of furniture for every possible taste and budget. The brand is known for its incredible style diversity, frequent sales, and flexible financing that makes furnishing a home accessible. Their collections cover everything from classic and rustic to ultra-modern, ensuring virtually every shopper can find pieces that suit their personal aesthetic.
- Product mix: An extensive catalog covering all home categories, including living room, bedroom, dining, home office, outdoor furniture, and even mattresses and decor.
- Style/vibe: Extremely varied. Shoppers can find traditional, rustic, farmhouse, mid-century modern, contemporary, and eclectic styles throughout its collections.
- Price point: Affordable to mid-range. Sofas begin around $399 and dining tables around $249. Ashley Furniture is known for its frequent promotions and various financing plans.
- Quality: With an emphasis on durability for the price, Ashley uses a combination of engineered wood, solid wood, and metal components. Many upholstered pieces are available in performance fabrics designed for busy households.
- Shopping Experience: Ashley operates a vast network of physical showrooms and outlet centers, complemented by a comprehensive website with detailed product specs and customer reviews.
- Delivery & Assembly: Offers standard delivery and assembly services, with clear policies explained online and in-store.
Ashley Furniture is the go-to for buyers who want an almost endless variety of styles, durable construction, and attractive payment options.
Shop Ashley Furniture: ashleyfurniture.com
Rooms to Go vs. Ashley Furniture Comparison
Price Comparison
Both Rooms to Go and Ashley Furniture are highly competitive and aim for the budget-conscious shopper. Entry-level pricing is similar, with sofas at both retailers starting around the $399 mark. Choosing the more affordable option often depends on how you shop.
Rooms to Go typically offers better upfront value through its signature room packages, where buying a complete set results in a lower overall cost than purchasing each piece individually. Ashley, on the other hand, provides value through its constant sales events, promotional discounts, and highly flexible financing options, which can make larger individual purchases more manageable over time.
Style & Aesthetic
Style variety is a major point of difference. Rooms to Go focuses on a curated selection of modern, casual, and transitional furniture. Their collections feel contemporary and cohesive, designed to create a harmonious look with minimal effort. This makes it easy to achieve a polished, modern aesthetic quickly.
Ashley Furniture offers a much broader aesthetic spectrum. Its catalog is filled with everything from traditional carved-wood bedroom sets and rustic farmhouse dining tables to sleek, minimalist media centers. If you have a specific or niche style in mind, or if you prefer to mix and match different looks, Ashley’s extensive selection provides far more creative freedom.
Quality & Construction
When it comes to materials and build, Ashley Furniture generally places a stronger emphasis on durability. They frequently use a mix of solid wood, engineered wood, and metal frames, offering options like performance fabrics that are resistant to stains and wear. This makes Ashley a popular choice for families with children or pets.
Rooms to Go prioritizes affordability in its construction, often utilizing materials like engineered wood, particleboard, and MDF. While perfectly functional for everyday living, the materials are chosen to keep costs down, and the furniture may not have the same long-term resilience as some of Ashley’s more robustly constructed pieces.
Product Selection & Sizing
Both retailers offer pieces to fit various room dimensions, but their focus differs. Rooms to Go designs its room packages to fit standard-sized living spaces, making it simple for people furnishing typical apartments or homes. The selection is broad enough to cover all basic needs but is more constrained than its competitor’s.
Ashley’s status as a massive manufacturer means its product catalog and range of sizes are enormous. From compact loveseats perfect for a small apartment to massive, oversized sectionals for a large family room, Ashley provides significantly more options to find furniture tailored to specific spatial requirements.
Shopping Experience
The shopping journey at Rooms to Go is designed for efficiency. Its website and showrooms are organized to highlight the benefits of buying a complete, pre-styled room. This bundled approach simplifies decision-making and is ideal for anyone who feels overwhelmed by too many choices.
Shopping at Ashley Furniture is a more traditional retail experience focused on individual piece selection. Their large showrooms and detailed website encourage browsing a wide array of products. The heavy promotion of financing options and frequent sales events is also a key part of their customer experience, catering to budget-planning shoppers.
Sustainability & Ethics
Both brands are taking steps toward more sustainable practices, but Ashley Furniture tends to be more transparent about its efforts. Ashley promotes its use of responsibly sourced materials and holds certifications like FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) for some of its wood products and GREENGUARD for low-emission furniture.
Rooms to Go has its own eco-friendly initiatives, including responsible sourcing and packaging, but provides fewer specific details and third-party certifications. For shoppers who prioritize verifiable environmental commitments, Ashley currently holds a slight advantage.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends on your priorities - convenience and curated style, or variety and long-term durability. Both are solid options for affordable furniture.
Choose Rooms to Go if:
- You want to furnish an entire room quickly and cohesively with pre-matched pieces.
- The convenience of a bundled "room in a box" solution sounds appealing.
- You prefer a modern, contemporary, or casual design aesthetic.
- You're a first-time homeowner or renter looking for a simple, all-in-one solution.
Choose Ashley Furniture if:
- You want access to a vast selection of styles, from traditional to rustic to modern.
- Durability is your top priority, especially for a busy household with kids or pets.
- You prefer to mix and match individual pieces to create a unique look.
- Taking advantage of frequent sales and flexible financing options is important to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rooms to Go or Ashley Furniture cheaper?
Their starting prices are very similar, making them both affordable options. Rooms to Go often provides better value when you purchase a complete room package. Ashley Furniture can be cheaper for individual items during one of their frequent sales events, and their financing plans can make a purchase more accessible.
Which has better quality furniture?
Ashley Furniture generally has a stronger reputation for durability. They offer more pieces with sturdier frames, solid wood components, and performance fabrics designed to withstand heavy use, making them a popular choice for families.
What style of furniture does Rooms to Go sell?
Rooms to Go primarily focuses on cohesive modern, casual, and transitional styles. Their aesthetic is designed to be versatile and fit well in contemporary homes.
Does Ashley Furniture offer a wide variety of styles?
Yes, variety is one of Ashley's biggest strengths. They offer an extensive range of styles, including traditional, farmhouse, rustic, mid-century modern, and contemporary, catering to nearly any design preference.
Which brand is better for families?
Ashley Furniture is often considered a better option for families due to its focus on durable construction and the availability of performance fabrics that are easy to clean and resist wear and tear.
Are furniture packages a good deal at Rooms to Go?
Yes, the bundled room packages are Rooms to Go's signature offering and typically provide excellent value. Buying an entire coordinated set is almost always more cost-effective than purchasing each piece separately.
Does Ashley Furniture offer financing?
Yes, Ashley is well-known for offering a variety of flexible financing plans. This is a central part of their sales strategy and makes them an accessible option for shoppers on a budget.
Can I see the furniture in person before buying?
Absolutely. Both Rooms to Go and Ashley Furniture operate extensive networks of physical showrooms across the country, allowing you to see and test furniture before making a commitment.
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