Online Flash-Sale Shopping for Your Home

Of all the ways to shop for home furnishings online, it's hard to beat the range, reach, and pulse-pounding fun of a flash sale. But you have to be quick! These wildly popular e-commerce shops bring together thousands of stylish, curated bargains, available for only a short time before they're replaced by another round of time-sensitive deals. The best part: They make it super-easy to create a collected-over-time look without spending days, weeks, or even years hunting and gathering. Take this living room, which was ordered completely online-in just 60 minutes-from nine flash sale sites. For shopping info, find the coresponding numbers in the picture to the products below.

Art and Mirrors
1. onekingslane.com, $149
2. ruelala.com, $180
3. onekingslane.com, $149
4. 55downingstreet.com, $105
5. jossandmain.com, $129

Curtain Panels
6. ideeli.com, $25 for a set of 2

Pillows
7. (From left) jossandmain.com, $34 and $33
8. (From left) myhabit.com, $39 and $49

Chairs
9. gilt.com, $295 each

Throw
10. dotandbo.com, $80

Ottomans
11. gilt.com, $195 each

Coffee Table
12. onekingslane.com, $419

Rug
13. ideeli.com, $450

Sofa
14. dotandbo.com, $999

Side Table
15. myhabit.com, $138

Lamp
16. hautelook.com, $69

Bookshelf Accessories
17. hautelook.com, $28 for a mixed set of 2 frames
18. 55downingstreet.com, $56
19. dotandbo.com, $55
20. hautelook.com, $69 for a mixed set of 3 candlesticks
21. myhabit.com, $17
22. jossandmain.com, $50 for a mixed set of 3 "book" boxes
23. ideeli.com, $30
24. ideeli.com, $80
25. 55downingstreet.com, $62.50

How Flash Sales Work
Sites offer value-priced items for a limited time (you gain access by giving them your email). Once the hourglass runs out-or items sell out-they're gone. That's the basic model, but every site varies. Some run sales for 24 hours, some 10 days; some offer wares you can buy anytime; some bring back items they've sold in the past. Shipping rates and return policies also differ. Delivery can cost from zilch to $200-plus, and some sites don't allow returns.

What They Sell
Most sites hold new sales daily-expect anywhere from one to 10, or even more, with anything you'd ever need for your home (furniture, rugs, wallpaper, lamps, towels, fresh-cut Christmas trees). Most sites sell new merchandise only, but some mix in vintage finds and antiques. Prices can swing from $5 for a salad plate to $4,500 for a chinoiserie-style bookshelf. Styles, like traditional, modern, and country, for starters, are far-ranging too.

Why They're Worth It
The big draw for flash sale sites is the curating: Like the ultimate personal shopper, they gather the choicest, coolest, chicest stuff and corral it into categories. Click on a site and you'll find products organized under headers like Preppy Office, Coastal Ease, or Cozy Countryside. Zero in on a style and you can pull together a personality-rich room in minutes-without it looking like it all came from a single store or brand.

produced by Nissa Botthoff