We’ve bought from Wayfair ourselves. This year we got a dresser for our baby’s clothes, and at first we put a Munchkin diaper changing pad on top of it, which she grew out of.

We also recently bought a buffet side table to put beside our dining table. It replaced a fourteen-year-old IKEA Kallax that had been with us through two apartment moves, since I was single.

For a first apartment, I’d buy a bed and a bed frame, and a dresser that could work as a console under the TV. For the frame, I’d go with the Mercury Row Hegg.

For the dresser, I’d try the wide Lark Manor Valera under a TV, as long as you’ve got a free afternoon for the build. If you’d rather have a tall dresser in the bedroom, I’d look at the Ebern Designs 5-drawer.

Where to buy: all four come from Wayfair, and Wayfair handles the delivery and any return.

The Mercury Row Hegg bed that makes a bedroom look finished

Best for: a first bedroom that should look grown-up, on a small budget.

Mattress still on the floor? At Mercury Row, the Hegg is the upgrade I’d make first, and the slats and the tufted headboard both come in the box.

Someone in the reviews who changed nothing but the bed says “it looks like I redecorated the entire room.”

For some people the color comes out less vibrant than the photos, and the legs can work loose, so they’re worth a turn with a wrench now and then. With the legs snug, though, it looks like a bed that cost a lot more.

Lark Manor for the shoes by the front door

Best for: an entryway where every pair of shoes ends up on the floor.

If your front door is where the shoes pile up, the Aleatha is what I’d reach for at Lark Manor. It closes everything away behind doors, and shoppers say it holds a lot.

If anyone at home wears bigger than a men’s 11.5, I’d look elsewhere, since that size barely fits. I’d give the build a whole evening, too, because the written instructions are hard to follow and the doors can go crooked if you rush.

Once the doors hang straight, you’ve got a hallway that looks put together the minute you walk in.

An Ebern Designs mirror for a small bathroom

Best for: a small bathroom that needs one finishing touch.

Ebern Designs is at its best on mirrors, and the black-framed Leaderville is the one I’d start with. It’s tempered glass in an aluminum frame, which is what I’d want over a sink that gets splashed every morning. Shoppers say it looks just like the listing photos.

The hanging brackets are narrow and fiddly, so I’d mark and level them on the wall before you drill. Once they’re up, it could easily end up your favorite thing in the bathroom.

A Wade Logan sofa, if you like to sit up

Best for: a small apartment, if you’d rather sit up than sink in.

The Wade Logan Azriah is firm, so you sit on the cushion rather than down into it, which is what you want if your sofa is also where you work or where friends sit. For a first living room, it’s the sofa I’d point you to, and shoppers say it looks more expensive than it is.

If you nap on your sofa most nights, I’d buy a softer one. The fabric can pill on the seat within a few months, so a fabric shaver is worth adding to the cart.

Pilling aside, that firm seat keeps you upright through a long evening of work or talk, and for a first sofa, I’m all for it.

Who makes Mercury Row, Lark Manor and Wade Logan?

Mercury Row, Lark Manor and Wade Logan are Wayfair’s own labels, and Wayfair owns all three names.

What to check on any Wayfair listing before you buy

On a flat-pack listing, I check three things: the reviews, how it holds up and what it’s made of. What it’s made of is in the listing’s Specifications, and how it holds up is in the reviews from people a few months in.

When the boxes arrive, open every one. If you build a piece, you’d have to take it apart again to send it back, so look for a chipped panel or a bent frame before you build.

For the first 30 days after delivery, keep the boxes flat behind a door, because a return goes back in the original box or one the same size. Clearance and Open Box pieces can’t go back at all, so look for either label on the listing.

A bed that needs a box spring can feel flimsy without one, so find the Box Spring Required line in the Specifications before you order.

Match the code at the end of the listing’s web address, too. Wayfair renames listings, so the Azriah sofa now shows up as the Croley under the same code, and matching it means the reviews you’re reading belong to the thing you’re buying.

Where else to look

• If your budget stretches a long way further, the Castlery review is where I’d go, and the Jonathan is the sofa I’d buy there.

Questions people ask