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Where Does HomeSense/HomeGoods Get Their Stuff — And Why Designers Get It Wrong
Every time I mention HomeSense, the décor police inevitably show up in the comments to announce that “real designers don’t shop there.” You may have thought something similar yourself.
“Isn’t it all junk? I would never shop there, or my designer told me everything in there is cheap.”
Or maybe you’ve come home with a few random finds and been met with the raised eyebrow from your spouse, who sees clutter rather than potential.
Can you spot these items on the store shelf above? See this makeover here
And honestly, that reaction tells me one thing. Most people haven’t been taught how to see.
The idea that HomeSense is full of “junk” is one of the most persistent myths in decorating, and it’s one that quietly holds you back from creating a home that feels finished, layered, and intentional without spending a fortune or dragging the process out for months.
The problem isn’t the store. It’s that uncurated spaces require discernment. When you don’t know how to edit, relate pieces to each other, or recognize what’s worth bringing home, everything looks like noise.
See how this makeover turned out here
That’s exactly why I can walk into one location, make confident decisions, and complete a beautiful one-day transformation without driving all over the city. And once you understand what to look for, you can do the same.
So… Where DOES HomeSense Get All Their Inventory?
I found all this info online and here it is: HomeSense/HomeGoods belongs to the TJX group, and their entire business model is built on opportunistic buying — which is a fancy way of saying they’re the world’s most sophisticated bargain hunters. Here’s what that means:
1. Overstock From Name-Brand Retailer
Factories often produce more than they need. Retailers often buy more than they can sell. When that happens? TJX swoops in.
This is why you’ll see pieces that look very familiar — because they are. Sometimes they were destined for Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, or boutique shops. You’re not buying “lesser quality.” You’re buying last season’s surplus.
2. Canceled Orders From Big Retailers
A major retailer places a huge order… then cancels at the last minute when their forecast shifts. The manufacturer is stuck. TJX steps in and buys the whole lot at a steep discount.
That gorgeous $249 lamp I found for $49? This is often why.
3. Artisan and Boutique Sellers
Small makers who can’t deal with the complexity of national distribution LOVE TJX.
TJX gives them big orders, which means instant cash flow and zero marketing costs. This is why you’ll occasionally find beautiful, hand-made-looking pieces mixed in with the mass market items.
4. Private Label Items (Not Low-Quality by Default)
This is where people get confused. Brands like: Casa Decor, Artisan Loft or Tahari Home, are often made in the same factories producing items for expensive retailers — just without the fancy brand name or the glossy catalog photos. Sometimes it’s literally the same product with different packaging.
If you really zoom in, this happens everywhere. A lot of products are essentially the same thing, just dressed up in different branding. Mascara is a perfect example. I bought a new one a few weeks ago and couldn’t help laughing at how many wildly different promises were printed on the tubes, all selling some version of longer, fuller lashes.
5. Factory Closeouts and End-of-Run Items
When manufacturers switch their lines from fall to spring, or Christmas to everyday, they clear out remaining stock. TJX buys it. This is why HomeSense constantly feels like a treasure hunt — because it is.
So If It’s Not Junk… Why Do Some Designers Avoid It?
Before dismissing stores like HomeSense, it helps to understand the kind of shopping they actually require.
These stores aren’t curated for you. There are no finished vignettes or styled rooms to guide your eye, which means you have to make editing and styling decisions on the spot. After decades of styling, I can tell you that early on I relied heavily on inspiration from places like Pottery Barn, where the work of pulling a look together had already been done.
Shopping an uncurated store well requires the ability to edit ruthlessly, understand scale and proportion, and ignore most of what doesn’t belong. Without those skills, it’s overwhelming for anyone.
So this isn’t about taste. It’s about comfort with editing. And not every designer is a stylist. Some designers are deeply focused on kitchens or renovations, and their eye naturally goes to the architecture or the layout, not the accessories in a magazine spread. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The point of this post isn’t to criticize designers. It’s to give you permission to buy accessories from anywhere, not just HomeSense. I’m using this store as an example because it’s a one-stop shop, which makes finishing a room far more accessible for homeowners who haven’t spent decades styling.
And ultimately, that’s why I’m making these videos. I want you to have a home you love, one that feels finished and brings you real joy.
Here’s the Truth: You Don’t Need Expensive Sources — You Need a Trained Eye
A lamp is still a lamp. A vase is still a vase. A throw is still a throw. What changes the outcome isn’t where you buy them, but whether you know what you’re looking for. Shape, proportion, colour, texture, and undertone are what separate a good find from something that never quite works.
That’s why I can walk into HomeSense and complete a room in a single day. It isn’t magic, although it can feel that way when everything comes together quickly. It’s the result of being able to see how everything relates to each other before you ever leave the store.
This is also where undertones come in. When you understand how undertones work, you stop guessing.
And when you’re still learning, being able to gather everything in one place makes the process far more forgiving. You can see immediately what relates and what doesn’t, instead of bringing one-off items home and wondering why nothing quite works together.
If you’d like to learn how to create a mood board which is essential for shopping online (easy to follow course, $100 value) and hang out with a community of colour loving peeps, join my Dream Home Club here. The mood board course is only available inside!
Styling School–how to buy the right lamps, throw pillows and hang gallery walls and is now included in my Dream Home Club membership, learn more here.
Why HomeSense Helps You Avoid an Unnecessary Renovation
This homeowner received a $7000 quote to professionally spray and paint her kitchen cabinets. But since I had recently decorated her daughters living room, she decided a decorated living room would give her more bang for the buck. After all, if you spend all that money painting your kitchen cabinets, your living room will still be undecorated. Her makeover cost $2400. See the full makeover here.
Decor gets dismissed as “less important,” but decor is often what pulls a dated space together and makes the fixed elements disappear or at least suddenly feel far less important.
When you know how to style — and how to work with the conflicting undertones in your finishes — you can often avoid a renovation entirely (or delay it until you can do it properly).
Decorating distracts the eye from things that are dated. In fact something I’ve been thinking about lately is this:
The more you decorate, the less you notice if you have clashing neutrals because you’re so busy admiring your house. Creating a home that fills you with happiness when you walk in the door is possible without renovating everything first.
And HomeSense is one of the easiest places to get the pieces that make this magic possible.
So, Is HomeSense “Junk”?
No. But a lot of people shop it poorly. HomeSense is amazing when you know how to cherry-pick. It’s bad when you don’t. The difference is skill — not price point.
And the ability to see the difference is exactly what I teach in my YouTube videos (this one is going viral), my courses, and every one-day makeover I do. And no — this post is not sponsored by HomeSense.
There’s still time to sign up for my free Colour Designer Masterclass to learn more about how your talent can change your life. Sign up here.
Related posts:
Why we Believe Art must have Meaning
The Gallery Wall I Hung Twice (A one day makeover with a do-over)
So true. It’s all about context. Alot of expensive stuff can look like garbage, and vice versa. The current trend of vintage art (sold for high prices at TargetxMcGee & Co amoung many other popular decorators) kills me simply because I live in Europe and original artwork of that style is in every brocante and second hand store sold for pennies. But it’s still beautiful! You don’t need to spend a fortune to find something beautiful. Beauty is all around us.
Great piece, Maria. An article about Home Goods and Home Sense buying went into detail about how they don’t follow typical seasonal buying patterns that the majority of stores do. Their buyers scour for deals year round. It’s that simple – and different.
Their products are often well known brands, some high end. When I’m interested in a kitchen item from an unknown brand, I google it while in the store to check quality.
I purchased a comforter that retails for $300+; it was cost about $100, marked down again in the store; it was the last one. A favorite simple vase is from there.
Designers who say that Home Goods and Home Sense just carry junk either haven’t spent time in them, or have holier than thou attitudes that have nothing to do with skill, and are red flags that they’d prefer a client spend a lot more money.
My husband and I collect original art but don’t have the budget to buy everything I’d love. So we intermingle the real deal with lower cost pieces that I spend a lot of time searching for. They haven’t been from Home Sense/Goods but I’d absolutely buy from them if the piece was right for the space.
I love that you are a Home Sense designer! You provide great advice to real people who want to love where they live. We don’t need to be boxed in by other people’s “rules”. Rules which are often self serving. I have no time for designers who tell me what I need without any input from me. Rock on Maria!
A very thought out and researched post. Overstock produce! maybe we will see some Megan Markle jam in the future.
I LOVE HomeGoods, TJMaxx, Marshall’s etc for both home goods and clothing. It’s absolutely true if you know what you are looking for there are really high quality, originally expensive brands there – and even the un-branded items are typically great quality. One thing I also look for is quality materials – 100% wool, cotton, linen, items made out of real wood or marble, etc.
If you have a Target priced budget like me, I find Home Goods has miles higher quality items and better selection than other stores similarly priced.
I do not live near a HomeSense but I have been in HomeGoods which is not close to where I live but I love love HomeGoods. The same for TJMaxx. HomeGoods always has a bountiful store full of goodies. If I lived closer to one I’d be in there all the time. I do wish they had more stores. I live in a small rural town so of course driving 2 hours to a store is wall I have. T JMaxx only has a small inventory compared to HomeGoods but I love that store as well. I have bought many throw pillows and other decor from them. Thanks Maria for all the infor to assure me why I love these stores.
I personally know that some designers DO shop in Home Goods. I have a degree in staging and have met designer friends in there. I also worked at Pottery Barn for 10 years, and the manager/boss of Pottery Barn was shopping at Home Goods. They have some great stuff at good prices.
I just bought 108” long lined velvet drapes on clearance at Homegoods yesterday for $49 for a pair. They are beautiful heavy fabric. I’ve also bought Ralph Lauren rugs and lamps at Homegoods. I’m aware RL has different quality price points, but the quality was great. You do have to be able to sort through the packed shelves.
A lifetime of thrift shopping makes me a natural at cherry picking Home Goods (and being OK with walking out empty handed if nothing is quite right). It does absolutely take a certain kind of trained eye to shop wisely there.
Was going to add my own comment on this sounds a lot like learning to thrift from charity shops. Fascinating seeing my teen sons take it and run with it, they can do 4 -6 shops in a day. They are beautifully turned out whenever we leave the house and you’d never twig it’s second hand. They are much better than me at the “walk away empty handed” if it’s not quite right.
Though – it certainly helps to have an up and down male body when buying clothes.
It’s going to come in something similar. Recently, I went to drop off something at a thrift store, and had forgotten a jacket. I ran inside to see if there was anything that I could grab. I bought a Ralph Lauren made in Hong Kong jacket for $3.50 LOL you’ll never find that Quality again.
I’ve done $80,000 bathroom remodels, just finished doing the kitchen countertops at a 7000 ft.² house, including their three fireplaces, bar and Butler’s pantry and master bathroom, vanity and makeup area. I just sent out a quote to a builder in Santa Barbara for installing materials for their kitchen bar laundry room and master bathroom. Both of those homeowners have beautiful things collected over time but the average person doesn’t have a home like that these people are older and an accumulated. and master bathroom. Both of those homeowners have beautiful things collected over time but the average person doesn’t have a home like that these people are older and an accumulated things from travels, etc.
😂 autocorrect errors but you get the idea.
Agree with you 100%, Maria! Over the years, I have purchased at HomeGoods and TJMaxx mirrors, frames, lamps, throw pillows, bedding and rugs, including a Persian rug. All of these purchases would be right at home in any high-end Design Center.
I definitely agree, there is quality to be had, but it takes a discerning eye. I look for natural materials — cotton, linen, wood, porcelain — and high quality kitchen items. The upholstered chairs I’ve bought at HomeGoods all fell apart and were revealed to be poor quality, so I avoid the furniture — but I purchase all my lamps there and am completely pleased with those.
And let’s not forget that designers normally charge a commission or markup for the pieces they buy for clients. So, the more expensive the items, the higher the commission/ markup.
I learned years ago to buy good design, what I like and what works in my budget. I don’t worry about whether it’s the latest design because I began to realize that if I paid top dollar for an item in a high end store, I might see it a couple of years later at a discounter, or as a knock-off. If I’d purchased it two years ago, I’d still be using it, so why not slow down the design cycle and still buy what I like.
Thank you for making great design accessible to regular people, like me! I can’t afford designer anything, but once you can “see” what you’re looking for, you can find it in all kinds of places, and my home is happier for it.
Hi Maria,
We have HomeGoods here in California. I was just there yesterday and was looking around. Went there to check out their kitchen towels but all were not up to my standards. My big issue is that 99.5% is from China, which I am choosing to avoid if at all possible. I did find a cutting board for $10 that was made in USA so I purchased that along with a small rug made in India for $20. A lot of the decor items in there are not my style but once in a while I can find what I am looking for. Thanks for all your advice and design tips over the years, especially on paint colors and those undertones. I am getting better at seeing them.
I liked this post and agree… I love Home sense…. But, I like when personal objects are mixed in to warm up the space and make it feel unique and more curated … you can tell when a room is just filled with generic home sense stuff.
$7000 for spraying cabinets is extremely overpriced. It should be half that for that size of kitchen. They should have gotten multiple quotes… (unless BC painters charge way more than AB)
I enjoyed this post. This chain has something going for it. I have yet to enter one that’s not crammed with ladies (mostly) cheerily perusing the goods. No one thing is overwhelmingly expensive. I might shop items here first before expending more dollars at a high-end store. This place is often a first stop on the road to fill-in a space whether it’s for a rug, coffee-table book, pillow or cocktail table. It’s fun shopping. And the merchandise changes constantly.
HomeSense is full of junk, but it’s also full of gems! I used to work with a boutique design firm doing exclusively high-end custom residential work. HomeSense was one of our go-to sources for beautiful bedding, pillows, ceramics, lamps, and other decor made in Europe and India. HomeSense saves us up here in Canada!! If these pieces make the cut in $10 million dollar homes, there is definitely treasure to be found by all 🙂
I admit that I am a HomeSense junkie. I visit stores all over the GTA (Greater Toronto Area for you U.S. citizens). I rate the stores in my GPS on cleanliness and neatness of displays etc. and avoid the dirty stores and ones with careless customers who treat fragile items like plastic toys (you see lots of clearance items that are broken, chipped, etc.).
I love the thrill of the great find and will visit multiple stores to find matching treasures such as the 3 beautiful green throw pillows and 2 small scale pole lamps (in Maria’s recommended lamp list) that I found before and after Christmas. I also scoured stores to find a white marble mini lamp for my cousin’s kitchen when she saw mine on my counter and loved it (also on Maria’s list).
The great finds are out there. Keep looking ladies and return often as new stock is always being put out. And if you’re unsure about an item, buy it. Their return policy is great and you may miss out if you don’t snag it now.
Hello,
I have just discovered you on line, one day makeovers. I’m so impressed, I would love a one day makeover but probably need more than one day lol lol. I bought a house for the ideal location thinking I could do some fixes and I have….however, I haven’t bought anything new I find the rooms to be weird shaped and a corner fireplace. I just don’t know what to do. Pls consider for a makeover 🌻🌻🌻what email do I use to send pics for consideration
Apply here (I believe you have to be local to Maria, in the Fraser Valley area):
mariakillam.com/one-day-makeovers/#/