I'm an interior designer who loves HomeGoods, but there are 7 things I never buy there

HomeGoods has a lot of great items, but there are some items I tend to avoid getting at the chain.Paynter RhedI'm an interior designer, and I love shopping at HomeGoods — but there are things I don't buy there.I prefer to shop elsewhere for candles and sets of pots and pans.

Typically, I don't buy large furniture pieces or mirrors from HomeGoods. I'm an interior designer and a big fan of HomeGoods.The chain can be a really great place to find trendy decor, small furniture pieces, and a range of other household items that suit all sorts of styles.

As much as I enjoy shopping at the home-furnishing store, there are a few things I avoid getting there.I get my larger furniture pieces, such as sofas, somewhere else.Paynter RhedHomeGoods can be a great place to buy a stool or a small side table, but I wouldn't buy larger furniture pieces here.

For example, many of the sofas and big chairs I've seen in the store look amazing from afar, but the quality hasn't impressed me much.Plus, at HomeGoods, you typically buy floor models. Your couch could be on the sales floor for weeks, with hundreds of strangers sitting on it or carts bumping into it at every turn.

There may be some hidden gems at a reasonable price, but when it comes to large pieces that will get lots of use, I'm not willing to gamble on quality. I'd rather shop at dedicated furniture stores, like a CB2 or West Elm, or seek out made-to-order options.The candles are too hit-or-miss for me.

Paynter RhedThe candle aisle at HomeGoods is my favorite part of the whole store. But as fun as the section is to peruse, the wide variety of brands, shapes, and scents can be a mixed bag.I've found that many of the candles I've bought at the chain either don't burn very well or lose their scent pretty quickly, even though they look great and smelled amazing in the store.

A lot of these candles are just fine in a pinch — and you might get lucky with a great one — but I'd rather spend more to buy something I'm confident is higher qualit