A furniture lead time is the wait between the day you order a piece and the day it is ready for pickup or delivery. At Merit Home Furniture it depends on the brand. A mattress or a cabinet bed takes 2 to 3 weeks. A Decor-Rest or Mako order, a Best recliner or a La-Z-Boy sofa takes 8 to 10 weeks. Everything else falls in between.
Most of what you see on the showroom floor in Duncan is on display, so you can sit in it and feel it. Your own piece is then ordered for you, in the cover or finish you pick. That is why the brand matters more than the store. If a special order slips past the date we gave, we lend you loaner furniture at no charge while you wait.
Furniture lead times at Merit, brand by brand
These are Michael's figures for each line, as of October 2026. Each one runs to the day the piece is ready for pickup or delivery from Duncan, not the day it leaves the factory.
| What you order | Typical wait |
|---|---|
| A piece already in stock | A few days to about a week |
| Health Guard bedding and protectors | Usually in stock; we confirm when you order |
| Mattresses | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Sleepchest cabinet beds | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Island Living, when Island Living has it in stock in Vancouver | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Harmony lift chairs | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Ashley | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Island Living made to order | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Decor-Rest, Mako and Best | 8 to 10 weeks |
| La-Z-Boy sofas and loveseats | 8 to 10 weeks |
| La-Z-Boy chairs | Ask what is in stock; a custom chair is 8 to 10 weeks |
Ready means it has reached us. Then we phone you and set a delivery time; our trucks run Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Island delivery from Duncan costs $150, assembly included. Pickup at Duncan costs nothing. Gulf Islands delivery is offered for some islands, by arrangement with the store.
The ranges are typical, not promises. A fabric the maker has run short of can push an order to the long end. When that happens we tell you as soon as we hear.
Why is furniture delivery taking so long?
Furniture delivery takes weeks because most upholstery and solid wood is not sitting finished in a warehouse. The maker cuts the frame, sews the cover or stains the wood after the order comes in, then puts it on a truck. Each step has its own queue. The lead time is your place in that queue plus the trip to the Island.
Island Living shows the gap between factory and floor clearly. Its own FAQ says a made-to-order piece will "generally" ship "in four to six weeks", assuming the fabric is in stock. Island Living says it carries over 400 fabric styles and colours. The 6 to 8 weeks Merit quotes covers that build plus the ferry and the check at our end.
Decor-Rest builds in Woodbridge, Ontario, and has since 1972. Its frames are kiln or air dried maple or birch, and each sofa crosses the country after it is upholstered. Mako makes solid wood furniture in alder, pine and maple, and you choose the stain. A Mako Aspen dresser in your finish is built for you, which is where its 8 to 10 weeks goes.
La-Z-Boy is built in the United States and Mexico. A La-Z-Boy sofa in a cover you chose waits its turn at the plant, so it takes 8 to 10 weeks. With a La-Z-Boy chair, ask first what is in stock, because that can skip the queue entirely. A recliner such as the Brooks is a good one to ask about.
Supply chain issues still reach the Island in smaller ways: a fabric on back order, a part from overseas, a late truck. None of that changes the honest answer. A piece built for you takes the time it takes, and the date on your order should say so.
Island Living: two programs, two very different waits
Island Living runs two separate programs out of greater Vancouver, and they are easy to mix up. One is made to order in Burnaby. The other is an in-stock range made overseas for Island Living. The wait is different by about a month, so check which one a listing belongs to before you fall for it.
Made to order in Burnaby
Built in the fabric you pick, typically 6 to 8 weeks to us. These listings carry the Canadian Made tag. The Tofino sofa is one; its sofa is 98 inches long, with a loveseat, chair and sectional pieces in the same style.
In stock in Vancouver
Already sewn in set covers, so it can be here in 2 to 3 weeks if Island Living has it in Vancouver. The Cumberland sofa is one, at 84 inches long. It is quicker but the cover is the cover.
Island Living does not allow online prices, so the Island Living listings show none; call Duncan for one. The difference between the two programs, and which pieces fall in each, is set out in our look at Island Living's Burnaby and overseas ranges.
Who delivers furniture the fastest?
Whoever already has the piece delivers furniture the fastest. A piece Merit has in stock is a few days to about a week from us, because the only wait is booking the truck. After that, the quickest lines we order are mattresses and cabinet beds at 2 to 3 weeks.
A Sleepchest cabinet bed such as the Cabos folds from a cabinet into a bed, with the mattress built in. It suits a guest room that needs a bed before a visit. Pillows, bedding and small items like a Health Guard Premium Terry Mattress Protector can join a furniture delivery or be picked up free in Duncan. Health Guard is usually in stock.
Mattresses headed up or down the Island sometimes travel by another shipping method than furniture, so ask how yours will come. What we will not do is promise next-day on a special order. A store that does so either had the piece already or will miss the date.
What we are doing to help when an order runs late
Say a Merit special order misses its date. Until it comes, the loaner furniture already promised above covers the gap. If you would like to carry on with the order, we usually offer a discount for the trouble. Cancelling is always an option, though it rarely comes to that.
Before that point, we give you an honest lead time before you order and keep you posted while it is on the way. If a maker moves a date, we call. If you have not heard from us and the date is close, call Duncan and ask where the piece is.
Special orders take a 24% deposit. Exchanges within 30 days are welcome and decided case by case.
How to avoid supply chain issues as a consumer: timing a special order
The best way to avoid supply chain issues as a consumer is to order early and order once. These steps cover most of it.
- Order before the old piece goes. Eight to ten weeks is a long time on a bare floor. Keep the old sofa until the new one is booked. Then sort out where the old sofa goes before delivery day.
- Measure the room and the doorways. A made-to-order piece is built to your order, so measure before you sign rather than after it arrives.
- Ask which program it comes from. Island Living in-stock or made to order, La-Z-Boy in stock or custom. The answer can change the wait by a month.
- Ask whether the fabric is in stock. Even the maker's own estimate assumes it is.
- Plan for the longest piece. A room with a Decor-Rest sofa and an Ashley table may arrive in two stages, or wait for the slower of the two. Tell us which you prefer.
What is the 2/3 rule for sofas?
The 2/3 rule says a sofa looks right when it is about two-thirds the length of the wall behind it. Homes and Gardens notes that standard sofas run around 72, 84 or 96 inches, so pick the size nearest your wall's two-thirds mark. An 84-inch sofa suits a wall of about 126 inches, or ten and a half feet. Getting this right before ordering matters more on a special order, because a wrong size means another 8 to 10 weeks.
How long should a $500 couch last?
Our rough floor estimate for a sofa at that price is five to seven years of normal use, though it varies with the household. Ashley's own warranty on stationary upholstery covers the fabric and cushions for one year and the frame for its useful life. A made-to-order sofa costs more and takes longer, and the warranty terms for each maker we sell differ, so compare them before you choose.
When a special order is the wrong choice
A special order is the wrong choice if you need the piece inside two weeks. Moving into an empty house, a guest arriving on Friday or a recliner needed after surgery all call for something in stock. Ask us what is ready rather than ordering and hoping.
It is also a poor fit if you cannot settle on a cover from a swatch, because the maker builds in whatever cover is written on the order.
These lead times are for orders through Merit's Duncan store, on Duncan's delivery terms. Our Nanaimo, Campbell River and Port Alberni stores set their own terms, so ask that store directly. Online orders go through Duncan for now.
The figures are typical, not guaranteed. If a date matters, such as a wedding or a move, say so when you order and we will tell you whether the line can usually make it.
Where these lead times and figures come from
- Merit Home Furniture, Delivery and Setup page, and Michael Ruhr's per-brand lead times, both read October 2, 2026.
- Decor-Rest on how its sofas are built in Woodbridge, checked October 2026.
- Mako Wood, home page (solid wood in alder, pine and maple), checked October 2026.
- Ashley Furniture Industries, warranty terms for upholstery, checked October 2026.
- Homes and Gardens, Sofa scaling (the two-thirds rule and standard lengths), checked October 2026.
- Merit product listings for the Tofino, Cumberland, Cabos, Aspen, Brooks and Health Guard pieces, read October 2, 2026.
Getting a real date for your order in Duncan
Choose the piece at our Duncan store, or by phone, and ask for the date before you pay. It goes on the order with the deposit. If you are comparing lines, ask for the date on each; the wait can decide it. The Decor-Rest 2900 sofa and the Harmony Rhodes lift chair are both ordered for you, so call to ask whether either is set up to try.
Call the Duncan store, (250) 746-5527
How we write up a custom order is in the made-to-order guide. The rest of how we work sits beside the delivery page, and the whole Island Living line we order from Burnaby and Vancouver is listed online.