The furniture industry faced economic issues from a housing slump in 2025, as total home sales for the year were about 1,000 lower than in 2024, registering 4.061 million compared to 4.062 million. This was also the lowest annual home sale total since 1995, according to Realtor.com.

It wasn’t all bad news last year for furniture companies, though.

Luxury home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware noted in its third-quarter earnings call in December 2025 that the company saw a 9% revenue increase, despite enduring the worst housing market in almost 50 years, as reported by The Motley Fool.

Furniture sales tied to housing market

Furniture experts and analysts say home furnishing sales are usually tied to the housing market. When housing sales stall, so do furniture sales.

“Furniture, of course, is many times a discretionary and deferrable expense, so weakness in the overall economy or declines in consumer confidence, like we’ve seen the last few months, can impact consumers’ willingness to spend,” Mark Laferriere, an assurance partner at Smith Leonard, told Homes.com in November 2025.

“Furniture purchases are also tied to the overall housing market, which has been sluggish, but could be primed for a resurgence with higher inventory and the ongoing reductions in interest rates,” Laferriere added, as TheStreet’s Daniel Kline reported.

Furniture chains also close stores for other reasons unrelated to the housing crisis.

Several furniture stores have closed lately as their owners have decided to turn off the lights and lock the doors permanently to retire from the business.

Furniture store owners retire

Furniture store chain Kasala Modern Home Furnishings began a going-out-of-business sale for its three stores in the Pacific Northwest, as the owners plan to retire from the industry and focus on other business and personal interests, according to its website.

The Seattle-based furniture chain rolled out “The Great $5 Million Store Closing Sale” with a private sale that began Feb. 4 and expanded to the general public on Feb. 6, seeking “to sell our entire and complete stock to the bare walls as quickly as possible,” according to a message on its website.

Another furniture store chain, Miramar Beach, Fla.-based Tuskers, will also close down, as its owners on Dec. 26 planned to liquidate all of their inventory, close their Tuskers Home Store and Tuskers Furniture & Patio stores, and retire.

In addition to selling all of its inventory, the furniture chain said it will also sell its Tuskers Home Store showroom location.

Restoration Hardware closes its Milwaukee outlet, which is its only store in Wisconsin.

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Restoration Hardware closes store

And now, Restoration Hardware said it will close its RH Outlet location in Milwaukee on March 1, which appears unrelated to the housing crisis.

Restoration Hardware did not make a statement with a reason for the closing, other than a note outside the store announcing the closure. The store, however, is being converted to an approved hotel use, so the company would have expected the closing for months.

Restoration Hardware has reduced prices on all of its store inventory by an additional 20%, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The company has not indicated whether any jobs will be lost.

Chain’s last Wisconsin store

When the Milwaukee store closes, Restoration Hardware will no longer have a location in Wisconsin.

A sign posted by the store, which has operated at 224 E. Chicago St. for 10 years, says Restoration Hardware will open a new store in Vernon Hills, Ill., on Feb. 26.

The Milwaukee store closing will leave Wisconsin without a Restoration Hardware location, requiring customers to drive about an hour to Vernon Hills. Restoration Hardware has not indicated whether it will open another store in Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee store space has received approval from the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board to convert the building to a 133-room hotel that NCG Hospitality Group plans to open as an AC Hotel by Marriott.

More closings:

• Bankrupt restaurant chains permanently close popular locations
• Major retail chain closes 35 stores nationwide, no bankruptcy
• Another major retail chain closes warehouse operations

The conversion to hotel use is scheduled to begin later this year.

The original building was built in 1917 for the apparel company Monarch Manufacturing and later became Rubin’s Furniture.

Restoration Hardware operates 119 gallery and outlet stores in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

2025 home sales flat

• 2025 home sales, 4.061 million
• 2024 home sales, 4.062 million Source: Realtor.com

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