The Great Home Furnishing Struggle

I bought an orchid. I'm not sure if that means I'm now a fully-fledged adult or not, but buy it I did and here's the proof:

I've been living under the false notion that I enjoy decorating - well, specifically furnishing. I haven't fully figured out my way around a paint roller sponge yet but that's a story for another day.
No, I'm talking about filling the empty shell that was our apartment; with new things. I have to admit, the planning was the most fun. Things got really, Pinteresting, (yes, I went there) in the run up to our move in date and armed with my room-specific boards full of ideas, I felt prepared for the task ahead.
That was until I started shopping.
For anyone that has any experience with the Middle East, well I'm talking about Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar - I have no experience with the rest; you'll know where I'm going with this. For those that don't know, you'd think that shopping trips were fun, enjoyable experiences in which you have a multitude of choice, ripe for the picking. I mean, it's the Middle East, right?
Wrong.
I won't bore you with how long my husband and I have been searching for bed side tables, but let me just say, it's longer than I'd initially hoped.
Before we left Finland, I swore blind that I wouldn't step foot in IKEA again after spending nearly two years in a company furnished apartment that had fallen from the pages of the catalogue itself and landed into the sleepy Finnish town of Kotka. I didn't want to bear witness to another piece of flat pack furniture, let alone one that would fall apart if a strong wind threatened. 
But in IKEA we found ourselves, through sheer lack of better options. 
Yes, there are other, pricier stores. We bought our dining table from West Elm and I really love it and we splashed out on good quality beds and matresses, but the choices are still much smaller compared to the likes of the UK and we're still struggling to find the right furniture to fill our home. 
We ordered six dining chairs last week from a smaller, independent furniture store and they arrived yesterday, all damaged, all to be sent back.
Oh, and if anyone can find a rug that isn't zebra print or looks like a prop from the Aladdin movie, fire them my way!
We did buy a particularly nice coconut and sandalwood diffuser from Waitrose though. You win some you lose some.
Does anyone else find shopping for home furnishings/decor stressful?