HomeSense vs At Home: Which Big Home Store Wins?

As of January 31, 2026, TJX operated 79 Homesense stores in the United States. For scale, the same filing counts 963 HomeGoods, 1,255 Marshalls and 1,348 T.J. Maxx stores. Homesense is by far the smallest US banner in the TJX portfolio.

At Home operates 229 stores across 39 states. That is roughly three times as many locations, though it is fewer than At Home had a year ago — more on that below.

So the practical order of operations is: check whether a HomeSense exists within a distance you would actually drive. If it does not, this comparison is academic and At Home is your answer by default. If it does, you have a genuine choice, and the rest of this page is about making it.

One thing worth knowing if you are checking: HomeSense has been expanding, and its own site features a grand-openings section rather than a total count. A location that did not exist two years ago may exist now, so it is worth re-checking rather than relying on memory.

At Home went through Chapter 11 and came out the other side, and the only part that affects your shopping is the store count — but it affects it enough to mention.

The company filed in June 2025 and exited in late October 2025. It eliminated nearly all of roughly $2 billion in funded debt, took on $500 million in new exit financing, and is now owned by a group of its former lenders, including Redwood Capital Management, Farallon Capital Management and Anchorage Capital Advisors. It operated 260 locations when it filed and permanently closed about 30 of them, leaving the 229 it runs today.

What to do with that, and nothing more:

• Verify your nearest store on the locator. If yours was one of the closures, the next one may be a real drive. Eleven states have none.
• Buy the floor model when it is right. Retailers reset assortments after a restructuring, so a line you like may thin out.
• Do not read this as a warning. At Home is operating normally, still sells online, and still has the most generous return window in this comparison by a wide margin.

This is why both stores exist in this conversation at all. Most home decor retailers top out at accent pieces; these two carry real furniture. But they carry it differently, and the difference decides which one you should use.

HomeSense. TJX explicitly names large furniture and ceiling lighting as Homesense departments — categories it does not name for HomeGoods. That is the structural difference between the two home banners. On the floor HomeSense runs departments including furniture, lighting, a rug emporium, an art gallery, a decor studio, bed and bath, and an entertaining marketplace. The furniture is brand-name overstock, so the value can be excellent, and the pieces are one-offs.

At Home. A planned furniture catalog: seating, dining, bedroom, plus a patio department HomeSense does not match and a seasonal department that is the largest of any store in this comparison. You can see dimensions before you drive, you can order online, and you can usually buy a second matching piece later.

The honest split:

• One statement piece, best possible value, flexible on exactly what: HomeSense. Off-price furniture is genuinely good value when you find the right thing.
• A dining set, or four matching chairs: At Home. Off-price lots do not reliably include four of anything.
• Patio furniture: At Home. Not a HomeSense department.
• A piece in a specific size for a specific wall: At Home, where dimensions are published.
• A ceiling fixture or chandelier: HomeSense, which carries hard-wired ceiling lighting. Most off-price stores stop at lamps.
• Delivery: At Home. HomeSense has no online store, so whatever you buy leaves in your vehicle.

That last point catches people out with large furniture. Plan the transport before you fall in love with a sofa at HomeSense — and if you are moving it yourself, see our furniture moving tools guide.

• At Home: 60 days for unused items in original packaging, extended to 90 days for Insider Perks / Design Rewards members. Proof of purchase can be your rewards account, the card you paid with, or a receipt plus valid ID. Items shipped to your home can be returned free at a local store or mailed back via self-service.
• HomeSense: the standard TJX home policy — 30 days with the register receipt for an exchange or refund, store credit only after 30 days, and a non-transferable merchandise credit requiring a valid government-issued photo ID if you have no receipt. Gift receipts are store credit only.

Sixty days against thirty, with a refund path that does not depend on keeping a paper receipt, matters most on exactly the purchases these two stores specialize in: furniture and large decor, where you cannot fully judge the thing until it is in the room. Buy the uncertain piece at At Home. Buy at HomeSense when you already know.

• A full room to a plan, in one trip: At Home.
• One hero furniture piece at the best value: HomeSense, if one is near you.
• Patio: At Home.
• A ceiling fixture or chandelier: HomeSense.
• Seasonal decor: At Home, for range and for the ability to add to the set next year.
• Brand-name bedding, bath and tabletop: HomeSense. Off-price wins where list prices are high.
• Large-format rugs: either — HomeSense runs a rug emporium, At Home publishes sizes. Go to At Home if you need an exact dimension.
• Matching sets of anything: At Home.
• Anything you may return: At Home, on the 60-day window.
• Anything delivered: At Home. HomeSense cannot.

• The TJX Companies, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 — 79 US Homesense stores, average store size, the large-furniture and ceiling-lighting departments TJX names for Homesense, and the list of TJX e-commerce sites (no Homesense).
• HomeSense (US) — the in-store department list and the store locator.
• HomeGoods / TJX home return policy — the 30-day window that applies to both home banners.
• Retail Dive: At Home exits bankruptcy — the Chapter 11 timeline, debt eliminated, new ownership, and the 260-to-229 store count.
• At Home return policy — the 60-day standard and 90-day member windows.