How to furnish your first home on a budget
Moving into your first home is an exciting experience. You finally have the personal space you have always dreamed about and the freedom to decorate the place exactly as you want, but you also realise that just after making the biggest purchase of your life, you now must add furnishings.
Many people forget to budget for sofas, tables, chairs, and beds when they buy their first home, and unless you have the money saved in advance it can takes weeks or months before you can afford to completely furnish the property.
If you are about to move into your first home, here are some tips on how to save money as you kit out each room.
Living room furniture
A living room is where people hang out, and so a sofa and some chairs are essential purchases. Depending on how you plan to use the room, you might opt for a bigger sofa with plenty of room for you and your guests to relax together, or if you seen the room more as a place to watch films and TV then you might look into buying a TV chair recliner or two.
Ideally, you should always have enough sitting room for four people, but if you can only afford a three-seater sofa, or a two-seater and one chair then you can always add a beanbag or two for some cheap extra space.
Once you have the seating sorted then look out for a coffee table and some side tables to provide some useful surface space for lamps, plants, and cups. And if you are like most people and have a television in the room, then a console can provide cupboard and drawer space, or you can mount it on the wall if space is at a premium.
Kitchen and dining room furniture
Some people might be lucky enough to have separate kitchen and dining rooms, but in general most people’s first homes are a little smaller, which means that eating space is either combined with the kitchen or the sitting room.
Kitchens will generally have cupboards and cabinets built-in, and so there is little to furnish when you move in, but a couple of stools can be a great addition if you have enough space. However, you will want somewhere to sit down and eat, and in today’s world this table and chairs may double as your “home office”, making them doubly as important.
If you do not have much space to play with, then a dinette furniture set might be the ideal solution, as they are designed for smaller spaces and have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly with those living in cities. Flat-pack furniture is often cheaper than pre-constructed alternatives, but that is not always the case, so make sure to check both options for your budget.
Bedroom furniture
The most important piece of furniture for the bedroom is the bed, and as you will spend around a third of your life in it, the bed should not be the place to cut corners on cost. Most people prefer larger beds, and so buying a king-size rather than “normal” double will give you more room to stretch out, but it does add to the cost.
Bedframes are generally constructed from either metal or wood, and both can provide a good foundation so pick a style you like. It is generally more the mattress that makes or breaks a bed, so ideally go and test some out before making a purchase or look at the terms and conditions to make sure that returns are easy and free if you are buying online.
Next to the bed, a couple of bedside tables are always useful to hold lamps and water glasses, but cubic storage boxes or apple crates can work well here if needed and give the room some rustic charm.
Once you have solved the sleeping arrangements, a chest-of-drawers and a wardrobe should be next on the list of purchases. How big you need these to be will be determined by the amount of clothes you own, so a more minimal personal may only need a single-door wardrobe whilst someone with a larger collection might need one that spans two, three or four doors. Rooms with taller ceiling gives room for wardrobes with additional drawer space at the top and/or bottom, which can be great space savers as well
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