A Guide to Furnishing Your First Home
If you’ve recently moved into your first home, buying all the furniture you need can be daunting. There’s so much to buy that it can be challenging to know where to start. In this article, we take a look at how to furnish your first home.
List the items you already own
It would be nice to buy all new furniture for your new home, but in reality, few people have the budget to do this, especially for their first home. Instead, they make do for a while with pieces of furniture they already have and items that have been gifted to them. Creating a list of everything you already own will help you prioritise the things you need to buy. Speak to family and friends and gather any spare furniture they don’t want, and add this to your list. You’re already likely to have a bed and maybe some storage items such as a chest of drawers or a wardrobe. Using these, for the time being, will help reduce your costs.
List out everything you need
Here is where the list can get very long, as we're sure there are lots of pieces of furniture you want for your new home. However, this list should only contain the things you need immediately once you move into your new home. Things like a fridge, freezer, oven and sofa are essential items you want to get pretty soon so you can live comfortably. Things like a dining room table might come later when you have more money to spare. This list is things you want to buy straight away that will give you the most benefit. Each homeowner will have a different set of needs depending on their priorities and what they already have in their inventory list.
Consider second-hand items
Buying a brand new sofa after putting all your money into a house deposit and solicitor fees probably isn’t viable immediately unless you have additional savings. Second-hand furniture is a great option to furnish your home on a budget. You don’t need to keep the second-hand sofa forever, but it will be much better than using plastic garden chairs for six months until you’ve saved up enough money to buy your dream sofa. Also, you can get some really great quality second-hand furniture, so you might end up keeping your budget-friendly sofa long term.
Buy quality furniture
Prioritise quality over price to save money in the long run. It can be tempting to choose cheap furniture to fill your home quickly. However, you’ll find items that need replacing within a few years. Selecting high-quality items and taking your time to furnish each room is a better option. Oak bedroom furniture will cost you more than something made of plywood, but you’ll probably keep it for 10+ years and move it with you the next time you move home in the future. Now you own your own home; you have a safe place to store items and can keep them in good condition.
Ask for monetary gifts
When you move home, you might find people want to buy you a new picture or a kettle for your kitchen. Whilst these things are great and useful, you may end up with duplicate items that aren’t of any use. If you’re saving for a large piece of furniture such as a sofa, some money towards it would be more beneficial. If people ask what you need or would like as a gift, you could kindly ask them for a bit of money towards buying your new sofa, bed or wardrobe. Most people will be happy to contribute, knowing that you’re putting the money towards something valuable that you need in your home.
Mix and match
Don't get too hung up on matching furniture when moving into a new home and buying second-hand items for functionality alone. A chest of drawers may make a good TV stand in your living room for a few months, or you might have two individual sofas that don’t quite match in colour. These things can be replaced in time when you have the money to buy quality items that match. Enjoy being in your own home at first and the fun that comes with moving out.