Luxury Living for Less: Budget-Friendly Home Furnishing Tips
Shopping in general can be a daunting task with the ever-booming inflation we have all been suffering with recently. What do I want? What do I like? What can I afford to want and like? If you are anything like me, my eyes have a fuller pocket book than I do. “Expensive taste” does not have to mean paying astronomical prices but you will have to be rich with patience to get the things you are wanting at a price you can afford (or at least stomach).
Likes, Wants & Needs
These 3 will be a big driving factor before even starting to look for furniture. When you are moving in look around the space. What do you want to do with it? Is this going to be a serene oasis or are you wanting to go for more of a dark forest feel? Figuring out what you want from the space will make it easier to find pieces that fit that style and it will make it look more cohesive once everything is done.
Once you determine the style you want, prioritize the rooms that will be getting the most use. Typically, these rooms will be bedroom, living room & dining room/kitchen. Once you determine what rooms need to be furnished first you can now prioritize even further. From these rooms choose one to focus on and begin thinking about the biggest item that needs to go in that room. For example, if you are focusing on the bedroom start thinking about what kind of bed you want. If you are wanting to start in the living room you can start your search with a sofa. Getting bigger pieces out of the way first not only helps fill up the room faster but are often some of the more expensive pieces.
Stretching Your Dollar
In a world where money talks more than anyone or anything else it can be hard to stretch a dollar. On average, when a person is shopping for furniture for an apartment they will usually spend around $8000 to furnish the whole apartment. When furnishing a house this number does get larger because you are typically dealing with a larger space. The budget you set for furnishing a home should be about 10%-50% of the cost of the home (ex. $250k home = $25k-$125k budget). When planning your budget keep in mind extra costs that come with purchasing a home (ex. Down payment, closing costs, deposits, emergencies).
Patience will be your greatest virtue, not only in life but in money saving. If you can wait until end of year/season sales I would greatly encourage you to do so. You will get the best bang for your buck if you are okay having an incomplete house for potentially a few months. Mid to late winter will be the best time for end of year sales when stores are trying to clear out the past year’s inventory. Summer time is the best for seasonal sales and the best part is when one sale goes off there will almost always be another one right around the corner (ex Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day).
Quality vs. Quantity
In the whirlwind of furnishing your home it’s hard not to get sucked into the idea of filling the rooms simply just to fill the rooms. This will leave you unsatisfied and will cost you more in the long run when you decide to refurnish the house the way you could have done the first time around. Take the time to really find quality pieces that will contribute to the home of your dreams and practice patience throughout this whole experience because the perfect piece will take time to find but when you find them it is all worthwhile.
Time is going to be your best friend when the big goal is saving money while furnishing. In the end when the house is all furnished and you all are living your happiest life in the home that suites you, you won’t even think of how long you had to wait to find that perfect dining table or that one bookshelf that everyone always compliments. Not only will taking your time save the most money but it will give you time to get the best bang for your buck with quality.
Remember
-More things doesn’t necessarily mean better things just like how more expensive doesn’t always mean better quality. Value and fulfillment will always prevail over volume.
-Find your inspiration before even starting to look for furniture. Scroll Pinterest or Instagram to find a style that you think you might like. Once you found a style, go find pieces to see if it’s truly what you’re envisioning for the space.
-Take measurements and when I say take measurements I don’t mean just the length and width of the room (don’t forget those measurements too because they are important). Measure windows, the distance between windows, the height of the windows from the floor, baseboard depth, ceiling height, door frames etc. All the littlest measurements that could make or break if the pieces you find will fit cohesively into your space.
-Be as patient and as flexible as you can be (MUCH easier said than done, trust me I know). You aren’t going to find everything for the whole house all at once and maybe not even all at the same place.