How much to furnish your first home?

focus888

Hi everyone im looking to save up for a deposit for my first home and im starting with nothing. So how much would i need to save for furniture? thanks x

macman

How long is a piece of string? What furniture do you need? How many rooms will your property have? Do you want to buy designer items or 3rd hand from a junk shop?
Sorry but the answer could be anything from virtually nothing to £100K, depending on the above.

gabyjane

I agree with above! I have no idea although we spent a fair but we bought gradually before we moved in..

Rolandtheroadie

We begged and borrowed everything and anything. Is there anyone you know with a spare room or garage that would let you store stuff?

olias

My first home I had two deckchairs in the lounge £10 each, a mattress £50 and a hanging rail from argos £10 - oh and a TV on a carboard box for £50.

You just have to build these thing up as you go along. Some charity shops do furniture really cheaply, keep an eye out for sales, freecycle, small ads etc etc

If you are the sort who absolutely must have new, then I reckon for £1000 you could get a servicable bed, sofa, wardrobe, drawers, table and chairs and a couple of side units and a TV, provided you stick to mega sales and cheapo argos stuff.

Olias

Sirbendy

First flat, we were given an old patio table and 4 chairs - that became dining table and guest chairs. Still got it, in storage.

Got a lovely squishy velvet-feel 2 seater sofa for £20 from a charity shop, with nothing obviously amiss. 3 years on, it's still fine.

Bought an AV stack unit from Argos for £30ish, A tesco value DVD player for a tenner, and was given an old Toshiba CRT TV (28inch) and Nokia freeview box by my mum who'd had it for years and was looking for an excuse to upgrade. Still good now.

Bookshelves, we were given, and 2 units we bought cheap from B&Q. I have 2 uplighters - one from a relative that was "broken" (switch failed, £1), and another we found in the loft of our last rental with a smashed shade and a wrongly wired plug. Now glued up, rewired and working great.

Tesco value microwave (£30), Tesco Value Kettle, Tesco toaster (DON'T get the value one, it falls apart), cutlery etc all from there too. Fridge was from ancient and modern, an old english electric refurb one for £45. Works well. Freezer came new from Iceland, washing machine new from Argos. Washer was a present for my birthday from mum.

In fact, thinking about it, all bar 7 pieces of furniture I could lose and not sweat about replacing due to cost.

I was given a dining table and chair set that belonged to my nan, made by Ercol..very expensive it was too, still is today. Nobody wanted it! Shocking. I also have a matching sideboard (clothes storage), and a rocking chair (in need of a total rebuild as it's been stored and rotted the cushions and covers).

My bed is the only thing I have that's non-negotiable..it's a metal/wood alan ward double..and I love it. It cost me £300, 6 years ago.

I LIKE old furniture - I like character. I like cheap too. I work with a lad who can't abide it and everything has to be new..boy, do I laugh at him. As has been said - sales, small ads, house clearances, auctions, car boot sales - it's all good. My work is closing down and relocating to a new building (it's a school)..I've had some picture frames, a couple of stools, a vice and I'm going to try and grab 2 6 foot striplights and one of the emergency mains failure lamp units too - I'm not proud..;) It's all going under the demolition ball anyway.

I'm now on the prowl for baby things - that'll be done MSE-style too. If only I could find some car-boot sales.

rachbc

i'm now on my 4th home and am still buying on ebay charity shops and taking hand me downs lol. In fact thats how I started, went through an ikea phase before realising could, get better, nicer stuff cheaper the other way

AdrianW2

I'm going to offer an alternative point of view. My partner refuses to have anything upholstered second hand, doesn't trust second-hand electricals and is very dismissive of anything that doesn't come from John Lewis or M&S.

So from that point of view you're looking at £800 on kitchen appliances, £800 on lounge furnishings, £500 (at least) on a bed. Don't forget things like wardrobes, guest bed, bed side tables, lamps, curtains (£40/window), curtain poles (£20/window), bed linen, pillows, cushions, plants, lawnmower, ladder, spade etc.

All those £20 items add up to a lot. All in all my spreadsheet says it's going to cost just shy of £4000 and that's with me attempting to restrain the extravagance and the mother-in-law doing lots of sewing.

Sirbendy

Wardrobes...fair point, mines one of the canvas jobs for easy moving.

Lawnmowers..I have a flymo (new) and a hulking great Petrol Makita (3rd hand, well maintained). Both together cost me £30. Heh.

I can see why people like new...but electricals like fridges/freezers are pretty robust. So is decent older furniture - the kitchen ercol stuff I have is..60 odd years old, has dealt with generations of my family, and is still in excellent shape. 2 of the chairs need minor work due to age, but it's easy enough.

The stupid reason for the rest of the family rejecting it was that it was a dark wood. I fail to see the significance..:)

Washing machines - new unless you get a good warranty. Nothing worse than a machine failing! Dishwashers - useless, buy some gloves and get stuck in by hand. Therapeutic!

I couldn't pay £500 for a bed..OK, I need a new mattress now, but mine came with my bed and has had 6 years of..punishment..:o

Gimlet

Another option to consider (albeit a more expensive one) would be custom/bespoke pieces. For things like shelving and wardrobes this allows you to absolutely maximise the available space. Depends on whether or not you plan to stay in the house for a while. If you're moving in in a couple of years it probably wouldn't make sense.

ormus

first decide how much money you have, then decide what you really need and how to get it.
freecycle can supply suites and wardrobes etc..
my first house cost virtually nothing to furnish. friends and family helped with everything.
i bought some SH stuff out of the local paper classified adverts.
i cannot remember buying anything new at all!