How much on average furnishing new home and money saving tips?

Blackeyez09

Hi guys

Just wondering how much people spend furnishing their homes
as well as get some advice about cost effective/saving ways to furnish a house... What are your money saving tips!

Thanks!

~Beanie~

Thats a 'how long is a piece of string' type question! It surely depends on your budget.

When I moved into my first house, I had hardly any furniture. The living room had 2 reclining padded deckchairs for seating, plus I had a TV.

Kitchen - I couldn't afford a fridge for a few months so I kept my milk etc down the cellar where it was cold, the cooker was already built in and the washer I bought off a mate for £50.

Bedroom - I had my single bed from my parents house, plus I bought a wardrode, chest of drawers and bedside table.

Household stuff like an iron, cutlery, crockery, kettle etc etc I had been buying bit by bit whilst still with parents.

Everything else, dinig table, settee, double bed etc came later, as and when I could afford it. I had lots given to me by friends, you can also find great stuff for free on Freecycle.

If you want to move in and have everything brand new then obviously it will cost a heck of a lot more.

Pixie5740

Try websites like Freecycle and Gumtree to pick up some free to low cost furniture, furnishings and white goods. A friend of mine recently got a cracking set of curtains off Gumtree that were really good quality and had never been used as the woman had changed her mind about her colour scheme after having them made.

Charity shops are also a good source of decent electricals and furniture.

Pixie5740

I'll just add that I spent the majority of my budget on my bed and mattress as my back couldn't tolerate a cheap, lumpy mattress.

dgtazzman

This time round, just over 4k, last time, under a grand, but then maybe that's why most of the furniture is ready for the tip after just 4 years ...

Strapped

In my first house, I found people were falling over themselves to give me their old furniture - all it cost me was the price of a pint for a friend to help me shift sofa and chairs in his van. I also got given old bedlinen, blankets and curtains - all dated, but perfectly serviceable. Nowadays though I think people have much higher expectations, and expect things to match etc ;-)

egoode

I moved 6 months ago and spent £500 on furniture from ikea. However I spent a lot on a bed and mattress and was lucky the place already had a fridge, washing machine and dishwasher. I also already owned my TV. However I can't remember how much I spent on kitchen items and a vacuum.

I'm planning to replace the ikea items eventually and don't have everything for the kitchen yet but just got the basics to begin with. I know I could have tried freecycle etc but I found things went really quickly.

Relocationrelocation

We got some amazing things from Ebay - really high quality furniture for peanuts but you will need to make sure you can fit them in the car or hire a van. We got a fantastic cream sofa, good as new, for just £99 and a lovely book shelf for £17 that we found in the shops for £200! We gave away our old sofa on Freecycle, Preloved is another great site. We didn't feel the need to get everything straight away, the basics, and family were extremely generous with things like chairs, curtains etc.

Yorkie1

If starting from scratch (as opposed to putting existing furniture in), I think it takes time to assess what will work in a house. Either for style / colour reasons, or simply for size reasons.

I think a decent bed is important but the rest can be freecycled to start with, followed by better investments when priorities and budgets permit.

Lobby12

We're just buying our first house after years of renting and are buying furniture from eBay. Also lots of friends and family have stuff they no longer use but can't being themselves to throw out so for the total of £20 we have a TV stand, desk and office chair, chest of drawers and 2 beds. People are also buying us housewarming gifts of light fittings and garden furniture. You can spend as much or as little as you like but we would personally rather overpay on the mortgage than get into further debt buying brand new matching stuff.

cattie

My biggest tip is shop around before you buy. Using the internet, fully research what you're thinking of buying for the best price & also see if there are any customer reviews to ensure that it is a really good buy & not a turkey.

If possible, buy via a cashback site such as Quidco to increase the savings you can make.

Take into account any delivery charges as these can often make something more expensive than they initially appear & beware as with many large items ordered via internet they can be kerbside delivery only.

If buying 2nd hand furniture, go for good quality branded stuff rather than say cheap furniture that came from somewhere like Argos. Quality branded stuff can be sold on later if you decide it's time to buy new for yourself & shouldn't cost you much more if anything than a no name cheapie used item.

Remember once you're in your new home don't fill the electric kettle with more water than you need to make a cuppa, turn lights off when not in use. Oh & if you've got a shower rather than a bath, be as quick as you can, don't stand there for 30mins wasting gas or electricity unnecessarily. Doing simple things like this can save you money by only using & paying for the energy that you really need in your home.

Finally, If you're a man, then it really isn't essential to use half a roll of toilet paper when you need to use the toilet sitting down. Doing that literally is just throwing your money down the pan!