How cheap can you furnish an entire house?

[Siablue]

I am going to be moving into a new house soon and basically need everything. Does anyone have any tips on how to get things very cheap.

I am going to have a go at making as much as I can myself. I was planning on painting mismatched furniture and I have been given a sofa that I am going to have a go at recovering.

I have most of the things I need for DS’s bedroom as I bought them very cheap off Facebook market place.

I have had a look on gumtree but it is very disappointing in my area. I have been given quite a bit by family and friends.

Does anybody have advice on doing up a house on a budget? Has anyone else done it? What did you do first? What could you manage without?

[summershine2204]

Have you tried Freecycle? We have put things in there in the past - some areas of the country use it more than others (you normally have to collect stuff also so if you don't drive or have access it could be difficult)

[MoobaaMoobaa]

freecycle, FB market place, eBay,
B&M bargins.

I'm not sure if they are still a thing, but years ago when I first moved out, there was a second hand furniture business near me, I picked up a beautiful burr walnut art deco dressing table for £10, it was a steel even back then.

[MrsJoshNavidi]

Pretty bloody cheap if you use freecycle, charity shops, and ikea.

It's amazing how many people have a spare sofa/table/bed/you name it when you start asking around.

[MoobaaMoobaa]

some charities have second hand furniture shops too, one near me is Dovehouse hospice.

[FrogFairy]

If you have a local community furniture project, they sell household things very cheap with extra discount if you are on benefits.

[inwood]

Our local BHF charity ship is a furniture shop, they have absolute bargains. We also have an Air Ambulance one so worth checking what's in your area.

[HairyToity]

When DH and I moved in together it was dead grandparents furniture and family friends who were downsizing or upgrading and didn't want old sofa. Also a local auction. We treated ourselves to a new bed, so £600 all in.

I think we have since spent 4.5k over last 14 years upgrading items.

[Siablue]

Oh good! Lots of positive responses.

MoobaaMoobaa that sounds lovely! We had a shop like that near where I lived at uni. It was stacked high with stuff.

Our local free cycle doesn’t have much at the moment. I have got loads from Facebook market place.

[DelurkingAJ]

We didn’t have all real furniture for a while...so we sat on the cardboard packing boxes and used the freezer (with a throw) as a table. We were in Bristol and got a refurbished sofa for £20 from Emmaus.

[safariboot]

Do you have a British Heart Foundation furniture shop in your area? We've had quite a few things from there, including a sofa for 10 - yes, ten - pounds.

I think I'd insist on new mattresses though. A second-hand mattress is too skanky for me. John Lewis and Dunelm are a couple of places that have a decent range of cheap ones that you can try.

[speakout]

There are several community furniture initiatives near me- i imagine most cities and many towns have them.
Most of my furniture has come from these stores- excellent second hand stuff. I got a coupld of next sofas- like new for £80 each, solid wood dining table that seats eight for £40, wooden dining chairs, units, coffee tables, mirrors etc.
My last house move was from a tiny house into a very large one so I had to buy a lot of furniture- these places saved me a fortune.

[Lhastingsmua]

Take advantage of any ‘student deals’ currently on - eg some stores prepackage kitchen bits at a slight discount for uni students moving out for first time. Or a combination of kitchen/bathroom/bedroom bits.

It always surprises me how cheap IKEA can be for furniture. Would definitely be worth a visit.

It’s a shame that you haven’t been able to find many cheap second bits.

Focus on the basics first and add decor etc later. Furniture, kitchen stuff and bedding really. Just what you need on a day to day basis for a fully functional household

[speakout]

Re matresses- our local furniture initiatve often have brand new matresses in stock, still factory wrapped with fire safety tags attached.
Apparently hotels etc will often donate excess supplies. So worth looking out for.

[Lhastingsmua]

Eg this:

www.wilko.com/en-uk/campaigns/student-life-sorted/student-bundles/c/7313

(You don’t need to prove you’re a student to purchase)

[Siablue]

Oh that’s good we have a Wilko near by. I am not sure about British Heart Fondation.

I have seen that we do have a local furniture initiative. It would be good if they did new mattresses as they are quite pricey.

Hairy that is very impressive doing the whole house for £600.

[InDubiousBattle]

Wilco have some good, cheap kitchen bits. In my area charity shops have some amazing stuff. Have a look at argos too. What do you still need?

[PickAChew]

Odds and ends from IKEA. They sell some good functional stuff at very reasonable prices - particularly good for storage.

Charity shops. I've seen some great stuff in ones close to us. They can often deliver, too, which can be helpful.

[Siablue]

I still need some kind of wardrobe or chest of draws, mist kitchen stuff a book shelf and a Hoover. Hoovers are quite expensive do you think I could get away with one of those little dust busters?

[LoopyLu2019]

Work out essentials. Write a list of priorities and what order to buy them in. Things like mattress, you can get one 2nd hand and get a new topper if you can't stretch to knew. What can you hold out for? Like you don't need a sofa on day 1, you could wait for the right one to come up over 2-3 months if necessary. Where as you need at least some cutlery, plates, pots, pans etc. What appliances do you need? Do you need to buy white goods Or are they in the house? If you have a hob and oven you don't need kettle and microwave immediately, you can cope without.
Don't over burden yourself with too much diy/upcycle.
Invest is quality 2nd hand items, they will hold value better than 2nd hand Ikea that falls apart if it's reassembled too often. This means when you can afford to replace them you can get some money back from selling. I've done a lot of this as I've furnished my house as I got real wood items for £10-20 each and sold for similar.

[Nextphonewontbesamsung]

You haven't mentioned Freecycle yet.

I've bought a coffee table and a chest of drawers from Ebay, an Ikea chair and another chest of drawers on my local FB. My dining table and chairs were inherited. My fil made a desk and bookcase for one of my dc and fitted a large bookcase upstairs for us. I have 2 small side tables I found in skips.

If I was starting from absolute scratch I would get a sofa and beds only. Then maybe add a chest of drawers or two and some clothes rails. There's not really any need for more furniture than that.

[fourquenelles]

I second Wilko for good quality cheap bargains.

I have picked up some real bargains in my big Tesco. For example king sized fitted sheets for £3 and pillow cases for £2. These real bargains seem to be at the end of a sale and are often hidden on the shelves so its always worth a look even if there is no sale signage.

I have also picked up mismatched vintage china from charity shops for 20p - 50p.

[Nowisthemonthofmaying]

Local auction houses are often worth a look, especially for big bulky items like wooden wardrobes that people prefer to buy new. I got a gorgeous antique mahogany chest of drawers for £40 from one near me recently. Try the saleroom. com to see if there's anything good in your area.

[ilovebagpuss]

Don’t forget eBay if you amend the search to choose nearby it lets you specify 10/20miles away and some used items can be on the doorstep.
We had those wood and canvas wardrobes for ages until we could afford Ikea ones.
Made do with outdated bits like carpets and curtains buying old furniture to paint like a pine bed I did a nice soft pink for DD.
I appreciate it’s hard but it can be satisfying seeing what you can get/make for low cost.

[MoobaaMoobaa]

I had a quick look at the price of a dustbuster, around £35 + depending on type.

so I found you a reconditioned upright Hoover for £35 with free delivery on ebay.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hoover-WR71WR01-Whirlwind-Bagless-Upright-Vacuum-Cleaner-RRP-149-99-/382933838785?nav=SEARCH

obviously check any seller out. I bought a reconditioned Henry of eBay. It did it's job and I was very happy with it for years, then the hose broke off but couldn't complain after years of service and the price I paid.

[LemonPrism]

We managed for £7k - a mix of gumtree, Ikea and Sainsbury's.

This included all crockery etc, decorations, mattresses, beds, plants, rugs etc.

Our sofa was £75 and is amazing and our spare bed (loft double) was £80