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?

Yes I have painted several oddvar stools they look really good.

So you can rent furniture (all brand new) from a company called David Phillips. Will cost around 150-250 per month depending on size etc

Also try freecycle

Omar I am trying to furnish the whole house for £150-£250! That is an enormous amount of money to spend on renting furniture. You might think I am being cheeky but I am actually going to manage it.

There is a lady who has put what seems to be the entire contents of her house on Facebook marketplace. I have got a double bed, table and chairs and one of those Ikea armchairs that everyone seems to have for £80 and she is going to deliver it!

I am going to paint everything white so it matches and recover the sofa and armchair so they both match. In the meantime I am going to get a cheap throw and some cushions.

OP I feel we are on similar wavelengths!

This is a brilliant paint that is proportionally expensive but self primes so you can crack on and paint huge amounts (skirting, windowsills, headboards etc) quickly:

www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-self-priming-paint-satin-white-2-5ltr/62096

I chalk painted everything in sight then got bored with the kind of finish you get, plus you have to wax or varnish at.

There are SO many snazzy paints available now that need less priming or can be sprayed. Rustoleum does a lot.

If you do decide to chalk paint, you can buy calcium carbonate from amazon by the bag and just mix it with regular emulsion - much cheaper than buying it premixed.

Lots of amazing Pinterest ideas for up cycling furniture, recovering things, making curtains and blinds and Ikea hacks.

Good luck! I don’t know what the circumstances are that you’re having to do this on such a small budget, but I’m rooting for you!

So pleased for you about your house furniture hall, people have to give stuff away for the most straight up reasons, I have had to empty a flat once to sell it, was begging people to take it! Some of it i’d bought very cheaply from a charity furniture shop and put on the kerb in the end - it disappeared!

HAUL not hall

All my furniture has arrived. I haven’t even got the house yet so it is in my relatives garage. It’s all really nice. I am so happy.

thenewname thank you for the tip about the paint. I think we are definitely on a similar wavelength. I am spending a lot of time on Pinterest looking for ideas.

I’ve sourced a large proportion of my furniture from auctions, I find it really economical. I have large Persian rugs, one in particular is beautiful and cost me £3 when I got it home I fiund it was £999 new. I have a cream leather sofa which is lovely and cost me £20. eBay I have two cabinets in dinning room which spiced separately but same wood and style, £35 for both.

My next venture will eventually be bedroom wardrobes

I never upcycle furniture, I just bid for what I like !but I never go passed my limits on each piece and sometimes go home empty handed

Are you near an Ikea? Besides the normal furniture, they also have a bargain corner, where you can get things that are ex-display, or slightly marked, or not in complete sets, or whatever, and there are some excellent deals there - but you have to go in person.

I second auctions. There is an auction house near me that sells DFS furniture that is made to the wrong size. They also sell ex display furniture from John Lewis and the like.

I've had solid oak furniture for a right steal!

I forgot about the bargain corner in IKEA! I am going there to get some of the stools to use as bedside tables and something cushions etc.

The only things I need now is some kind of wardrobe and chest of drawers and they might have one there. If not I can get one of those rails to do in the meantime.

I went into the British Heart Foundation furniture shop yesterday and it was quite expensive.

Look in
-freecycle
-freegle
-charity furniture shops

Remember to also look out for throws/cushions/pictures/photo frames to add some character and cosiness.

Do a post on your own Facebook? I’ve always got stuff I’d send over to someone in need- spare toaster, loads of kitchen stuff etc.
You’d be surprised by how much people want to help. Plus they have a clear out, so everyone wins.
In my area there is all variety of bargain basement- people post on there if they’re in need/ trying to give stuff away or sell things cheaply.

Might have missed this, but do you also have large furniture like fridge washing machine etc?

Amazon have some promotions on now, eg £5 off a £25 spend if you use a code and buy items sold and dispatched from Amazon. There’s also a student £10 off £20 spend, you need to be able to join student prime though. You can then immediately cancel student prime after your order and get your money back. They also have lots of offers on.

Also don’t forget Black Friday next month - might be worth waiting to buy some items in about 4 weeks?

Fabric wardrobes can be ordered on line for about £30. Garage shelves can work as bookshelves at less than half the price.

When I got divorced & got a council house, it cost 11k to carpet, decorate & furnish a 2 bed house, ex husband got most of the furniture from our previous house, I only got things that my parents had bought me. I'm now hoping to move again & including carpets, decorating, removal costs, rent advance & most furniture replacing, I am aiming for 9.5k. Look at Facebook marketplace, Ebay, B & M, Home bargains, Wilkinsons & pound shops, they have some brilliant copies of things from Next & other more expensive shops as well as selling some lovely things for a home.

£11k to carpet, decorate a two bed house 😮 to me that’s a large amount of money

Do you need a wardrobe or coukd you just get a sturdy clothes rail? That's what I have in my bedroom as I prefer it to a wardrobe which dominates the room. I think it was about 10 quid off amazon but read the reviews as some are very flimsy.

Also, if you don't have beds yet then you could just put the mattress on the floor. I think it looks pretty cool like that anyway. It just depends whether you need the space under the bed for storage.

Nat6999 £11grand. I am astonished? Was most of it on decorating and carpets? I know that carpets are expensive and council houses don’t come with any flooring but that is a lot of money.

I am sure that you will be able to your new place up on less than that as you will already have some furniture and curtains etc from your current house.

I will have a look at Amazon offers and Black Friday. I would like a TV but might have to wait a bit longer until I can get one.

B and M is very good for cushions etc. I might go there as it is cheap.

Check out Amazon warehouse deals too.

Siablue no not just decorating & carpets, that included fully furnishing as well, sofas, dining table & chairs, cooker, washer, microwave, beds & bedroom furniture, curtains, blinds, bedding, pots, pans, cutlery, light fittings. As I am disabled, I had to pay someone to do the decorating, the decorating & carpets plus fitting came in at £1k each, I got a Lazyboy 3 + 2 sofa set that was advertised in SCS at £2500 from a warehouse that sold ex display furniture for £900, I also got my dining table & chairs & my bedstead & mattress from there, curtains came from Next clearance, pots & pans I bought from supermarket as well as bedding & towels. My ex husband took almost everything from our house, it was easier to buy new than argue over stuff, I only fought for things that my parents had bought for me & ds.

I live in a council house. I've certainly not spent the 11k and not could I afford too, Hence why we're in a council house. I bought carpet very cheaply from flooring superstore. They also sell cheap underlay. You can order carpet samples and found them very good quality. Check out local secondhand shops and also gumtree, Free cycle shpock and Facebook marketplace if you're on Facebook. We were given a voucher to exchange for tins of paint at a local shop from the council. It can be done for 1.5-2k, maybe less if you're very lucky. It doesn't need to be all done at once.

I got a second hand dyson ball works like new from eBay for £40

Nat I am in a similar situation to you. I don’t have a single thing from my old house. It isn’t safe for me to go back and get it. I don’t need fridge and washing machine as I am in a private rental. That is lucky as I couldn’t afford to buy them.

Embarrassingly I have never bought anything from eBay before but I may have to if I want to get a vacuum cleaner of some kind.