Your top tips for a new house.

[Coffeemonster1]

Ok so without making this too long winded, we are moving into a new build in a few months or so.
After paying all our solicitor fees etc we are left with around £10000 (plus whatever we manage to save from our wages between now and then) to spend on furnishing our home.
This is covering literally everything from carpet, laminate flooring and curtains and then bedroom furniture for us, plus DD, through to the sofa/living room furniture anc kitting out the kitchen (kettle, toaster, pots and pans). We have a fitted kitchen with integrated appliances so won't need to buy those.
So.....
What would you advise spending more money on, getting better quality of and what do you think we can cut back on?
Do furniture stores do discounts on multi buys?
What would do think it would cost to carpet a 3 story 3 bed house? Expensive carpet with cheaper underlay or the other way round or thicker underlay in harder wearing area?
Any tips would be appreciated :D

Thicker underlay for harder wearing area (stairs / landings). I personally wouldn't buy a very expensive carpet for high traffic areas (particularly if you have children) because you may need to replace in a few years.

Price up curtains / blinds etc. They are more expensive that you think and often left until the end when you have little money left.

Get a decent bed and mattress - it is worth spending on.

John Lewis for small appliances / pans etc. Their guarantees are worth the extra few pounds over a discount store / supermarket. You can't beat IKEA for day to day kitchen things (cutlery, utensils etc).

With that kind of budget, I'd be getting wooden floors rather than laminate - looks much nicer.

If you're going to spend on your DDs furniture, think if it will grow with her (i.e. no point in spending £500 on say a toddler bed that she'll grow out of by the time she is 4).

Sofas are worth spending on too (imo). Tables and chairs (imo) are nice in solid oak - quite timeless. Don't forget to budget an amount for things like pictures / art / cushions - all the things that make it homely. Have a look at notonthehighstreet.com for home-y items to make it feel like home. Good luck - how exciting .

Lovely reply thankyou.
We were thinking laminate in hallway running into kitchen and downstairs toilet and then in bathrooms. Carpet everywhere else. I like the idea of laminate throughout but DH thinks it's cold and not very comfy :/
I didn't t know John Lewis had longer guarantee (we had been looking at their kettle and toaster sets).

DD has a chest of drawers so but is currently in a cotbed which is still huge for her but she is almost 3 - So we need to get her a bed and wardrobe, we were thinking a small double with a bed guard because they we can pay for a decent one which will last. Like you said, a toddler bed isn't worth the money.

I love a rummage around IKEA. I guess that's something that all adds up, things like bins, cutlery, mugs, tea towels, clothes airers and everything else were forgetting

Not sure their guarantees are longer (poor wording in original post) although having said that, they are sometimes 2 years whereas standard manufacturers are only 1 yr. And I think their TVs come with a 5 yr guarantee. I meant for things like pans etc you'd be more likely to be able to return them without a fight than you would if you went elsewhere.

I second John Lewis and also Argos for no quibble returns on electrical items.

IKEA does a great single bed with under storage draws that pulls out to a double.

I would go for a few good quality items like-
Knives
Pots and pans
Flooring
Sofas

Cheap and cheerful
Crockery/serving dishes, cutlery- Wilkinsons or IKEA
Cushions and soft furnishings/knick knacks- IKEA, home sense, dunelm mill, the supermarkets
Matalan do fantastic high thread count bedding and good quality towels.

If it can be broken, go cheap.

If it will stick around for years then go for the best quality thing you can get for your budget.

Hold out for something you love on the big stuff because you could find yourself living with a sofa that irritates you for ten years or more. Better to sit on cushions on the floor for a few weeks and get the one you want.