What home buys have made your house easier to live in?

[OverTheRainbow2023]

We're moving house in the next couple of months. I'm keen to start afresh and not take our cheap furniture and appliances with us from our current home. The stuff we currently have is either on its last legs, or just doesn't work for us and was bought quickly without much thought, review reading or planning. I really want our home and the stuff in it to make our busy life feel easier.

Has anyone got suggestions of things that fit this bill. Best buys, things their glad they invested in, things that make their home better to live in and life easier.

You can't beat good storage, we have a cupboard solely for cleaning stuff & have a plug socket in it to charge the vacuum which is really handy. When we got a new kitchen put in we went for almost all drawers, again it really helps! We bought a lovely bean to cup coffee machine too, it was expensive but totally worth it & we don't buy coffees out as much now.

Most of my best furniture buys have been from local charity shops, including an old record player stand. I don’t have a record player but the top half is just the right size for my yoga mat & gym gear & the bottom, with sections meant to hold LPs, is perfect for my crochet stash.

A neighbour who’s moving had some stuff she wanted to get rid of & there was a narrow shelf set that fitted exactly into the corner of my hall & was just what I needed for hats & scarves.

I’m glad I splashed out on handmade curtains because five years on they still make me smile, but I think an awful lot of it is about looking out for things you might need and knowing when / if you see them.

Washing machine with a hand wash and wool wash setting.
Decent coffee machine.
Good bedding. I buy cotton seersucker so it looks crisp but doesn’t need ironing to look good.
Furniture doesn’t need to be expensive but planned well, less is more with accessories. I personally think a few good
quality throws and cushions are far better than lots of little cheaper looking ones.
Same with pictures - I prefer a few larger well framed pieces. This doesn’t need to be expensive, I have some great bits from Etsy or instagram artists.

But it’s all down to personal preference.

A plumbed in water softener and air con in the master bedroom and office are the 2 best ever buys for the house. We also have professional pots and pans in the kitchen and a set of Japanese knives. Like a pp we have several sets of expensive curtains (now approaching a decade and still looking as new). And I never scrimp on bedding - has to be cotton and at least 800 thread count.

Sofas and Stuff sofa. It’s lovely.

I love antique furniture, much better value.

Thermomix
Robot vacuum
Coffee machine
Ikea PAX in walk in robe

If you have a robot vacuum, get furniture it can get around or get under. I choose kitchen chairs based on that...it still gets stuck in the table though

When renovating, I put in a cleaning cupboard and a linen cupboard.

A big, deep bath tub.
Well-planned storage.
A bespoke utility cupboard.
Good quality mugs.
Linen napkins.
Quality bed linen and towels.
Lamps, rugs, cushions, throws.
Books.
A massive Frame TV.
Plants.

Boiling water tap - I was sceptical at first but would get another if we moved as a priority

A Studybed for the boxroom
A properly smart robot vacuum cleaner (that lets you set a schedule and no-go areas)
Overhead lights with built-in fans

My kitchen diner is south facing. I have electric shutters that cover the double doors and the windows. The advantages are that they give added security, when it’s hot they keep the heat out and when it’s cold they keep the warmth in.

A second hand dining table that can be extended. Great for having people over and very handy for jigsaws.

I also use a piano stool for my dressing table chair and the storage is a great place to keep hair straighteners / curlers

Honestly for me its about having less.

Oh the linen cupboard! Big regret to me not having a linen cupboard!

For me the thing I have down is my kitchen. I don’t actually have that much storage so really thought about what I needed.

Every bulky item is dual purpose atleast. So Pyrex bowls; serving and baking/ microwaving. glazed Ceramic dishes which are really lovely; stackable but also oven proof so I can serve or cook. Falcon tinwear; prep, serve, freeze, hob or oven - that’s a workhorse- only thing it can’t do is microwave.

Victorinox knives.

Lazy Susan’s in cupboard and fridge. Cupboard has an ‘open’ shelf which is granite with a plug. I thought this would be an appliance shelf for the blitzer thing and toaster. But it was just too useful for all those open but not finished cupboard stuff so any drips can be cleared away. No issue with shoving the sticky honey, or open soy back on that shelf.

2 dishwashers. I know it sounds ridiculous, I thought so too, but if you have the space it’s a game changer when you have a full and busy family

Don’t buy flatpack - go for good quality furniture off Facebook marketplace etc. get proper sturdy stuff for ‘Bootroom’ things. These are the things that end up taking up the most amount of space, create mess and you have 10x more of than you expect. Plus… top tip - pay to get fitted cupboards - don’t buy free standing. They are cheaper than you think (you can even do an IKEA hack) and look so much better plus add value to your home

We purchased two large bathroom cabinets from IKEA,one with mirror doors,one without.The best furniture I have purchased for the house.I would absolutely recommend.Husband & I have finally got a bathroom cabinet each. No more,trying to find a tube of toothpaste,or a personal item! They do take up a lot of wall space,but worth it!

Best buy was definitely an extra bedroom for the husband to sleep in.

Be realistic about you and your housekeeping habits. I hate housekeeping. So, I had perfectly flat kitchen cupboard doors put on. They take a wipe and that’s it. No grease or dust traps in crevices.

I have a full sized oven and a half sized. The half size is the workhorse. It uses less power to heat up so is cheaper. Some years, the big oven is Christmas Day only.

Two full size ovens next to each other. I use them in turn and both if I have 6 or more people over for dinner.

Loofah shower mat. It catches the hair as well as being like standing on a comfy carpet (Amazon)

I had a shoe cupboard built across end of a corridor. Takes up little space and has slanted shelves with an edge.

I am short so had pull down inserts put into the eye level kitchen units. Makes them much more useful for me and no ladder needed.

I had a pair of simple pocket doors built to slide behind a bookcase. These can be closed to cut off the kitchen and open for parties!

A Simba mattress and storage for drawers and the pantry.

Thermal/blackout Roman blinds. Cooler in summer,warmer in winter.

Cordless vacuum with charger mounted in a cupboard, got a socket fitted for this.

Key things for me are

good comfy large sofas,
cofee tables that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional
good dishwasher
good cup to bean coffee machine
good mattress and bedding,

then the rest are aesthetics, lovely soft cushions on the sofa, warm luxurious throws, thick wool rugs on exposed floor boards and lovely artwork etc that you like to look at, soft lighting for the evenings.