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.

The storage we bought for the hallway so you are not immediately coming in to mess. The dining table from Ikea with a leaf do we can pack it away when not needed but still have room for guests. The robot hoover.

However I would buy this once I am in the house so you have time to see how you move through the house and get the exact right fit.

Don’t aim to buy everything straight away. All houses work differently. You’ll find some things you thought you needed were actually redundant.

My budget is quite low. What works for me is keeping things as simple and uncluttered as possible. I have a hand held Hoover and keep on top of housework in the evenings after work. I’ve also bought one of those flash duster things that the dust cling to. They’re fab!

Quooker boiling water tap. Love it. No kettle cluttering the worktop, instant boiling water for tea/coffee and for cooking.
Gas fire. It was here when I moved in and I love that too! It totally transforms the atmosphere in the room.
I also moved the washer/dryer from downstairs (it was under the boiler in the downstairs loo) up to an enlarged cupboard in the hallway. I don’t hang my washing outside so this is ideal - the washer closest to the bedrooms. No hefting laundry up and down stairs, no piles sitting around waiting to go in the machine.
The other things I recommend is having an outside tap front (if you have a front garden) and back, plus a power source.

Cover less duvets. Saves sooo much space not having to store duvet covers plus makes the process of washing bedding far less laborious

If you are living in the south, mosquito blinds and outside shutters or air conditioning. They say it will be hotter next year.

Dehumidifier.

Dries a full load in about 8 hours and costs pennies.

Induction hob

Casters. I put wheels on as much of my furniture as possible so it's easy to move around for cleaning etc. wardrobes are pretty much the only thing I don't have on wheels. I don't need to ask anyone to help me move anything I can just wheel it all out of the way.
Lvt throughout the downstairs, makes cleaning so much easier.

I have good friends whose family life is at max with both DH and DW working full time and small kids. Her non negotiable was to have two dishwashers in the kitchen ( they had room) - works well form them apparently

Be savvy about where to spend and where to save. Bed and bedding are high priority, couches next, must be comfortable and cleanable. Furniture and storage for living room, go for quality, kids rooms, craft room, utility room Ikea is fine. Be prepared to actually visit shops to feel things, try things, sit in things.
For me natural materials matter, you might be different.
Agree with pp, don’t do it all at once, you will suffer from decision overload. Save by using TK Maxx for accessories, JL members weekend, prime weekend.

Water softener - game changer (I live in a really hard water area). Worth getting done early on so new plumbing, bathroom fittings etc won’t get scaled up.

Robot hoover.
Most of my furniture is second-hand because I prefer it to new.

Solar panels, probably not what you’re thinking of but definitely a good investment.

Good curtains - made to measure for last house - have lasted years and still look good.

Alexas so we can turn all the downstairs lights on in one go, portable aircon unit and built in door mats

Can I ask what is a normal amount to spend on a good pot? I’ve realised that I have a lovely house/kitchen, love to cook and seem to make do with student house level of cookware and crockery (tefal / tesco!). I’m planning on Denby crockery but I have no idea how much I need to spend on cookware and what brand is quality vs just paying for a name.

We bought a washing machine with a ‘steam’ function. It’s been a game changer for me. I have big billowy dresses that are tricky to iron, but don’t need to be perfect and the steamer makes them look ironed (tbh I never bothered I just looked scruffy or waited for the cleaner to iron them)

I also use it for my husband’s chinos and casual shirts as well as a few of the kids things that get really creased, and school uniform actually. I use it allll the time.

We buy our beds from Warren Evans, they’re not cheap but they’re good. We also favour the Cotswold company and Raft for other furniture which we’ve found to be good quality.

Sorry somehow I’ve replied to the wrong person, don’t know how to fix it!

We paid an electrician to put in extra sockets based on where we would actually need them instead of having to run extension leads.
I also took some time to plan out hallway storage so we have a shoe bench, shoe unit, coat hooks and a repurposed bookcase that we added hooks to the top half for bags and then have baskets on the shelves on the lower half for sunglasses, hats, gloves, umbrellas etc.
Basket near the sofa for chargers
Cordless vacuum
Induction hob
Knife sharpener and use it regularly
Good extractor fans in bathroom and kitchen
IKEA sofas with removable machine washable covers
Brother laser printer - way better than horrendous inkjet laser printers that never work properly (HP being the worst offender)
Instant pot
60m washing line - fits multiple loads

@Leopardspota I recommend the John Lewis own brand stainless steel pans, they are great quality and not excessively expensive. I also have the wok from their thermacore range which is also excellent but that range is slightly pricier.

Brought my vented tumble dryer with me thank the Lord. House came with high end washer/ dryer. The washer is great but the dryer is awful. I had been warned that w/d are crap so made a last minute decision to bring the dryer 🙏🏻

I think what really makes a difference is working out what works for the space in your new house so I would advise taking the stuff either way you so that you don’t have to rush the decisions around new things because you’re desperate for a sofa/chest of drawers/hallway storage

I absolutely agree with this. When we moved it was really obvious how to arrange everything in some rooms. But other rooms took a lot longer just to see how the space works. We made the mistake of buying furniture quickly that in the end had to be replaced. I wish I'd been more patient. Focus on essentials that you will definitely need like beds. I wish when we'd moved we'd just bought double beds for the kids rather than start with singles.

Comfy sifa is a must, soft rugs and good lighting.
A high quality hoover helps a lot.

Agree about waiting until it becomes apparent what you need rather than trying to pre-empt. When we bought our house we lived in it for 15 months before starting the renovation I knew we would need to do and that flagged up what I needed to do based on how I used the space and what the "snags" were. I would have done it differently if we'd done the renovation straight away and it wouldn't have addressed two key irritations re the layout.

However, to answer the OP, Thomas Crapper toilet with a proper, mighty flush.

The biggest improvement for new house was hiring a van to get rid of clutter from old house before we moved to the new one....! I didnt want to buy storage or have more stuff in order to store all the stuff I didnt really want or need.

Otherwise, its personal - I like good curtains but wouldnt be so fussed on bed linen so I definitely economise there. Others would say the opposite. I want sturdy furniture and would paint or wax or french polish if it needed it, and decorate around stuff I already have if its suitable.

We've had a small wash basin in our bedroom for years. I know it's old fashioned now, but we've no room for an en suite. It's was a godsend when we both needed to leave for work quickly, or when we have a overnight visitor as at least they can wash hands/clean teeth without worrying about others waiting to use the bathroom.

Cat