Help me furnish my new home!

[FirstTimeHomeowner]

Hi all,

NC for this... please be kind :)

I'm in the process of buying my first (and dream!) house for me and DS. I'm a single mum and feel like I've been clawing my way here forever ~ 9 years of saving, 2 of searching for the perfect house, and now we're so close to signing and moving in!

I'm a perfectionist and want a nice house. I've saved a decent chunk (£30k) to furnish and get it all nicely set up - it's already decorated well and is coming with white goods.

I'm the first homeowner in my family - the first person to have anything more than a council flat - and I grew up with very second hand, mismatched, broken furniture and housewares. I know the advice is to start with FB marketplace finds but I SO don't want to 😂

So - if you were starting fresh, with a budget a step above IKEA, what would you splurge on or save on? What do you wish you knew buying/furnishing your first place?

Bonus for links of cool shops/your dream homeware picks!

Splurge on a good bed and a good sofa. Chances are that if you're not in one you're on the other.

Take your time, I always believe that a house and garden evolves. I have a mixture of old and new and up cycled pieces here and there. I bought an amazing pair of leather sofas from a second hand shop for £600, everyone loves them.

I bought a retro sideboard and coffee table from a site called Artico, they have some gorgeous bits on their site.

Not quite what you asked, but Insta can be a great help. Start with a shop you know you like and click through to where it's been tagged by other on people. You'll start to find houses you like and that in turn leads to other interesting shops that those people have also tagged.
I've found so many amazing artists that way and loads of great inspiration for my flat.
Edited to say congratulations! That struggle to buy can feel endlessly uphill at times and it's so exciting when it's actually happening. Make sure your first purchase is a bottle of something fizzy!

I quite like a rummage around TK maxx/homesense
Got a gorgeous wooden chest from there and a blanket storage basket
I like dunelm too. Wouldn't buy everything at once as you'll spot additional stuff you want in time

I spent a good chunk in IKEA when furnishing a large flat earlier this year for the basics - table, sofa-bed, kallax to hold the tv (4x2 on its side), proper king sized bed, pax wardrobe for me and a basic wardrobe for spare room etc. And a couple of outside dining chairs and a table. A rug in colours that worked well.

I had a nice replica Eames chair I brought from home, and a leather seat for the dining table. I got a different leather seat and 4 new but 50s school-style chairs to finish the dining set from 2 different furniture stores here. And I had a nice plain coffee table that fit the 50s sort of look which I brought with me.

What tied it together is a few plants, and having pictures on the wall (I had brought a lot from home - a mix of paintings and prints which are mostly fairly bold, and a big poster I had framed of mountains probably 2 metres wide). And the soft furnishings - floor rug, cushions etc. And lighting - what's on the ceiling/walls but also lamps for reading and for ambience and as decorative items.

Lots in Ikea has a style to it, and a lot of properly sturdy items too - it's not all about the £5 lack table that falls apart after a term for students. But look around furniture stores and vintage stores as well to get an idea of the style you like, before making big purchases, and use that to make decisions.

I brought a single bed, lounging chair and stool, 1 straight chair, 3 Ikea folding chairs, coffee table and my work desk with me, and my paintings and a few cushions and lamps. Between Ikea and the other shops locally I've probably spent €3,500-4,000 altogether and have a fully furnished large 3 bed apartment for that. Including a lot I needed to set up the kitchen, sheets and towels etc. So it doesn't need anything like 30k.

Pops of colour is a bit dated these days . Instead look at tone on tone, where you use a colour you really like and us it in various shades and tones throughout a room. It is sophisticated and calming.

i like to link rooms in this way so that there is a seamless journey throughout the house. The exception being bedrooms where you let your imagination run away.

Another vote for IKEA and second hand here! IKEA stuff really is brilliantly thought out and if it's not the cheapest stuff, can be very durable. The key is mixing it with other furniture and decorations that are your style and dilute it. I got a great wooden bed for £20 off gumtree, and other stuff for £5-20, so you can save hundreds.

Thank you everyone - so so much! :)
I'm going to spend some time today digging through these in detail and adding all the suggestions to a GIANT spreadsheet, but mainly thank you for making me feel less alone - I didn't realise how lonely this could be! Will come back with pics once I'm done :)

Sorry, mine was focussed on my style - but what I had meant was identify the style you like, find the things in Ikea that work with that, and look in vintage shops and regular shops as well. Marketplace may be mostly about cheap and cheerful but think of it as vintage - well loved getting a second life. And you might also get cheap bits that work with your style.

If it's your own place, also think about the value of colour - on the walls, curtains, soft furnishings, art, rugs etc - and tie them together in the style you are looking for. You could paint a signature wall, you could get wallpaper that makes 1 wall into a vista or a big statement, or adds tones to the paint colour on other walls.

Enjoy the design and curation process!

Is a comfy office chair / desk for WFH a consideration? What about really nice bedside tables with enough space for a lovely touch lamp? Some really nice lighting pieces as well for each room? I got some lovely chandeliers from Dunelm / Next.

The house should reflect who you are and if it's your dream home, it likely does.

We've lived in a 1920's, 1680's, 1970's and now Georgian home and the 1970's one was the only place where I had to compromise on my preferred decor, it always felt like a stop gap.

Buy what's beautiful (to you) or otherwise essential. If you like pops of colour, then pops of colour it is. What's fashionable changes every 10 years so if you want to keep current try to work around large classic pieces with smaller decor that can be swapped out around them.

When moving to a character property from a 1970's one, the first thing we did was buy a classic sofa that fits the age of the house. We have the same bed frame from 30 years ago that works as well here as it did in our first 1920's flat. We've furnished with antiques because they are usually excellent quality and they fit our aesthetic.

Second the suggestion to look on Pinterest to get inspiration and see what's trending currently but more importantly to find what you like.

If you're buying once, buy quality and try to buy classic so you can update your decor around your large pieces - bed, wardrobe, sofa, armchairs, dining table.

How exciting, and well done in achieving your dream. Enjoy your shopping!

Some of the big charities like the British Heart Foundation, Sue Ryder and Princess Alice Hospice have ebay outlets.
I got a set of 4 Kartell dining chairs from the BHF ebay store for less than 60 quid. They have a lot of Ercol and mid century furniture and they are fussy about condition (as I know when I tried to get them to collect stuff from my Mum's house!).

Congratulations on the new home! My tip is when you have only one window in a room visit John Lewis and Dunelm and look through their returns/ sale isle. I got my favourite bathroom blind (favour a daylight one in the bathroom with opaque glass so still get some light) in John Lewis for £15 this way and a Dunelm made to measure return pair worth about £340 for £45 which just needed hemming. Both in modern neutrals. ..

Also factory outlets for branded manufacturers especially for sofas and go and sit on them to make sure they are comfy.

Buy IKEA and give the leftover money to charity.

No practical suggestions from me, I'm afraid, but just a massive congrats on this big step!

It must feel SO GOOD to have your own space and the money to furnish it how you'd like for you and your DS... I'm really happy for you and I don't even know you!

You've worked bloody hard – if anything, I'd suggest stretching this process out and do it in stages so you can enjoy the fun as long as possible!

Congrats OP! So very exciting for you 😊

I echo everyone else who said to invest in bed frame, mattress and sofa, and if you have enough to spare/the space for it, a good, solid dining table. When we moved we needed to get or replace all of those and we absolutely researched and then purchased these first, then looked at what the remainder of our budget could do for other furnishings. We ended up getting the sofa from John Lewis as we had vouchers from our estate agent when we picked up keys, and frame and mattress from Get Laid Beds. Dining table and benches from Masterplank. Don't regret any of them at all!

I do love Dunelm for all the other home stuff, including bed linen.

I love having nice, handmade pottery. I have saved loads of independent sellers on Etsy and I've bought lots of mugs, plates, vases etc. I love these styles more than the stuff that gets churned out at factories, and I'm happy to spend a bit more on small businesses! But my point is that Etsy has a lot of really interesting, unique home stuff if you wanted to go down that route/that's your style. For the same reason I also love going to craft fairs and market days in the towns/villages in my area.

Last but not least, when I moved to the town I now live in, I joined some local groups on FB to get a feel of the vibe/get tips etc. But one page in particular has been incredible, which is the local reuse page! So many people giving away perfectly decent stuff, and it's been a godsend for me too for getting rid of things I don't need anymore.

Enjoy the decor/furniture buying, this is my favourite part of a house move (the rest is awfully stressful tbf)!

Tikamoon.

https://www.tikamoon.co.uk/?utmsource=google&utmmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=%5BSEARCH%5D+-+Brand&utmmid=1344059472&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADhfL0ffFokdRry6rhCsqMu8I74BZ&gclid=CjwKCAjwodC2BhAHEiwAE67hJLg0s-adyOzCzkRzkjS7NY-rQizO-ofxzefbFt3HdjLzvcGinFaiXBoCREUQAvDBwE

If you have any auction houses and /or architectural salvage places near you, these are great for buying old, odd, beautiful things. I have an apothecary's cupboard from one rural auction house, and some lovely old Windsor chairs. Agree with everyone else to splurge on a mattress and sofa.

But again, a lot is going to depend on how you want your house to look and feel. Maybe if you can post a photo or two of the kind of room you like, people can suggest places to look? Also, what is your new house like -- age, aspect, room size?

Made to measure blinds from Tuiss are fantastic. But the same company also trades as Blinds2go, the colours dont have the same posh names and they're half the price!

I live in an old house which is furnished 100% from Ebay or an auction sales room we have here in the Midlands called John Pye. It's a bit of a faff to set up, but they sell all of the returns and display stock from places like John Lewis. Amazing value for rugs and things.

My tips are to search by the type of wood on eBay - search teak in used for example and you will get almost exclusively amazing midcentury furniture. It's less trendy than it was, but get the right piece and it is incredible value and not hard to move.

Buy rugs bigger than you think, hang art lower than you think and invest in curtains. If you can find someone good locally who will make them to measure it finishes a whole house and is very affordable. And have fun! Genuinely - it's the wrong shoes theory of interior decoration. Let some stuff clash or look a bit mad or be something that you just loved so much you didn't care how it fitted in with your sofa. That's the bit that gives a home personality!

If you have standard sized windows, buy ready made curtains. You could always ask a local curtain maker to refine them for you (eg if you’d like blackout or thermal linings) and add weights to the bottoms so that they hang properly. They may even be able to handle them for you, so that they’re nicely ruched.

If you have a modestly sized property, the advice is always to have the same flooring throughout, and choose colours of the same tones for each of the rooms. That apparently makes it look more cohesive and bigger.

I spent more than I anticipated on a bed, but it was well worth it. You’ll spend the most time in bed and sitting on the sofa, so it makes sense to choose quality.

The cheapest thing you can buy, for the most impact, is paint. But that requires a time investment to put it on the walls!

I used to add one kitchen utensil (grater, slotted spoon, garlic press etc) to the weekly shop and built up what I needed.

Much as I live a mooch around John Lewis, I’m always really impressed at the bits you can get at supermarkets and Dunelm.

Also I know you said not marketplace but don't discount eBay for things like curtains - I've got some big bay windows and to have curtains made to fit them by blinds2go would have been £300. Looked on eBay and got some beautiful Laura Ashley ones that were specially made for someone's bay windows for £30, also chanced them on a washing machine hand wash as dry cleaning would have cost a lot and they were good as new.

Second bed and sofa as being the two items you want to spend a lot on. Oh and a solid wood dining table always looks great (IMO).

Congratulations @FirstTimeHomeowner can you share a bit more about the space? Number of reception rooms? Number of bedrooms? What’s the garden like? It sounds a bit strange but you might want to consider stocking up on garden stuff now. Most firms are pricing to clear so you’ll get a bargain for some lovely seating, plant pots etc which you can store in the shed (? You might need to price in one) for next year. Don’t forget to price in garden tools/lawnmower etc all of which are cheaper at this time of year.

Agree with the sentiment to splurge on sofas and beds. The white company bedding is excellent and lasts a long time. If the white company is your style, nothing wrong with buying it all from there. Quality in general is extremely good. There is a firm on eBay that tends to sell TWC return items which may get you more bang for your bucks.

When you are starting out, buy white crockery. You don’t then have to worry about everything matching if something breaks and you need to replace it. For the kitchen I md highly recommend splurging on a boiling water tap. My Quooker tap has just had its 11th birthday and still looks brand new. It’s also a game changer for quick dinners. Don’t skimp on a good toaster (I’d recommend the magimix vision because it takes the guesswork out of it all).

For art, take your time. Agree that you should hang it lower than you think. Think about lighting, the switches and sockets and door handles. The right ones make all the difference to making a home feel ‘done’. Oh, and you’ll need to get your Christmas decs shortly.. that is a lot of fun for a new house 🥰

best of luck!

When I got my first house as a single parent, I got a good mattress for my bed, a bedstead, a 3+2 lazy boy sofa set & a dining table & chairs from an end of line warehouse, the suite had been in the shops for £2300 & I got it for £995. I bought all my curtains from Next in the sale, things like kitchen & bathroom accessories from the supermarket, I bought something every time I went shopping, towels from Dunelm, bedding from Next sale for duvet sets, sheets from Dunelm. I got my TV unit from John Lewis & side tables from a charity shop. Look in British Heart Foundation furniture shops, ds & sil have recently set up home together & bought lots from the Heart Foundation shop, bookcases, coffee table, TV unit, sideboard & dining table & chairs, they were all Oak Furniture land brand & haven't got a mark on them.