Buying Furniture for Your First Home: A Checklist
When you buy a new home, you experience a flurry of emotions—not all of them good. While there’s joy in owning a piece of property and a cozy place you can call home, there’s also plenty of fear, anxiety, and even panic over next steps. Allow us to alleviate your concerns in one regard: furnishing the space.
While filling all those empty rooms with beautiful and useful furniture can seem daunting, the process can be quite enjoyable if done methodically. To help you organize the process (and ensure you’re not sleeping and eating on the floor that first night!), here is a checklist for buying furniture for your first home. Read it over and tick off the different items. You’ll feel better, and your home will look fantastic in no time!
Be a Person With a Plan!
Before you head out and start pricing furniture, take time to draft a plan of action. Being prepared will save you time, money, and stress.
First, assess the space and your specific furniture needs. If you don’t already have furniture gathered or inherited elsewhere, decide what the space needs the first day, the first week, the first month, and the first year.
Everyone needs a bed, for example, for that first night. You’ll also want a table or another large surface, along with a few chairs for eating, working, sorting, and more as you unpack. Look over each room and list what it needs in the coming months. Focus on essential pieces and then spread out.
Measure Once, Furnish Many Times
Take every room’s measurement. This is very important. You need to know exactly how much space you have for furniture and whether you can create an efficient layout.
You should also measure doors, staircases, and other passageways so you can plan for the big move and avoid damaging the house’s floors, walls, and ceilings. Keep the measurements handy somewhere for future furnishing so you don’t have to measure everything all over again.
Watch Your Funds
You only have so much money to work with, of course, but it’s worth sitting down to draft a budget and see how much money you can spend to furnish your new home. Break it down and determine how much you want to or can spend in each room.
Then, stick to your budget while shopping online or visiting furniture stores. It might be tempting to pick up some cute little extras while you’re buying bigger pieces, but hold off. Buy what you need, then add accent pieces over time. There’s no rush to create the perfect living space. Make furnishing your first home an ongoing and fun process.
Pick the Perfect Pieces
If you’re still new to this whole furnishing thing and worried you’ll make the wrong decisions, keep reading. Some folks have a knack for finding beautiful, elegant furniture and placing it in the right spots. Others . . . not so much. But the fact is that this is your home, and if you stick to your personal tastes and needs, you can’t really go wrong.
Keep the following tips in mind if you find yourself a bit confused over what to choose, the difference between a daybed and a davenport, and more.
Living Room Essentials
The key word in living room is living. Maybe you intend for it to be the place where the family comes together every day or just a special area for entertainment. Whatever the case, keep in mind that it’s generally a gathering place for many people at one time or another. Therefore, you absolutely can’t do without the following furnishings:
Sofa
Think of space and comfort when picking out a couch. It will be the centerpiece of the living room and needs to accommodate several individuals at once, providing comfort and a place to stretch out and relax.
Size, materials, color, and comfort are all factors to consider when choosing one. Look for examples of great couches on lifestyle and interior decorating sites and think of what you and your guests will need from one.
Coffee Table
It’s not just for coffee! Pick a coffee table that catches the eye, complements the couch, and serves as a focal point for the living room. Sturdiness and beauty are also important.
Entertainment Center
If you want the living room to be the TV room, pick an entertainment center for the wall that accommodates the TV set. The center should also accommodate any other entertainment options, like games, DVD players, stereo equipment, and more. Storage is also vital, so look for one with copious drawers.
Dining Room Musts
This should be a simple one. Decide if your dining room is for regular daily dining or fancy feasts, and choose furniture that reflects this.
Dining Table
The dining table is the heart and soul of the dining room and the place where family and friends come together. Consider the size, of course, as well as seating and shape so that the table fits comfortably in the room. Additionally, explore adjustability if you need the option to go from entertaining just a few folks to feeding a crowd.
Dining Chairs
It’s best to buy a dining set that offers a compatible table and set of chairs. This ensures all elements will be at the proper height and level. But if you go for a table with a set of leaves, think about where the extra chairs will go when not in use.
Cupboards, Buffets, and Sideboards
These features can offer extra storage space for tablecloths, linens, fine china, and other dining essentials. Some dining room sets offer a compatible cupboard, sideboard, or buffet piece, so decide if you’d rather get them all at once.
A Better Bedroom
As we already addressed, you need a bed, or beds, depending on how many people live in the house. Make your new bedroom a cozy, sleepy, dreaming place with the following essentials.
Mattress
Get a high-quality mattress that offers comfort and support. A superior mattress lasts a very long time, so don’t cheap out.
Bedframe
Find a sturdy, attractive bedframe that fits your desired mattress size and can accommodate a decent amount of weight and movement.
Dresser
While you might have a closet, it’s wise to buy a dresser or wardrobe for all your clothing that needs to remain flat.
Kitchen Needs
Your kitchen should have a counter for food preparation, and it should have the usual appliances. Ultimately, however, fewer furnishings are required here.
A Table and Chairs
Consider a small table and chairs or a nook for kitchen dining.
More Storage
Extra storage options like a kitchen island, shelving, or a pantry/cabinet can also help if you have the room.
Remember Lighting
One last point: Every room, even if it has overhead lighting, requires a little extra illumination. Find lamps that are energy efficient as well as attractive and bright.
There you have it—a handy checklist for buying furniture for your first home. If you have any other questions about furnishing your new home, contact us for a consultation. We offer no-interest furniture financing and can help you find the right pieces for the best prices. Good luck with your new home!
