6 Tips for Furnishing Your First Home
Renting or buying your first house can be an exciting chapter because it represents a fresh start in life. However, it can be challenging to furnish it as you have to be strategic to end up with your dream interior design. This process can be overwhelming for everyone, whether you are starting from scratch or already have some items.
Thus, if you are at this point in life, here is an article for you. The following are six tips for furnishing your first house.
1. Have a Theme
It is essential to have a theme when furnishing your home to make work more manageable when picking pieces. Examples of common styles are contemporary, traditional, rustic, industrial, bohemian, animal prints, or beach. For instance, if you choose the bohemian style, you will purchase items with detailed fabrics, bold colours, intricate patterns, and layers. If you want an industrial style, your house will have raw textures, such as wood furniture.
Therefore, you should do adequate research about themes to find one that suits your style. Pinterest is one of the best platforms to help you find inspiration. You can create a board and include home décor photos that you love. After some time, go through the board, and you will note the style you gravitate towards.
Moreover, you can do your research on The Lifestyle Magazine by browsing the Home Style pages. Ask your family members and friends to learn how they settled on their theme. It will be best to start the research months before you move into the house. This way, you will have adequate time comparing themes to make an informed decision.
2. Start with The Basics
It is best to start with the basics when furnishing your house, which includes the floors, walls, and appliances. If you don’t like the paint on the walls, you should consider repainting it. However, if you are renting, you need to check with the landlord to avoid a breach of lease. After handling the walls, you need to get a carpet or change the flooring if you don’t like it. You need to finish these activities before your moving-in day.
Moreover, you will need to buy a few appliances, such as a stove, refrigerator, oven, washing machine, dryer, air conditioner, and water heater. These are appliances that you will need when you move in. You can add others as time goes by. Some houses have in-built appliances, and if yours does, you are good to go.
3. Know Your Measurements
You need to measure your space to guide you when buying furniture. Some of the vital measurements you need to take are the doors’ widths, the height of walls, and each room’s length and width. These measurements will come in handy, whether you want to buy your pieces online or from a physical store.
Besides a tape measure, you can also use interior design apps. With these apps, you will take photos of the rooms, and the app will give you measurements. In addition, you can use the apps to scale furniture pieces to get an idea of how things will look after you are done.
4. Don’t Focus on One Room Entirely
Undoubtedly, it is easier to furnish room by room. However, if you are not careful, you may spend a lot of money in one room and then realise you can’t afford your dream pieces for the next room. Thus, it is vital to balance giving attention to one room and still purchasing a few things for other rooms.
It is usually advisable to start with bedroom furniture, because it’s where you will spend most of the time after work. Hence, you should get a bed, mattress, bedding, a nightstand, an ottoman, and a dresser. However, while doing this, you should also get a few pieces for the living room to make your home liveable. You can get a coffee table, rug, and a small chair as a start. If you work from home, you should get your workstation first.
When you are done with the bedroom, you can give the living room most of your attention. You can buy a couch, bookshelf, throw pillow and blankets, footstools, and media storage, among others. Also, while working on the living room, purchase a few pieces for the kitchen or bathroom. This strategy will help you fill your house without going over budget. Buying everything at once for one room can be a risky move.
5. Don’t Overfill Your House
It is practical to purchase only the pieces you need. You should not overfill your house, as this will make it look cluttered and small. Furthermore, it is more comfortable to live in a house you can move around without difficulties. It can be tempting to fill your home with many decorative pieces to make it interesting, but this can be counterproductive.
6. Consider Second-Hand Items
Moving to a new house can be costly, so you need to find ways to reduce expenses, and one of them is buying second-hand items. You can get them at thrift stores or online. Not all second-hand things are in poor condition–you can find quality pieces if you do adequate research.
For example, you can look for people who are moving to other states and are looking to sell their items. Some people who want to create space in their homes will also put their things on sale, either through websites or consignment stores.
It is crucial to scrutinise an item to confirm it’s in good shape before purchasing it. You don’t want to pay a lower upfront price but have to deal with high repair costs later. But don’t disregard a quality furniture piece because it’s faded or has a colour you don’t like. You can repaint it to give it a new finish.
However, you should not buy everything second-hand. You need to invest in some new items, such as mattresses, vacuum cleaners, baby furniture, cutlery, and appliances that don’t obviously show when they’re damaged.
Final thoughts….
Furnishing your first home doesn’t have to be a stressful process. The tips discussed above can help you get your first house in order like a pro. You should not rush this process as you may end up with a home that doesn’t spark joy in you, so take your time.