3 Tips For Furnishing Your First Real Home

You did it! You finally closed on your forever-home. Gone are the days of twisting your spine on $100 Walmart futons you would happily burn after a year. No more fighting with land lords about the leaky roof or garage sale stalking for some rando’s used cadenza. You are royalty at last, and your kingdom is your address!

And as you will soon learn, every kingdom needs an Iron Throne or two. Below are a few ideas for furnishing a home on a budget compiled by a panel of homeowners who have been there:

1. Break Out The Tape Measure (And Never Put It Away)
Measure, measure, measure. We don’t just mean the basics, like room square footage, doors, and windows. We don’t just measure in the name of making sure the new bed fits through the hallway, we measure in the name interior design. If you’ve got a 10×13 square foot living room, it’s probably not a good idea to buy a couch that takes up half the floor space, even if you and your buddies did manage to jam the thing through the front entrance. Speaking of that couch…

2. Furniture Shopping Is An Art (Furniture Shopping Is A War)
You may think that as long as you go to a “real” store and avoid craigslist for your new furniture that you’re being a good adult and everything on the furniture end will turn out fine. Not so, not so. We really encourage you to seek some sort of interior design advice from the outset. This isn’t just about what shade of eggplant to paint the bathroom–an interior designer will be able to recommend furniture types of higher quality that maximize the space you own.

It’s almost always a good idea, for example, to avoid metal, rubber, or plastic furniture legs if you have wooden floors as they will scuff and make a room look sloppy. Also, if you have the luxury of waiting for some good deals, mark off Valentine’s Day and Memorial Day in your calenders, as these are two of the most popular seasons for furniture sales.

3. Start With The Bed And Work Your Way Out
If you’re struggling over where to start, the bed is always a good bet. If you’re anything like the scrappy up-and-coming millenials we know, chances are you’ve slept on everything from the floor to a couch to a Chilean hammock, so do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a real mattress with a bed frame. You know, the kind that comes in a box, with mattress tips. (Actually read the mattress tips for that matter, and if the mattress tips say to flip the mattress once every six months, darn well flip it!) Take some time to decide which bed set defines you as a person and then go and buy it. You’re an adult now–so you at least need a place to recoup after all your new adult commitments are at an end for the day.

Please comment below and let us know how your kingdom is faring. Upload pics if you can!