How to furnish your home on a budget

Friday, July 31, 2009

Category: Personal Finance Tips

So you’ve got your new house or apartment. Congratulations! The next few weeks or months will need planning, a good eye for design and a smart use of budget to furnish the place.

Not all apartments and houses are newly built. Therefore, an older property might need more furniture and white goods whilst almost all new developments have refrigerators, washing machines and built-in cupboards.

But the rest of the house or apartment does need furniture, most importantly a bed and some mugs for that early morning cup of coffee. Prioritising which items you need most urgently and are ‘have to haves’ rather than ‘nice to haves’ is an important element of the planning process. Bear in mind that sometimes when you order large items they can take weeks to arrive so don’t expect to order a sofa on the Monday and have it in your house by the Tuesday!

Discount store and more

Whether these stores are online, brick-and-mortar, or both, you’ll generally find plenty of furniture at low prices. Try Asda, Sainsbury’s and Matalan as well as Ikea. Or you can go online to places such as furnituredeal.co.uk.

Some furniture stores place discount vouchers in newspapers and magazines as well.

Charity shops

It’s good to be green, especially if you can combine your 'green creds' with frugality and the ultimate feel-good factor – charity shops. The British Heart Foundation has over 60 stores nationwide and the Red Cross has a number across the country as well. Car boot sales and recycling centres are other alternatives to charity stores.

Reclamation yards

Reclamation yards can be the perfect environment to track down interesting pieces of lighting, bricks, ironwork, doors, tables, chairs and tiles as well as a whole multitude of items you couldn’t dream of. Plus, because they are old or ‘vintage’ they can give your home character that you just couldn’t find on the high street. Better still, reclamation is form of recycling so your green creds will be further improved! Be prepared to haggle and be prepared that second hand does not necessarily mean cheap. Uniqueness and character can come at a cost so try not to fall in love with pieces which will break the bank.

Bargain some

Haggling is good for you. It can save you several pounds. While some upmarket stores may scoff at someone who wants to haggle, it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. 

Try to negotiate and if that doesn’t work, be prepared to walk away. That’s a common negotiation technique that can often pay off.

Second-hand stores

Visit stores such as Emmaus – there are stores throughout London as well as the rest of the UK. Many of these stores employ volunteers or homeless people. Some of the items that they sell can be refurbished. Places such as these are good to support as they rely on donated goods to make their living. Goods are refurbished and sold on. This provides work for the companions with the ultimate goal that each community aims will become self-sufficient through their work.

Auctions

Household goods auctions are a great way of getting good for cheap. Information on auctions throughout the UK can be found on the internet. Auction houses hold auctions once or twice a week. Auctions could include items such as antiquities antique arms and armour, clocks and barometers, porcelain and pottery as well as jewellery.

Get it for free

Freecycle is one of the options available to people who want freebies. Sign up to this site and find your nearest group. Members from active groups post a few hundred emails every day but this doesn’t guarantee you’ll get something for nothing – post an 'offer' before asking for something.
The Furniture Re-use Network -- frn.org.uk -- aims to reduce the percentage of goods that end up in landfills.