How To Furnish Your First House on a Budget

You’ve spent years saving up a deposit, months being shown around open houses, and weeks glued to your phone, waiting for the call that says, “you’ve got your house.”

…Now what?

Buying a house comes with a range of costs and fees, meaning you have less money available for renovations and decorations. Whatever your budget, you can still take steps towards making a house a home – check out our tips below.

Put Together a Plan

Make three columns. Go room-by-room, list all the furniture you have, all the furniture you need, and all the furniture you want. Focus on filling the needs first and you won’t buy the second hand gin cabinet when you’re really needing an extra dining chair.

Do It Yourself

Now that you no longer have to spend every evening and weekend having mortgage appointments and schmoozing with estate agents, you have a lot of extra time. Paint the walls, put up your own shelf brackets, wallpaper, paint the cabinets, install a kitchen backsplash… the world is your oyster.

If you’re hooked on DIY, why not create your own table? Take a slab of wood, drill some holes, add some table legs, and you’ve got a project you can be proud of.

Do Your Research

A duvet set that costs £1.23? A set of dining plates for £0.78? If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re lucky, you will get a delivery three months later that looks nothing like the photos. If you’re unlucky, a rogue website could just take your money and vanish from the internet.

Hartleys has been trading since 2013, all our products are dispatched straight from our UK warehouse (no expensive import tax or shipping delays), and we have over 10,000 5* reviews on Trust Pilot.

Go Second Hand

Find a ‘buy nothing’ group on Facebook. Search gumtree for local traders. Visit your local charity furniture shop. Keep an ear open at work for anyone who is planning a renovation. There are many ways to secure a bargain. Just remember, stick to your plan and get the things you need first.

Invest in Multi-Functional Storage

In the future you can have a coat stand, a wardrobe, a shoe rack, a bookcase, a spice rack, a peg board, and an abundance of overdoor hooks… but you don’t need to buy them all now. Invest in some cube storage solutions to keep your new home looking neat and tidy. You can include some fabric storage boxes to keep everything stored away until it has its proper space.

Use Interim Furniture

Your dream marble dining table can cost you over £1000. Even a wooden dining table can cost hundreds of pounds. A folding table is much more affordable and accomplishes the same thing. Interim furniture, such as deck chairs (or the classic bean bag chair) is a great option to keep costs down, and you can sell them on when you upgrade.

…and Relax

It took a long time to buy this house, and you have plenty of time to decorate and renovate it into your dream home. Start small, make considered purchases, and enjoy the feeling of owning your own place. There’s nothing like it.