We have bought a house and are moving in within two weeks. What should we be thinking about?

Question

We do not have much furniture or household products. We are right out of college and this is our first house but we have saved enough to spend some money on furnishing our house.

Answer 1

Before you go blow all your savings on furniture. Think about all the little projects you want to do around the house. Are there blinds? Because if they take them with them or it's a new home, you'll want privacy as you unpack. they can get quite pricey.
Flooring. Is it brand new? Are you going to have them shampooed? or replaced? It is so much easier to put new carpeting tile or wood in when you don't have to be inconvenienced or move your furniture out. Do it before you ever move in. Ask the current resident if they would mind if you had someone come in and measure so you can get it done right after they move and it doesn't hold up your move too long.
Paint, a nice fresh neutral color to get rid of the old residents smell. You can do fun colors later as you buy furniture. You'll want to paint before the new carpet goes in.

I'm assuming that this is a older home. Because you don't want to put your beautiful new furniture on old carpet and someone Else's favorite color walls.

Answer 2

My husband and I have built a lot of homes, just recently moved into our newest a month ago. The most important thing is to spend a little time "living" in the home before you make furniture decisions. Find out how you are using the house and measure your space to the letter. Furniture looks smaller in stores because of their high ceilings and large space. In your home, it may be way too big in bulk as well as feet. Pick the rooms you will be using the most and make those purchases first so you will have to prioritize a bit. Kitchens are important. Get your cooking utensils, pots and pans, dishes, appliances right off the bat. If you have a dining area but not a formal, a table and chairs in the breakfast area is important. Be more minimalist to start and don't try to "fill" your areas. Make it a work in progress. The same with window coverings. If you need immediate privacy windows covered, aluminum mini blinds are reasonable and do the job. You can always add the accent coverings as you get your furniture in and a look is determined. You will need a good vacuum, don't chintz on this or you will spend hundreds of wasted dollars after finding out the cheaper models don't work. Buy organizers for your closets to make the most of your space. And keep your color palette similar in your main rooms so the home looks cohesive and not scattered and mis-matched. You can have some fun with your bedrooms. Take your time, don't over-do it, and enjoy your new home. You will learn as you go, believe me.

Answer 3

Congrats! First, buy the basics. Sofa, Chair, end table, tv stand. For the bedroom you will need a bed, chest etc. Don't forget, you will need sheets, towels, dishes, silverware.
Don't go crazy and buy a lot of new items.

Shop yard sales, thrift stores, etc. Go to HGTV.com for decorating ideas. Paint the furniture and have fun.

Good Luck

Answer 4

i would suggest you buy as little as possible until you are actually in your new home. quite often we purchase something thinking its ideal only to find a month or so later it doesn't really work in the space as well as we thought.
buy as good a quality as you can afford, even if it means buying less pieces.
i find i get tired of the soft furniture far sooner than i do hard furniture. so when i buy a sofa, or chair, i purchase medium priced items, and when i buy wood pieces like a dining room table and chairs or the tables for the living room, i buy good quality furniture.
i don't buy ornate pieces, they date themselves very quickly. i buy classic styles with simple lines - such as craftsman style, mission style, furniture.
when purchasing upholstered pieces i tend to purchase pieces with no pattern in them, as well as in neutral colours, then they won't look outdated too soon and if i decide to change my style these pieces will make the transition smoothly.
i leave the patterns and colors to the draperies, cushions, table linens, bedding, area rugs, ornaments, things that are easily and relatively inexpensively changed.
i rarely use wallpaper, expensive and difficult to change, paint is much cheaper and you can change your wall colour as often as you want.
enjoy your new home, good luck!

Answer 5

Just get the basics, sofa and bed, kitchen things and then build the rest as you go. Congratulations.