Tips for Furnishing Your Home on a Budget

Whether you’ve purchased a new home that you need to furnish, or you want to breathe new life into your space by refurnishing it, furnishing your home is a major undertaking. However, it’s also an exciting opportunity to make your space your own.

Unfortunately, shopping at a furniture store typically costs a lot. Even if you look for furniture at discount locations, home furnishings get expensive quickly, especially when you’re talking about redoing your entire house.

This doesn’t have to be the case, though! Furnishing a home on a budget may take some creativity and some hard work, but you can do it. Today, learn more about some budget-friendly furnishing tips that can help you turn your home into a space that represents you without breaking the bank.

Get Organized

Before you start shopping for home furnishings, you need to have a good idea about what you’re looking for. While we’re talking about furnishing a home on a budget, you may already have some pieces that work for you.

Even if you’re moving into a new home or buying your first home, you may already have some pieces on hand that you like or that you have some sort of sentimental attachment to.

Make a detailed list of what types of furniture you need for your space. If you’re moving into a larger home, you may need a larger sofa for the living room or sitting room.

If you’ve been using your dining room as a makeshift home office but want to create a formal dining space, you’ll need to get a dining room table.

Start by making a list of each room in your home. It doesn’t matter how the realtor who sold you the home categorized the rooms. For instance, you may be converting an unused bedroom into a home office. If so, list it as a home office. Once you have the rooms listed, start making your list of what items you need for the space.

This list does not have to include the brand names that you’re looking for. For instance, if you’re furnishing a living room, you can just list a sofa, coffee table, and an entertainment center. This list will help you cross off things that you may already have.

Set Your Budget

It may seem redundant, but furnishing a home on a budget requires you to have a budget in place. If you try to begin this process without a clearly defined budget, you’ll probably end up spending entirely too much money.

However, not having a budget can also lead to you purchasing cheaper furniture that doesn’t last as long or look as good.

Once you have your total budget figured out, you should take one of two steps. If you have the money in a bank account, go withdraw it in cash. It’s much easier to stick to your home furnishing budget if you’re able to look at the amount of cash that you have.

Additionally, having cash is handy, since you may end up thrifting or repurposing some pieces from yard sales or flea markets, which we’ll discuss more in a moment.

If getting cash isn’t a possibility, consider moving the money into an account that’s designated only for this project. Many people have multiple accounts with their banks, so you can set the amount that you’re willing to spend on furnishing your home and then put that amount in one of those accounts.

The reasoning behind these two ways of managing your money is to avoid using credit cards. If you have no other options, you may be forced to use a credit card. However, since we’re trying to furnish your home on a budget, we want to avoid paying interest on the items.

Additionally, if you have the money in the same account with your other funds, you may be tempted to go over budget and dip into money that you didn’t plan on using on home furnishings.

Shop Strategically

Furnishing your home on a budget doesn’t mean that you stay away from furniture stores. However, it’s a good idea to strategically go to those places. Most furniture stores, whether they’re national or regional brands, most furniture stores have major sale events around holiday weekends.

For instance, your local furniture store will probably run a three-to-four-day sale around Labor Day. These sales are a great way to get a large piece of furniture, such as a sofa or a bed, at a deeply discounted price.

If you need something and can’t find a furniture store having a sale, consider checking out a wholesale store or a discount location.

There are dozens of stores across the country that get furniture from some of the biggest names in the industry, but for one reason or another, it cannot be sold at a major furniture store.

These items are sold for a fraction of the cost, allowing you to save considerable amounts of money on your furniture.

Getting Thrifty

One of the best budget furnishing tips is to get thrifty with your shopping. It’s absolutely amazing how much furniture you can find at your local Goodwill or other second-hand store.

While you’ll want to check the condition of any furniture that you purchase at one of these stores, it’s possible to find great accent pieces, tables, chairs, and more that people have donated instead of throwing away or trying to sell.

Speaking of selling used furniture, be sure to check out local flea markets and yard sales. While you may not be able to find something as large as a sofa or a recliner at these places, it’s common to find end tables, dining room tables, and other home furnishing items.

Repurpose, Reuse, Restore

The goal of furnishing your home is to create a space that you’re not only comfortable in but also one that puts your personal taste on display.

With this in mind, be willing to repurpose and restore some of those furniture pieces that you get from your thrift shopping. Something as simple as a fresh coat of paint on an old table can make it fit into your overall décor, and you won’t spend much money at all.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of repurposing and restoring furniture is the sense of personal accomplishment that you’ll feel when you’re done.

Few things are as rewarding as tackling a DIY project as a homeowner and transforming an old, unwanted piece of furniture into something that can be a conversation point and a focal point in your home.

Take Your Time

Finally, be willing to take your time with this project. This is especially important if you are trying to furnish a single-family home. Most people don’t have access to the funds necessary to buy new furniture for a 2,000-square-foot home.

It’s OK if your refurnishing project takes some time. In fact, you may find that it’s a more rewarding experience when you take your time and carefully choose every piece that you put into your home.

Taking your time also helps with your budget, as you may be able to add some money to it over the course of a year. Instead of trying to spend every dollar that you currently have designated for home furnishings, slow down and focus on getting the pieces that you want.

Start with rooms that you have to have furniture in. You have to have somewhere to sit when you’re relaxing at home.

You have to have a bed to sleep in at night. If having dinner as a family is a non-negotiable in your home, you have to have somewhere to sit together to have a meal. Start by getting the rooms that you need to use furnished and go from there.

Enjoy the Process

Don’t get overwhelmed by the process of furnishing your home. Instead, let it be a joyful process that allows you to accentuate your tastes as you make your home your own.

Furnishing your home on a budget is possible, and the results are worthwhile.