I suggest you start with hand-me-downs or inexpensive yard sale or Craigslist purchases -- but consider those temporary items. If you "put the word out", you might be surprised at how many relatives will give you old furniture. Accept whatever's given to you and use it for the time being.
Slowly, as time and circumstances allow, replace them with the things you actually want. And as you buy those nicer pieces (whether they're new or used), focus on QUALITY and think of those things as "forever items". Don't skimp on quality just to get a low price. Think value not price.
For example, when my husband first moved out of his dad's house, he purchased a solid oak kitchen table at an unfinished wood place. He used it for meals and studying in his apartment, and today we still use it in our house. That table probably cost $200, which was a lot for him back then, but it has been used MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY for around three decades. That's less than a penny per day, and we will probably continue to eat off this table for the rest of our lives. That's real value for your dollar!
Similarly, when we were first married, we had a hand-me-down sofa, but it was very, very old and worn. We chose a nice-looking sofa/love seat as our Christmas gift to one another. It was low quality, and within a year it looked ratty. Though it was low in price, it was a poor choice. We lived with it for more years than I care to remember, and then we bought a leather Broyhill set. It was very expensive, but now -- a decade later -- it still looks new. Again, think quality, not cost.
In contrast, we're still sleeping on a hand-me-down family bed, which I hate. It is ugly, ugly, ugly . . . but no one ever sees it except me and my husband. At some point we'll buy a lovely antique bed, but it just hasn't been a top priority yet. We've replaced the mattress but not the bed.
I agree with the person who advises that you splurge on a good mattress. We had a hand-me-down mattress for years, and we reached the point that we weren't sleeping well and our backs hurt. What a difference a good mattress has made!
I also would not buy a used mattress (in fact, it is illegal to sell one -- in my state anyway). A friend of mine's college son picked up a used mattress somewhere, and it brought in bedbugs. She says it ended up costing them more than $1000 to get rid of those things. No bargain in the long run!
And some obvious thoughts:
- Stick to simple, classic items that won't appear "dated" in a short time.
- Choose items that could work in other houses in the future; for example, a simple bookcase or a medium-sized TV stand will be useful in any house, whereas not all houses have a large wall appropriate for an extra-large entertainment center. For example, I have a set of small chests that I bought in college for $5 each. At first I used them in their original butterscotch yellow color in a couple apartments, but when my husband and I married and bought our house, I painted them white /added some then-popular country florals to the drawers, and called them oversized nightstands. Then for a while they were in my kids' rooms. And today they're stacked on top of one another inside my closet.
- Stick with neutral colors for your large, expensive-to-replace items. Bring in your favorite color through throw pillows and other accessories . . . so you can change them easily, if you choose in the future.