Mustachian Home Furnishing

[use2betrix]

Today my wife and I received a deposit on our 5th wheel we’ve lived in the majority of the last 5 years and it’s looking like it’ll be sold Thursday! It has served us great, but now that I’m on what looks to be a 2 year project, we’re ready to get into something bigger. We have found a nice 1 bedroom apartment that will cost us $300/mo less than we currently pay, without all the maintenance surprises. The good news with living in about 300 sq ft the last 5 years, our expectations are low lol. The apartment is about 750 sq ft and feels like a mansion. I’m also happy we have decided to keep our budget in check. Our rent is about 7% of my take home pay, so we can continue to save hard. I easily could’ve bought a badass place right in the city in some dream high rise, but we refrained.

All that aside, we have no furnishings. We do have a detached 1 car garage for my two huge tool boxes, welding machine, camping trailer, and motorcycle.

We will definitely get a brand new bed. We will be able to find a reasonably priced one as we aren’t picky.

That being said - we will need a couch, dining room table, coffee table, maybe entertainment center, definitely a TV, and maybe a dresser.

Tips, tricks, or hints? We don’t want anything very night because this is still a temporary situation. After this job we may likely be back into another trailer until FIRE. I’m thinking mostly looking for more quality used stuff.

Suggestions on brands? Where to look aside from Craigslist and offer up? While I hate spending money, I am happy that I am still in such a thrifty mindset despite my higher income. Our last short term apartment we just got a bed we put in the living room, tv on a storage tote, and our table was a wal mart folding table. We’d like to be a slight step up from that this time :)

[FL_MM]

Estate sale? I don’t know your area, but around here they can be a place to get well taken care of furniture and kitchen items  for a bargain price.

[Khaetra]

Budget?  You can outfit a room for pretty cheap.  I am very leery about buying couches/chairs second-hand water dealing with bedbugs found in a cheap couch, so anything with fabric I buy cheap but new.  Wayfair has a nice selection of couches for well under $500 and free shipping.  Everything else you could thrift/Goodwill/garage sale. 

TV: Wal-Mart has some 32" marked down to $98 at my store, if you're looking to go cheap and don't care much about picture quality.  Pawn shops could get you something a bit better if you're open to that.

[elliha]

If IKEA is an option for you that could be a good one stop option, OK not the TV but the rest would be possible. Second hand is great for "hard" furniture, sofas and beds tend to not be that gently used all the time and there is always a risk of bedbugs if you are really unlucky. The most mustachian way is of course some kind of free-cycle option but this is not always possible in all places.

[use2betrix]

Thanks everyone for the input. I didn’t really take bed bugs into consideration but that’s a very valid point. While living in the 5th wheel for so long, there were a lot of hassles accompanying it, all which I’m ready to get away from. Something like bed bugs might not be worth the risk.

I don’t have a major budget in mind, but knowing we’ll be moving regularly and possibly back in a trailer in a couple years where we won’t need any of it, just don’t want to spend too much on something that’s nice.

Also - we have a German Shepherd, so in my experience leather is typically much easier to clean.

[Dicey]

Estate sales or people moving out of the country. Craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor are all good sources of leads.

[J Boogie]

search "Room & Board" and "Room and Board" just like that, in quotations, on craigslist.

Their furniture is high quality, typically made in USA, and often very attractive and modern in design.

Using that search saves you tons of time scrolling through garbage.

[partgypsy]

If you have friends, family, a neighborhood listserve, wouldn't hurt to let them know looking for furniture. Other places we have gotten stuff is thrift stores, in particular a for-profit thrift shop that often buys entire estates (so everything from furniture, wood furniture to garden to kitchen etc goods including glasses and dishes). See if you have something like that around. It will be very inexpensive. Maybe I have been lucky but have purchased upholstered chairs and couches used, but it has been 10? years. Mattresses always new. 

For new sofas, chairs, have used ikea, wayfair. Ikea has very reasonably priced mattresses, but my main bed, got a mattress from mattress store (they have periodic sales). I've also heard costco is a good place for mattresses and furniture.

[Cgbg]

Facebook marketplace is one of my favs right now. Lots of items posted everyday for the categories I have set. I was looking for a sturdy coffee table a few weeks ago for one of my kids that is in college in a nearby state. I found a set- coffee and side table for $45. Wood tops and metal bases. The tops were a bit banged up but seemed to have plenty of life left in them.

I sanded them and stained them this weekend. I’ll be putting the second top coat on today. We have plenty of home improvement stuff here, so no additional costs. Since then I’ve seen tons more coffee tables, dining tables and side tables on FB marketplace. There’s lots out there and a lot of it is pretty inexpensive.

[Glenstache]

Buy Nothing is a local-specific facebook group that can be good for acquiring the odds and ends that are often needed setting up a new place (and downsizing, when you need to). How good it is depends heavily on your location.

[andy85]

what kind of tools are in these 2 huge tool boxes? mechanic's tools only?

you'd be surprised what you can throw together with cheap 2x4 lumber, screws, and stain. For things like TV stand, end tables, coffee table, nightstands...i built all mine with 2x4s and stain...and they look great. All you really need is a circular saw and a drill for the most part.

...just a thought...

[Paradise]

ReStore stores benefit Habitat for Humanity and typically offer a really great collection of used (and sometimes new) furniture. We've visited ReStores in several different states and have bought terrific items at great prices. Not sure where you're located, but a quick Google search will tell you if there are any in your area. Good luck!

[use2betrix]

what kind of tools are in these 2 huge tool boxes? mechanic's tools only?

you'd be surprised what you can throw together with cheap 2x4 lumber, screws, and stain. For things like TV stand, end tables, coffee table, nightstands...i built all mine with 2x4s and stain...and they look great. All you really need is a circular saw and a drill for the most part.

...just a thought...

Everything needed for working on vehicles and about everything else. Impact drill, various sized socket sets, crescent wrenches, box end wrenches, solder gun, screwdrivers, torque wrench, etc. I also have a tig welding machine and all those corresponding tools. I like to do projects lol. When you spend a weekend installing all new suspension in a vehicle, outside on your patio in the southern heat, it’s worth it to have the right tools for the job.