Author Topic: New house furnishing challenges  (Read 7093 times)

rawr237

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
New house furnishing challenges
« on: April 22, 2014, 03:44:25 PM »
Hi,
I'm new around here, so hopefully someone(s) will give me some good advice. I'm a young professional, mechanical engineer, just bought my first house (with help from the parents...an investment on their part). Having never furnished/cared for a house before, I'm a little overwhelmed by the costs...particularly when it comes to buying 'stuff'.

Over the years I've acquired all the furniture I really need from my parents and IKEA, and don't plan to spend more for a while (unless it's DIY updates to generic IKEA pieces). But I'm so baffled by curtains, and rugs, and the search for a washer/dryer.

Any tips on balance? My previous collegiate mindset was to go cheap as possible, but now I want to buy quality things that will last. I don't plan on going all-designer, but the brown paper taped over the windows is getting depressing.

A few specific-ish questions:

1. Is it un-Mustachian to spend money on new things to go with my new house? Should I be shunning the style-obsessed DIY design blogs? if not, how much is too much?

2. Are newer high-efficiency appliances worth it? I've browsed Craiglist a bit but  I'm not confident in my ability to judge washer/dryer condition and performance. Is it bad to buy at all, since my parents live <10 min away and I can do laundry at their house?

3. Doing my own yard sod vs. hiring a pro? There are odd plastic pipes or something sticking out of my yard so I'm a little intimidated.

4. How do I make my house feel like a home/refuge/place of comfort without buying things?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2014, 03:55:57 PM »
Look at your overall finances and give yourself a strict budget limit per month using the "envelope" or YNAB style system. This will help keep things from spiraling out of control.

1. You can make a house look nice (subjective) without having to have a specific style. Maybe stop looking at design blogs and try to figure out what YOU like. We bought our curtains on clearance at Lowe's for cheaper than we could buy the fabric to make our own.

2. Anecdotally there are a lot of people who have had issues with HE washers (usually the control boards failing). Don't even buy a dryer if you can. Line drying takes a little more time but it saves a lot of money. I hated driving back and forth to do laundry, so I'd buy at least a washer, or learn to wash by hand.

3. Don't do sod at all. Start from seed.

4. This is quite personal. For us, it was actually more about keeping it uncluttered (hard with kids) yet not sterile. But we like having lots of geeky art on the wall. We don't watch TV, so our living room is dominated by bookshelves. Don't be afraid to be quirky.

Hope that helps.

RMD

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 159
  • Location: Overland Park, KS
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2014, 03:57:32 PM »
Our house evolved.  :)  We didn't do everything at once.  We kept an open mind and when items appeared that we would like to add, we added them.

Make a list of priorities.  For me, curtains or blinds would be hihg on my list...for certain rooms.  I found a lot of curtains at the Thrift store and they were perfect for what I needed.  I've also been known to buy sheet sets on deep discount at JCPenney and sew a seem across the top for the rod pocket.  Some ribbon and a couple cup hooks and you've got tie-backs.  If you want to get fancy you could look into painting/stenciling your own curtains using muslin or a painters drop cloth. Pinterest is a good place to look for those types of projects.

Actually, Pinterest is a good place to look for a lot of cheap decorating projects.  It's a good jumping off place...but you need to temper what you see there with the realistic assessment of your own abilities and your actually taking the time to DO the projects. It can feed the consumerist beast if you let it.

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2014, 04:03:08 PM »
Our house evolved.  :) 

Absolutely. Our main living area has been rearranged 10+ times in 7 years.

RetiredAt63

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *
  • Posts: 20747
  • Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2014, 04:07:34 PM »
And why rugs?  They are dust-catchers (and fur catchers if you end up with a pet).  If you spill on them they are hard to clean.

The second thing I did with this house was to rip out the carpet in two of the bedrooms (it was disgusting) and put in oak hardwood to match the rest of the house.  The first was to paint rooms where I could not live with the wall colour.  What colour are your walls?  Do you like them?  The less you have in the rooms the easier it is to paint, so that might be an early project.

Let your house evolve like RMD did - that is better in the long run than grabbing at things ($) to meet an idea of what it "should" look like.

Lawn - find out what the plastic things are - maybe you have a lawn irrigation system?  Seed is better than sod, you can get mixes so that when one strain of grass is not happy, others are.  If you want a really low-maintenance lawn, you can pick your grass seed to be easy care.  And white clover is nice in a lawn, it stays green in a drought and adds nitrogen. 

Freedom2016

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 899
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2014, 05:02:36 PM »
You've gotten some great ideas here, perhaps the most important of which is a mindset of letting it evolve over time. When I once lamented that my first apartment was full of cruddy furniture (as compared to my parents' house), my mom reminded me that it had taken 20 years to get it to that point. (Duh!)

Setting a budget and deciding on your priorities are important next steps (e.g. huge uncovered bedroom windows on a busy street? Curtains would be at the top of my list...). Figure out which things you can get cheaply/easily/free if you're resourceful/patient, and also decide which items may well be worth spending more on. The mix-and-match-quality idea has been my approach over the last 9 years and it has resulted in us having a bunch of Sears/IKEA/Marshalls/Craigslist/inherited items, but also some choice quality bedroom and living room furniture that we will use for decades to come. I should note that a few IKEA items have really stood the test of time (a dresser I've had since 1999) while others have been pieces of crap (namely, LACK tables and a set of kitchen chairs that broke after a few years of use).

Things that helped my apartments and later our condo feel like home: framed pics of family & friends, wall art, and rugs I had acquired while traveling in the Middle East.

I don't use Pinterest and I'm not crafty, but more power to you if you are!
« Last Edit: April 22, 2014, 05:06:07 PM by course11 »

neophyte

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 631
  • Location: A wretched hive of scum and villainy
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2014, 05:55:26 PM »
In the past I have found flat bedsheets on sale for only a couple of dollars each and if you know how to sew at all (or your mom (or dad) since your parents are nearby) it is very easy to whip them in to passable curtains.  Not fancy, but passable, certainly better than brown paper.  The very minimum you need to do is sew the top into a tube and thread a curtain rod through it, but you can fancy them up beyond that if you want.

Mr. Frugalwoods

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 296
  • Location: Greater Boston Area
    • Frugalwoods
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2014, 06:01:56 PM »
Craigslist like it's a second job.  If craisgslist isn't active where you are, then I have no idea :-)

I completely get what you are saying about wanting to move on from Ikea junk to stuff that will last.  Awesome, well built housewares turn up on craigslist all the time.  Curtains (or fabric to make curtains) should be pretty easy to find.

If you are going to buy a dryer, certainly get it used.  A dryer is easy to fix so there is not much risk in getting one many years into life.

A washer is a tougher story.  The HE ones really do save a lot of water and their spin cycle is more intense which should mean less drying time.  But they do tend to have more breakages that can be expensive to fix.  I don't know enough to make a recommendation here, other than to urge you not to just go buy whatever is cheap and nice looking at the home store.  Make sure to do some intense internet research on brands and models before seeing what's available.

MayDay

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4953
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2014, 06:38:39 PM »
I sympathize with all your questions, but don't have all the answers.

My H and I got married and bought our first house after college 8 years ago. We didn't spend a ton, but the things we did find, we discovered after a few years that our taste had changed pretty dramatically.  Unfortunately, I am currently sitting on that couch that I now hate the color of, because it is a perfectly good couch so I am not going to replace it with a new one. 

I am not saying don't buy stuff, just be aware that your tastes will likely change, so maybe don't spend a huge chunk of change on many one thing.  While at the same time, not buying the absolute cheapest, only to have it fall apart. 

Fr curtains specifically, I have recently had to do several in our house.  I like the curtain rods with the thicker rods, and the cheapest ones I could find were at target, the RE brand I think.  They periodically go on allege for about 5$ off if you can wait for a sale.  For curtains, I think a heavier fabric makes them look much nicer and more expensive.  I found very reasonably priced heavy velvet curtains that were lined with a blackout liner, at target, but they only came in navy and cream.  The navy ones are in my sons room.  I sewed on for my daughters room, and the cost of fabric plus blackout liner was more than the target curtains.  Generally speaking, unless you have some amazing fabric source, or use goodwill sheets, etc, it is going to be cheaper to buy ready made curtains.  For ready made curtains, in my town, target and lowes have the best ones at decent prices.  JCPenneys has a lot but many of them seem old lady-ish to me, and you have to play the coupon/sale game which makes me batty.

 For the most part, though, we have the mini-blinds that came with the house, and nothing else, as I slowly look for nice curtains at a low price, that are the right color/pattern/shape.  It takes a while.  Most people I know who have had to cover a bunch of completely bare windows have gotten either the old fashioned vinyl rolling shades (HD has them, they block light, they are cheap, and they roll up to be virtually unnoticeable once you do get curtains down the line) or those white plastic faux-wood wide slatted blinds that up close look like the 20$ walmart special that they are, but from the front of the house look like fancy wide slatted blinds.  Those type people tend to leave down to be decorative, and put on every window that faces the front. 

My overall strategy for furnishing and decorating is to spend the money to buy a couple things new (lamps and curtains for me).  I get what I want, within reason, as those are the things that I pick out to be more noticeable patterns/colors/shapes.  For my living room lamps, for example, I picked a simple lamp base but bought trendy patterned shades.  If I want to replace the shades later it will be 15$ each.  My couch, chair, etc are plain solid colors- those are the expensive things.  A 15$ lampshade is not going to break the budget, but makes the room look "done". 

For wood furniture (tables, chairs, end tables, hutch, etc) they are 100% garage sales, used furniture stores, or family hand me downs.  Buying new is way too expensive, and the quality sucks compared to the older stuff.

For upholstered furniture and mattresses we buy new only.  Our area has huge bedbug problems and no way am I going to risk that!

For decorative items, like to sit on a shelf and look pretty, I generally just avoid (clutter!) but if I must have something, I do one large thing.  I resist the temptation of many small, less expensive, things, as they don't look as good, and several small things add up to the price of one larger thing, 


Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2014, 07:03:58 PM »
the brown paper taped over the windows is getting depressing.

Lowes/Home Depot sell 1" white vinyl mini-blinds for about $4/window. (Tip: they look better installed on the inside of the window trim, not on top of/over/next to it.) In my experience, the only downside is that they aren't very durable around pets.

1. Is it un-Mustachian to spend money on new things to go with my new house? Should I be shunning the style-obsessed DIY design blogs? if not, how much is too much?

Spending money on new things might be un-Mustachian, but spending money on older high-quality things that will obviously last because they already have lasted is less so. Just be aware that there's a sliding scale of yard-sale->thrift-store->"vintage"->"antique" and price doesn't always correlate with quality. Learn to recognize real solid wood vs. veneered wood vs. particle board, and pay attention to joinery.

All of my furniture is "vintage" or Ikea except for my sofa. (I agree with MayDay that buying upholstered things new can be worth it to avoid bug issues.) The cheapest things were free; the most expensive things were the (new) sofa for $1000 and a 1950s bedroom suit for $1500 (from an antique store).

Knock yourself out looking at the DIY/"crafty" design blogs; pay less attention to the "high-style-pay-somebody-to-build-it-for-you" ones.

2. Are newer high-efficiency appliances worth it? I've browsed Craiglist a bit but  I'm not confident in my ability to judge washer/dryer condition and performance. Is it bad to buy at all, since my parents live <10 min away and I can do laundry at their house?

Whether high-efficiency appliances are worth it depends on your utility costs. It was worth it for me because around here water is so expensive that even my mustachian 3 CCFs/month costs $50 (the average household water bill is surely > $100/month!).

A front-loading washer will use both less water and less energy (because it can spin faster, so the clothes come out less damp). Gas dryers are more efficient than electric ones, but cost more. Dryer efficiency is less important because a) within each type, they all use similar amounts of energy and b) you should be line-drying anyway, if possible.

I got my appliances from Sears Outlet and the scratch-and-dent section of Lowe's. None of them are scratched or dented as far as I can tell, although my washer did come without a shoe/sweater rack (which I wouldn't have used anyway).

Summary: get the cheapest front-load washer you can find at Sears Outlet (as long as it has decent reviews). The dryer is less important unless you want it to match (e.g. if you want to stack your washer and dryer on top of each other or something).

3. Doing my own yard sod vs. hiring a pro? There are odd plastic pipes or something sticking out of my yard so I'm a little intimidated.

Cut the sod around the pipes. It doesn't have to be perfect: it's a plant, it'll grow and fill in the gaps!

(The hard part about sodding -- or seeding, for that matter -- is grading and prepping the yard so it's smooth instead of lumpy.)

4. How do I make my house feel like a home/refuge/place of comfort without buying things?

DIY interior painting is cheap and easy (albeit time-consuming -- it's 90% prep, 10% actual painting if you don't want it to look like crap). Get a roll of good painter's tape and do some kind of cool pattern. Use lots of color;  you can paint over it with beige later, when you're old and boring. ; )

One last thing: if you don't watch TV shows like New Yankee Workshop and [Ask] This Old House, start. Just don't watch to excess.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2014, 07:07:01 PM by Jack »

zolotiyeruki

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5603
  • Location: State: Denial
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2014, 11:18:45 PM »
In my opinion, it's ok to leave rooms bare until you're ready to furnish them the way you want.  Don't spend money just to fill rooms.  As others have said, make a priority list.  If it's something you'll have for a while, buy quality.  Make sure you only get stuff you really like, so you don't have to replace it later.

agent_clone

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 250
  • Location: Australia
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2014, 05:37:19 AM »
As others have said, I would furnish the place over time. 

Furniture wise get the basics of what you need (i.e. bed, couch, dining table and chairs or bar stools, fridge, and washing machine).  Then furnish as desired later.  Due to personal experiences with fridges when I was a university student (ugh, frozen fridge section, and melted freezer section) I will only buy new fridges.

From memory the way that I decided on the washing machine I have was to do research online and look at cost and reviews of the washing machine, buying a brand that is fairly reputable.

I do recommend doing a sideways test on couches that you look at - I have an IKEA couch that has chipboard on its arm rests making it uncomfortable to sit sideways on, it is comfortable sitting forward though.

For quality sheets/linen I'm not sure about the US, but here in Australia there is a particular time of year to go off to the higher quality department stores and you can get about 50% off linen (Ours are post Christmas sales).

As a personal opinion I see MMM as being more about not being overly consumptive, not to not buy anything new.  For example maybe you purchase a new bed that is not cheap, but it will last you for 30 years+, this is a worthwhile investment.  However if you buy lots of little unnecessary things that would be anti MMM (e.g. a pizza maker when you have a perfectly good oven).

starbuck

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 400
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Small Town Connecticut
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2014, 05:54:15 AM »
I probably spend more time and effort on my house than the average mustachian, but I do it without spending very much. The vast majority of the furniture we own is from a used furniture store, inherited low-quality stuff, or built by my spouse. We're slowly replacing the low-quality stuff with nicer pieces. For instance, we have an IKEA coffee table (that now has a dent in it, as well as chips in the veneer) but I haven't found exactly what I want yet at the used furniture store, so it stays.

Ana White's website is a great intro to furniture building, if that's something you've been thinking about. Craig's List can be really hit or miss in my neighborhood, so I prefer used furniture stores or yard sales. You'll save SO MUCH MONEY buying used. Research on how to tell good quality furniture from bad so you can shop smart and invest in something that's not going to fall apart in two years. (Also, quality wood furniture is meant to be repaired, not replaced.) Sign up for free cycle in your area too and you'll probably be able to pick up some more basic things for free. DIY inspiration is much easier to find on Pinterest than blog hopping. I've stopped reading design blogs and I haven't regretted it. It really cut off any urges for shopping for new things that I didn't even know I wanted until I looked at their blog.

IKEA can be a great place for curtains, but you could also sew your own easily. I wouldn't waste money on IKEA furniture anymore - a decade ago the furniture was much better than it is now, but even a decade ago I wish I had bought from the used furniture store instead.

Area rugs, curtains, wall decor, and house plants make a place feel more homey.

I can't speak to washer/dryer models, but we have the super basic washer/dryer from home depot from about 5 years ago and they've worked fine. We actually stopped using the dryer 4 months ago and just line dry now. So maybe just get a washer now? I would get tired of driving to do laundry, no matter how close it is.

Having a nice yard is about 90% labor. I certainly wouldn't hire this out. Just get some books from the library and do it yourself. Gaia's Garden is a book on permaculture that's been recommended elsewhere on the forum. I'm reading it right now and it's great!

It's been said upthread, and I agree - don't rush the process! I've helped several friends move recently, and each time I'm slightly envious of the blank slate they have to work with. So get some house plants, repaint some thrift store picture frames, and enjoy crafting your new home!

TomTX

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5345
  • Location: Texas
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2014, 05:22:51 PM »

3. Doing my own yard sod vs. hiring a pro? There are odd plastic pipes or something sticking out of my yard so I'm a little intimidated.

You are an ENGINEER - didn't you take fluid dynamics? Admittedly, you're not a ChemE... ;)


rawr237

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2014, 10:16:53 PM »
Sorry for the slow re-response, but thank you so much for all of the advice! I'll definitely be saving notes from your super-helpful and friendly comments to refer to through the process :)

kkbmustang

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1285
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2014, 10:59:05 AM »
We have purchased, over 19 years of marriage, three sets of washers/dryers. The first set was a floor model we got at a heavily discounted price. We sold them when we were living temporarily in my parents house in between home purchases. We didn't want to pay to store them. Next we bought a set on CraigsList for $300. When they died we bought refurbished from Lowes at a heavy discount. We are still using them.

Also check your area for an online yard sale Facebook page. Even better if it's in an expensive area (read people with crazy money and major consumption lifestyles).

phred

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 500
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #16 on: May 04, 2014, 11:33:24 AM »
the plastic pipes in the yard may be marking where the exterior water shut-off is

dryers beat clothes to death cutting life about half.  Dryer lint is your clothing.

as a new engineer you probably won't be home enough to enjoy it.  Newbies frequently work 55 to 65 hour weeks plus being on call.  I would wait

Beckyemerson

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 66
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #17 on: May 04, 2014, 11:52:17 AM »
I find young house love blog useful for all kinds of around the house DIY projects. Here is a no sew curtain tutorial. I have also found curtains at the thrift store. Ikea curtains are also a fair price.

http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/02/nursery-progress-getting-the-hang-of-it/

RetiredAt63

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *
  • Posts: 20747
  • Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada
Re: New house furnishing challenges
« Reply #18 on: May 04, 2014, 07:09:03 PM »
One other source for things - estate sales.  Most around here post pictures online, so you can see if something is there that might interest you.