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Hey guys. I've got a bit of a pickle on my hands. I've been in the market for an appartment for awhile, and I finally found one and signed the lease. It's a decent place, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, and I'm rooming with one of my good friends. My main concern is, I have no idea how to furnish it :O My last place was already furnished by my roomate, so this will be my first time furnishing an apartment.
Well, I'm coming to you for help TL. I need some help with the info I need to furnish my new place. I'm still a college student, so my budget isn't extravagant, but I would really like the place to look nice and feel comfy.
So, what I'm looking for is...
What I'll need: This one is something I'm getting pretty stressed about. I'm horrible with small details, and there are a lot of little things that make a home. So I'm looking for some essentials and cool things I can do! Here's what I already have.
Bedroom. I had a pretty plain bedroom before and would like an upgrade. I basically just put the matress and boxspring on the floor with some cheap curtains and a desk. I felt pretty embarassed whenever I would have my girlfriend over. My grandmother recently passed away and left me a bedstand that has been in our family for around 100 years that I've been thinking about using I'm not sure if I should just put it in storage and upgrade or not. Here's a picture (sorry for the mess, we're still packing/sorting her things.
It's not the greatest looking thing, but I think if I get the right bedspread it might be OK. If I upgrade, I'm not really sure what to look for or approximate price.
Besides That I have a decently good looking oak 6 door dresser.
Bath: It's a pretty small bath with a white color scheme. The showerhead definitely looks like it needs to be replaced. I have a hodgepodge of towels I got when I first moved out a few years ago, nothing matching; I'm not sure if it makes a big difference.
Living Room. I don't really have much. I can use my parents old used couch and recliners that have been sitting in their basement as a placeholder till I can start to sprinkle in some nicer stuff.
Kitchen: The kitchen is pretty mall little enclosed kitchen. It has a bar, which is pretty cool, but beside that I don't really have anything to stock the kitchen with (pots/pans, basic spices/kitchen essentials, microwave, etc)
Some Ideas!
I would love some ideas of what I'll probably need. Like I said, I'm bad at small things, and even some big things. If anyone would be so kind to make a short list of pretty essential things, and some ideas of how to make things look nice, that would be awesome.
Price Estimation Like I said, I'm still in college, so my budget isn't extravagent, but I can upgrade some things as I go. FOr anyone who's recently furnished a place, some estimation of these costs would be great ^^
Anything else you can give advice about Any other tips/hints/tricks you have to give, I'm very grateful for! Thanks TL.
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Hong Kong9145 Posts
I don't really have a list for you, but if you are lucky enough to live near an IKEA, you can just walk in and they have examples of furnished areas for you to think about.
On March 08 2012 11:17 Arisen wrote: Price Estimation Like I said, I'm still in college, so my budget isn't extravagent, but I can upgrade some things as I go. FOr anyone who's recently furnished a place, some estimation of these costs would be great ^^
Also they are really cheap, relative to other places.
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Whatever you do, don't do the gay all black thing (omg sounds super racist). Having all black furniture just looks horid.
If you are crafty, you can make your own shelves for your bathroom for ~$7 (1x6x8 at home depot is ~1.50 a board).
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On March 08 2012 11:34 iTzSnypah wrote: Whatever you do, don't do the gay all black thing (omg sounds super racist). Having all black furniture just looks horid.
If you are crafty, you can make your own shelves for your bathroom for ~$7 (1x6x8 at home depot is ~1.50 a board).
The walls are white and the carpet is brown, so I'm not really sure what color goes with that. I was thinking white, but I'm not really good at that sort of thing (and my girlfriend and I broke up a few months ago, otherwise I'd just ask her :D)
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If your in college how it looks isn't a huge deal. Garage sales are your friend.
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On March 08 2012 11:21 itsjustatank wrote:I don't really have a list for you, but if you are lucky enough to live near an IKEA, you can just walk in and they have examples of furnished areas for you to think about. Show nested quote +On March 08 2012 11:17 Arisen wrote: Price Estimation Like I said, I'm still in college, so my budget isn't extravagent, but I can upgrade some things as I go. FOr anyone who's recently furnished a place, some estimation of these costs would be great ^^ Also they are really cheap, relative to other places. while in college, IKEA.
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I spent about 5g's recently but we got everything. Couches, Kitchen stuffs, Dining room, Bed, BR stuffs... etc. Still gotta get my monster TV.
Ikea, Yard Sales, Garage sales, Craigslist, yeah that would be my advice for college
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Avoid buying anything new if at all possible. For our apartment we got a couch off of one of my roommate's parents, a table and chairs off of some friends, pots and pans off of my aunt and uncle, and some more stuff I can't think of at the moment. I think the only things I bought were a bathmat, kitchen stuff, cutlery and some glasses. Also, I have a closet in my room so I just hang all of my clothes instead of using a dresser. Honestly, I would avoid your grandmother's bed. It'll be a hassle to move, it's probably proportionally too big for your room, you never really know how long you'll have the apartment so it's good not to get bogged down, and it could get ruined or something -- I just don't think it's worth it.
It's good to have used stuff because you save money and may not want to keep it after (plus if it gets damaged in parties it's no big deal). As a note for spices, I bought some 'basics' (Oregano, Basil, Parsley, and Chili Powder), then every week when I went shopping I would buy another until I had a decent collection. Also, always use fresh garlic.
Kitchen All of this stuff for around ~$100-120 depending on where you get them, could be less as well. This is kind of what I consider to be some essentials, you'll probably add onto this as you go. + Show Spoiler +-1 good kitchen knife (really all you need, maybe a small knife and a bread knife as well but you can get by without them) -peeler -sauce spoon -flipper -mixing bowl -cheese grater -casserole dish -frying pan -small pot -large pot -measuring stuff -cutting board -probably lots I'm forgetting...
Hmm there's probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, feel free to ask questions.
I think as a general rule you want to go cheap and light. Personally, I wouldn't get anything that you wouldn't feel bad about leaving behind, the less stuff the better imo.
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find the nearest flea market...Profit!
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On March 08 2012 13:14 DreamChaser wrote: find the nearest flea market...Profit!
To be honest, this isn't very helpful at all.
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This comment is not intended to be helpful in anyway, but when I first saw your picture I saw a bunch of broad swords and rapiers @__@.
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Why would you stress about furnishing your apartment, just go with the minimalist look imo.
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On March 08 2012 14:18 Rygasm wrote: This comment is not intended to be helpful in anyway, but when I first saw your picture I saw a bunch of broad swords and rapiers @__@.
Lol, its a bunch of old lamps and ceramic figurines...I'd have your eyes checked out :p
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