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After having just finished furnishing our home and spending little money doing so, I wanted to give you the tips and tricks I have learned over the years on how to decorate and furnish a house with little to no money without compromise! You can create the home of your dreams on a low budget and in this blog post, I will tell you exactly how I did it.
So, grab yourself a warm cup of coffee or tea, get your favorite cozy blanket and let´s begin!
Thrifting, Thrifting, Thrifting!
This one might seem obvious when it comes to trying to find furniture and home decor on a low budget, but there are a couple of tips I have learned when it comes to thrifting that have helped me tremendously in making the home of my dreams on a low budget:
Online Thrift Shops:
There are so many online thrift shops to visit, but when it comes to finding the exact furniture pieces you are looking for, it is important to refresh the sites, and visit them often! This can take some time, but it is worth it! That´s the way I found the exact foux-fireplace I wanted for our living room for example, or my papasan reading chair I love so much, for a super affordable price!
Oftentimes you might even be able to find what you are looking for for free, as people sometimes just want to get rid of the things they put one these second hand sites!
Here are some online thriftshops to try:
Ebay
FaceBook Marketplace
Ikea´s Second Chance Corner (reduced price for second hand ikea furniture)
Craigslist
Marktplaats (in the Netherlands)
Willhaben.at (in Austria)
I would recommend visiting physical Thrift Shops early in the mornings during the week, as a lot of the best finds are usually sold by the evening, or by the end of the week!
Consider thrifting your sofa & chairs!
Hear me out: buying a second hand sofa is oftentimes the line one crosses when it comes to thrifting, but if you carefully select the type of sofa to buy, it is more than okay to get it second hand!
I would highly recommend you to get a couch with a washable sofa-cover, so you´re able to thoroughly clean it before use!
I got our first sofa second hand for FREE! And it was the exact one I was looking for too! We had the Ikea Ektorp 2 seater for about two years before switching to a bigger Ikea Ektorp with an extention, which I also ended up getting second hand!
Our previous sofa, the Ikea Ektorp 2 seater we got for free:
The coffee table, sofa chair, side stool, most of the table decor, aswell as all of the chairs and dining table in the background are thrifted. I painted the feet of the coffee & dining tables and gave the wood a new stain and finish, aswell as painted some of the dining chairs in the back of the picture to match them to my personal style.
I have since changed up a lot in our living room, including switching the layout, adding the foux-fireplace, a new couch, little book case and a gallery wall. All, or most of my new living room is also thrifted and I'll no doubt be showing you in a future blog post!
This is the new couch we´ve now had for the past month or two, and we have been LOVING it so far! It is one of the comfiest sofas I have ever sat on and definitely one I´d recommend getting! Since the covers are completely washable, it is absolutely safe to get second hand!:
Being able to fully wash all of the covers was a must for me when buying a second hand couch and I also love the way the Ektorp sofas look and feel! By buying one second hand, I was able to get it for a fraction of the original price while not having to compromise on the look either.
Look out for Garage & Estate Sales
Drive around your neighborhood on a day off and have a look out for garage sales! This especially works well if you live in the suburbs, or country side! In our neighborhood it is very common to find beautiful furniture pieces to be picked up for free in someone´s front yard, or garage sales I wouldn´t usually see if I didn´t take an unusual route through town!
View furniture in physical stores first
If you don´t exacly know what you want your home to look like, or which pieces of furniture you´d like to get, I would recommend visiting physical furniture stores, even if you can´t afford to buy anything!
Write down, or take pictures of the pieces you like and then see if you can find them on second hand sites!
That´s how I was able to know exactly which couch, chairs, vanity table and buffet closet I wanted for our home and ended up finding them, or even better ones for a fraction of the original price on Marktplaats! (The dutch version of Facebook Marketplace)
my thrifted kitchen closet (left) and vanity (right)
Ask family and friends!
The journey of making a house a home can be costly, even when buying all of the furniture second hand and it is so important to remember that you can ask for help when needed and there is absolutely no shame in doing so! Your family and friends might have things they no longer need and would be more than happy to gift you!
When I moved out for the first time, 90% of the furniture I owned was gifted to me by family and friends who no longer needed them and there´s no shame in that either!
You could even ask a neighbor if they have any furniture they want to give away! You might be surprised at the amount of furniture people are happy to get rid of and give to you when you ask. ^^
Lastly, I wanted to share some photos of my grandmother´s house as her decor style is my biggest home inspiration and I think she is sooo wonderful at making a house feel like a home. I hope it´ll give you some inspiration too!:
Top left: little kitchen-living-room
Top right: hallway
Bottom left: dining room Bottom right: kitchen window
Conclusion:
Making your house feel like a home can take a while and patience is definitely key when it comes to furnishing on a low budget, but it can also be a very fun process! I love being able to remember little stories about my furniture pieces, like which families they belonged to before, or how excited I was when I found them, or my journey of figuring out a way to bring bigger things home with me, which can be a challenge sometimes 😅
I hope this blog post helped you in your own journey of furnishing your house with no money / on a low budget!
Thank you so much for reading and please let me know in the comments if you have any more tips I didn´t touch on in this post!
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