Tip on How Furnish A New Home
Buying your first home or
moving house is such an exciting, albeit stressful, milestone in life. A new
home usually means a new location, a fresh start and, what we’re most
interested in, some new stylish furniture.
Having to furnish a new build
home can seem a little overwhelming. This is because there is likely to be a
lot of space you’ll need to fill. So whether you’re starting from scratch,
downsizing, or moving into a bigger space, we thought we’d offer a helping
hand. This post is packed full of our tips and tricks to help you furnish a new
build home?
Firstly,
let’s address some of the top mistakes people make furnishing a new build home.
These are the ones you’ll want to avoid!
Don’t Overfill. Just because you’ve got a whole new empty space to work
with, doesn’t mean you have to fill, cram and coordinate every space, nook and
cranny right away. Start with your investment pieces rather than buying
everything in one go (we’ll talk more about this in more depth later), and then
you can add any additional, non-essential pieces later on.
Don’t trust your eye rather
than a tape measure. This is never a good idea when choosing your furniture, especially
when buying online. Thinking your new sofa and coffee table
will fit is very different to knowing that it will, so save
yourself the stress and hassle on delivery day by knowing your measurements
well before you place your order.
Don’t be unrealistic. We’ve all done it; seen a gorgeous two-page
spread in Elle Decor or Ideal Home, bookmarked the page and dreamed that one
day our home would replicate the stylish setting. Although the imagery in the
glossy magazines does look flawless, if you try to
make your room look like a page in a catalogue it’ll sadly
never quite live up to the expectation.
That’s not to say a stunning
interior setting is impossible. Keep in mind that your new build home is
going to be lived in. So although you won’t want it to look messy, you’ll
still want it to have a welcoming and inviting feel.
Now you know what not to do, let’s
get stuck in with our 8 top
tips on how to furnish a new build home.
1.
Starting Off
The ease and popularity of
buying furniture online has dramatically increased. That’s why furnishing your
new home with all new furniture pieces should no longer be seen as an expensive
luxury. There’s so much choice online when it comes to dining room, living
room and kitchen furniture. Start by focusing on one room at a time
so you don’t become too overwhelmed. Then you can start browsing online to see
what shapes and styles catch your eye.
Moving house is also the ideal time to think about any additional
furniture pieces that will benefit your new space. If you’ve been squeezing
everyone around a small dining table, now’s the time to invest in that stylish
extending dining set that can offer everyone a seat. If you’ve never had a
dining table of your own, there’s no better time to find one that’s just right
for you and your new space.
TOP
TIP: One great way to stay
focused on one room at a time is to use Pinterest. This way, you can create a
board for each room. It’s also a great way to get an idea of how the pieces
you’ve selected will work alongside each other.
New
to Pinterest? Don’t
worry! We have a handy guide for Pinterest beginners that will
get you up and pinning no time.
2. Measure Up
Get to know your space by measuring the area, and if you haven’t
moved in just yet, make use of the estate agent’s floor plan to get a
better idea of the shape and size of the rooms in your new home. If the layout
differs greatly to your current home, that’s when you’ll need to consider
furniture that’ll suit your space. If you’ve downsized, then your current
furniture might no longer fit. And if you’re starting fresh, the furniture
world is your oyster! Many online retailers will list the furniture measurements
on their website, and there are loads of handy sizing guides available.
To get a better idea of how
your furniture will fit before you move into your space, interior design apps
are a great help. Apps such as Planner 5D can be easily downloaded to your iPhone (for free!). You can
then size and scale furniture pieces along with the size of the room. This will
help you get a feel for how things will look.
There’s a whole host of
interior apps that will help you each step of the way of your new home journey.
Want to know the best ones? Take a look at our Top 6 Must Have Interior
Design Apps.
3.
Don’t Buy Everything All At Once
So
you have your dream house, you know which room is which and you’ve measured
everything (including the door frames). Armed with everything you need, it can
be tempting to go ahead and buy everything at once. However, this is one
furniture buying mistake to avoid when furnishing your new home. Buying
everything at once is a huge cost in one go. It will also take away your
styling focus from each room. This is because you’re looking at multiple pieces
and styles throughout your home.
Not
buying everything at once doesn’t mean you have to spend the first few months
sat eating your dinner on the floor, however. Focus on your staple and
investment pieces first, then all of the sleek accessories can be added later
to give your room an even more homely touch.
TOP TIP:
One way to make sure you stick to the essentials is to make a note of your
budget- and stick to it! Moving home can be an expensive time, so it’s a good
idea to know how much money you have to actually spend on furniture before you
set your heart on a sofa and dining set that is way out of your budget. Once
you know what you’ve got to work with, then you can start shopping around. If
you have any leftover cash, you can then buy those extra pieces on your wish
list without any guilt as all the important pieces have been covered.
4.
Start with Your Investment Pieces
The term investment
pieces can hold connotations of costing a lot of
money, but try to think of your investment pieces as just that- investments,
not expenses. A good quality bed, sofa and dining table will provide comfort
and seating for your family for years to come. So if you can afford it, it’s a
very smart move to spend more on these staple pieces for your new home.
Vital parts of any home, investment pieces will be the furniture that you
use the most and keep the longest, so you’ll want to choose something that’ll
last.
Dining
Sets
A dining set is definitely one
of the investment pieces you’ll want to get right. With so many choices and combinations
available, we’ve also written two handy guides to help you choose the
perfect dining chair and dining table which you can
view (after you’ve finished reading here of course!).
Sofas
A sofa is something that will be used day in, day out. So you’ll
want something as comfortable as it is durable. We have a whole variety of sofa
sizes in fabric and real leather upholstery; there is sure to be a piece that
is right for you and your family!
Storage
A sideboard is such a versatile
piece of furniture. This is because it can be used for both styling and storage
in a variety of rooms. If you think you’ll be a little pushed for space,
consider a compact sideboard as this will still offer a storage space
that keeps items out of sight, without taking up too much space.
5. Make the Most of Your Space, Inexpensively
Make the most of your new living room by choosing a side table set
that can be stacked when not in use. Or, consider a set that doubles up as a
table and stool to offer a handy extra seat.
Our Tiva Coffee Table Set can be separated and styled to
suit your space, and then stacked again when not in use making it great for a
versatile living area.
The Duo Matt Grey Side Table and Lime Fabric Stool Set doubles
up as side table and stool which can be used as a footrest, surface for drinks
and even a handy extra seat.
The Metro grey gloss dining table can extend from a
four-seater all the way up to a ten-seater dining table. Save space with
this table too, as the table extensions are stored within the table top.
6. Tie Everything Together With
Color
Starting out with a blank canvas such as a new home doesn’t mean
that you have to buy everything matching to coordinate your space. One great
way to tie your room together is through your use of color. So if you already
have a sofa but now have the space for a coffee table, consider your materials
and color scheme. This will help to seamlessly combine the pieces together.
Here we’ve coordinated the Duo Walnut Side Table and Graphite
Grey Stool Set with the Halo Walnut Coffee Table. The
grey leather stool also coordinates with the grey Dillon sofa (even
though the greys are a slightly different shade). This is a great example of
how you can tie different furniture together with the use of textures and
colors.
Many new builds will have a very neutral interior. So if you want
to inject some color into your space but don’t have the time or money to go all
out on your decor, be clever with your furniture choice colors, such as
colorful dining chairs or a bold colored sofa set. Colorful dining chairs,
like our Riva range, are a great way to add a stylish pop of color to your new
dining area.
The neutral scheme of many new build homes is a great opportunity
to be bold with your color choices. Our Luxe sofa in mustard yellow is a great
example of how to inject some color into a more neutral space. With our free swatch sample service,
it’s easy to order a couple of samples to get a flavor for your color palette
and material choices.
7.
Get Inspiration from Other New Homeowners
The
glossy interior magazines do look stunning. However, sometimes the best styling
inspiration can come from real homes. There’s a whole community of new
homeowners sharing their design journey on social media platforms such as Instagram and Houzz,
so be sure to follow people in the community. #newhome, #newbuild and #firsttimebuyer are
great hashtags to get started. Then you’ll start to discover accounts that you
love! You can also use the platforms to ask questions and even share some
of your own knowledge. This can be invaluable when moving into a new home.
Start
off by searching for relevant hashtags. This way you’ll find relevant accounts
and people to follow.
Along
with sharing the journey, many people like to showcase the finished look! We
ask our customers to use #mydanetti when they snap their homes
so we can see the finished results. Here are a couple of our favorite customer
images, but remember, you can view loads more if you search #mydanetti on
both Facebook and Instagram.
8. Be Smart With Your Delivery
The ease of buying online is accompanied with another great
factor- delivery services. Rather than trying to up end your sofa in the back
of your car, at the click of a button you can have your new furniture delivered
right to your new front door. From next day delivery to fully track able
orders, we’ve made sure that getting your goods to you is as easy as possible.
Make sure you check the delivery process when you’re buying online so you know
what to expect.
So there you have it, 8 top tips on how to furnish
a new build home. We’ve covered a fair amount, so here’s the final takeaways
and key things to remember…
· Don’t overfill
your space
· Know
your measurements
· Be
realistic with what you can create
· Consider
your investment pieces first
· Know
your budget before you start shopping
· Try
to focus on one room at a time
· Don’t
buy everything all at once
· Solve
practical problems inexpensively