After three months of painfully looking for our dream house, my flatmates and I have finally found one.
It has four spacious double bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and dining area, a separate living room and it’s less than an hour away from where we all work. Heck, it even comes with a stand-alone roll top bath like the one Cameron Diaz immerses her glorious body into in The Holiday.
What’s the catch? It’s un-fucking-furnished.
Now we’re all post-graduates moving to London for our first proper jobs. And, even though our rent’s a steal considering the location, once you add the likes of bills, council tax and income tax there’s no way we can afford to furnish a two storey house. We can’t even afford half a pint in the pub conveniently located right around the corner.
Although we considered buying one massive mattress to use as a dining table, couch and communal bed (hey it would save on heating) we realised that probably wouldn’t work in the long run and started looking for cheap ways to kit out our new pad.
Turns out you can actually furnish a house for next to nothing these days, here’s how we’ve managed to fill ours with a budget of £50 each.
Oh that dining table? It’s been in my family for generations!
Ok fine it’s from Ikea and used to belong to my dad, but who gives a crap when it’s free? If you find yourself moving into a new place and are lacking in the furniture department then it’s definitely worth sending out a mass text to all those uncles and aunts you only see at Christmas.
It’s also worth posting one of those annoying Facebook statuses. Chances are someone will have a few bits and bobs in storage that you can take off their hands, we’ve managed to furnish our whole kitchen (appliances and all) this way.
Freecycle? Nah mate I don’t really do bike rides.
When my cousin asked me if I’d heard of Freecycle I genuinely thought she was talking about some charity bike ride taking place across London, she then redirected me to what heaven would look like if it was online.
Freecycle is a website where people give away stuff they don’t want anymore. They just GIVE IT AWAY for FREE! Admittedly this is better if you have a car to go and pick up your goodies in, but you can hire a van for as little as £20 to do this for you. Through Freecycle we all managed to find bed frames that came with brand new mattresses and a couch for our living room! See? This whole furnishing a house malarkey isn’t actually that hard.
Poundland? Save your pennies and head to the 99p store!
Both are bloody great shops and will save you a fortune in the long run. When you have a whole house to fill you tend to focus on the bigger items, but in reality it’s the nitty gritty objects like bins, lamps, washing baskets and all of that crap that’ll set you back.
Another favourite of mine isWilkinson’s, granted it’s a tad more expensive than the99p Store(not hard to beat really) but it tends to offer a nicer selection of items. Oh and a word to the wise, splash the cash on electrical items to avoid faulty second hand microwaves that will potentially burn down your brand new home.
Supermarkets like Asda and Morrison’s are great for affordable appliances like this.
The one with the apothecary table
If you aren’t a fan of Friends then you won’t get this reference and should also probably re-evaluate your life.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that car boot sales are a great place to pick up second hand furniture for next to nothing. From period antiques to second hand furnishings from the Argos catalogue, there is always a gem amongst the junk and it’s a guaranteed good day out with your flatmates.
Markets are also really good for picking up smaller furnishings or decorative pieces for cheap as well, and provide an excuse to go to Notting Hill.
If time is your friend and you start scouring for furniture a few weeks before the big move then you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to furnish your new home for free, essentially. If time isn’t your friend, but a big budget isn’t on your buddy list either, then living out of those cardboard boxes for a few weeks while you join the hunt will probably be worth it in the longer run. Just make sure you book any moving vans as far in advance as you can to keep costs down!
READ MORE: The Best Small Bedroom Hacks From Pinterest
Small Bedroom Hacks Pinterest - Grazia
1 of 61. Shelves Shelves Shelves
If you're not renting and are allowed to put up shelves then get a drill and do it immediately. If you're feeling handy, run them all along the top of the room and shove all those books you never read on them. Done and done.
2 of 62. Cubes
Everyone had these Ikea cubes at some point in their life. Double one up and use the insides of the cubes for trinklets and photos and the top for a lamp and flowers – look how great you are at utlising space.
3 of 63. Drawers
If your landlord has been kind enough to get you a bed with drawers then you're seriously lucky. If they haven't, ask for a new bed (because if you don't ask, you don't get) or get a cheap one from Gumtree. It will save your life, and your floor space.
4 of 64. Mason Jar Organisers
Instead of spreading jars all over the little desk space you have, build one into your wall. So handy, so space conscious. You tiny room pro.
5 of 65. Built-In Rails
OK, so your room will not look like this, because this room is bigger than a castle. BUT, you need to get a built in rail. Chances are you can't fit a wardrobe in your teeny chubby hole, so instead of having everything sprawled across the floor – hang them.
6 of 66. Vanity Space
This is genius. Just look at it. Yes, it would probably take a whole day to build but imagine how chuffed you'd be everytime you went to do your makeup at this absolutely stellar built-in vanity space.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.