Moving into a new house with hardly any furniture to my name. I need to furnish all rooms (kitchen, living, dining, bedrooms).
I'm leaning towards second hand market for most things, but I'm wondering in your experience, what do you really recommend buying new and why?
Refrigerator and washing machine. (and what Hybroid said… mattress)
Some used quality furniture can be a better buy than new "cheap" items.
How do you guys sleep at hotels if the thought of buying a used mattress freaks you out?
For the record, I have bought a used mattress (and bed) from somebody’s guest room when my kid was young. The kid never cared.
Selective perception (confirmation bias).
How do you guys sleep at hotels if the thought of buying a used mattress freaks you out?
I accept the hotel bed knowing it's the best I'm going to get while I'm away from home. But it doesn't mean that I'm that comfortable. The saying "There's nothing like the comfort of your own bed" didn't come out of nowhere. 😋
If you are paying for 5 star hotel room then the mattress must be fine. But in Australia price isn't reflective of quality. Conditions $3k for 2 weeks of hotel quarantine in 5 star hotel is case to the point.
Just get the bare minimum for now while you wait for the annual hard waste collection. Some people throw out perfectly good furniture for various reasons. Get a mate to help you carry it home. Much more cost effective and convenient than buying second-hand.
If you've got the time, do what this ^ guy says, except if you prefer, go on Gumtree or Facebook and sell the good items you've picked up. Use the money to buy brand new. Win-win situation!
Some people make a living out of hard waste. They drive around in the most clapped out old vans picking up furniture.
Everything. I'm scared that second hand stuff is possessed.
Do you only buy brand new cars?
Yes…
Look on gumtree/facebook marketplace for somebody moving overseas/interstate selling everything. You will get a house full cheap of quality good enough for the seller (i.e. not old and worn out like is sometimes the case with individual items).
If you are prepared to take everything, I’d suggest you could drive a hard bargain, as the biggest issue as moving day approaches is off-loading all the stuff in time.
Get everything free off the side of the road or from your local buy nothing group on Facebook. Replace each item gradually as you see something you really like on sale new or for sale second hand. If you rush to buy stuff all at once you'll end up compromising when you can't find anything you REALLY love and then you've wasted money on something you either don't like that much or will replace before it wears out.
Yeah as for new stuff. There's nothing that really has to be new. You can get really expensive mattresses for free because so many people want to have new ones. But I can understand wanting a new one.
I used to do this when living in Sydney, but found this to be a much less viable option in Bris and Gold Coast. Second hand is also more expensive here.
Most things with upholstery. That being said, I got a bunch of dining chairs that matched mine that have cushioned seats that were mostly unused. Just be willing to visit and say no if you're not happy with the quality of the product or the price.
A desk, coffee table, bed frame etc on the other hand… Pretty little risk…
look into rental furniture places (the ones that do staging for houses for sale), they often have cheaper furniture.
When I got my first home I got a fridge, microwave, toaster new and new mattress. Everything else was second hand or built up over time.most people are happy to use a second hand oven and dishwasher as they come with the house.
It depends on your concerns with hygiene. It’s easy to clean most things, especially vinyl, leather or other hard surfaces. Upholstery is harder but doable.
When buying second hand don’t commit until you’ve seen the item. We had someone donate some baby stuff for less fortunate at a local school. Went to pick it up, thanked them nicely but then put it straight out for hard rubbish cleanup. The house was grubby and the items would have taken hours to clean. I’d hate to think what the Salvos get given!
Do a mixture. Be aware that sometimes second hand stuff is almost as much as new. If it’s free on marketplace, or via a buy nothing group I guess the aesthetic is less important, but I’d still recommend trying to get things that you like the look and functionality of so you enjoy living in your home. A combo of second hand (from op shops, marketplace) with ikea, Kmart will give you some good options. Having done the second hand route with appliances in the past, I now prefer new for reliability. If you go for cheap new - go somewhere with good returns policies like Kmart, Aldi, DJs (sometimes have some amazing clearance prices both online and in store), big w etc. Searching ‘ikea’ on marketplace will give you some nice options. Also don’t forget you can filter for $0 to see what people are giving away in your area.
100% mattress for obvious reasons.
I personally would not get second hand appliances either (fridge, washing machine, toaster, kettle, airfryer etc) but some people don't mind. Oven and dishwasher is fine.
Furniture generally fine second hand after a good clean.
Have a trawl through IKEA for reasonable priced reasonable quality stuff you can pick up. Everything from furniture to home knick knacks to lighting to kitchen stuff. It's an ideal starting place to furnish a home.