How I Got My Brand-New Grown Up Furniture for Under $1K
A.J. is a college grad who moved to a suburb of Washington, D.C. for his first real job. He loves writing, learning about personal finance, deal hunting, and sharing what he’s learned with others. A.J. publishes a blog called The Guppie Life for other gay, young urban professionals. ‘œGuppie = gay yuppie. Get it? Clever,’ he writes.
These are his words…
How I Got My Brand-New Grown Up Furniture for Under $1K
Making the transition from clueless twenty-something to responsible member of the workforce can be scary. At times, it can even be overwhelming. But it also means you get to buy new stuff, and that’s crazy-fun.
When I accepted my first post-college job, I had to move to a new town a few hours from home. I didn’t have any furniture, save for an Aero bed and a few plastic storage bins, and I definitely didn’t have much money saved up. While the Aero bed served its purpose, sleeping on the floor isn’t the classiest option, so I dedicated a weekend to furnishing my room.
Altogether, I think my entire bedroom cost under $1,000 for the bed frame, mattress, dresser, desk, bookshelf, nightstand, lighting, and assorted accessories like a trash can. The only things I took from home were an office chair, pillows, and a comforter. (I’m sure I could have found second-hand stuff for a lot cheaper on Craigslist if I really looked around, but I drive a compact car and I don’t know anyone in the area with a truck.)
Here’s how I did it:
1. I owe most of the cost-cutting credit to IKEA. If you’re a gay urban-professional, you’ve probably heard of IKEA, but if you haven’t I’d check out their website. They specialize in inexpensive, assemble-it-yourself furniture with a distinctively Euro design philosophy. I wasn’t crazy about the DIY aspect of IKEA, but I was able to decipher the instructions, and I wouldn’t claim to be savvy about tools.
IKEA also sent me a $25 coupon included in my change-of-address materials from the post office. Score!
2. Some people might question choosing furniture that is not made out of solid wood. (IKEA products often only have a wood veneer.) However, I’m young and on a budget. Furthermore, I don’t need furniture that’s going to last a lifetime. At this point in my life, I expect to be moving around fairly often. I don’t need to be tied down by my material possessions. I don’t want to get upset if my new furniture gets a little banged up.
Plus, solid wood is heavy and a real pain to move.
3. I chose all of my furniture in a very neutral dark brown color scheme. No, it isn’t the most avant-garde interior decorating the world has ever seen, but when I move, I can almost guarantee that my old furniture will look good in my new digs.
Neutral colors are your friends. Remember this and you will go far.
4. My desk only cost me $40. IKEA sells flat desktops and legs separately, so you can actually ‘˜customize’ your own desk very cheaply. It’s also much easier to move than a traditional desk with drawers, which probably would get cluttered with unimportant stuff anyway.
The more ‘˜hiding spots’ you have in a room, the more likely you are to have clutter. I personally think of clutter as an arch-nemesis, but that’s a post for another day.
5. I bought a coffee table to use as a nightstand. The nightstand designed to match my bed costs $50. The coffee table costs $15 and works just as well, and I don’t think anyone would think that it looks out of place. (The prices online don’t always match the brick & mortar prices, FYI.)
6. My mattress is a memory foam from Overstock.com, and I cannot recommend it enough for the money. It’s a little on the firm side, but you can always soften up a firm mattress, whereas you can’t easily firm up a soft mattress. It doesn’t require a box spring, so I saved a chunk of change versus a traditional pillow-top mattress with box spring combination. And even better, it was delivered to my doorstop FedEx.
As much as I love IKEA, I wouldn’t necessarily take any chances with their mattresses. Back support is too important.
7. I bought compact fluorescent light bulbs for my room’s lighting. CF bulbs are a little more expensive upfront compared to incandescent bulbs, but they actually save you money over the long haul in reduced electricity costs, and on average they last a lot longer.
CF bulbs also put off less heat, which is great in the summer.
And there you have it. That’s how I bought my first furniture. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
I’m a huge Ikea fan and actually find their furniture pretty well built, better than mid-range as well as other budget furniture.
AJ: I like this post and think you cite some really good reasons for going with IKEA. Spending money on furnishings as well as clothes requires a balance between personal taste, quality, style and budget.
For another perspective catch the interviews of Mitchell Gold and Joe Lupo from our Ten Money Questions series.
Always been a “Solid Wood” person when it comes to furniture.
The secret (if you can call it that) is to find what suits your taste…most peoples tastes change very little over time I’ve noticed.
I go for Oriental Rosewood..Carved but No Inlays.. and I usually buy only one piece at a time.
If you go to one of the reputable stores they will order it and you get a steep discount…I usually get 40% plus….I only have to wait a bit for it…usually 3 months for it to be made and shipped from Hong Kong.
The finishing is unbelieveable….pull out a drawer and even the back and bottom are finished like they are parts visible all the time…and NO Particle Board to be found.
~ Roland
P.S. I wonder how many people know that Particle Board Outgasses Formaldehyde for serveral months after its Manufactured????
Plonkee: I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my IKEA purchases so far. I’m accident-prone, but everything has stood up to my abuse so far. And much sturdier than I imagined.
Nina: Thanks for hosting my blog entry. I’ve learned so much from Queercents, so it feels good to be getting involved.
I’ve been subscribed to your RSS feed for a while now, so I wasn’t even aware that you had changed up the design. It looks good, when did this happen?
FrugalZen: That formaldehyde tidbit was news to me, so I imagine not many. I just found this page about formaldehyde in IKEA products, but the copyright is pretty old, so I’m not fully reassured.
Do you have a link to your favorite furniture store’s website to share?
Hi A.J…
I generally use a local store here in Orlando that doesn’t have a website.
However if you google “oriental rosewood furniture” you will get some good sites including one I believe is in Seattle and has quite an extensive catalog.
One thing people also don’t know is the finish color called “Rosewood” generally comes in 8 shades from a very light Honey color to indistinquishable from Black and it seems to be accomplished by the addition of varieing amounts of Red to the Lacquer…I go for Rosewood No. 3 which is like Mahogany with a distinct Red overtone to the color.
~ Roland
I knew about the formaldehyde. A lot of carpets, glues, etc. also degas for quite some time–keep this in mind if you start getting sick after updating. Also, I believe some solid wood products are lighter and some heavier than the “bargain” products. Density varies across products: pine is not very dense, plywood is medium, oak a little more, and MDF a lot more. The other thing to consider is how thick the material will need to be–for example, MDF is fairly strong. Wood tends to warp more unless the piece is designed properly, etc.
A friend is trying to get me to go to Ikea with her next time we’re in Chicago. It’ll be an adventure but I’m worried I’ll end up overdosing on Danish Modern, which is not entirely my thing.
Good job on the environmentally friendly CF Bulbs! We recently participated in Blog Action Day. I heart the environment!
As I see it, IKEA has a very specific purpose. I can arrive at any city, anywhere in the world, and go to a store that looks exactly the same as every IKEA everywhere else, to buy a reasonably priced set of standard furniture. It may not be very good quality, but it works well enough, and it only has to last until the next time I move. Plus, I won’t feel so bad throwing it out or leaving it behind when I do move, since I didn’t spend much money on it to begin with and buying a new set ends up being cheaper.