That's a beautiful house but $10000 no way. $100,000 is more like it. Why would you want to put used furniture in a new home?

The retail markup on furniture is horrendous-I agree with the posters who suggested an interior designer (not a decorator!) who can help you plan each room, and can get you furniture at wholesale or discount prices.

An interior designer can work with you to determine your tastes in furniture, and if you express interest in shopping yourself, he/she can give insight on what you should look for regarding quality and your particular style. I think this would be a wise investment so you avoid costly mistakes (especially when it comes to furniture scale!).

I also agree with the posters who suggested Craigslist, estate sales, consignment shops and garage sales. Ebay, Etsy, and antique stores can be sources too. Beware the antique stores though-if you spot something you like, do some research because they can be overpriced. You can sign up for notices of estate sales through sites like estatesales.org. If you have an interior designer, you can ask them about your finds before you spend your money. You may even consider learning how to stain and do basic fixes for furniture in case you come across a piece that's a bit less than perfect.

I would shoot for quality over quantity, especially if you are sure about your taste and style-I spent an ungodly amount of money for an heirloom-quality, dark solid wood bookcase, but I aim to have it forever. On the flip side, I have two Craigslist finds that I will have forever, too: a $375 mahogany bedroom set for the guest room from the 1950s that I love, and a solid walnut cold-war era desk I scored for fifty bucks.

I'm afraid the 10K won't go very far, but you can stretch it with patience and a plan. Congratulations on your beautiful new house, and have fun making it your home!

I encourage you to take your time to furnish your house, as Sandyc suggested. If you fully furnish your house in styles and colors that are popular now, in 5-10 years it will be dated and you will probably not be happy with it anymore.
It is best to gradually (as in years, even decades) complete your house. Buy only things you really like, in styles and finishes you have always liked. Have fun with trendy items in linens, throws, pillows, and other limited-life-span items.

Stewy2you, I reckon 100,000 is a bit steep. I bet I'm spot on the money for moderate furniture and furnishings, new. He could go the antique route and save alot, plus the quality is so often better. L.Smith, what amount does your other half think?

Stewey2you, for one we aren't all multi millionaires and another a lot of what is manufactured now, even when expensive, is not the same quality as even 15 years ago.

Dang, cactus, I come on Houzz to meet a multimillionaire. You mean I havnt got a chance?

Chookchook2, that's what I'm saying:)

As newlyweds we took the modest gift my in law gave us for a bedroom suite and furnished our first tiny house with second hand furniture and few new pieces.
Make do with what you have. Our dorm cinder block shelves followed us through two homes. Replace with quality pieces over time. Extra bedrooms don't have to be furnished immediately, just have a good air bed for guest.

Some things are important to get good quality at first. You need a good mattress and they usually offer a free or cheap frame. The head board can come much later. You can get an upholstered one for a couple hundred at Big Lots or DIY one for even less. It is safer to buy new upholstered sofas and chairs. It is OK to buy ikea or discount stuff until you can replace them for better quality. Do you want one lonely sofa or enough seating for a party?
Dinning furniture can be Craig list, or garage sale finds. better to learn refinishing on those than grandma's antique set. Don't chalk paint old fine wood, but dress up cheap particle board stuff paint or wall paper.
Better to live with an empty house than an empty wallet or worse yet in debt.

As newlyweds we took the modest gift my in law gave us for a bedroom suite and furnished our first tiny house with second hand furniture and few new pieces.
Make do with what you have. Our dorm cinder block shelves followed us through two homes. Replace with quality pieces over time. Extra bedrooms don't have to be furnished immediately, just have a good air bed for guest.

Some things are important to get good quality at first. You need a good mattress and they usually offer a free or cheap frame. The head board can come much later. You can get an upholstered one for a couple hundred at Big Lots or DIY one for even less. It is safer to buy new upholstered sofas and chairs. It is OK to buy ikea or discount stuff until you can replace them for better quality. Do you want one lonely sofa or enough seating for a party?
Dinning furniture can be Craig list, or garage sale finds. better to learn refinishing on those than grandma's antique set. Don't chalk paint old fine wood, but dress up cheap particle board stuff paint or wall paper.
Better to live with an empty house than an empty wallet or worse yet in debt.

Hi L. Smith. Although 10K wont furnish that beautiful home in its entirety, it's definitely a good starting point. Good design happens over time. Clearly identify what areas are most important for you and your family and start there. Continue to add on to your budget over time until your dream home is complete. Happy lifestyle expressing to you and your family!

Buy one good quality sofa that will last 20 years. That's 6-7K. Buy a good mattress with the rest. Then every paycheck, buy another quality used piece from Craigslist. Don't waste your money on throwaway Ikea and it's ilk. That's fine for a college student, but not for a home like this. If you can't afford to furnish it properly, then you live with minimal furniture. It's better than roomfuls of imported garbage.

If you want to furnish the house all at once, then you need 10x your budget. If you don't have that to spend, then you overbought on the house.

I truly appreciate all the feedback. Who knew I'd get this much participation and insight :).

We've decided to purchase as many priority quality pieces as we can for the 10k, and slowly hunt for other pieces as time passes to give our home character. We'd rather live with less, than to drastically increase our budget to furnish the house quickly.

The priorities when buying the house were to take advantage of the low interest rates, buy in an area that would be a great long term investment (moving in with 20k in equity - yay!), and move into a great school district for my son. All else is secondary.

As long as those items are covered, and my family is healthy, I can live with a little less furniture, and more savings :). Thanks for all the feedback!

@ L Smith - thanks for posting such a great question! The answers have been fascinating.

Someone posted that, with such a beautiful house, you'd want to buy all-new. Rotflmao - so that means absolutely no antiques then?!

Have fun - it's a beautiful house, with great "bones."

I have allergies to fabric treatments and sizings used to make upholstery look thicker. I save hundreds by going to upholstery foam dealers and buying extra dense 5" foam and guests always find my beds very comfortable. A twin can be $129 or less!

If you really want good buys; go to estate auctions! You can get amazing high quality furnishings for pennies compared to original pricing. Go early to get a good look at the boxed lots, and take a trailer or rent a van!

Repurpose your current furniture for now at least! Our previous dresser, that had broken drawer rails, was refurbished into our TV cabinet with IKEA baskets replacing the drawers.
Our old bedroom furniture was set up in the guest bedroom (guest don't know or care that my parents bought that set 20+ years ago). Kids furniture is really easy to re-think, repaint, and reuse. My 14yo's bed was my great grandmother's, a coat of black spray paint later no one would ever guess.
If you don't have a huge budget you have to be patient and creative; and your house is much more personal in the end. (My complaint with most 'designed' houses/rooms).

Summery, I'd love to see pix of the 5 bedroom house you were able to design on less than $10K!! Some of us could benefit and gain inspiration from your success on such a small budget!

Our 4100 sqft house burned to the ground in the San Diego wildfires. We lost everything except our cars. We were living at Residence Inn for several months while we waited for our new house to be completed. We were doing a lot of shopping. We needed everything - clothes, shoes, furniture, TVs, computers, dishes, pots and pans, appliances, bedding, linen, etc. - and we needed it all at once. No time to thoughtfully shop consignment shops and estate sales. We didn't buy accents or wall art right away, but just about everything else. I remember walking through Macy's with a personal shopper and a huge rolling cart loading on a blender, a toaster, a coffee maker, knives, dishes, silverware, glass ware, utensils, sheets, pillows, blankets, towels. Then pointing at a sectional, bar stools, dressers, lamps, dining set, dressers, side tables. Ordering the things that weren't in stock. We needed a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, phones, barbecue, patio furniture, media equipment, lots of things you wouldn't even realize you have.

It had taken us a lifetime to accumulate our mish mash of belongings. Some of it were very nice, found treasures, inherited items, travel momentos, wedding gifts, family photos; some of it was junk, but it was our junk. All gone.

So now we have a beautiful home. Everything matches and goes well together. It looks "designed". I'm told it looks like a model home or something from a design magazine. But I feel very little personal attachment for any of the stuff in our house. There is no story behind any of it. Or if there is its that all our things were destroyed and we had to replace them en masse.

I know "wah wah wah". It was just stuff. As long as we were all OK. Very fortunate. Very grateful.

So cautionary tale - Don't get too attached to your stuff. No, the points I was trying to make were: 1) replacing all that stuff cost well over $150,000 and 2) you might not realize that you won't like your new stuff as much as your old stuff even if it is better stuff and looks great together and 3) take your time and make careful selections if you have that luxury.

On the up side, it was the easiest move-in ever. No packing. Everything was professionally delivered and set in place over the course of the next few months. We've lived here over 10 years now and have accumulated quite a bit more. So we're moving in a month. Most of our stuff is too big for the new house. And so it goes .....

Hi L Smith,

Congratulations on the new home, it is beautiful! As i'm sure you've learned building a home can be extremely difficult and just when you think it's done, there's the part about furnishing it that brings back some of that stress. Hiring a designer would be a good idea if you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone to help guide you in the right direction.

Are you looking to re-sell this home? Or are you thinking of living in this home for some time? These questions play a vital role in deciding on what type of furniture you want to purchase, how much, how big, the functions of it, etc. Also, how do you want to feel when your in your space? What is the function of each room? Begin by asking yourself these questions and when you are clear on this, then i would suggest moving onto looking at furniture and how much of it you want to purchase.

I would suggest if your budget is tight then to purchase the furniture/appliance pieces that lend to the functionality of your home first. And from there move onto the secondary pieces and then accessories, etc. Also, furniture is an investment and I would suggest placing a large portion of the budget a side for the pieces that you hope to have around for years to come and are going to get the most use (ex. bed frame, mattress, sofa, desk, etc).

We would love to help answer any questions/concerns you may have so feel free to message us with any other details.

Thanks,

Kalu Interiors

So sorry to hear that Suzy. But you make a valid point. A well designed home takes years. You don't want your home to look like you walked into a retail store and bought everything at once off of a showroom floor. Make a plan, start with a few key pieces and go from there.
A designer will save you so much money in the long run. She will help with your plan and source your furnishings from her vendors, not retail stores!

A few more ideas to pass along since you are near High Point. FurnitureLand South (Jamestown- off Bus 85- mentioned previously) is a great place to look. They also have a clearance center in downtown High Point that has some really good deals. It is a huge building with lots to choose from. Make sure you get the discount info when you enter, the prices are much lower than the tag says.
If you have an "in" in the furniture industry & can get a pass for Furniture Market you might be able to buy some pieces before they are sold as market samples to area stores. Many (not all) of the vendors sell their floor samples during market rather than ship them back. If HP Furniture Market isn't an option, shop shortly after market is over. There are floor samples available all over the city. Not all of it is high quality or discounted, but there are deals to be found. Good luck! Your house is beautiful.

estate auctions, thrift stores - especially ones with causes, the hospital, women's council, yearly junior league sale- they actually have to give 5 new things a year! then goodwill, salvation army. both of the last 2 sell certain things at different stores, it is not all equal. You know that craigs list bed, it is incredibly easy to do the stuffing with buttons you like, look online, there are tons of diy and hackers that can show you how. If you can not get that bed, you can attach the head board to your wall or your bed frame and still accomplish the same effect. If you are tall sir you will not like the sleigh bed frame. My husband ruined ours in 5 years, and he is only 6 ft. There are the most gorgeous antique dining room tables at thrift stores, good woods for pennies on the dollar. If you do not like the seat cushions or they are not in good shape, this is another easy to do project. Worried about bugs in second hand items, easy to fix. sprinkle generously with diatamaceous earth, food grade. Kills all bugs- but noone with an internal skeleton, leave in garage for a few days then clean off and put in place.

I agree, there are ways to save a lot of money and it does not mean you have to do tons of extra. You just need to come with a plan, a design, a color scheme. go to a thrift store, or a regular store, get several magazines, spend a few hours cutting pictures posting them to boards. Don't try to narrow, just use one board for each room. Any picture that strikes your fancy, then when done, you discuss them. You will be surprised, you do have a specific style, unless you are me I have a million of them. If you want to try this we will be here for you. Get a bed, so you have somewhere to sleep. come back we can help, you just need to be determined.

Hi Smith,

I would suggest two companies with which I have experience: www.edezeen.com, basically here you can find everything you need and if there's something you're looking for and they don't have it on the website, they can get it for you (For me they brought the Lights from Jason Miller at a better price than you can find on the market).

They provide also specialized interior design support if you want.

Another choice for your home would be www.dconcept.ro, they have a great architect, he flew to Italy just to help pick a sofa at the Milano fair for one of my customers and has very nice ideas about the design of a house.

Hope this helps you..

Furnish over time. Mix old and new, cheap and expensive. Be minimal.

des, thanks went to dezeen.com, way cool.

Update:

Over the weekend, my wife and I bought the following item while staying UNDER budget (8k)! This was only made possible by some MAJOR wins at a local consignment shop.

I'm so glad we decided stick to our budget and search for hidden treasures. I think I'm hooked now! To search and find great buys is a high! :)

(See pictures attached)

- Cafe table

- Dining room table

- Sofa, love seat and accent chair

- King size bed room set and dresser

With these items, in addition to the bedroom set we're bringing to the new house, and my son's bedroom furniture, we've essentially furnished our entire house! The only thing remaining is a desk for my office, and I've identified a few quality desk options that will fit within the remaining budget -with funds left over.

We will buy all of the accent pieces, etc. over time (as we find great fits), but for UNDER 10k we were able to buy all of the main furniture pieces for the entire house!

Thank you everyone for their comments and insight. We're super excited to move into our home in 2 weeks, and I'm now a consignment shop junkie :).

******Matthew 19:26*******

More pictures that didn't show up on mobile...

More pictures that didn't show up on mobile...

enjoy and let us see as you come across new things.

Nice work! I knew it was possible! I like the new bed WAY better than the initial tufted one. Did you buy 2 dining sets? Either way, you did incredibly well.

and they thought it could not be done...

Great finds! I have directed many clients to some great consignment shops because many folks just "tire" of really elegant furnishings and they end up at a consignment store. Kudos to you. Excellent choices!

Actually, I have always found more elegant things and antiques at thrift stores. a step up if you will. Like a couple months ago, went to a local thrift, found a tea cozy, made of tapestry, never used by the looks of the tag. had to have it, $3. Anyone who lives in DC has to go to the Salvation army on the loop there. they actually have a section of just antiques and original art. the furniture is some of the most stylish from around the world!

@ Er612 - Yes, I bought a formal dining set, and another small set for the "cafe" area off of the kitchen.

They both were real wins at the consignment shop.

@Er612 - two tables and 12 chairs. I bought each set for LESS than it would have cost for the chairs (for each set) if they were bought brand new.

Well done!
And thanks SO MUCH for posting the pics in small batches!
Dunno why mobiles can only see the first 4 pics, but I always get frustrated when I know there are a bunch more I can't see. (But obviously not so frustrated that I'll get off my butt and go to the computer lol)

An interior designer will increase your cost. If you want good quality furniture I would do the house room by room. Start with the rooms you will use daily...family room and bedroom. Enjoy!!

Great job you guys!!!!

You totally scored! I have very similar dining room table with 8 leather chairs that cost over $12,000 new. Don't you need more stuff though? Like bar stools, bed side tables, window treatment, area rugs.

@suzyq53 - thanks! Indeed. We wanted to wait to see the furniture in place to buy the rest of the items you mentioned.

That way we get a feel for the area, and buy the right things to tie it all together.

Working on scheduling the painters to come in once we close now :). Exciting stuff.

I'm excited for you and your family! Your house will become a beautiful home. Hope you enjoy for many years to come.

If you are happy and all of the pieces you bought are the correct size and scale, and will fit well in your space, that's all that matters.
You have a nice neutral palette.
What are the brands of the furnishings? I'm sure you did your research and priced out what these things would have cost new at a big box store or furniture store.
They look new, like they were in a builders model home or something.
As long as they are quality and a good buy you did well.Do they have labels and where they are made?
What kind of wood are your tables and chairs, solid, veneer?
Would be interesting to know what they cost originally.
Sometimes these sets of furniture are mass produced and sold at furniture stores for "sale"pricing.

i am very, very happy for you. I will bid ado, let me know if you need more help

I was thinking, maybe you just got the tables. That's insane! Did you get bedside tables too? I would wait until your rooms are completely furnished to paint. The current colors will work fine until then…see…

Update:

We moved in Tuesday. We love the house!

Attached is a picture of the living room with the furniture and a painting purchased to bring in some color.

We're searching for a rug and other items next.

Also, we painted three of the bedrooms the attached colors which came out great.

Update:

We moved in Tuesday. We love the house!

Attached is a picture of the living room with the furniture and a painting purchased to bring in some color.

We're searching for a rug and other items next.

Also, we painted three of the bedrooms the attached colors which came out great.

Has it got that new car, I mean house, smell?

Indeed. Lol.

You guys must be over the moon with excitement.

Life is good when you think, plan, ask, and act! Kudos for a great home and the very best part, a great Adventure!

Where do you live?? If Calif. they have Living Spaces with great prices. IKEA is good. Buy accessories at TJMax. Great price. A big sectional in family room. Look for sales.