We are hoping to move in within the next couple of weeks. We have already purchased some of the new furniture that we will be using and the window treatments. Rugs that will be placed at doors will be purchased soon too, but we'll probably wait until after we are moved in for the area rug. Bar stools, end tables, patio furniture have yet to be purchased because I don't feel they are absolute necessities for moving in and would like to spread out the expenditures a little as well.

We moved into our newly built home in late July. We purchased some new family room furniture before we moved in because our old furniture wouldn't work in the new room. But, we have waited on most everything else including window treatments. We wanted to live in the house and get a better feel of the space and how we would use the space first.

The one room that is still empty is the 'dining room' space, which we will most likely never use as a dining room. At first we thought we would just put a round table and two chairs in it and make it more of a entry/sitting area. Then we found a pool table from Pottery Barn that we thought would work great in the space. I still like this idea, but the room is just slightly too small to play properly. So that space will just stay as is until we figure out the right use for it. Of course, had we thought it through before we built the house we could have made the space bigger!

First house we built, we waited until we moved in to find the "perfect" furniture. I never found many of the pieces I was looking for.

This is our second go round, and I've got a much clearer vision of what I want, and know it's out there. I'll be purchasing once we break ground. For the rooms that aren't necessary at move in, guest bedrooms, basement, etc, I'll make those decisions and purchases later.

Corie, in my old house, we used the formal dining room as a piano/reading room. Not sure if this would work for you, but it was a good use of a space that sat completely empty for over a year! (We didn't choose this floorplan, otherwise we would've eliminated the formal dining room entirely.)

we are two years into the planning stage and still do not have land and we have already started purchasing.

What a wonderful use of space arialvetica.

We purchased our kitchen island as soon as the loan was approved. It was a stand alone that we had seen a year earlier and were afraid it would not be available. The store stored it for us. We also had a custom made (by an Amish woodworker) dining room table, 6 chairs and 2 stools for the island. Also purchased some bedding in a new color. Other than that, we used our current furniture. We were downsizing so didn't need additional stuff.

We technically moved in a few months ago, and are slowly furnishing the house. All of our worldly possessions are in our barn, and we simply get an idea, then move the piece(s) in and try them out. Most of the big pieces are in place, but we've yet to hang a painting or do any decorating. In our case, there's no real rush, and it's good to see how the spaces are evolving, and how they look at different times of the year. We have no window treatments except the MBR, so the effect the outside has on our interior is significant. We 'camped' in our unfinished house for some time, and it was amazing the effect of finishing the space had. In particular, our floors really set the mood. Weathered sub-floor is not a decorating choice I would follow!

Maybe I'm not very good at visualization, but I can't imagine buying major furniture for a house before I've seen the finished space.

WHEN? As soon as I get a C of O. Basically, the first wave of furnishings will be things that I NEED to move out of my current home that I want to keep but which any realtor worth his or her salt will balk at. My sideboard, my guest bed which is currently in my den -- it needs to look like a den. My spare freezer and my treadmill, which are in my single-car garage, blocking any car from moving into it. Scattered book cases.

After that, any furnishings I really want to be able to live at two places for a short time while my current home sells. There are some things here that will be ditched/sold/donated -- a few remaining bookcase presswood items, the parental dining set which is being stored downstairs (I may have a buyer for that!), a tag sale "desk" of negligible functionality, Dad's old office desk (it's broken if you lean on it in the wrong spot -- or put something too heavy on it), and I think I'm forgetting something... Other stuff will stay here 1) because I will be living back and forth as the day job is 20 mnutes away from here, and 2 hours from my build; and 2) because empty houses are harder to sell.

To buy: I want two living room chairs to supplement the sofabed -- they won't match the sofabed. My new living room will be larger than the current. I need a bench by the front door for the taking on and off of boots. I need at least one new book case, probably two. But other than the bench, none of these are critical for awhile. So, it's mostly downsizing, or replacing the remaining presswood with real stuff.

EDIT: It's a log house. I want two or three rocking chairs out on my front porch, preferably log or similar.

Our home has hardwood throughout, and I prefer wool rugs that can be sent out and washed. I bought new 'Orientals'. Decorating would have been easier if I'd selected the rugs first because they are a large expense and permament. Then paint, upholstered pieces and any window treatments. No trouble with case goods.

You know that list of needs and wants that you give to your architect when designing the house? Our need list contained photos and sizes of all the antiques we had bought when living in different locations, so the house was designed to accommodate them. Most went exactly where we thought they would go and once those were in, we bought any additional furniture we needed.

I have liked buying each piece and bringing it in before moving on to the next. We have an open floor plan and every time I add a piece of furniture it has changed what I wanted for the next piece. In the past 6 months I have acquired the furniture for the main floor and half of upstairs; next is decorating and accent pieces. I think if I bought it all ahead of time that the pieces would not be as harmonious with the space, and I wouldn't have the fun of finding "the one".

We designed our house to use most of our existing furniture, as it represents 'us'.

We are picking up a few pieces though (proper non-folding dining table, for example. ;) )

One thing we did was order blinds well in advance. As soon as windows were cased out, we had them measured and picked out blinds. They were delivered to our old house and brought with us when we moved. I arranged for installation the next day (along with cable/internet/phone). Loved not having to look at big black holes from day one.