When we left Sydney, we left all of our furniture behind. It was partly so that we could move ourselves and not have to pay a removalist to bring our stuff all this way, but it was also just to give ourselves a completely fresh start. Most of our furniture was cheap and horrible mass-produced stuff that we didn’t feel at all sad about leaving, but it meant that we moved into this little house without a single chair to our name and next to no money to furnish it. It was time to get thrifty! Though this little house is by no means “finished”, we are at least at a place now where we feel comfortable-ish and mostly moved in (at this point I am sort of chosing to ignore the various boxes still scattered about the place…)
Everything currently in our house either came from an op-shop (thrift store) or was salvaged from a pile of things my mum was going to throw out. It all arrived at our place mismatched, battered, and in serious need of some love. The simplest way for me to freshen it up and make it bit more matchy, was to give it all a lick of paint. I thought about painting things various colours (like yellow! Have I ever mentioned how obsessed I am with yellow?!) but in the end I settled for painting it all white. White is clean, fresh and pretty, and makes dated pieces look a touch more modern.
This set of drawers was in my brother’s bedroom when we were kids. It had been sitting in my mum’s shed, holding hardware stuff, for years, and the varnish was very worn. The drawers had also been labelled in whiteout.
This wardrobe came from a second hand store. I looked high and low for an affordable cupboard that I could hang our clothes in, but I didn’t have much luck. This was the largest wardrobe, in the most reasonable condition, for the lowest price I could find. (And I know it’s tacky but I also kind of loved the white, quilted panel in the middle!)
Both these peices of furniture were fairly banged up and unattractive but with a coat of white paint…
They don’t look too shabby! If only we were allowed to paint over those bright blue walls, we’d be set…
This sad sideboard was $10 at an op-shop. Somebody had already sanded it back but not gotten around to painting it.
Now, the sideboard looks all fresh and clean. When we get some more storage for our bedroom it will be moved into our hall, but for now this little cupboard is storing a big bundle of our winter woollies.
This old buffet also came from an op-shop. Though I kind of liked it just how it was, it was a little scuffed and scratched, and the dark “wood” (not real wood) looked very heavy in our already dark house.
With a splash of white paint and a stack of crochet blankets, the buffet now brightens up our living room quite nicely (though I still have to do something about lightening up the inside, which you can see through the glass).
This old toy chest had been in my bedroom since I was little enough to have toys to fill it! After about 20 years and a number of moves, it was looking rather worse for wear.
But after a date with Miss Paint Brush, Mr Toy Chest looks good as new. He is now serving as a coffee table (and extra strorage) in our living room.
Also worth mentioning are the couches in our living room. They came from an op-shop and only cost us $30 each. Underneath the cream couch covers they are bright blue and horrible. But for $30 who really cares? You can’t tell how awful they are when they are covered up and they will do until the right (yellow!) couches come along. All the yellow bits and bobs you see in our living room were thrifted and nothing cost more than a couple of dollars.
We have a few more pieces of furniture that we haven’t painted, as they look ok just as they are. There are other things we still need to hunt down, but bit by bit, we’ll get there. So far we’ve only spent a little over $300 furnishing our entire house, which I think probably deserves some kind of thrifty achievement award!
Furnishing a house can be so expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You just have to look for the potential in things, make compromises and be prepared to get your hands a little dirty. A bit of make do and mend mentality will serve you well.
Do you have any tips or tricks for furnishing or decorating a home, on a very tight budget? We still have lots to do so we’d love to hear your thoughts!
