How to Effectively Furnish Your New Home

How to Effectively Furnish Your New Home

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Furnishing a new home can be a daunting task. Whether you’re moving into your first apartment or a new home, you’re likely overwhelmed with how much furniture is required to fill your space. 

Like any large task, it’s best to tackle furnishing your new home step by step in order to create a cohesive, affordable and comfortable space. Check out the below tips to get started creating a beautiful new home.

Decide on a Style

Before you make any purchases, it’s important to decide on the style and vibe you want for your house. Search through photos on Pinterest, take a look at some interior design magazines, and even take note of what you like and dislike when visiting friends’ homes.

Additionally, take your time to flesh out the style you like so you can ensure you have a consistent theme throughout your space. It may be helpful to create a physical or digital vision board to inspire you as you work.

Recycle When Possible

Take a look at the furniture you already have and decide if any of it fits the design style you desire for your new home. If it does, great. If not, however, can you upcycle anything worth keeping? A fresh coat of paint or reupholstery can completely transform a piece.

Better yet, transforming old materials into something new will help you learn a new skill in the process. Take inventory of what you have and don’t already own, and then move on to actual furniture shopping.

Start with the Essentials

Identify the pieces of furniture that are most important to create a functioning living environment. For example, a dining room table can be bypassed for a few months if you usually eat on the couch. In all cases, though, your bedroom is an integral part of feeling comfortable and at peace in your new home.

Because in addition to being necessary for a great night’s sleep, buying a beautiful bedroom set is a great starting point to make you feel at home and set the stage for the rest of your design. 

Remember Safety

It’s not the most fun part of furnishing a home, but safety should always be considered when you’re making any and all essential purchases. When moving, always change the locks as soon as possible, as you never know who had a spare copy of the previous resident’s keys.

You should also consider whether pets or children will be around the home, as this may dictate the height of your furniture, whether you need rounded edges and more.

Get Comfortable

While adding the essentials and being mindful of safety measures are most important to furnishing your new home, being comfortable is also key; after all, you’ll want to make your house a home.

In that same vein, don’t shy away from putting up personal photos, grabbing a few throw pillows and blankets, and picking up a few candles. You’ll be happiest in your home when you can enjoy the small pleasures, so don’t feel guilty about adding a few indulgences.

Flex Your Creative Muscle When Making a New House a Home

Instead of thinking of furnishing your new home as intimidating, think of it as an exciting new time to flex your creativity and design a space made specially for you. Taking on the project in bite-sized pieces will make it easy and fun. Your home is all yours, so take your time, personalize it and relax!

Publisher & CEO - Amy Scalia, a Cincinnati native, is the editor in chief and publisher of Cincy Chic. Send her an e-mail at ascalia@cincychic.com. From growing up in the cornfields of Harrison and getting a Mass Communications B.A. degree in the bubble of Oxford, to living on the NKY side of the river in Newport and then Ft. Thomas, Amy Scalia has embraced Cincinnati with her presence. Her major life accomplishments include: being a mom of two girls and a boy, a 2010 "40 Under 40" recipient from the Cincinnati Business Courier, winning the "Best New Product/Service of the Year" Award from the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and a national Web-writing award from ASHPE in 2007, a national feature writing award from ASBPE in 2006, and running three Flying Pig Marathons.