Purchasing Furniture Little by Little

If you can’t afford to buy everything at once, don’t despair. Often the success of a decorating project is due to the fact that it was done slowly. It’s a good idea to live with each piece of furniture as it is introduced into the space before adding another. It’s also good to know you can do a lot with a few pieces of furniture, such as an upholstered sofa or love seat, two wooden chairs and a tea table or coffee table. Rather than concentrating on the fact that the room is bare, look at one area as if it were the entire room for now. If you have a focal point, such as a fireplace, arrange a conversation area around it with these pieces. You’ll be surprised at how livable you can make this one area. Try each piece in different positions. Sit in each chair or on the sofa. Imagine how the arrangement will function with other people. Then you can take your time to look at the rest of the room in the same way before tying it all together. Once you’ve chosen those first few pieces, everything else that follows should relate to them, so choose these items with care.

If the room still looks bare, fill in with inexpensive pieces that may eventually move to other areas of your home. There are also ways to fill in with color, pattern and inexpensive accessories for effect. These might include throw pillows, a wallhanging, framed posters, books, flowers, plants, lamps and collectibles that don’t cost a lot but look good.

Decorators have varying opinions about how you should furnish an entire home. Some think it’s best to buy one or two essential items for each room; others think it’s best to complete one room before moving to another. Some think you should purchase all the large and more expensive items first, because the less significant things will fall into place as you find them. Since most people moving into their first home are on a limited budget, the most practical and often the only option is buying little by little. Having an overall plan, however, ensures that you will make fewer mistakes, thus getting the most for your money. In this way, you won’t buy a sofa that’s the wrong size, shape and color, just because it’s on sale.