Furnishing you Newly Built Home

7 years ago

First, we will be moving 1200 mile from a 1937 Cape to more mountain contemporary home. My current plan is that except for a few decorative chairs, antique case goods, a few family pieces, and, of course art, we will buying new furniture for the new house. Since we bought the lot 2.8 years ago, I started a "hopechest" of items, such as new towels, tea towels, le cruset, other kitchen items and a very few decorative items. Last summer, I traded an antique oriental in the wrong colors for a beautiful new oriental that fits better with our color scheme, We've already ordered (and paid for) the dining table (custom made) and DH's recliner. We're zeroing in on couches and dining chairs, but haven't ordered yet. I am using an ID for the public spaces but will do the bedrooms and offices myself. Will probably go a bit less expensive there.

It kind of leaves me breathless me spending so much on new furniture while spending on the house itself, but factoring in moving costs, helps and I am doing it in 10,000 to 15,000 bites rather than all at once. How are you handling furniture purchases for your house?

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Anglophilia

7 years ago

I'd move into the house before making any more decisions. Yes, hard to wait, but hard also to make an expensive mistake. Even with an ID one just needs to live in it to know what will work.

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Comments (30)

lakeerieamber
7 years ago
We are only moving 10 minutes away and are just furnishing with existing furniture for the time being. We just bought new living room furniture 2 years ago. We'll probably live with what we have for a while and then gradually replace as the need arises.
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mojomom
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks, Agnlophilia. I don't disagree and we probably will do that to an extent, but I don't want to pay for moving couches, etc, that I know we will only use for a couple of months. Might go with sparse basics in areas, wait on a few things, and live with it a while.
Pinebaron
7 years ago
Don't even talk about it; we moved our entire home lock, stock and barrel 3000 miles from NJ to WA, everything, furniture and what have you, all at a crazy stupid cost. The furniture is all in excellent and like new condition. With the exception of what we are using in our rental homes, the rest is packed and stored in unused rooms of our homes. Then what's the problem you ask.....except the kitchen dining table which we love and recently ordered another one to extend to a 12 seater before it is not available any more, none of the dining, living and family room furniture will match the new decor and style, in fact the new home will not even have a formal living and dining room; hopefully we won't replace guest bedrooms' furniture except master. We should have disposed off the furniture before we moved but the home was up for sale and looked good for showings fully furnished, besides I personally moved and left the family there before the home sold, having accepted a lucrative contract near Seattle WA.

We eventually will have to go shopping; I really want to start off in the new home with what we have, while DW will want new furniture in place before we move, something I did each time we built a new home, not an easy task for us, we are so fussy it is going to be nightmare for sure. We are a little over a year from completion and also live 10 minutes away from the lot.
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Beth
7 years ago
We're doing a bit of both--moving furniture that is relatively new and not keeping pieces that we just "have" but I've been wanting to replace.

We know we're going to be in temporary quarters for a while so that will influence our decision making--we'll need some things there but don't want to buy new furniture and move that from temporary to the new house, since moving is really hard on furniture!
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mushcreek
7 years ago
We kept our antique pieces (we favor Early Garage Sale), but will get new furniture for daily use. I say 'will', as we've been officially in the house for over a year, and have yet to buy furniture! We're using a junky old couch and a couple porch rockers in the LR while we let it all sink in, and for inspiration to hit. We went to a new furniture store, and were so turned off about the high pressure and bait 'n switch that we walked out- over a year ago.
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DLM2000-GW
7 years ago
We're in much the same position as Mushcreek. We moved from Chicago to NC and sold much of our furniture not knowing what size rental we'd be in or for how long. We kept our headboard, family pieces that are all antique or vintage casegoods, a single small sofa and an Ikea Poang chair (gosh I love those things!) and our teak dining table/chairs because that was the first purchase we made before we were married and had them custom made in Norway. Eventually we'll need a new sofa or two, comfy chairs, more lamps and on and on. I've always been a garage/estate sale shopper - love the thrill of the hunt - and refinishing furniture has been a joy of mine since working with my dad in his workshop as a little girl. Oh - and I brought the walnut hope chest he made for me when I was 16. I want to live in the house before making purchases - what I think we'll need may morph quite a bit.
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mrspete
7 years ago
We're downsizing, so a bunch of our furniture is going away. Specifics:

- The one piece that will absolutely go with us is our breakfast table. It was my dear husband's first grown-up purchase when he got his first apartment ... and he is abnormally attached to it. It is lovely, but I don't quite share his attachment. I'm going to refinish it next summer because it really looks like we've been using it for 26 years of marriage ... and it wasn't new then. I want new chairs to go with it.

- 18ish years ago we bought a leather sofa-loveseat combination from Broyhill (plus we have a coordinating recliner), and it's just starting to show wear. If we were staying here, I'd start looking for something new ... but since we building, I am waiting so I can pick something for the new house, and -- as you say -- I'll have it delivered straight to the new place.

- We will give away the sofas in the other two rooms ... and the dining room set (which I hate) and the two hutches.

- I have another small hutch that I now use in the hallway. I'm thinking it'll go into our bedroom next to a recliner chair.

- We just bought a new TV and TV stand for each other for Christmas. The TV stand was a $100 Ikea special that we agreed will see us through the end of our tenure in this house ... and for that price, we can easily say goodbye to it. We anticipate built-ins in the new living room.

- We have a king-sized bed that was a hand-me-down. It's not what I would pick if I were going to the store today, but no one ever comes into our bedroom except us, and I'd rather put the money into the living room furniture ... but I'm considering painting it. The dresser I HATE, but I plan on a master closet that'll hold all our clothes, so no problem there.

- My oldest daughter is married, and she took her bedroom furniture with her. We agreed that we're not going to replace it ... any guests can sleep on the blow-up mattress. Again, we'll have new stuff delivered to the new house. Less to move.

- Our youngest daughter is still in college, but she will likely take her bedroom furniture away too.

- Our desk is falling apart, but I'm planning on a built-in desk (probably made from an Ikea butcherblock countertop, so this one'll go out to the curbside, and I doubt anyone'll even steal it.

- We have a bunch of Ikea bookcases (are they called Expedits?) that we intend to repurpose in our master closet as folded-clothes space. They're not fancy, but we already own them ... and we're talking about closets.
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just_janni
7 years ago
Simplify.

We have a new dining table we bought a few years ago and will find "the right" chairs. We'll bring our current sofa / loveseat and decide how the space lives before getting something new. All the bedroom furniture and office will remain. It's mostly vintage Scandinavian teak, so it will work with the new house.

I think my big splurge will be barstools since they will be so front and center in the "feature" island. I know I will stress to find the right ones.

I guess simplicity and minimalism will be a good thing, since we'll be broke until we move and sell the current house. (and possibly even then, too! LOL) but I have at least learned that finding something that speaks to you is worth waiting for - and - that you never know what it will hit you that you have to have something. It's good to wait for that feeling.
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mrspete
7 years ago
I think my big splurge will be barstools since they will be so front and
center in the "feature" island. I know I will stress to find the right
ones.

Oh, I forgot ... my barstools will come with us. They're simple and were $25 at a yard sale, but they're perfect, and anytime an elderly person comes over, they love sitting on these stools: They're just butt-high, and they have swivel seats and backs.
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User
7 years ago
We are completely starting over in our new house, and yes, spending so much all at once is a little intimidating! We'll get most things purchased ahead of time, but I want to leave a lot of art and accessory purchases to do piece by piece down the road in order to have things to look forward to.
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cpartist
7 years ago
Most of our furniture will be coming with us. It's a collection of things we bought when we moved into our condo six years ago, antiques from family and a headboard/bed and buffet I designed and had made by our cabinet maker 6 years ago.

I have one piece, a tv stand that is absolutely gorgeous but don't know where to put it in the new house. It might fit in the guest bedroom. I'd hate to have to sell it or give it away.
cpartist
7 years ago
Our big expense for the new house won't be the furniture but window treatments. I have 28 separate windows that will definitely need window treatments. I also have a 16' slider that may or may not need one depending on the light and an 8' slider. Plus french doors. Ack!
rdy2retire
7 years ago
We will be moving from CA to ME - so we have been going room to room and discussing what to take and what not to take. We have consigned and sold large/small bookcases, corner shelves, desk/hutch, large cherry desk, various decorative pieces. My son also moved into a condo (that we will also live in for 4 months or so) so some stuff went with him (kitchen table, chairs). Absolutes coming with us - 2 wing chairs that were my grandmother's. Our very large sectional couch - it might not be the right color but we decided to change it once we live in the house. We did order a new kitchen table for the new house that we will have to move. Our bedroom furniture and some other antique or sentimental pieces. It is a process! I may work with a ID once we get settled and need to do window treatments.
Stanley Ridge
7 years ago
We are building a cabin/second home, so aren't taking furniture from our current home. I have been purchasing various items since we began design with our architect. Initially purchasing things such as dishes and cookware, and then moving on to furniture as the design was finalized. I also commissioned a large painting from a local artist and the architect was able to design a space specifically for it to hang. Larger pieces of furniture waited until we could actually be in the space to get a better feel, yet still prior to cabin completion. There are a few items that will wait until we move in, such as rugs, a couple more lamps, etc. We have almost everything we need to furnish the cabin prior to it being completed, and we were able to spread the costs over a nearly two year period. Now, to finish and be able to actually put them all in the cabin.....
Ktdh
7 years ago
We will be getting rid of most of our furniture. Moving and then storage costs for 2-3 years ( we hope only 2 years!) would not make sense.
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Anglophilia
7 years ago
Pretty much everything has gone with us from Washington DC to St Louis to LA to KY and some from my DM's MO apt to Maine and back to KY. We always bought good quality even with little money - just bought less and were very amenable to family cast-offs. I still have the small sleeper loveseat we bought at Bloomingdales for our first apt - well, not me, but it was recovered 20 years ago and is now in DGS's bedroom.

I can't imagine spending money on poor quality and then just dumping it. Buy decent furniture and keep it.
cpartist
7 years ago
I agree with you Anglophilia. Almost all our pieces are quality furniture pieces that have withstood or will withstand the test of time. The pieces we'll be giving away are the few pieces that were bought as inexpensive place holders.
mojomom
Original Author
7 years ago
Who said anyone was spending money on poor quality then dumping it? I can promise you most, if not all, of the furniture we are leaving behind is very good quality. It just doesn't fit the aesthetic of a mountain contemporary. For example my grandmothers beautiful mahogony dining set, will probably go to a cousin's child (free), just as it came to me 20 years ago. Likewise our couches just don't fit the space. A Queen Anne silver chest, has been very useful and perfect in my current home, but it won't make the move as it will look out of place in the new house and we will have specially designed storage for silver. We want king beds in both Master and guest, but we just have queens now, Art is a different story, because with a couple of exceptions, we've bought what we loved and it will work wherever we are. Some chests, a Jacobean sideboard, plus a couple of chairs and end tables, all antique, along with some other good casegoods will make the move.

Oh, CP, why did you have to mention window treatments? I have been trying to stick my head in the sand on that realistic need, One problem is that I love my current window treatments, but they were expensive, especially my 27 year old linen drapes in my current den which I would love in the new house but don't know if I can justify the expense. Last time I had them cleaned the cleaner charged $930.00! That's just for 6 relatively large, but not oversized, panels. I would love to go without window treatments in the greatroom but I am going to have to get out there and see what I can see.
Ktdh
7 years ago
We have moved over 10 times in the 30 years we have been married. Some things just don't move well. Also like mojomom we will be building a mountain home, so my more traditional pieces won't work.
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Virgil Carter Fine Art
7 years ago
What an interesting thread!

My wife and I will celebrate our 53rd anniversary in June this year. We have lived on both coasts and in the middle. We've traveled the world for business and for vacation. I think we figured we have moved something on the order of around 17 times in our marriage.

We've lived in small town America and in New York City. We've lived in houses I've designed, houses by others and rental units. The house I designed for our family in Stillwater, OK and for entertaining faculty and students, was far different from the forth floor of the 1860s townhouse in which we lived in NYC.

In no two places that we have ever lived have all of our furnishings fit in perfectly. In every case, we needed and wanted other furnishings to fit where we were living.

Our current retirement house has our life's history in our furnishings, with pieces from our family's early history, our early married and later family life. We have pieces from my New York office and new pieces bought for our current home.

I sorta think that's what life is about: adjusting and fitting into what life brings us next! Some things fit, some things don't and have to go, and some new things are always needed (and wanted). That's life! :-)
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aliciaknits
7 years ago
@Virgil - thank you so much for the eloquent post above, I heartily agree that every new place will have a 'need' for different furniture but take what you want with you and decorate around it.

When we move into our home in two years (saving cash for 100% cash now), we'll take a few pieces from each room, both furniture and decorative pieces, but mostly buy new. We'll be going from a 2 bed/2 bath 950 sq ft apartment to about 3,500 sq ft 5 bedroom Craftsman. While some of our stuff will work with that archtectural style, we anticipate buying lots of new items. Stuff just doesn't last as long any more. Definitely new linens and better kitchen gadgets to replace old, all new furniture for living room/dining/guest bedroom/office. We'll keep our bed, we bought 6 years ago a mission style and it will fit with our theme.

I'm just not sure on how much it will all cost to buy basically a whole house worth of new? $30,000 or so? We'll budget it into our house budget regardless, it's a lot to consider. I'm excellent with wish lists though, fun to dream :)
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jaimeeap
7 years ago
We will be almost completely furnishing our new build. Since we've been married, we've never bought any furniture except for cribs/nursery items. We've been waiting and saving for 10 years. It's so exciting! We became members of Direct Buy and have started getting some pieces. I have wish lists, mood boards and budgets for each space. Getting the basics...tables, chairs, sofas, rugs, stools, beds, bedding, window treatments, etc and then will incorporate other pieces, as well as art while we live in the space. We do have a storage building on our property we can store items as they arrive, which is very helpful. All the furnishings in our current home will be sold and/or donated once we move into our new build.
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artemis_ma
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I'm moving 2 hours, 100 miles away.

I am keeping most of my furniture - replacing the few remaining cheap bookcases with wood ones, buying a new sleeper sofa (cheaper than recovering the 30+ year old one which never was quite comfortable for sitting on). Getting rid of an extra desk, dresser and dining set.

Not All my furniture will move immediately with me. I need to keep some of it here for staging - my bed, my regular dining set, some other things. I plan to use card tables in the dining room until my current home sells. I could move the extra (parental "gift") dining set to the new home - it would overpower the dining nook in my current place -- but then I'd have to bring it back down here to have any remote hope of unloading it on Craig's list. A disadvantage of moving rural.

Temporarily, I will use a camping cot in the new master, but guests will have a real bed, which is one I can bring from here.

Not all the furniture I am keeping will fit into "log cabin ambiance", but I can't see ditching items that remain functional and comfortable, if I don't have to.
Sunnysmom
7 years ago
Thank goodness we are only moving a few miles away from our current temp home. I am moving absolutely everything. There are some things I really think will not work, however I won't know until we live there for awhile and the majority of our furniture has been professionally refinished/high quality antiques or sentimental value/or I just really really like it and I am not ready to let it go til I try it in every possible place in the new house.
housequester
7 years ago
We'll be keeping our sons' bedroom furniture and giving our daughter ours. We plan to buy new furniture for our bedroom and the living room, and maybe a couch for our office den. Otherwise, we already have a lovely dining room table with chairs that we've had in the dining room here but have generally eaten at an old table (old, not antique) in the kitchen, with chairs that are falling apart. Our kids have used ratty folding chairs when eating. We will be getting rid of the chairs that are junk and I plan to put that table and other furniture we no longer want into our unfinished basement for the kids to use for puzzles, Lego building, etc. Our living room furniture is quite old and in pretty bad shape, so if we keep anything it'll be going into the basement. We have various pieces of furniture I'm hoping to get rid of. I'm not sure if we'll try to sell it or just set it out by the road with a sign saying "FREE" and let people pick it up. It's amazing what disappears that way!

There's one stuffed rocking chair I bought before we were married that my husband has always hated. It fits my build perfectly, but it does scoot back and rubs against baseboards and has destroyed our paint job on baseboards around the living room. It's also falling apart and the springs have sprung. The other night he was in a weird mood and kept trying to get me to pounce on the chair with him and rip it apart. LOL Common sense prevailed as we do still need the sitting space, but I wouldn't be surprised if he takes an axe to it when we finally move.
lookintomyeyes83
7 years ago
We will buy a new (King!) bed, and a new dining table, the rest of our furnishings will be coming with us, as they are antiques and others we hold dear. The bookcases will be turfed as I build new ones in my new library.

Our house is built for how we live (now), so using what furniture we have makes sense.
gthigpen
7 years ago
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And we'll be getting rid of my husband's office furniture. Another Craigslist find and in the new home, we'll be doing built in desks and shelves.
zippity1
7 years ago
we've moved about a dozen times in our married life, soon to be 45 years, we've never purchased anything specifically for a new home, building our retirement home is the first time we've "gotten rid of things" specifically for a move, this house has one bedroom and an office less than the last home so we did find homes for that furniture i will add that moving to the last 6 homes (prior to retirement home) was managed by movers and paid for by " the company" so this move to the retirement home was about 100 miles from the last home and we hired a moving company to move the house furnishings we did actually plan and build this home around the furnishings we own some of these items are a hundred years old and the bar stools are the newest items at about 10 years when i look around my house i don't see anything i'd like to replace except the dining table which is very large (the width bothers me, not the length) and it's a bit larger than i would prefer its been in the family for about a hundred years and it's not going anywhere......our retiring friends (4 couples specifically) have generally done the same as us in regards to furnishings one got a sofa that's about it

my brother and sil on the other hand, have extremely large homes (like 7000 square feet) and tend to sell the furniture (most of it) with the homes......
St561 W
7 years ago
Great post! Though I am not building a house, we recently moved and are going through similar scenario of looking to purchase items for the new place. i want to be super careful about what I buy since I've made a lot of mistakes in the past with my poor choices. My question to you folks is have you found any good priced stores/ online sites for furniture, home decor, etc? I recently purchased $1500 worth of stuff from pottery barn only to find that same (or very similar looking) items were online for so much less (Bellacor, Wayfair).

Furnishing you Newly Built Home

Anglophilia

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