Furnish your new home without breaking the bank

Brent Palmer
Brent Palmer
Published on May 10, 2018

Most houses are currently lived in when we go to open homes so you very rarely get to see the house empty before purchasing. Walking into it for the first time and seeing it bare can be a bit jolting, it may even look completely different to how you remember.

The walls will be empty; the floors exposed from corner-to-corner and the prospect of filling all that space may be overwhelming.

It’s also exciting. Finally, there’s no landlord telling you where you can hang things or what colour the walls have to be. You have absolute freedom to decide what and where you would like things to go.

Here can be where the problem starts. Affordability. You have just spent some serious cash on your new home and will most likely have a mortgage, leaving little left for new home wares and furnishings.

This is where you can get creative to furnish your new home without breaking the bank! Here are some tips to get you started.

Discuss what you would like

We all know what happens when we go grocery shopping without a list. We impulse shop, right? Don’t let this happen to you when shopping for home furnishings and decor.

Get a pad and pen out and go through each room. Talk about what you have that will work well in each room and what’s missing. What style do you want and what colour scheme is appropriate?

There will more than likely be more than one person in the house, so some compromise will need to take place, be mindful of each other’s wants and you will be surprised what you can come up with. 

Trash or treasure

Before you spend the last of your hard earned dollars on some big items, consider second hand.

Sometimes a bit of wear and tear can add to the piece, or it may only have some small cosmetic damage that can be fixed relatively easily making it a great deal. Try and overlook the cosmetic damage and imagine it in your new home.

There are so many places you can go to and start shopping.

Garage Sales

These are a great place to start, especially if the sale is because someone is moving as they are more likely to have larger things for sale.

Also a great place to get vases, pictures frames, kitchen ware and small nick knack type items for finishing off a room. Also for stocking up that book shelf you have always wanted.

Be sure to get to the garage sale around opening time so all the bargains haven’t gone yet. Bring cash for your purchases and consider how you are going to get things home. Does a friend have a van you could borrow or is there a trailor hire place close by that will be open, as some people don’t like to hold things and want it gone ASAP.

You can find out where your local garage sales are by looking in the Nelson Mail or on Facebook. Pages such as ‘Online garage sale Nelson/Motueka’ frequently have garage sale listings.

Estate sales

This is where a person’s home contents is being sold and you are more likely to find things in better condition so be prepared to pay a little more. Look for these in the Nelson Mail.

Thrift Stores

There are many second hand stores in our beautiful region that may have just what you are looking for for your new home.

ReStore, Red Cross Shop, Salvation Army Family Store, SPCA op shop, St Vincent De Paul op shop and the Nelson Re-Use and Recycle Centre. These ones all have a selection of everything on offer. This google search has all the options here.

The trade-off is condition – much of what you’ll find has seen better days.

Again, try to look beyond cosmetic issues to determine if an item is salvageable with new upholstery, paint or stain.

Online Shopping

A great way to do a spot of shopping…and you don’t even need to leave your lovely new home!

Facebook has many local pages where home wares and furniture are for sale. You can scroll through the posts yourself or enter what you are looking for in the search function and go straight to it. You can also do an ISO (in search of) post if there is something specific you are wanting.

This is a good selection to get you started. ‘Nelson, NZ…. Buy Sell and Trade’, ‘Online Garage Sale Nelson/Motueka’, ‘ONLINE GARAGE SALE NELSON/MOTUEKA’ and ‘Nelson Area Buy,Sell & Trade NZ.’ You will need to join the page first, normally someone accepts the request immediately and you are away shopping. Try the link to get started.

Trademe is another great online platform. Be sure to specify what area you are looking for. Nothing worse than finding the perfect item and then realising it’s in Auckland. Might cost a bit much to post a set of drawers down to Nelson Tasman.

Shopping smart can help you add dramatic changes to your new home, without spending a fortune.

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Brent Palmer – Professional Real Estate Consultant

About the Author: The above article on How to Furnish your New Home without Breaking the Bank was written and provided by Brent Palmer, a local leader in the field of Richmond and Nelson Real Estate sales, marketing, advanced technology for home selling, and social media. You can contact Brent Palmer here, or at 027 544 9921.

He has helped many people buy and sell homes in the Nelson, Stoke and Richmond areas for years, and would love the opportunity to help you as well.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for helping people sell their homes in our Nelson and Tasman Region, as well as the marketing, social media & advanced technology for home selling that goes along with it. I’d love to have the opportunity to sit down with you discuss how we can work together to get you the best price.

I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Nelson and Tasman  towns  & neighbourhoods: Wakefield, Brightwater, Hope, Appleby, Redwood Valley, Mapua, Stoke, Tahunanui, Atawhai and of course, Richmond and Nelson City. Connect with Brent on Facebook and pretty much everywhere else.

Know someone who needs help with real estate? Be rewarded and REFER them here