How To Furnish A Flat On A Student Budget
How to Furnish a Flat on a Budget
Moving in to my own flat, one of those things I was most excited about was being able to decorate and furnish it exactly how I wanted. I came down to earth pretty quickly when I realised that A. I'm a student and therefore living on a student budget and B. renting means I am fairly limited as to what I can do design wise. I've managed to make my flat my own and these are my top tips on how to furnish a flat on a student budget!
1. First - don't be a snob! Look for second hand alternatives!
After looking around all the sale sofas at DFS I decided I just couldn't afford to shell out a couple of hundred pounds right now, so instead I found one on Ebay originally from Ikea, complete with covers... for £20! It may not be the exact colour or style I wanted and the covers are a little worn, but it's comfy, I had the covers washed and bought a flufy throw and cushions from the BHS Home sale and voila! A neighbour sold me an old TV for £25 and Matt's mum kindly gave me a clothes horse as I don't have a tumble dryer.
2. Upcycle
This is an area that my Mum is the queen of! My living room was a little sparse but luckily for me Mum found a quirky bookshelf in the most disgusting bright mint green and transformed it in to this little beauty! Upcycling is a great way to fill missing spaces without spending big money!
2. Bring things from home
Now I'm not suggesting pinching things from your family home that your family still uses! However if there are spares that your family are willing to let you use, even on a short term return when you can afford your own basis, then go for it! I managed to bring a desk and bed from home which saved a LOT of money!
3. Ikea/ outlet stores
When I found out I was moving in to my own flat my first thought was of going round Ikea picking out flat pack furniture and chosing colour schemes. I didn't want to spend lots of money and so looked for the bargains and managed to escape with a coffee table, cube shelf and various soft furnishings and plants only £50 down! I also dragged Matt round all the outlet stores finding bargains half the price of regular stores for items such as cutlery and cushions.
4. Use what you have
I have managed to fill my space predominantly using things I already had such a pictures and fairy lights. Using photos is an inexpensive way to decorate and make a new flat feel like home and you can easily pick up cheap plain frames from places such as Ikea and Asda. By using the same plain white frames to display my photos I have managed to create and theme and a cute way to display memories.