How to Furnish a Studio Apartment on a Budget

Did you know that people are spending an average of over $700 on furniture per year? If you've just paid the deposit on your first studio apartment, you're probably not eager to spend another fortune on furniture. Luckily, furnishing your studio apartment doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Keep reading to learn how to furnish a studio apartment on a budget.

Spend More On Certain Types of Furniture

Some types of furniture deserve more of your budget than others. For example, you can skimp on a desk - all it needs to be is a suitable writing surface. However, a bed is a different story. Beds, mattresses, couches, and desk chairs (if you have back problems) should receive a higher percentage of your budget. You should expect to buy these new or mostly new, or else you may end up dealing with unpleasant bugs or pain from sleeping on a dead mattress.

Set a Furniture Budget

The trick to saving money in any department is setting a budget. When you set a budget, you set realistic expectations for yourself about what you're willing to and can spend. You can break down your budget by item and consider which items you're more likely to be able to find for free. With these tips, you may even find that you stay under your originally predicted budget. Of course, to set a realistic budget, you need to be aware of the general cost of furniture items. Before you make your budget, look on furniture websites, department stores, and even social media boards to see what you can expect to spend on each item.

Find Multi-Functional Furniture Items

Not every item of furniture has to be for one purpose. Not only will you end up spending more money buying that many pieces of furniture, but you'll also take up valuable studio apartment space. Most studio apartments are rather small - so the more multipurpose you can have per square foot of furniture, the better.

Some Multi-Functional options include benches and ottomans with storage space, large chests which can be used as coffee tables and storage space, and kitchen tables that double as desks. You can also save space by hanging things on the wall. Pots and pans can be hung on an inexpensive peg board instead of taking up valuable cabinet space.

Scour the Streets on Trash Day

While you can't get everything from the trash, you can often find high-quality and even vintage furniture items by walking around on trash days. Find wealthy neighborhoods near you and find out about their bulk trash schedule.

Then, you can go for a pleasant walk or drive and see what you find. We wouldn't recommend picking up anything upholstered from the street, but wood items are a pretty safe bet after they've been wiped down with some lysol or perhaps repainted. Look for wooden chairs, bookshelves, benches, and coffee tables. Best of all, you'll be able to stick to your budget cause these items are often free. You may even find something surprisingly valuable!

Check the Thrift Stores

Thrift stores are another great option for reducing the cost of furniture for your home. Some thrift stores are aware when they have a special piece worth money and may price it accordingly, but it will still be much less expensive than trying to buy new furniture.

You can trust upholstered furniture a little more from thrift stores, but it's still a good idea to give it a good sniff test. If you learn how to upholster your own furniture, you can save even more money. Even if you don't like the fabric of a piece of furniture, you can customize it to your personal style.

Check Online Boards

You can find new or nearly new furniture online! Check popular sites such as Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, or overstock.com to find great furniture for greatly reduced prices.

For message boards and social media sites, you should expect that you'll have to pick up the furniture yourself, but that's all part of the cost-saving measures. It's better to pick it up yourself than work shipping into your budget. However, if your budget does have room for shipping, check discount furniture sites! On those, you can find discounted furniture that has never been used because the supplier ordered too many in the first place.

Decorate for Cheap or Free

Decorations should have one of the smallest parts of your furniture budget. That's because it's so easy to make or find studio apartment decorations that you love for free or at least very cheap.

Pick up magazines or old textbooks from donation bins and cut out pictures to make eclectic collages! Pick flowers and learn to dry them so that you always have a beautiful bouquet in your home. Ask friends and family for posters in their attics that they aren't using anymore. The limitations to decorating are only as much the limitations of your own imagination.

Ask Friends

Do you have friends who are moving soon? Maybe their old couch doesn't fit in their new space, or they're looking for an upgrade. You can often get cheap or free furniture by staying in touch with friends and family and letting them know that you're looking for new furniture. People are often more than willing to get rid of bulky furniture they'd otherwise have to pay to have removed. Do a mutual favor by taking it off their hands.