How do I set up a new home?

amother

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:12 am

I'm newly married and need to set up our home. I literally don't know where to begin. I'm in Brooklyn. What are the best stores to go to? I'm looking for everything for the living room, bedrooms, kitchen, and entryway. And I'd love to freshen up the bathroom. TiA.

Rappel

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:26 am

OP, this may not be a popular opinion here, but IKEA is wonderful for setting up systems and design in whatever space you have.

You can measure the layout of your apartment, consult their designers, and take advantage of their suggestions to maximally use the space.

If you're on a budget, then you can surf through websites like Craigslist and bring in what you need. But never buy mattresses second hand. And hang curtains, first thing, so your home is private.

Last edited by Rappel on Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:33 am; edited 2 times in total

amother

Seashell

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:27 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I was on my own OP
im also a newlywed

got our twin bedframes from wayfair and mattresses were a brand I knew I liked
kitchen table my aunt gave me...
chairs and couch wayfair...

but seems that most of my flatbush/bp friends went to jewish furniture stores and spent money there to get set up

amother

Seashell

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:28 am

amother [ Periwinkle ] wrote:

Didn’t you get engagement/shower/wedding gifts?

not everyone does
my parents still think my husbands family friend bought us our beds.

a gemach I use to work at in HS gave me 800$ and told me to get what I needed...

Teomima

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:42 am

Rappel wrote:

OP, this may not be a popular opinion here, but IKEA is wonderful for setting up systems and design in whatever space you have.

I agree. Ikea can be a terrific budget option when you're just starting out. You can get a sense of what works in your space without breaking the bank, and assuming you didn't move into your forever home right after marriage, it will save your future better quality furniture from getting damaged in moves. Also, Ikea actually has some really quality stuff now.

When we got married, we bought just about all our furniture from there and fifteen years later we still have a lot of it.

amother

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:53 am

Thank you for your helpful suggestions and to those of you who made me feel better by responding to the not so nice post. I didn't realize Ikea has designers. I really like the idea of someone helping me choose things. Is it safe to go there by bus? I'm not sure about the neighborhood. I've never been there.

I looked at some things on Wayfair, but how do you know if the couches and chairs will be comfortable? I'm also wondering if the pictures are generally true to life.

I'm not opposed to going to the Jewish stores. Which ones are recommended.

amother

Seashell

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 12:56 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

First of all you need to decide what your budget is.
What do you mean is it safe to go their by bus? im not from bk im not sure... but theres a website u can check out...

going to a jewish store or furniture store in general is better bc you have people there that can help u etc...

my couches are very comfortable but you get what you pay for. when I move into my own home one day u bet I wont be taking my wayfair couches with me. I do have a gorgeous velour chair from wayfair tho thats going into my babys nursery soon iyh

amother

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 1:17 am

tichellady wrote:

Do you want to buy new or used stuff? We have done well with used furniture ( not beds but tables and chairs etc) from Craigslist. I think you need to try a couch before buying, I wouldn’t get that online

How does that work with with Craigslist? I'm afraid to go to some random stranger's house. Is that silly? Were you not concerned about it?

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 4:43 am

OP I'm a newlywed and we started off with nothing, my parent's didn't help us set up but we did Baruch Hashem receive a lot of money from relatives to be able to buy things etc.

Our first night we literally had just 2 beds and a closet - no appliances. We slowly got things. We got our bookshelves, dining room table and chairs second hand which I really recommend. They are all solid wood amazing quality and cost us about 500 dollars for it all.

Ikea is really awesome for small things, drying racks, dishes, utensils, stuff you need in the kitchen and other househould things like light bulbs, curtains, shoe rack and coat hangers for entry way, pictue frames and some prints to personalize the home etc. Skip the showroom and go to the second floor with all that stuff. We went to a homegood store and got things like laundry baskets, cleaning supplies, brooms, mops, random house stuff.

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 4:57 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How does that work with with Craigslist? I'm afraid to go to some random stranger's house. Is that silly? Were you not concerned about it?

firstly, you should go with your husband. Secondly, meet somewhere neutral like the fire station. Unless it’s a really big piece of furniture.

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 5:12 am

amother [ Periwinkle ] wrote:

Didn’t you get engagement/shower/wedding gifts?

I don’t understand how this is rude. But retreading the responses it seems that others understood that you are looking for furniture. That wasn’t my impression at all. I thought you meant towels and can openers and the like. No I wouldn’t have imagined that others bought you furniture but that wasn’t what I thought you meant. I apologize. In any case I hope the other responses are more helpful

DVOM

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 6:22 am

Mazlat, OP!!! So exciting!

When we moved from our tiny two bedroom basement apartment to our current lovely home, we had almost no furniture. There had been no room for any in our apartment, and we had zero bucks in the budget to buy new stuff.

Our house has been furnished almost entirely by things I've found on Craigslist free, and things we've bought for very little money from Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores. We got tables, chairs, couches (sprayed and left to sit for a month in the garage just in case of bed bugs!), beds and mattresses (same!), bedroom chests of drawers, beautiful antique bookcase, also beautiful breakfront... people are giving beautiful, useful things away literally every single day.

I have very particular aesthetic tastes. You can furnish a home beautifully and tastefully without spending much (or anything at all Cool

). In some cases, if I like the bones of a piece of furniture, I strip it and repaint or finish it. The couch in our playroom I took apart entirely, repainted, reupholstered the cushions (using very cheap but very durable denim fabric.)... it came out beautiful.

Regarding craigslist pick ups, I will only pick up during daylight, will not enter someone elses house (furniture needs to be moved to the driveway, sidewalk), and try to take a friend along if possible or have someone on the phone. With COVID, this has actually become very normal for craigslist. Just specify that you want a covid-friendly, contactless pick up.

Happy hunting, OP!

watergirl

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 6:32 am

amother [ Periwinkle ] wrote:

It could also be that she is looking for household items like towels and can openers. Who knows. But yes, your comment was rude because it was presumptuous and unhelpful. It could very well be that no, she did not get these items as gifts. Not everyone has family and friends to provide for them. Many people really do need to set themselves up from soup to nuts and asking “didn't you get all this as gifts” just pours salt in a wound.

amother

Babyblue

Tue, Dec 22 2020, 8:29 am

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

firstly, you should go with your husband. Secondly, meet somewhere neutral like the fire station. Unless it’s a really big piece of furniture.

I suggest go alone and pick what you like (make photos or note it) and then when you go with your husband you can show him, if he doesnt like it, choose together, otherwise it takes forever