I got some amazing furniture from a second hand council facility. A lot of them seem to have gorgeous 20/30s furniture which is too big for new build.
otherwise, Heal's?

I was hoping to get the other thread merged into this one before anyone replied.

I think furniture-wise we're both happy to go relatively cheap'n'cheerful as we both want to save up money for our "forever" house. But I do feel that for appliances, it's worth getting some decent stuff that can last.

So far, on a basic list, we have:

Fridge-freezer (I want an American style one)
Dishwasher (this needs to fit in the gap in the kitchen)
Washing machine and tumble dryer (spaces for them in the utility room)
Toaster to match kettle
We already have an awesome kettle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-HD4671- ... B001EHF3P0

Not sure what brands to go for. Other than Which? guides, any places that are worth going to read up on?

So we've also been looking at furniture. Brand new rather than secondhand. Our rooms are on the small side so the maximum we could squeeze into the living room would be a 3-seater and 2-seater. Maybe a coffee table.

People slate the likes of DFS but are they worth using? Is there a price range I should look at? Preferably want something to last 5-6 years, after which we will have hopefully moved into our "forever" house and can get larger and better quality furniture.

We've decided to leave dining room furniture until a little later. Not imminently urgent.

All depends on your budget.
DFS/Harveys etc sofas will last 5-6 years providing you are a bit careful with it.
IKEA furniture is good and designed for smaller spaces.
Avoid Argos furniture

my DFS sofa is very nice, had it 2.5 years so far and it's still looking great. it was £300.

Have a quick flick through the Argos book for initial ideas and specs? Probably best not to buy from them...

Appliances

My cheap and cheerfull Hotpoint fridge freezer is over 10 years old and still going strong (although it could do with a new door seal as its split). No idea what their bigger stuff is like.

Had Bosch and Siemens washing machines, both fine. Siemens has a 5 year waranty on the motor (iQ500 range).
If you can afford it, Miele are meant to be effectively bomb proof although my old boss had a lot of issues with one of their Washer/Driers (sounded like it was crap design more than anything else tbh but she seems to attract appliance disasters anyway so not sure it's representative).

I've had a look at Miele but not a fan of the design/looks.

I've been looking at the John Lewis website for appliance ideas. Amazon and Argos are my fall backs. Anywhere else I should be looking?

Appliances next day delivery if you require and installation

Appliances online

As you say it's not the "forever house" so for appliances I would take features you need over looks and anything else. It's all very well buying things that are supposedly built to last and have great design, but you'll find that the durability is not what was advertised, or if it does last it won't fit in anymore when you do you first major redecoration or move. Most of the time cheap stuff by a known brand works just as well as the more expensive versions. All of it should last at least 5 years and you won't feel bad or ripped off when it needs replacing sometime in the next 5.

As for furniture, ask around friends and family for things they are getting rid off. In 30 years I've bought 2 tables, 6 chairs and a bed. Everything else has been passed on to me by people I know. All of it was in excellent condition and was only being got rid of because it no longer went with the new decor or was surplus to requirements after a move. I didn't ten have to be very pro-active about getting it. Plenty of people will offer you furniture if they know you need it.

When I bought my first house, I was lucky, a friend of my mothers was moving into a house with her boyfriend and they had 2 households, so I got a load of nearly-new stuff relatively cheap.

If not, do you need everything straight away? Dishwasher, for example, I did without one of those for over 20 years. I got my first one, when I moved into my current house in 2010.

As The Frenchun said, look at the council and second hand shops, we have depots around here as well, where you can pick up second hand furniture, fittings and appliances on the cheap. We also still have the classifieds over here, I don't know if you still have them in the UK, but they are often a good place for finding stuff.

Things like the bed and new toilet seats would be things I'd buy first hand, most of the rest you can usually find in good condition as nearly new.

If you really want to go for new, then IKEA is good. At the end of the day, go to all of them (DFS, IKEA etc.) and try them out. We got the wardrobes from IKEA, but the bed from Porta, as I didn't find a decent matress at IKEA. At the end of the day, you are going to be sitting / sleeping in the things for a long time, so they have to be comfortable.

Appliances you can take with you, so it doesn't make any difference, how long you expect to be in the house.


Same here, for the first several years, I used 2nd hand stuff. All clean and good condition and usually came from family or friends.

I think I'm 50/50 about this. I wouldn't want the stress of having to replace everything at once and at the same time buy a new house. The idea is that there's some overlap, so maybe in five years we move, and in the five years after that we replace appliances.


Currently no plans to redecorate but we might knock the utility room and kitchen together. Even then, we'd keep the same space for the washer and drier. I'd imagine most units are of a standard size?


Nobody's moving or getting rid of anything yet. I did ask but fiancee wants new rather than secondhand.



Not essential but there's a huge gap between kitchen units where one was fitted. Fiancee wants one.


Would buy bed brand new. If toilet seats are clean, would anyone replace them?

At the risk of coming across like a boring old hippy, some of these posts illustrate exactly what is wrong with today's consumerist society. People want everything and they want it now, without thinking about what they really need and what they might be able to live without for a year or two.

I still don't own either a dishwasher or a freezer. Wouldn't ever consider a dishwasher for a household of less than 3 people. I might consider a freezer if I lived somewhere where shops were less accessible, but right now I live within easy walking distance of two supermarkets and no end of small convenience stores, butchers and vegetable shops that are open nearly all the time. I can nip out for stuff I need pretty much whenever I want and be back to cook it in less than 20 minutes.

Some of us don't have time to keep nipping to the shops. On a normal working day I'm out of the house nearly 12 hours. If I had to go to the shops more than once or twice a week it would drive me nuts.

And a dishwasher is a lovely luxury even if I live on my own. Run it a couple of times a week now. Great invention