We got the keys to our new house on 3 October and spent our first night here the next evening. Getting to know our new house has been fun for us. The previous owners left us a house in emaculate shape. The left window coverings for windows in all of the rooms and everything seems to be in really good shape. One bonus we've found is that our house gets alot of heat from the sun. In the living room there are five large windows and one sliding glass doors. These windows face East, West and South so the room always has direct sunlight. All of this sunlight warms the room up to ten degrees warmer than outside. Hopefully the drapes and blinds will deflect that heat next July.
One thing we've found is that while it's a long and expensive process to buy a house it's an even longer and arguably more expensive process to fill it. Luckily we've had some good luck at garage sales. With the help of my mother, the expert garage saler and West Salem navigator, we've managed to take up some of the room in our house with various furnishings. We spent $20 on a really nice dining room table with four chairs. And got two La-Z-boy recliners for $80. Our mattress was a different story. My expectations was to spend around $300 on a "decent" mattress/box spring set. Having never purchased one before I was shocked to find that "decent" mattresses start at $600 and those are really more bottom line. We looked on craigslist and at garage sales but didn't have any luck finding one so we bit the bullet and got a really comfortable one for $850. We also spent retail on a nice washer/dryer set. Well, it actually wasn't a set. The dryer that matched our washer was $700. I asked the salesperson what the difference between the matching one and one for $300 was and he said "This one matches". Due to some generous gift cards from our wedding and a Sears card that got us 15% off and no payments or interest for a year this wasn't quite as big of a blow as the mattress set. Next month we'll probably start shopping for a couch and a TV. For now, the saying "Shop till you drop" applies to us, only it's our checking account that is doing the dropping.
Oliver enjoying the "new" La-Z-boy...
Megan viewing a rainbow from our back deck...
The rainbow in it's vivid glory...
(Note: there is a perched humming bird on a branch of the tree on the right)
5 comments:
With all the sun you get, I bet some nice (non-poisonous to dogs and babies) house plants will do really well in your living room!!
If there is a Big Lots nearby, you might want to check it out. They have pretty cheap furniture and other household stuff. I have a bookcase and some wall pictures from there.
For what it's worth, the best times to buy furniture are the 4th of July and around Presidents' Day. My uncle used to sell furniture (one of many attempts at being a salesman) and the stores always have their two biggest sales of the year at those times.
By the way, nothing but jealousy here; I'm so ready to buy a house.
This note from the expert garage saler and navigator:
What an awesome picture of a perched hummingbird (very rare) and then to top it off with a rainbow in the background. Don't we have the most awesome rainbows?
I'm glad you're having some luck with garage sales. I think I'm a garage sale addict.
I actually know how much furniture costs for a house, and I plan on setting aside plenty of money for the cause. However, when we finally do get a house, we'll probably have PLENTY of empty rooms for a while. First on my list is definitely a washer and dryer though! (We already have a mattress or I would've said that first.)
Oliver sure looks right at home.
Just a thought. When I started furnishing my first apartment, I bought things one at a time, that is I waited till I liked something alot and then I waited for it to go on sale (exception mattress and boxspring). Meg's grandparents took me to a woodmakers shop and I got the dinning room table and chairs I still have. Then I went to an unfinished furniture store and bought a cabinet and stained it to match my table. (It was alot of work, but I enjoyed it.)
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