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Furnishing my first apartment! And other apartment tips?
Zeromus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello!
I am moving into my first apartment next week, and I am beyond excited.
Basically, this is pretty straightforward: I'm looking for some cheap furniture (as I am a destitute college student), but also other tips and things you guys can offer up to a first time renter. Along the lines of furniture, of course I am acquainted with Ikea, but other suggestions are welcome (for instance, I'd like to, if at all possible, get a bed that will accommodate both my girlfriend and me - she isn't living with me, but I imagine she'll be coming over - but I'm also curious about, say, futons as a potential option). And I'm interested in getting a coffee maker, but need some advice there. And routers! What is a good, cheap router that will provide me with wireless that also happens to be compatible with a Wii and DS?
So, you know, that kind of stuff.
Thanks guys, looking forward to your answers.
I am moving into my first apartment next week, and I am beyond excited.
Basically, this is pretty straightforward: I'm looking for some cheap furniture (as I am a destitute college student), but also other tips and things you guys can offer up to a first time renter. Along the lines of furniture, of course I am acquainted with Ikea, but other suggestions are welcome (for instance, I'd like to, if at all possible, get a bed that will accommodate both my girlfriend and me - she isn't living with me, but I imagine she'll be coming over - but I'm also curious about, say, futons as a potential option). And I'm interested in getting a coffee maker, but need some advice there. And routers! What is a good, cheap router that will provide me with wireless that also happens to be compatible with a Wii and DS?
So, you know, that kind of stuff.
Thanks guys, looking forward to your answers.
Zeromus on
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Thrift Stores are a GREAT place for potential furniture. Just be sure to clean the thing thoroughly before using it. Same with Craigslist.
I wouldn't recommend a futon to sleep on for any long amount of time. But for a couch alternative, I say go for it.
Overall, I'd say don't get in a hurry to get all your furniture. Get what you NEED (bed, lamps, etc.) and gather the rest slowly. In a month or two of steady searching you can get just about everything.
Garage and yard sales are another good place to pick things up inexpensively, so keep your eye out for those in your area and scope them out a little. Check flea markets for cheap furniture, too, you can find some decent stuff there.
As far as keeping costs down, try to remember that you don't have to buy everything all at once. Take some time to shop around. If you don't have a couch for a few weeks or a couple months, don't worry about it, you can make do while you find a good one at the right price.
When you want to "accommodate" your girlfriend, are you meaning for an overnight stay, or just for a few hours? There's a difference between "comfortable for two for certain activities" and "comfortable for two to sleep on for 8 hours."
I won't try to recommend you a router or coffee maker, as my knowledge on those subjects is just extensive enough that I could probably tell the two apart, in good lighting... but good luck on those.
$300 couch from a local furniture store but I did not skimp on the queen size bed which I got from usamattress.com if I remember right and that came out to $950 but its pretty nice and they had good service to the door. But I saw wal-mart also has some futons but quality is probably eh. Really bed and computer chair I made sure where top notch in comfort.
Basic Netgear/linksys router is fine just make sure you password it and use WPA cause thats all the DS and PSP will allow.
Get a first aid kit and fire extinguisher cause you never know.
You buy shit by the pound there.
Also the obvious CL and family options.
Clearance sales work too.
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1) Be careful in signing ANY kind of contract. Internet, cable, utilities, rent, ANYTHING. I don't know what the hell it is but life really likes to hit new renters (especially college students) with these things. The world is basically out to get your money.
2) Get rent receipts for tax purposes, no exceptions. The government likes to audit college students when it comes to rent.
3) Get a namebrand router, I use Linksys. Around $50 for one.
4) How much coffee do you drink? You might be better off getting a single serve maker if you just drink a cup a day. The key to any good coffee is ingrediants. Get some decent coffee (doesn't need to be ritzy, just avoid no name stuff), sugar and I recommend creamer over milk. In addition, I find makers which use cone filters tend to make better coffee for some reason. Mess with the measurements from time to time (using less or more coffee) to see if you can find a mix that works for you.
5) Get a queen size bed. Technically a double can do two people but Queen gives you wiggle room, especially if either of you move in your sleep.
6) Take photos of the apartment when you move in and have the landlord go through a checklist with you to point out anything that's already broken. Many a forumer has been screwed over by crooked landlords before.
7) Furniture? This is your first place, first see if any relatives have stuff they want to give up, beyond that go to places like wal mart or ikea. You should need the following:
- A comfy place to sit/eat
- Some place to do school work, probably a desk and chair set up
- A bed
- A microwave and toaster
As a college student anything beyond this stuff is fluff. You can get it if you want it but if you're strapped for cash then you should be okay without it. Maybe add on a stand for your TV.
8) Other stuff you'll need that you probably haven't thought of
- Dish cloths, dish towels and soap
- Mixing spoon, spatula and ladel
- Containers
- A broom and mop
- A Vaccuum (maybe borrow one once a month?)
- Bathroom towels and cloths
- Bathroom mat
p.s. once you do get the apartment furnished make sure you get renters insurance tacked onto your car insurance policy. Lots of bad stuff can go down in apartments including fires, smoke damage, busted pipes. Just make sure the cost of your insurance isn't more than the value of your stuff.
I also second the recommendation to get a decent brand named wireless router. There's going to be decent interference from other devices, microwaves, cordless phones etc. Nothing sucks worse than getting something wireless that you can't use because everyone else has the same one.
Ohh and get a plunger.
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The "each gets the big room for 1 semester" isn't a bad idea. We did stuff like this in college. Also, coffee makers, I used (and still use) a French press:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=french+press&x=0&y=0
French presses are good too.
d'oh beaten
I try to use discount online furniture warehouses for my basic furniture decorations. For example, I used http://www.sffurniture2go.com/ for my sectional couch, dining table and chairs. $475 for a sectional, $250 for a table +4 chairs, they even have some good bed sets on there. The quality of the items is not fantastic but then again, its 1/4 the price of something you would get from a normal furniture retailer and I personally love it. I'm sure there is a similar site that operates in NY.
I got utensils from target for $10 bucks, a set of 8 glass mixing bowls from Macy's for $20 bucks, set of 20 (surprisingly nice) glasses from costco for $15 bucks.. and oh, a shower head for $20 bucks because I absolutely hate those crappy default shower heads. I had plates and bowls from my last place.
Lets see.. if I think of anything else ill add it later..
Oh I got a knife set from target for $50 too, my girlfriend and I cook a lot so that is absolutely essential. Nothing worse then trying to dice garlic with a butter knife or something.
Make sure the mattress is the spring variety.
Convince your parents to buy a good bed for you.
Ask your parents if they would like you to be happy and in a loving relationship and ask them if they would like to have grandchildren one day. Chances are they will answer with a yes to these questions. Then ask them to chip in for buying a big bed for you. They will realise a number of things:
1. oh my god our little boy/girl is sleeping with other people
2. wait, we just said we want him/her to be happy
3. wait wait, we said we wish a loving relationship for him
4. come to think of it, would we even be together if we were stuck in a small single bed?
5. how would we even get our lovely babyif not for the nice big bed?
Money permitting they will buy a big bed for you.
Of course, they're both beaten by Israeli mud coffee, but that stuff will kill you (you pour Turkish grounds right into the cup and add water [plus a lot of sugar, usually]).
Anyway, which type of futon are we talking about? This
or this
I recommend the former if the floor material is at least as soft as tatami, but the latter tends to be cheap and low quality.
You will seriously regret it if you do. If you're getting 8 hours of sleep a night, you'd be skimping on the place you spend a 1/3 of your day. and bad sleep could fuck up the rest of your day.
Hell yes you will regret it. I slept on a futon for over a year and it made me grouchy as hell after a while. They're not bad for a night or two but after a few weeks you come to hate them.
A comfortable mattress and a boxspring aren't shockingly expensive. Sure, a bed won't fold up into a couch. But the thing is that a couch is better at being a bed than a futon. Hell, it's better at being a couch for that matter.
Also, OP - a coffee table to go with the couch is a sound investment, especially if you have friends that like to visit. When I moved into my first apartment we all chipped in on a big tv and a couch only to realize we didn't have anywhere to rest our feet or set our drinks/food down. For $35 at good will we got a 5'x20"x22" table that had storage space in it for magazines and xbox controllers and the like.
However, I disagree with Scalfin and say that a double bed is absolutely fine for two people unless you're a) huge or b) can really afford to go up to a queen. I have plenty of wiggle room in mine, and I am average.
Sipex has great advice.
I live in a small studio and have found that apart from shelving, bed and a couple of small tables there's not much else furniture-wise that we need. I highly recommend getting small folding TV tables - ours are solid wood and pretty sturdy and were bought at Target in the sale for $10. They're great for temporary laptop tables, for eating on, for placing your bags/books temporarily and can be folded up and stored away when not in use.
In the kitchen, ask around - we have so many plates, mugs and other essentials that were given to us because someone had bought a new set/got a mug free at work/etc. No one expects a college student to have matching or nice plates! And I have never had to buy a microwave, for some reason people are always getting rid of microwaves.
I suppose it depends on your size. Our apartment is small enough that we couldn't fit a queen in without losing a substantial percentage of floor space. Of course I also slept in a single bed with another person for six months so after that a double bed seems pretty luxurious.
Single, as in, smaller than a twin?
I tried that years ago when I had a single bed in my university dorm. I could not sleep.
I bet Janson is a cuddler :P
No, don't skimp on the mattress.
You can sleep on a twenty five dollar frame if you find one but, get a decent mattress.
I am reposting now something I wrote up before in regards to what you need to have a decently setup kitchen now.
Don't baulk too much at the size of the list and cost. If you want to buy cheap equipment, buy dirty dollar special equipment. Or, you can go all out and spend a lot of money, don't however spend a medium amount of money on a piece of equipment, I find that items that are priced in the medium range do not last much longer than the super cheap stuff, whereas the good quality usually works better and lasts longer.
Kettle
Toaster
Hand mixer (don't bother about a stand mixer if you are moving out for the first time you are probably moving to somewhere small)
2 x cuttingboards
8 inch knife
paring knife
Probably another knife
If you buy an expensive knife set get a steel
Kitchen scissors
Scales
Measuring spoons (teaspoon tablespoons, buy at least two of each)
Measuring cups (at least two)
three pots, one small one medium and one over sized.
Two pans, one medium one large
Two different sized baking dishes (probably a lasagna styled one and a large oval shaped one)
Can opener
Eggslide
Silicon spatula
Wooden spatula
Ladle
Slotted large spoon
basting brush
Potato Peeler
Potato Masher
Box grater
Tongs
pie pan with removable base
Cake pan (maybe)
Flat pan
At least two mixing bowls (probably three)
Small bowl (like three inches) for sauces
Sifter
Strainer
Storage containers.
Rice cooker (not so necessary but so damm convientent)
Now this is not everything you need in the kitchen, lord knows I have at least 50% more stuff than what is listed here, but you will be able to cook 90% of everything with it.
Satans..... hints.....
Also if you have wood floors that you need to protect, they sell like little pads that go under furniture, some make it easy to slide them around even. Pick up a bunch of those if only to move things around easier. They shouldn't cost more than a few bucks and there's no reason not to grab them when you're moving.
Satans..... hints.....
Futons aren't that great for "sexy times" either. Not to get too graphic, but if you're... exhuberant... that metal bar in Scalfin's second picture will give her a concussion. You'll also feel the supporting metal bars under you if the mattress is thin, which can make your knees/back uncomfortable. While you can ignore some pains during sex, a rack of metal bars jabbing into you isn't one of them.
And, while you can get decent mattresses for a futon and such, they're going to kill your back if used long term.
Cut corners everywhere else. You can have "functional" coffee tables, "functional" TV stands (or just put it on the floor), "functional" dishware (i.e. plastic plates & plastic forks/knives from the dolla store), and "functional" shelves (put shit on the floor), but don't skimp on the mattress. The quality of life you gain when you sleep on a good mattress cannot be beaten.
These are what I consider to be spatulas.
Rather than this.
Satans..... hints.....
The downside is that unless you're really super on the ball, it can be tough to snag everything you want because it usually goes to the first person to mail saying they're interested, but it's still really worthwhile.
Except things like pots and pans... I don't think you want to be cooking off dollar store quality pots and pans.
Ya, I just call all of those spatulas. Although I've seen the latter labeled "turners," or if they're big and round, "pancake turners." I guess you shouldn't even try to flip an egg with a pancake turner, it'll just end in tears.
I furnished an entire house from sunday morning car boot sales - not sure if they exist in the states but I furnished pretty much an entire house and had a laugh with some friends walking around these things.
People often just want to get rid of stuff for next to nothing so feel free to barter them down.
Presumably these would be garage sales in the US -- not sure if they're common in NYC though due to a lack of garages.