How Much Does it Cost to Furnish an Apartment + Splurge vs. Save Tips

You’ve made it. The lease is signed, the keys are in your hands and you step foot into your new apartment. There’s something magical about these empty spaces and walls, isn’t there? So much room to create a new home, so many opportunities to find and establish your personal interior design style.

But then it hits you. This is real life, not your favorite HGTV show and while you may have all the ideas, you don’t have an unlimited budget. Furnishing an entire apartment can get quite expensive — even the most basic furniture will cost you between $3,500 and $5,800 when you purchase them new.

To help keep your creative spirit alive and make furnishing your apartment as fun as you’d hoped it would be, we created this guide. It outlines the cost of different pieces of furniture, explains how you can create a healthy budget for your project and gives you the deets on items that are worth splurging on versus furniture you can totally buy at the flea market.

Let’s dive in!

Disclaimer: The prices mentioned in this article are estimates for the average or median cost of the items and don’t include taxes.

How to create a healthy furnishing budget

Before you start buying furniture for your new apartment, ask yourself the following questions. They will help you establish a healthy and reasonable furnishing budget for your new home:

• How long do you plan to live in this apartment (worst case and best case)?
• How far will you move in the future? Just a few streets away or across the country?
• Do you have kids and/or pets who could ruin your furniture?
• How much time do you spend at home versus work or other places?

All of these questions will help create your budget. If you plan to move a lot, spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on furniture to fit this specific space will likely be a waste of your hard-earned money. The same applies for anyone who has young kids or pets at home — you’ll be much less upset over spills on a $700 couch versus pieces torn off your $4,000 designer sofa.

Take some time to think about these factors and let them determine how much you’d like to spend on your furnishing project.

Cost of furnishing your apartment: Essentials, basics and extras

The best advice we can give you to furnish the apartment of your dreams without going bankrupt is to break it down based on need. It typically takes more than a couple of weeks to fully furnish an apartment. Besides needing some time to find furniture you genuinely love, taking this time also allows you to scour yard sales or thrift stores for beautiful finds and take advantage of seasonal sales like Labor Day or Presidents Day (which, by the way, tend to be the best holidays to find furniture sales).

Whether your new apartment is a blank canvas that needs all new furniture or you’re bringing in a few existing pieces, follow these recommendations to slowly but surely make this apartment your home.

The essentials: Couch, bed and dining

It's easier to prioritize what you need for your apartment if you think about function first. This is especially true when it’s your first apartment ever, so let’s break down the essentials.

Regardless of the size of your new apartment, the necessities will always remain the same. You will need a place to sleep, sit, eat and/or work, some storage space and kitchen utensils.

These days, many refurbished apartments come with an island or bar seating which means you won’t necessarily need an entire dining set (table and chairs) but may get away with purchasing two to four bar stools. This area can also become your workspace for the interim if your budget is tight.

Let’s break down how much these essential items can cost you:

• Queen bedframe: $200–$800
• Mattress: $200–$1,200
• Sofa: $300–$2,600
• Dining table set: $400–$1,200
• Bar stools: $150–$400 for two to four items
• Total: $1,000–$5,800

Obviously these prices will vary based on the quality, brand and condition of the furniture pieces. However, when it comes to items you should consider splurging on, these are at the top of the list! More on that later.

The basics: Dressers, bookshelves and lamps

For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to assume that your bedroom has a closet. However, a dresser or two can significantly reduce the mess in your closet and create extra storage space for blankets, seasonal items and bed linens.

With only the essentials, your apartment will still look a bit scarce. The following pieces of furniture should help you define spaces and add personality and functionality to your home:

• Nightstands: $100 or more per piece
• Dressers: $150–$350
• Bookshelves: $80–$275
• Floor lamps: $50–$175
• Desk: $140–$300
• Additional seating: $175–$500 for an armchair or a set of two
• TV stand or console: $150–$400
• Total: $1,000–$2,500

These items can add up to a couple thousand dollars or more, depending on the quality of furniture you choose and how many rooms you have to fill with extra lamps, bookshelves and seating options. Take your time picking these items as they can define your style and will influence your apartment’s design direction.

Make sure you love these pieces and spend your money wisely so you don’t regret your purchase down the line.

The extras: Decorative furniture and accessories

We’re not saying you shouldn’t buy any decorative items until your apartment is fully furnished, but you should do so wisely. Hanging a few picture frames and adding a bit of greenery can instantly make your home feel more, well, home-y. So don’t hold back!

However, when it comes to spending money on the furniture and decor pieces listed below, consider spending the real money on the more important pieces like your essentials and basics rather than these nice-to-have extras.

• Area rugs: $150–$500
• Plants and art: $200+
• Coffee table: $130–$350
• Ottoman: $50–$200
• Mirrors: $80–$400
• Decorative curtains + rods: $50–$150
• Total: $650–$1,800

We know how difficult it can be to turn away from a beautiful coffee table that’s out of your budget but that’s why it’s so important to define your budget before you start shopping . It can also help to know which items are worth spending a bit more money on and which pieces of furniture can be bought at a lower price tag and quality while still doing the trick.

Splurge vs. save

Whether you should splurge or save on a piece of furniture depends on a few factors:

• How often will you use this item? If it’s something like an office chair that you’ll sit on every day for up to eight hours at a time, it’s better to invest in something comfortable and durable.
• Is it likely that this item will go out of style in the next five years? Your taste for something like mirrors or picture frames may change over the next few years. No need to spend a fortune on these items if the affordable alternatives look just as great.
• What’s the price range for this item? Pieces of furniture that start at a higher price point (e.g., beds, sofas, desks, etc.) are likely going to be items you’ll want to allocate a larger chunk of your budget for.
• Can you buy this item used? Do you want to buy a used mattress? Probably not. But nothing’s wrong with buying a bookshelf or a nightstand secondhand and saving a few dollars.

The questions above should help you decide whether to splurge or save on the furniture you’re looking to buy. In general, these are the most common splurge vs. save items you should keep in mind to get the most bang for your buck.

Bedroom

Let’s start with the most important room in your apartment: the place where you tuck yourself in at night for a rejuvenating slumber so you can tackle whatever the next day brings.

Splurge: Bed and mattress

While you don’t have to spend a fortune on a bed frame, a couple hundred bucks or more should go into the base of your nightly retreat. The mattress itself is going to be the item you’ll want to allocate the bigger part of your budget to. A $1,200 mattress may be out of your price range but $300–$500 can still get you a really great Queen mattress so you can sleep like a royal.

• Pro tip: Mattress toppers are the perfect investment to adjust the softness of your mattress. They can cost as little as $80 for a Queen size and give you that extra softness for your spine.

Save: Nightstands

Nightstands can get really expensive — we’re talking $100 or more for a very simple design and you’ll likely want two. The price tag for a piece of furniture that’s only purpose is to hold a lamp, a couple of books and your glasses shouldn’t keep you awake at night. Wait for a sale or buy this item used to save a few bucks for more important things.

• Pro tip: Visit your local thrift store or check platforms like OfferUp for affordable, used nightstands that you can personalize or bring back to life with a little TLC.

Living room

Next up: your main living space. This area of your apartment will likely be one of the first things your friends and family see when they come over. It’s the perfect space to really show off your personal style and give visitors a sense of who they’re lucky enough to hang out with.

Splurge: Sofa or armchair

While you may find a cozy armchair or a love seat sofa for $250 to $400, that’s not going to provide enough seating when your friends come to visit. A comfortable sofa or sectional will likely cost you upward of $800 but this is going to be money well spent because they will be a staple in your apartment for many years to come.

• Pro tip: Unless you’re very sure about your eclectic interior design style, pick a timeless color like grey, cream or a muted blue for your couch. Rather than spending a lot of money on a couch design that will be out of style in two years, dress it up with some fun cushions and blankets to keep up with your ever-changing taste.

Save: Side table or TV stand

TV stands or consoles will likely come with a price tag of $150 to $400 depending on the size and style you’re going for. Side tables or TV stands typically don’t see a lot of wear and tear so it’s fine if you save a bit on the quality of these pieces.

• Pro tip: If you want your TV stand to function as additional storage space, consider spending a bit more money and buying a piece with doors and drawers. That way you can hide your messy secrets and no one will ever know!

Home office and spare bedrooms

If you’re lucky enough to move into an apartment with several bedrooms, you’ll also have to deal with filling these spaces. A spare bedroom can make for a great guest room, meditation space or home office. But whatever you do with it, make sure you don’t fill it with overpriced furniture!

Splurge: Home office setup

We’ve said it before but consider the amount of time you spend actively using the furniture when deciding whether to splurge or save. If you’re working from home, you’ll need a comfortable chair and a desk that meets your needs.

• Pro tip: Consider investing in a desk that converts to a standing desk to give your back a break. They start at about $250 to $400 and are well worth the price tag.

Save: Area rugs

You shouldn’t spend a fortune on a rug that likely only fits this specific space and will be useless once you move. An 8’ x 10’ rug shouldn’t cost you more than $250 to $500 depending on the fabric you choose. The plushier the rug, the higher the price tag!

• Pro tip: If you want to add a pop of color, do it with a rug! It’s a fun way to spice up your interior and since you’re not spending a fortune, you can always change your style a couple years down the road.

Where to buy furniture

Buying furniture can be quite an undertaking. If you choose to buy from a store, you’ll have to either bring the items home yourself or pay for delivery — the first option requiring a car with a large trunk, the second often adding expenses you weren’t budgeting for.

While purchasing your furniture from a store gives you the advantage of actually trying the pieces out in person (who doesn’t like to sit on all of the sofas in a store?), it can also become overwhelming with store associates trying to pressure you into buying furniture you aren’t really sure on yet.

If you’d rather avoid all that, try shopping online. Many stores like IKEA, Pottery Barn or West Elm offer a large selection of furniture that you can buy both in stores and online. Websites like Wayfair or Overstock even allow you to create online mood boards or virtually furnish your room before committing to anything in your shopping cart. Many online stores also offer free delivery and have reasonable return policies should items arrive damaged or are just not what you thought they were.

You can also find affordable, secondhand furniture at flea markets, consignment stores or online marketplaces. This way of shopping for furniture allows you to both save some money and find truly unique pieces. Plus, it’s better for the environment.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you what you’d like to splurge or save on but the smarter you make your buying decisions the more money you’ll have available to create the apartment of your dreams.

References:

• The Spruce
• Wayfair
• Furnishr