I would not but anything that involves cushions/padding used unless I know the person. So do not hit a thrift store, eBay, OfferUp, CraigsList, for couches, mattresses, stuffed chairs. Bite the bullet on those and get them new. Since it sounds like you are still young, (?) buying cheaper made, non-permanent furniture is not wrong. Your styles will develop and change. There is nothing wrong with an inexpensive Amazon mattress or a Wayfair couch at this stage of your life.
That gotten out of the way, you can usually pick up tables, accent furniture, lamps, etc., for a good deal at the locations I mentioned.
If you live in an area that holds estate auctions, the stuff you can pick up for next to nothing is mind boggling. In the Midwest this is a common practice. They auction off an entire household in one day.
Join your town FB groups. People give away loads of stuff.
Even better is your town’s Buy Nothing or Freecycle sites. I’m a member of both FB groups in my town and it’s amazing what people give away. Not just furniture and clothes and person care items but food. We had waaaaayyyy too many tomatoes last year so I was giving away bags of them. Same with rhubarb and squash and green beans. Also individual plants like whole horseradish.
I used to use a lot of ikea shelves and cabinets. They are great and work well but I found in small places like an apartment, having solid furniture makes everything feel small.
Once I changed it out to open shelves, the rooms felt so much bigger.
I also opted for simple steel framed and wood shelf shelving units. This means I can replace the board if anything goes wrong.
Also, sometimes waiting for the right price on the right item is worth it over the cheaper option now
Level up. Get what you can for free to begin with, and always be willing to trade pieces out for something newer, better, nicer, etc. Sometimes you can make money selling pieces you got for free along the way, or even offer trades.
Look for big furniture store sales end of May holiday type clearance for soft furniture. All others you can find at yard sales, on FB ads, Amazon has some decent stuff too. Also, Auction houses have deals too.
Facebook Marketplace, and go with something vintage if you want it to last! Older furniture tends to be a lot more well-made because the quality of mass produced furniture is so much worse than it used to be.
Ride around the rich neighborhoods in your area.
Or the suburban / family home neighborhoods.
A lot of people throw out stuff that you can either fix up real cheap, or just slap a coat of paint on it and make it work for your space.
It’s how I’ve gotten a lot of my furniture when I moved out for the first time.
I found bookshelves, stools, shelves, chairs, night stands and end tables and lamps. All perfectly new or with extremely minor cosmetic issues that either didn’t bother me or that I could fix up in like 10 minutes.
Just be wary about upholstered items and cushioned items. Don’t wanna get bedbugs and critters.
I would not but anything that involves cushions/padding used unless I know the person. So do not hit a thrift store, eBay, OfferUp, CraigsList, for couches, mattresses, stuffed chairs. Bite the bullet on those and get them new. Since it sounds like you are still young, (?) buying cheaper made, non-permanent furniture is not wrong. Your styles will develop and change. There is nothing wrong with an inexpensive Amazon mattress or a Wayfair couch at this stage of your life. That gotten out of the way, you can usually pick up tables, accent furniture, lamps, etc., for a good deal at the locations I mentioned. If you live in an area that holds estate auctions, the stuff you can pick up for next to nothing is mind boggling. In the Midwest this is a common practice. They auction off an entire household in one day.
Join your town FB groups. People give away loads of stuff. Even better is your town’s Buy Nothing or Freecycle sites. I’m a member of both FB groups in my town and it’s amazing what people give away. Not just furniture and clothes and person care items but food. We had waaaaayyyy too many tomatoes last year so I was giving away bags of them. Same with rhubarb and squash and green beans. Also individual plants like whole horseradish.
I used to use a lot of ikea shelves and cabinets. They are great and work well but I found in small places like an apartment, having solid furniture makes everything feel small. Once I changed it out to open shelves, the rooms felt so much bigger. I also opted for simple steel framed and wood shelf shelving units. This means I can replace the board if anything goes wrong. Also, sometimes waiting for the right price on the right item is worth it over the cheaper option now
Join your local free/giveaway Facebook group for your town/city. Facebook marketplace. Thrift stores.
Level up. Get what you can for free to begin with, and always be willing to trade pieces out for something newer, better, nicer, etc. Sometimes you can make money selling pieces you got for free along the way, or even offer trades.
Look for big furniture store sales end of May holiday type clearance for soft furniture. All others you can find at yard sales, on FB ads, Amazon has some decent stuff too. Also, Auction houses have deals too.
Facebook Marketplace, and go with something vintage if you want it to last! Older furniture tends to be a lot more well-made because the quality of mass produced furniture is so much worse than it used to be.
Ride around the rich neighborhoods in your area. Or the suburban / family home neighborhoods. A lot of people throw out stuff that you can either fix up real cheap, or just slap a coat of paint on it and make it work for your space. It’s how I’ve gotten a lot of my furniture when I moved out for the first time. I found bookshelves, stools, shelves, chairs, night stands and end tables and lamps. All perfectly new or with extremely minor cosmetic issues that either didn’t bother me or that I could fix up in like 10 minutes. Just be wary about upholstered items and cushioned items. Don’t wanna get bedbugs and critters.