Last year boyfriend and I decided to take the big step and buying a house in England. After telling our parents and finding a mortgage advisor, we started going house hunting. We could have gone for a larger budget, but we decided we wanted a comfortable mortgage. Our point is: nobody should be slave of its mortgage. We prefer travelling to living in a larger/prettier place. We wanted a two-bedroom house in town, rather than a larger one in a residential area. It took us a few months, but we finally found the kind of house we wanted within our budget. We’re moving into a new house soon. SOS. We’re moving into an empty house!
The kitchen
Thank God we have any possible thing you may need for cooking. Some people get excited while checking out ASOS new arrivals or walking through the aisles of Zara. I have the same excitement when shopping for cookware. I avoid visiting Lakeland and I’ve promised myself I won’t buy anything in IKEA’s kitchen section, but I have my eye on some saucepans…
Survival kit for an empty kitchen:
- IKEA’s set of plates
- Supermarket’s random 3/4 pint glasses
- Supermarket’s random 24 cm frying pan
- A saucepan big enough for cooking pasta
- IKEA’s cooking tools (under £1 each)
- Cutlery set: mine is IKEA’s, but you can find cheap ones in Wilko.
- Chopping board
- Set of kitchen knives
- Tea towels
We need a new fridge, dryer+washing mashing and a dishwasher (boyfriend is super happy he won’t have to do the dishes). We’re going for either Curry’s and we’re allocating around £1k budget for this. Looking for the right electrics has been a little bit of a nightmare. Don’t want to get you bored, but we ended up with a fridge too big for the space we had. We had the measures right, but we forgot something: the fridge’s door needs room to be able to open. That’s one of the many issues you’ll find when moving into an empty home.
The bedroom
White Hemnes bed. King size. In IKEA. What’s more to say? I just love absolutely everything in IKEA’s Hemnes range. I can’t help myself. We have a matching drawer we bought on sale. Yes, we drove to IKEA to save £25 but, between you and me… what’s life without meatballs? New bed size means new bed linen. We’ll probably buy it in Tesco’s. They always have a new home range around September and March, which means a few pounds saved here and there. Every little helps LOL.
The dining room
This room is going to be a little boring for a while. We have fours chairs we bought two years ago in IKEA, £18 each. We’re buying this cute table. My parents have the larger version and they only have good words towards it. In the future, I want to build a storage set in this room for all our stuff. For now, it will be the table, the chairs and a £10 lamp. Easy pease.
The living room
We have a telly! What else does a living room need? A sofa! After a very productive search, we’ve discovered that:
- We can’t afford Harveys sofas
- Everybody says M&S sofas are shit. After trying them I can confirm this
- A Next sofa it is. After all, they seem to be the best quality for the price.
I cannot emphasise enough how much I love Next’s living room ranges. We’re going for the Next Brooklyn range, as it’s closer to our budget than the other ranges we love. Next offered a discount when you were buying two or more pieces, which also helped us make our choice.
**2020 update: I’ve seen this range has since gone more expensive and it’s available in a lighter colour. I still like mine more!
Why I’m not freaking out
Budgeting is the key. Think of how much you can spend and don’t try to have the perfect house from day one, unless you’re willing to give up all your hobbies and social life. Do budget for painting and wallpaper. Try to save up for any last-minute issues. And remember: flowers or a plant can brighten up a room and upgrade your mood.
No Comment