If I was buying my first home again, here's what I'd save and splurge on – from furniture to appliances, how to make savvier choices

Content creator Lucy Kalice is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on cleaning, home decor and making the most of small spaces. See the rest of her articles here.

Four years ago my fiancé and I bought our first home together at the ripe old age of 25. A 3 bed semi-detached house with a lounge and open plan kitchen…our dream space! Neither of us had owned a home before or even rented beforehand. We were coming straight from our childhood bedrooms which meant that between us we had 0 furniture to our name. No sofa, no mattress, not even any plates and bowls. We were starting completely from scratch and needed to furnish the whole house from nothing.

As you can imagine, we had poured all our money into actually buying the house (stamp duty, solicitors fees etc all adds up!) so when it came to furnishing the place, the funds were extremely limited.

Now I am a firm believer that furniture and interiors should be curated over time and not rushed, because if you buy it wrong you buy it twice. However, when it’s your first home you don’t really have the luxury of waiting. I became pretty savvy with our money, researching what to buy new and what to buy second hand. And now we’ve been in the house four years I can vouch for what items are worth splashing the cash on and what items are worth saving on. So get your notepads and pens at the ready…

What I'd splurge on

Let’s start with the top 3 items I think you should splurge on. First and most importantly, splurge on your mattress! If you can only splash the cash on one thing it HAS to be this.

You spend half your life in your bed so you need it to be comfortable otherwise it will cause you pain, discomfort and disrupt your sleep.

Now this next one might be controversial but I think you should splurge on your sofa…to an extent. Comfort is always key and aside from your bed, the sofa is also the place you go to relax.

I’m not saying spend tens of thousands of pounds, but when it comes to your sofa, you usually get what you pay for. Cheap = hard and springy. So get one that’s comfortable for you and fits the vibe you’re going for in your home.

Lastly, I would splurge on your washing machine. A good appliance will last you years and hopefully cause you little trouble. You’ll be using it on a regular basis so you want to get one from a trusted brand that you know will last.

Otherwise your bank account will hate you when they start to break and you have to pay above and beyond for call-out fees.

What I'd save on

So now for what to save on and where to find deals. Contrary to what social media might show you, you don’t need the newest Smeg toaster or kettle. Yes they look pretty but the cheap ones work just as well as the expensive ones. Don’t waste your money if you don’t need to.

Bedside tables, coffee tables and lamps are all things you can make some good savings on and buy second-hand. I got 2 bedside tables from Facebook Marketplace for £5! We still have them now, they are in our spare bedroom and they are perfect.

And lastly, I would recommend saving on rugs. You can find some really good prices at furniture outlet stores for old seasons rugs that are brand new!

My cheat sheet

I've made a more in depth list of my save vs splurge recommendations below:

Splurge

• Sofa
• Fridge
• Washing machine
• Tumble dryer
• Mattress

Save

• Wardrobes
• Chest of drawers
• Lighting
• Bedside tables
• Kitchen table & chairs
• Rugs
• Kettle
• Toaster
• Mirrors
• Coffee table

What do you think?