In a perfect world, we would have enough “fun cash” (you know, the kind that doesn’t immediately get shafted over to your rent/groceries/bills) to whack on retail counters at fancy-ass furniture boutiques in return for beautiful lounges and lamps and all the nice, nesting-apartment stuff.
Buttttt sadly, boring finance management means you can usually only go to town on a few A+ pieces. But what should you be saving up for and investing in, and where can you kinda wing it with a cheapie? PEDESTRIAN.TV chatted about all this with Emily Osmond, Editor of getinmyhome, since she’s been doing the interiors blogging thing for a while.
“You should be investing in great quality sofas, armchairs and of course mattresses,” says Emily. “You can spot cheap fabric a mile off, not to mention feel it when you get up close. It really brings down the aesthetic of a room. Plus, better quality generally means longer lasting comfort too.”
“Timber with a little bit of wear and tear can make the wood look more interesting,” says Emily. “Spend some time exploring local vintage stores and op shops – I picked up several ‘shabby chic’ pieces full of character from a local op shop when I moved into my first place. And I still have them! I prefer this eclectic look so much more than a matching suite.”
“Polyester inserts get very misshapen,” explains Emily. “Invest in gorgeous fabric cushions that have great quality down or feather inserts. They will look and feel much more luxe.”
“You can also find the most unique pieces at second hand stores that might not have been originally designed as side tables, but are so much more interesting than run of the mill pieces,” says Emily.
SPEND: TOWELS
“If you only splurge on one thing, make it your towels. Cheap towels just do not absorb like quality ones do and are horrible to try and dry yourself with,” says Emily.
SAVE: CROCKERY
I bought my different sets from Ikea and at a Freedom sale several years ago,” explains Emily. “I still love them, they still look great and they didn’t hurt the bank account!”
So there you go. You really can have your interior design cake and eat it too. Well, really you can have your interior design cake and still afford to eat. If you wanna just spend, spend, spend when it comes to your homewares though – why not hit up our comp right here? You could win a sweet pocketful of $20k.
