First furnishing becomes a matter of compromise

Press, 14 November 1977, Page 15

First furnishing becomes a matter of compromise

JULIE BROWN

For voung couples setting up their first home there is I one golden rule: it’s much! better to have a few, well chosen items of quality furniture, expensive thoughl they may be, than a housed lull of poor quality goods! which will need replacing ini a year or two. But, of course, not every! couple is lucky enough to have sufficient capital to: hand when they start. So, I its a matter of compromise! — with some items you can I go cheap, but with others! quality is essential. Let’s start with the bed- I room first because that’s j possibly the most important room. If you can run to a fitted carpet, do — it makes things more civilised. Choose a pale pastel shade. The quality of the carpet need not be terribly high because average carpeting these days lasts and lasts and, of course, the wear in a bedroom is much less than, say, a living-room. The bed is the next im-, portant purchase. Get the biggest bed you can afford

that will physically go into 1 the room. If the stairwell is narrow then buy two of the zip-up beds that make into one giant bed. But quality is important.

Don’t skimp unless you are very financially pressed. If you do skimp you will endure some years of discomfort before you finally buy a new one again and you might as well start out with a bed which will last you right through your lifetime or at least 20 years.

Bedside tables are useful but not absolutely necessary. A dressing table is a must, though. However, you could buy something simple to do for the first couple of years particularly if you plan to buy fitted units embracing wardrobes, dressing tables, and storage units, at a later date. The bathroom is a spot where you can economise, i So long as it’s bright and cheerful with perhaps a bath rug to take the chill off the tiies, you don’t have to go 'mad and buy all sorts of

gadgets, fittings and furni-I ture. Although husbands may l want to economise on the: kitchen most young wivesi insist on al) the fitted; trimmings. Perhaps this is ’ reasonable if she is at home; all day; but if she goes out; to work, too, then maybe! she will that units can > wait a while until capital' builds up. In the diningroom (if it is I separate from the living I area) you will need a good l

table. Few things look quite; as cheap as a cheap table., i However, these days in j the medium price bracket! there are plenty of tables on| sale which look good now and will stay that way in' the years to come. If you are doing things to I a very tight budget then] stripped pine is reasonably priced; if the table gets bat-; tered over the years it can always be re-sanded and resealed to bring it up looking ns good as new. You will need four or six dining chairs. I go for simple designs myself but you may tend to something rather more splendid. It!

could be, though, that you ;could pick up a fairly decent set of chairs at an auction. ; Usually the other furniture ingredient in a diningjroom is a sideboard. 1 Something in the stripped |pine style would look good 'and should not be too pensivej But maybe you want something rather grand with I veneer and french polishing, j filigree handles and drawers I lined with green baize for ‘cutlery. Very nice, too, if

;you can afford it. But agair I this is one item that should I not be bought cheap because it is unlikely to last. In the living-room, sofas 'and easy chairs are the essmtials. | Nobody has ever surveyed I the average amount of money available for young Icouples starting out in their imarried life. i But for every couple who have a fair amount of cash for furniture, I’d be surprised if there isn’t a pair who are having to make do with very little. So, on to the sofas and chairs. Buy good solid comfortable pieces of modern design iif you can. Pick fabric cov-|

I erings that will not show 'stains but don’t go too jsombre in colour. If you (have very little money left ifor sofas and chairs then my 'advice is to go to a secondhind furniture sale. ; It’s better this than buyling new at say one-third of (the price of good items and I then find in a couple of I years or so that the sofa aid chairs need replacing. Fitted carpets for the dining and living-rooms are pleasant if you can run to them but an alternative is sanded and sealed floors with large rugs scattered about. If you intend to fit carpets later then rugs can t> tairly cheap ones. If you can manage wall storage units in the living and dining areas then these are very useful for books, radios, ~ record-players and the television set. But again 'vou may plan for this in latj;r years. All through your first home there are requirements for small items of furniture or appliances. This is where the wedding gift list comes in and with any good luck you will have stools for the bathroom, small tables for the living-room and the odd chair given to you. These are the items which, if you have to buy, soon mount up to a sizeable total.