Frugal Homemaking
Hello Dear Reader,
I love it when you write in, as it always gives me ideas for a blog post. I was asked how I would choose home furnishings to last, and not something that goes out of fashion. The dear reader wanted to know if I had any advice I could give on what they should buy new, and what they should buy second hand or from charity shops. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I would normally say go for second hand but as the owner of a fifteen year old sofa, I know it’s not fit for much more use. Also, my mum had a great saying of ‘buy cheap and buy twice’. So, I would always look out for a few good quality piece s that will last you as long as my sofa.
Now, I’m a great fan of simple living but I still want to be stylish. I want to find pieces for my own home that I can use in different rooms and move them to change the look of the house. I like to have an arm chair in the bedroom that can be moved into the lounge when I need it and because I run a thrifty home, it’s essential to me to have durablefurniture . So Dear Reader, one of my first suggestions would be a simple arm chair.
A good quality, well made arm chair with a neutral colour will be useful for years to come. It will fill an empty corner and with an accent cushion would enhance the room in a very simple way. I would also suggest good quality wooden furniture pieces that can be used for years to come. Side tables can be used for lamps, as a coffee stand or can be used as a focal point with a vase or a plant. It’s the few better quality pieces of furniture that are worth every penny you paid for them as they can be used in a variety of rooms and for a multitude of purposes.
Something else I would suggest to always be better to buy the best quality you can, are beautifulvenetian blinds. You might wonder why I would suggest them instead of curtains and I’ll explain why. Wooden venetian blinds are fantastic money savers as they will keep the heat in and out depending on the time of year. They are also far more durable than curtains. As the dear reader in question wanted to avoid net curtains and wanted some privacy, I suggested wooden venetian blinds, not only because they are stylish and economical but the tilted blind will enable the home owner to see out and the light to still come in, yet passers-by will be unable to see in.
The dear reader in question asked me if I’d ever been to a branch of The Range and I told her that we had one nearby and I knew it well. In fact, I live near the one of the early branches of the store and have used it for years. In our first years together, when we didn’t have a great deal of money and couldn’t travel far as we didn’t have a car, we bought our beds from there. They turned out to be a great investment as we’re still sleeping in them sixteen years later. So, to answer the question, shop around but make sure that key pieces of good quality furniture are on your list because if you buy well, it will last you for years to come.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs
