Living a standard life these days has become a luxury. Renting a standard house, paying bills, purchasing essential items, and, last but not least, purchasing furniture is a big deal for young couples, bachelors or students.
For newly married couples starting their first flat together, or for bachelors moving into a small apartment in Dhaka, furnishing a home often feels overwhelming. Moving into a new home is exciting, but moving with everything is expensive. A bed, wardrobe, dining table, sofa, shelves and a few decorative touches can quickly exceed the budget.
These could be within budget, even without expensive furniture or designer interiors, with a little planning.
One at a time
The first mistake many people make is trying to furnish the entire house at once. A better approach is to divide furniture into three categories: essentials, useful additions and decorative items.
For a newly married couple, the essentials are usually: beds, wardrobe or clothes rack, curtains; useful additions are a dining table, shoe rack, cabinets; decorative items can be an iron stand, bookshelf, etc.
Mosabber Hossain, a software engineer, says, "I had a few pieces of furniture ready before I got married. Later I purchased one by one according to my priority. Also, my wife and I had a deal: we purchased during occasions to save money."
Deciding between expensive and cheaper furniture
Branded furniture stores are usually more costly, but they offer better finishing, warranties and longer durability. If you are buying only one or two major items, such as a bed or almirah, it can make sense to invest in a branded piece. But for other items, purchasing from local furniture shops is better.
Naimul Islam recently shifted to a big house with family. He got his furniture from a local shop to cut costs. "I have brought around five items, dining table with chairs, a bed, a crockery almirah, a bookshelf and a decorative chair within a lakh."
In Dhaka, areas such as Badda, Panthapath, Mirpur, Shewrapara, and old furniture markets in Baridhara or Segunbagicha are popular among students, bachelors, and newly marrieds for finding simple beds, almirahs, wardrobes, small dining tables, and bookshelves at much lower prices and much better quality.
Customise your piece
Many of these shops will also make custom furniture if you show them a photo from the internet or a catalogue. A wardrobe inspired by an expensive showroom design can often be made locally for nearly half the price.
Sizan Ahmed, a private job holder in his early married days, chose a tea trolley from ISHO. It was around 24000 Tk, which sounds too much for a tea trolley. So, taking a picture of it from the website, he had it done locally at half price. "Since I have a small home of two, a bare minimum drawing room where there is no space for a tea table. So, I wished for a tea trolley. With the best design, I made it at half price."
Choose simple design
Besides, overall, the trick is to focus on simple designs with fewer carvings, lighter colours, and cleaner lines; they always look more modern and cost less.
Instead of buying a large sofa set, many couples begin with a small two-seater sofa, shotoronji, or even floor cushions and a low table.
A wooden pallet coffee table, a simple bookshelf, and inexpensive curtains can make a room feel inviting without requiring a huge budget.
Style your interior
The easiest way to make inexpensive furniture look more expensive is through styling. A plain wooden table can look elegant with a neutral table runner, plants, a small lamp, etc.
White or light-coloured bedsheets, light-coloured beige or nude-coloured curtains, and mats can improve the look. Even bright yellow curtains and block-printed bedsheets are also a good combo.
Reuse furniture
Used furniture markets often have surprisingly good-quality wooden beds, shelves, and tables for a fraction of the original price. Couples frequently buy second-hand bookshelves, dining tables or dressing tables and then repaint or polish them.
Online marketplaces have also become popular. Facebook Marketplace, local buy-and-sell groups and furniture pages often have low-cost items from people moving abroad or shifting homes.
What to avoid
However, there are a few things to avoid. It is usually better not to buy very cheap mattresses, sofas or low-quality furniture that may break within a year. Some non-branded furniture looks attractive at first but swells, cracks or becomes damaged quickly.
Decorating a home does not have to mean buying expensive things. Small touches often make the biggest difference. Miniature showpieces, designed mirrors, plants, lamps, and wall hangings play the main role in beautifying your home.
