HHI and what you spend on furniture?

[Anonymous]

$350k. House is full of CL and antique store finds, hand me downs, and a few new pieces. The most expensive item in the house is our mattress set. Have spent less than $10k on furniture for the entire 4500 sq ft house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is kind of a hard question because we don't know how much or what kind of furniture you need. I can tell you that when we made 140 K, we had a mix of IKEA and inherited furniture. When we made 350K, we had mostly Ethan Allen furniture. Now that we make 800K, we have furniture picked by a designer from various furniture designers we saw at the Washington Design Center. I think that this progression is pretty common as people move up the income ladder.

Similar situation. Our HHI is 500-600k and living room, family room, dining room, and master bedroom were done by a design. I think it cost about $150k total, including all furniture, carpets, drapes, painting, lighting, and labor. We plan to stay in this house for 20+ years, so we decided it was worth it.

We about 470 HHI. Right now we're looking at a dining room table that is somewhere around $5,000? Then chairs would be extra. I'm just never sure what is reasonable or not.

[Anonymous]

We're at about 325 HHI, and our house is a hodgepodge. Some Ethan Allen, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn. But also inherited antiques from grandparents - items that are really treasures. I also collect a certain period of furniture, and have spent some money on pieces. But next to those pieces? A couple of items from Ikea that I've had since moving here after college. And I'm seriously looking at an Ikea piece now because I can't for the life of me find a particular item we need in a style we like. As to what is reasonable, I think it's what you like in the context of what you can afford.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I was thinking about 20k for the new house but maybe that is on the low side. HHI is 470. I really love decor and have a couple of pieces I've gotten over the years so we would have a few good things to start with. I get that furniture is what you want to spend, but I was just curious how much others were spending. We probably spend anywhere from $2-4k a year on various items now.

[Anonymous]

$310K and also a hodgepodge...some Pottery Barn, some Havertys, some IKEA, some Home Goods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I was thinking about 20k for the new house but maybe that is on the low side. HHI is 470. I really love decor and have a couple of pieces I've gotten over the years so we would have a few good things to start with. I get that furniture is what you want to spend, but I was just curious how much others were spending. We probably spend anywhere from $2-4k a year on various items now.

OP - We have a very similar household income. How big is your new house and how much furniture do you need? I think it will be difficult to do it well for 20k if you intend that to cover rugs, artwork for the walls, and drapes in addition to furniture. We recently moved into a new house that was twice as big as our old house. We have been taking our time decorating the home because we will be here for a long time. Our house contains a wide mix of pieces (both new and old/antique) at a wide variety of price points and I like that - I like a home to feel collected. We have probably spent close to 30k on furniture, rugs, and drapes since we moved in and we are not finished yet. In order to get our house fully finished, I am guessing that we will need to spend another 20k. I love the way our house looks and feels but if I had a bigger budget (like some of the 800k people), I would have used a designer and would have spent more $$$ on rugs and artwork. Our artwork budget was in the hundreds of dollars per piece range but I loved many pieces that were thousands of dollars per piece. I also bought rugs that were in the 1-3k range but would have loved some antique rugs in the 10k range. We couldn't rationalize spending that amount so we didn't.

[Anonymous]

HHI is just over 100k. We bought some of the less expensive items from Room & Board and filled in the rest with IKEA.

[Anonymous]

Dang, OP. With that HHI, I wouldn't even need to *think* about what I was spending. Of course, maybe you have insane mortgage, car, school payments or something, but still...

[Anonymous]

Our household is a total mix- as far as where we purchased and how much we paid. I have some very expensive pieces from Europe and high end Baker, Mitchell Gold, etc. However, some of my favorite things are unique pieces I found on craigslist, estate sales or my mother-in-law's attic. Each piece has a story and a good memory, whether it is new or used.

[Anonymous]

$300k and it's a mix of pottery barn, c&b, ikea and random finds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I was thinking about 20k for the new house but maybe that is on the low side. HHI is 470. I really love decor and have a couple of pieces I've gotten over the years so we would have a few good things to start with. I get that furniture is what you want to spend, but I was just curious how much others were spending. We probably spend anywhere from $2-4k a year on various items now.

OP - We have a very similar household income. How big is your new house and how much furniture do you need? I think it will be difficult to do it well for 20k if you intend that to cover rugs, artwork for the walls, and drapes in addition to furniture. We recently moved into a new house that was twice as big as our old house. We have been taking our time decorating the home because we will be here for a long time. Our house contains a wide mix of pieces (both new and old/antique) at a wide variety of price points and I like that - I like a home to feel collected. We have probably spent close to 30k on furniture, rugs, and drapes since we moved in and we are not finished yet. In order to get our house fully finished, I am guessing that we will need to spend another 20k. I love the way our house looks and feels but if I had a bigger budget (like some of the 800k people), I would have used a designer and would have spent more $$$ on rugs and artwork. Our artwork budget was in the hundreds of dollars per piece range but I loved many pieces that were thousands of dollars per piece. I also bought rugs that were in the 1-3k range but would have loved some antique rugs in the 10k range. We couldn't rationalize spending that amount so we didn't.

Good art and good rugs, I share those particular loves as well.

We are still looking to buy so I don't know how big the house will be. We will definitely need a dining room set, lighting, side tables, new bed for my daughter, wallpaper, drapes, probably a new couch and a few larger rugs - we have too many small area rugs.

Between estate sales, second hand, new purchases and auctions we have a couple of things I love which would retail for $$$ over what I paid. I love some of the shops at Washington Design center and am definitely going for a more eclectic Elle Decor type look. I know a good big rug will be $$$$ as will custom drapes and a great sofa so I think setting a budget will help allow for some splurges.

I might start thinking 30k as a budget for when we buy and 5k now for any pieces that come up - like some a sculpture or two that I'm considering.

[Anonymous]

HHI in the upper 000s. Budget was about $50k for family room when we moved. That includes rugs and drapes too.

[Anonymous]

330K, we bought a good sectional for the basement and the rest of the house is overstock.com / world market. Doesn't make sense to buy expensive stuff until the kids are older and the pets die off.

[Anonymous]

This has varied over the years as our household income varried. We have kept some of the earlier things and are just recently getting rid of some.

When we made only my H's income of about $50k at the time, we bought a bedroom set at Marlo. Worst choice ever. I hate the thing and can't wait to move again so I can justify getting rid of it.

When we bought our house and were making $120k, we bought in pieces as we could afford them. Mostly from a furniture store called C.L. Barnes that no longer exists. It's all solid wood and is our dining set/china cabinet/sideboard. If it will fit I will likely keep it forever.

When we got around to furnishing our living room, we were making closer to $180k and went with Ethan Allen.

Our family room is in Laz-y Boyas I expect it will take a beating from the kid and we will want to replace in the future, so I had no interest in spending a fortune.

[Anonymous]

I am obsessed with design and furniture and probably spend more than most based on our HHI (though all cash, no debt). Our HHI has ranged from $130-$280k and we bought most of our furniture when we were on the lower end of that but slowly over time. Dining room definitely around $10k, at least another $15k on couches and misc. items and around 5 rugs ranging from $800-$2,000 each (our house is all hardwoods). Mix of Arhaus, Green Front, Belfort, World Market (kitchen table). I am also really into vintage so we have gotten things at flea markets and vintage (not antique) stores. We are in our forever house, so this is all lifetime furniture.