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In my last post we started an exploration on determining the right furniture budget for you. Today we are going to look at what it would cost to furnish a 250 sq ft living room, soup to nuts or “sofa to candles.” Here is the floor plan for our new room.
Living Room Floor Plan
We looked at three lovely living rooms last time that featured several shades of blue with orange/coral accents. Using those rooms as inspiration, we are going to recreate a living room from retail sources. Today’s exploration: Low budget or … IKEA.
Low Budget
The lowest end of retail (and this also includes Target) offers some amazing designs. For very low cost you get immediate access to the furniture (no lead times.) But you have very limited choices and the quality … well, you can expect it to last a couple of years. The rugs don’t quite come in the sizes needed for a room this scale. The curtains will not be the right length for your windows. The sofa only comes in three colors and no choice of fabric. But you can still get good design on the cheap.
Low budget
For just over $3,100 you can get an entire room. That works out to about $13/sf furnished. When you work with a designer, they should be able to give you estimates for furnishing your space based on the square footage. Will some spaces cost more? Yes, but some spaces will cost less (like a kitchen or bathroom which won’t need as much furnishing.) When we estimate a square footage cost it applies to the whole house as an average cost.
Do you need a designer for this? Since your budget is low, hiring a designer for this level does not make sense. This is where a good friend can help you make sense of your three choices. Bribe them with a coffee and go shopping!