Be a smart consumer and know what you’re facing when you are shopping for those big beautiful homes and you’ll be just fine. Big square footage and lots of windows means bigger dollars to furnish and fill that house. Not to mention to heat it, cool it, clean it, paint it and maintain it. On the design side, consider these 5 fiscal pitfalls for the larger home that you may overlook at daydream time when house hunting.
- If you’re upsizing, you will have way too little furniture and need to purchase a lot.
- If you’re upsizing, you will have furniture that is too little – furniture that looked great in your condo or smaller former home which had smaller rooms. You will be able to reuse less than you think.
- Add points 1 & 2 and you realize you will need to purchase more than you think.
- Furniture costs more than you think it does.
- Furniture costs more than you think it should.
How Much Will It Cost To Furnish?
It’s doubtful that during your initial heady walkthrough of your dream home you envisioned your first great dinner party or family gathering taking place in an empty, white walled, echoing chamber, filled with a hodgepodge of furnishings from your former residential lives. The prevailing thinking is that consumers today will spend between 12% and 35% of their home’s purchase price to furnish and fill that home, depending on how much they bring in and how much they need to buy (this includes window treatments). If you’re doing any renovation, then jack that figure up considerably.
Be prepared to ante up on luxury home design costs. Learn the rules of the road to become a wise design consumer and you’ll be fine. In the meantime, know what kind of animal you’re dealing with so you can don the proper protective gear. Part II of this post – the Window Treatment Side of Luxury Home Living!
What do you think – surprised or expected on these perspectives?