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Living on Love & Lawn Chairs

May 3, 2017

Guest Blog by Martha H. Fondren, Director of Sales & Marketing for Grant & Co. I remember the first home I purchased as a newly married 20-something. The only real furniture in the house was a bed and chest of drawers I brought from my old room in my parent’s home. We lived with folding lawn furniture, an ice chest (no refrigerator) and a small TV for a couple of months. Even so, the first thing we purchased for our new home was a stereo system.

 We were young, newly married and, well, pretty stupid. We had great music but had to sit on the floor to listen to it. Living on love and uncomfortable outdoor furniture could only go so far. Eventually, we had to figure out the furniture-buying program. Purchasing new furniture and decorating your new home can be a little overwhelming. Especially if you are a first time homeowner. Here are some tips all new homeowners have to learn along the way:

1. Take inventory. What do you already have that you can use somewhere? Make a list of your must-have furniture pieces and your would-love-to-have pieces.  Check out the decorating websites like Pinterest and Houzz and copy furniture ideas you love.
2. Make budget and stick to it. What can you buy right now and what wonderful pieces are you saving to buy? Try not to finance your furniture even if the furniture store offers 0% finance. You will end up paying so much more for your furniture.
3. Shop, shop till you drop. Compare prices online. Shop estate sales and antique stores. Check out those cool websites. Don’t buy the first dining table you see even if you think you love it. Go look at other stores and see if there is a similar or better table at a lesser price. It will be worth your time when you find the perfect table at the perfect price.  Read online reviews about the stores and the furniture brands.
4. You’ve seen the TV commercial where the family is “testing” the sofa or bed. Do not be afraid to try before you buy! Sit on it and thoroughly check out the comfort of that chair or sofa or mattress. There is nothing worse than spending your hard earned money on a piece of furniture and getting it home only to find out it is not comfortable.
5. Buy quality furniture! Do not invest in furniture that has a great price tag but will not last through the first Christmas gathering. Even if you have to buy your important pieces of furniture one piece at a time, it will be worth it to find classic, timeless furniture. If you buy good, top quality furniture, you can expect to have those pieces for many years. You can change up décor, colors and themes with fabric pieces like pillows, throws, window treatments and rugs. The “bones” of your home can stay the same through years of changing decorating trends

We eventually bought a house full of furniture including a disco orange sofa and love seat, an orange corduroy chair, a glass top bamboo-based kitchen table with (you guessed it!) orange cushioned chairs and a refrigerator with no ice maker (that costs extra).   Oh well, everyone has those "what were we thinking??" times in their lives. Know this:   A wonderful and warm family home starts with the perfect foundation – a new Grant home. What you choose to put into your new home is what makes it uniquely yours - for now and many years to come.