How Much Does it Cost to Furnish a Four Bedroom House
As a new homeowner you spent months and months looking for that perfect home for you and your family and you stretched your budget to the max to win out over the competition. But now you have to furnish it. How much does that cost? I will show you how much it costs to furnish a four bedroom house based on three different price points with sample budgets. Because let’s be honest, not everyone has the same furniture budget. I will also share my tips and tricks as a designer to get high end looks for less! Because I want you to have a beautiful home and still be able to heat it and buy groceries too 😉
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How Much Does it Cost to Furnish a Four Bedroom House
First off, how much furniture you will need to fill an entire house will vary based on the square feet of the home. A four bedroom house that is 4,000 square feet will cost a lot more to furnish than one that is 2,000 square feet and a house that is 6,000 square feet will cost more to fill than a 4,000 square feet home.
For this budget breakdown I am going to use a four bedroom home with a living room, family room, dining room, and kitchen that is roughly 2,000 square feet. Our house has just over 2,000 finished square feet and four bedrooms which is a fairly average American home so it fits the criteria here.
Go Shopping with a Plan
Before you spend a weekend visiting all your local furniture showrooms, sit down and make a list of the most important things you need to move into your new home, like bed frames, mattresses, kitchen supplies, etc. Then have an honest conversation with yourself and/or your partner about how much money you can spend. This will help you decide if you can buy all new furniture or if you might need to source some used items from online marketplaces, garage sales, or family members.
Before purchasing furniture for a whole house I would also ask yourself, how long you plan to live in this home? If it is your first home and you plan to upgrade in a few years, maybe you start with a smaller budget. If this is your forever dream home, you may want to splurge a bit more and pick higher quality pieces.
If you decide to splurge on a high end piece of furniture, like a sofa let’s say, I always encourage my clients to avoid trends. For example, if dark green velvet is trending, I would suggest choosing a timeless neutral colored sofa and bring in the dark green velvet with throw pillows and curtains. This way when you get tired of the look in a few years you only have to spend a few hundred dollars replacing decor verses spending several thousand on a new sofa.
Lastly, decide if your budget is just your furnishing cost or does it include home decor too? This can definitely impact your total cost. I personally look at a space as all inclusive and factor in all home decor like decorative art, window treatments, etc, into my overall cost.
On a Budget
If you are working with a tight budget don’t worry! You can still have a beautiful space but might need to get a little more creative. To furnish your entire home, including decor on a budget, my rough estimate is between $15,000 and $25,000 depending on how creative you want to be. This would be roughly $1,900-$3,000 per room for eight rooms.
I know that sounds like a lot, but the never-ending list of small things like sheets and curtains start to add up. For this price point I would rely on retailers like IKEA, Amazon, Wayfair, Ashley Furniture and Facebook Marketplace to accomplish this. Here is a sample budget on how I would allocate the funds for a bedroom (guest or master bedroom) staying under that $3,000 mark.
| Bedroom Sample Budget | |
| Mattress | 300 |
| Bed | 450 |
| Bedding | 50 |
| Sheets | 50 |
| Comforter | 75 |
| Dresser | 400 |
| Nightstands | 200 |
| Lamps | 100 |
| Area Rug | 200 |
| Curtains | 100 |
| Accessories/Décor | 550 |
| 2,475 |
And here is a sample design using this budget framework. Note, pricing and availability may vary. All costs are based on prices at the time this article was written.
Mattress | Bed | Bedding | Sheets | Comforter | Dresser | Nightstands | Lamps | Area Rug | Curtains | Art | Tree | Pillows | Small Plant | Vases | Bench | Mirror
For $2150 you could have a guest suite or a primary bedroom that looks like this! All these items were sourced from affordable retailers brand new but you could easily mimic this look for less if you already have items like a mattress and bedding. If you are looking to save even more off the purchase price, a great place to find pre-owned furniture like dressers and nightstands is Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp.
Middle of the Road
Maybe your personal style is past IKEA but not quite Arhaus level yet. Then you are probably looking at furniture stores like Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, or West Elm. These retailers have more customization options in their furnishings and tend to be higher quality and some are even American made. But the step up in quality also comes with a price tag. The price range for a whole home at one of these stores will be likely be upwards of $70,000 depending on the size of the house and square footage. This would be roughly $8,800 per room for eight rooms.
One perk to these stores is they often offer a complimentary interior designer with purchase. Here is a sample budget for a family room and how I would allocate the funds.
| Family Room Sample Budget | |
| Sofa | 2,000 |
| Loveseat | 1,500 |
| Chairs | 1,000 |
| Coffee Table | 1,000 |
| End Tables | 1,500 |
| Credenza | 1,000 |
| Table Lamps | 500 |
| Floor Lamp | 300 |
| Area Rug | 700 |
| Curtains | 400 |
| Accessories/Décor | 1,000 |
| 10,900 | |
And here is a sample design using these budget parameters. Note, pricing and availability may vary. All costs are based on prices at the time this article was written.
Sofa | Chair | Coffee Table | End Table | Lamp | Ottoman | Area Rug | Curtains | Mirror | Multi Color Pillow | Back & White Pillow | Knot | Potted Succulents | Faux Tree | Large Vase | Hole Vase
For just under $9,000 you could have a beautiful family room or living room with quality furniture that looks like this! All these items were sourced from mid grade furniture retailers brand new but you could easily mimic this look for less if you already have a few items or can snag a deal on a local marketplace board. Years back I snagged my Pottery Barn brown leather slipper chairs for only $300 secondhand and they were in perfect condition! They originally retailed for $800 each!
High End
When talking high end furniture I think of retailers like Restoration Hardware, Arhaus, and custom order furniture direct from an interior designer. This type of furniture is meant to last a lifetime and will cost you a pretty penny to acquire. I estimate furnishing a four bedroom house with furniture like this would cost upwards of $200,000. This would be roughly $25,000 per room for eight rooms.
But be prepared to wait a while for custom order lead times. Here is a sample budget on how I would allocate the funds for a dining room. I must admit, I have never shopped with this type of budget before and it would be really fun!
| Dining Room Sample Budget | |
| Dining Table | 5,000 |
| Captain Chairs | 2,000 |
| Side Chairs | 2,500 |
| Bench | 1,500 |
| Chandelier | 2,700 |
| Curtains | 500 |
| Area Rug | 2,800 |
| Buffet/China Cabinet | 3,000 |
| Accessories/Décor | 5,000 |
| 25,000 | |
And here is a sample design keeping this same budget in mind. Note, pricing and availability may vary. All costs are based on prices at the time this article was written.
Dining Table | Captain Chairs | Side Chairs | Bench | Chandelier | Area Rug | Wallpaper | Buffet | Art | Candlesticks | Mirrors | Succulent Log | Vase | Potted Plant
For less than $25,000 you could have a jaw dropping dining room fit for the fanciest of dinner parties! All these items were sourced from high end furniture retailers brand new but you could easily mimic this look for less by shopping more affordable stores with similar product designs or DIYing some of the pieces. And don’t forget to check your local marketplaces! One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
Hidden Costs
Don’t forget to factor in delivery fees and protection plans into your budget. These can easily be several hundred dollars but offer peace of mind for some. And if you can land a sale that includes free delivery, that can be a great deal!
What do I need to fill a four bedroom house?
This can vary depending on the number of rooms in addition to the bedroom count and the overall size of the home. But this is the shopping list I would start with which covers the basic items plus some.
Bedroom Furniture – mattress (they don’t come with beds), headboard or bedframe, two side tables, dresser, area rug, curtains, two lamps, accessories, bedding
Living Room Furniture – sofa, loveseat, chair, coffee table, end tables, credenza, lamps, area rug, curtains, TV, accessories
Dining Room Furniture – dining table, chairs or bench, chandelier, China cabinet or buffet, curtains, area rug, accessories
Kitchen Furniture – kitchen table, chairs, bar stools, accessories
Home Office Furniture – desk or table, bookcase, office chair, lamps, curtains, area rug, accessories
When I say accessories I mean decor items like throw pillows, picture frames and artwork, plants, candles, vases and tchotchkes.
Remember this is just a jumping off point. Depending on the size of your rooms, you may need more or less furniture.
PRO TIP: If you want a high end look, do not buy every piece in a set. Just because they make it doesn’t mean you should buy it. Mix and match complimentary pieces for a more curated and layered designer look.
Where do I shop?
If you know me you know I never met a sale I could pass up 😉 I hate paying full price for anything and will often look for the best deal. With that said, I also evaluate each room differently in my design process and decide if higher quality new furnishings make sense. If the room is used a lot I will spend more on something higher quality that will last longer. Like our bed. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep so the mattress and adjustable base was definitely a splurge but I saved by DIYing the bed frame. In my guest room I bought inexpensive foam mattresses from Costco as the bunk beds are not used often.
The truth is I never shop at just one place or one category of store. I shop wherever I find what I need. For large items like sofas and mattresses I usually stick to mainstream furniture showrooms where I can see items in person and try them out. But for additional items like rugs, end tables, and accessories, I often shop online or at HomeGoods and of course, IKEA 🙂
How to stretch your furnishing budget
When I design a room I try to work with items I already have or repurpose items from another room that are no longer functioning. This helps to save on the larger pieces of furniture. I frequently mix more expensive splurges with less expensive items to create high end looks for less. For example, in my family room I splurged on a higher quality upholstered sofa set and mixed it with a second hand coffee table and two chairs I found on Facebook Marketplace.
You can also refinish furniture from thrift stores for an affordable whole new look! While my family room credenza was a marketplace find, it only cost me $80 and I was able to customize it for my room!
IKEA hacks are another way to elevate affordable pieces. I fell in love with high end dog crates but just couldn’t justify the cost. And I am glad I didn’t because Marvin’s IKEA hack dog crate is even better than I imagined!
Another great way to save is to repurpose a family piece. I transformed my dad’s old tool chest into an end table by just adding some hairpin legs.
My Advice on Home Furnishings
Rome wasn’t built in a day. I know it is easy to feel like you have to furnish your new space all at once because that is what social media makes us think. But content creators like myself do this for a living. I think it’s worth mentioning that the rate at which we change our homes and decor is not necessarily a good idea for the average person. And I definitely do not advise going into credit card debt or taking out personal loans to finance furniture. Do what works for your budget even if it takes a while to fill your new house.
But most importantly be creative! If you think outside the box you might just surprise yourself with what you can create!
Looking for more options to get high end looks on a budget? Check these out 😉
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