Furniture and home ownership costs

This weekend we did our first real furniture shopping. We started with a bed. We wanted to upgrade to a king-size bed, and also free up our current queen-size bed to use in the guest room. Torsten, being European and also having high-end taste, really wanted a latex mattress--those are very uncommon here in the US but more popular in Europe. However, they also cost a lot more than standard spring mattresses, so it's definitely a trade-off.

Still, after discussion we decided to go for it, because they are SO comfortable (and I agree with that after trying out Torsten's mattress in Germany), and they also last longer than spring mattresses so the added cost isn't as bad as it seems up front. So we began doing research into latex mattresses, and feeling more and more frustrated because they are all just SO expensive.

But THEN! We went into a mattress store to see a latex mattress that we'd found on their website. And it turns out, they're discontinuing it. But they had one left. In the king size. On clearance for half off. AND it was already a much more reasonable price than the other latex mattresses we'd looked at. It was an incredible bargain. And really comfy.

So, it's being delivered the day we move into the new house, which will be this Sunday. And THEN, having freed up some space in our budget by finding this amazing deal, we went looking for a bed frame. We found one we both liked, but then we could NOT agree on a wood. I liked the darker one, but Torsten felt that with the darkness of the hardwood floors, it would be too somber. He liked the more natural, lighter wood but I found it kind of childish looking and also thought it might clash with the floors.

So, we discussed with the salesperson and decided to look at some metal frames as well. And immediately found one we loved, for a good $400 less than the wood frame we'd originally selected. It will also be delivered shortly after we move in. It's made out of natural steel, and looks like this:


We just both love it. It's simple, it's pretty, it's sturdy and should last forever. It's a little edgy and different without being over the top. And it's versatile--it means we don't have to worry about finding nightstands and a dresser that match perfectly, once we get to that point.

We also bought some patio chairs, and picked out our future dining room table and chairs, which we'll buy once we've spent a few months replenishing our savings account a bit. I posted photos of all those things over on my Tumblr design blog.

And oooh, I'm totally understanding how buying a house makes you poor. We have a lot of expenses coming up. I mean, other than the obvious down payment and closing costs, plus homeowners insurance, property tax, title insurance, and the new monthly mortgage payments. We've already paid for the house and sewer inspections, and there are a few repairs we need to make to the house that we didn't ask the seller to pay for in the inspection objection.

Then there's the cost of moving, the lease-breaking penalty for our apartment (which we knew about when we signed the lease, and pretty much expected to pay, and consider reasonable, but it's still an added cost), and so many things we need to start up. Not just furniture but, like, firewood for the fireplaces--and a rack to hold it in. A washer and dryer. A microwave. A lawn mower and a snow blower. Garden tools. Trees, and the associated planting, which we would like to do as soon as possible because trees take so long to grow. Luckily the house comes with a really nice refrigerator, so that's a cost we're spared. But all that other stuff really adds up.

And that's just the basic stuff. I can totally understand how people go broke furnishing their houses, because once you've finally saved up some money after paying for all the basic stuff (and that's not counting the routine stuff that will continually go wrong and cost you money, like plumbing issues or gutter cleaning or what have you, basically whatever we renters are used to just calling the landlord to deal with instead of shelling out cold, hard cash to have it fixed), it's so tempting to spend all your hard-earned savings on lots of extras that you don't need but that would be so nice to have.

Like a hot tub. And fancy armchairs. And nice shelving. And rugs. And ART, oh god we haven't even THOUGHT about wall decor yet. And landscaping. And there are all sorts of repairs that aren't necessary but that would be nice to make--like cutting out the current driveway and repouring the cement at a gentler grade so that we don't have to worry about scraping our car on the ground every time we go in or out.

I mean, seriously, we could spend all of our money forever continually doing things to upgrade the house and the lot and the furniture. I could literally envision just upgrading forever, never having a good retirement account or money to subsidize kids' college educations. This is why you have to do things slowly. And draw the line somewhere. It's so tempting to just enter into massive debt to have a huge, fancy palace right away. But there is just no need to do that.

So for now, we'll be happy with our bed and our patio furniture, and the rest will just have to come with time.