One Living Room, Three Different Budgets
Have you ever wondered, “How much would it cost to redecorate my entire living room all at once?”
It’s kind-of hard to imagine the total cost for all of the furnishings in one 12’ x 14’ living room if you started from scratch. That’s because there’s a really wide range of pricing for a redecorating project, all the way from Target to Restoration Hardware. (And that’s only retail; custom, to-the-trade pieces go way up from there, and they aren’t addressed in this post).
On the blog this month, I’m bringing you 3 generic retail furniture budgets that you can use to gauge your own budget. They all contain the same 32 items; it just depends on how much money you want to invest in furnishing your living room.
This table shows a comparison of three different price-points.
comparison table
Low-cost sources of furnishings include Target, Wayfair and Home Goods.
Mid-range examples are Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and Ballard Designs.
The highest budget here is from stores like Restoration Hardware, Room & Board, and Arhaus.
Of course this brings up the question: “what accounts for the big differences between these budgets?”
The short answer is labor, quality of materials and scale.
Creating one piece of furniture takes many many hours of development, designing and building, and that’s just for the prototype. There’s extensive trial and error in this process to create an original design that will actually function and look attractive.
Huge amounts of care and attention go into making high-quality furniture. These pieces are usually made-to-order for each client. Artisans and top-notch furniture companies pay special attention to details like finishes, which take time and skill to execute. They use durable fabrics and hardwoods that last for decades. Expert joinery, bracing and support are also hallmarks of excellent craftsmanship. All of these factors add up to a very reliable piece of furniture.
On the flipside, big manufacturers have different goals in mind. They want to sell as many pieces as possible to as many people as possible. This means a much faster production rate, which means much less time is spent in the design, development and building stages. They rely on cheap materials like particle board, MDF, softwoods and melamine, and quite often use adhesives instead of bolts or nails. The focus on quick turn-over necessitates the simplest, fastest methods of construction, which don’t always equal longevity.
Another factor is scale. Large companies can produce and/or purchase vast quantities of furniture and therefore get deep discounts on their wholesale costs. This method just isn't available to smaller independent businesses that lack the budget and space for these practices.
Most of my clients end up mixing budget-friendly furnishings with a few investment pieces. This is a practical way to portion out your budget. And if you don’t need to buy everything at once, then collecting things over time helps to mitigate that sticker shock of a total room redesign.
By the way, the best investment pieces for your home are the sofa, your bed, and a dining set. With the right sofa, you can sit comfortably every day and make a style statement at the same time. Sleeping well is essential for healthy living, so invest in a high-quality bed frame and mattress. Your dining table and chairs endure mealtimes, homework, craft projects and social gatherings, just to name a few. Give your new set a head-start by choosing hardwoods and sturdy construction that will last for decades.
So how much would it cost to totally redecorate your living room? Only you can determine this, and I hope I’ve given you some insight here that leads you to the answer.
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Cheers,
Nan
About Nan
Interior designer focused on helping people turn their homes into their sanctuaries without the pain of renovating. I’ve been working as a professional designer since 1995 and one thing I love about interior design is how it can evoke a mood and create whatever feeling you want in your space. In that way, it’s kind of magical.
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