Bedroom basics at bargain prices
When Kylie Klein-Nixon left home for the first time, she took her pillows with her. Today’s lucky students don’t need to, she finds.
Iwas such a noob when I left home. I barely knew where to get new things from so I had to take my pillows. Of course, this was back in the olden days, long before we had big-box stores like Kmart and The Warehouse to help us out with low-cost homeware essentials.
Still, it’s an expensive job kitting out a bedroom from scratch. You can do it frugally with secondhand and hand-me-downs from home – if your mum is anything like mine, she’s already loaded you up with duvet covers and wool blankets, at the very least.
But if you’re starting from scratch in an unfurnished flat, you can still do it with newer items for under $1300. Here’s how.
The bed – $500
A second-hand box base can easily be found on marketplace or TradeMe. You can get a double, with no mattress, for as little as $125 last time I looked, for a very basic pine base. The mattress would be extra, and prices can vary widely.
If you’re in the market for a new bed and mattress, you might want to downsize. Mocka has a chic, steel-frame king single for about $250. Add the matching mattress for the same price, and you’re good to go.
Bedding – $152-$192
You’re studying and working hard, you don’t just deserve a comfy, lush bed to sleep in, you actually need it to be at your best. Good linen can be expensive, but it’s worthwhile.
Spotlight’s KOO Oliver Waffle duvet set comes with two pillowcases as well as a duvet cover for just $72. It’s 100 per cent cotton.
Alternatively, The Warehouse has a microfibre cover set in mint green that’s just $12, and includes a double duvet cover and two pillowcases.
Hard to overlook that price when you’re on a budget.
A 100 per cent, 250-thread count cotton sheet set, also from Spotlight, that includes a flat and a fitted sheet and two pillowcases, is $35 for a king single and $40 for a double.
Add another $5 for Kmart’s 500-thread count 100 per cent cotton sheets: a real bargain in quality.
A mediumweight ‘‘all seasons’’ double quilt from Kmart should see you through the year, and costs just $48. Kmart also has a two-pack of mediumweight pillows for $12.
Add one of The Warehouse’s plush blankets for $20 if you want a little extra cosiness during the winter.
Storage – $300
You’re going to need a bookshelf, a bedside table and something like a cabinet or chest of drawers for personal items, undies and toiletries.
Kmart’s five-tier Egon Modular Storage Shelf
($65) is a great place to start – some shelves can double as clothes storage, too. The Mocka Locka
($199.95) comes in a couple of colours, but nab black to match the bed, and you have the start of a look.
Finish off with one of Kmart’s simple, Midcentury-inspired, oak-look side tables ($35), and you’re getting there.
Alternatively, find a second-hand low-boy dresser that can double as drawers and a bedside table. Charity shops often have these sorts of units for around $30-$50.
The desk – $124-$238
If you’re lucky, there will be a desk in the room, but if you do need to provide a new one, The Warehouse has one which will also fold away if you need more space after your studies, for $99.
Kmart offers a student chair for $35, but my instinct is to pay a little more for something you are likely to be spending many hours in, like the Ergo lever chair from The Warehouse, $129.
Top it all off with The Warehouse’s excellent Pierre desk lamp – a modern classic – for just $20 and you’re ready to hit the books.
Second-hand savings
A lot of furniture can be bought second hand on TradeMe or Marketplace. Also try your local salesrooms, where people often get rid of house lots, or job lots of furniture. Desks, bed frames, drawers, and shelves are commonly sold there and can be bought for next to nothing. Give them a call or drop into the showroom to see what might be coming up in the next sale.
My local salesroom shares everything in its upcoming sales on Facebook – check your local option to see if they do the same.