When it comes to furnishing your first apartment, there is always a budget to consider. What you can get with your money is vastly different from store to store. A while back, My First Apartment compiled an excellent list that compared the cost of buying your furniture essentials at several different stores. As a self-professed bargain hunter and decorista, this list stuck me as an important tool for all first time apartment owners, so let’s compare again. Below you will find a list of items from Ikea, Target and Pottery Barn, with links back to some great examples from each store, that will furnish a typical 1BR apartment.
Grab your budget and your shopping list and let’s get shopping!
Living
via Pottery Barn
Sofa
Pottery Barn: $899 (price varies depending on fabric type and size of sofa)
Target: $349.99
Ikea: $349
Chair
Pottery Barn: $599
Target: $160
Ikea: $269
Side Table
Pottery Barn: $299
Target:$35.99
Ikea: $12.99 (price varies depending on color)
Coffee Table
Pottery Barn: $399
Target: $119.99 (price varies depending on color)
Ikea: $39.99
Floor Lamp
Pottery Barn: $180
Target: $69.99
Ikea: $49.99
Dining
via Target
Table
Pottery Barn: $599
Target: $149.99
Ikea: $99.99
Chairs
Pottery Barn: $149 each
Target: $143.99 for set of 2
Ikea: $49 each
Bedroom & Office
via Ikea
Bed (Queen Frame)
Pottery Barn: $799
Target: $499.99
Ikea: $399
Mattress (Queen)
Pottery Barn: $1,125
Target: $229.99
Ikea: $159
Dresser
Pottery Barn: $1,399
Target: $229.99
Ikea: $199
Night Stand
Pottery Barn :$599
Target: $99.99
Ikea: $39.99
Desk
Pottery Barn: $699
Target: $149.99
Ikea: $99
Table Lamp
Pottery Barn: $149
Target: $32.99
Ikea: $18
If you add up our selections, Ikea comes in at about $1,800 ($900 for Living/Dining and $900 for Bedroom/Office), Target is a tad higher, about $2.250 ($1,000 for Living/Dining and $1,250 for Bedroom/Office), and Pottery Barn is much higher at $8,000 ($3,300 Living/Dining and $4,700 Bedroom/Office). Now, keep in mind these are just examples of what you might get in these stores if your Great-Aunt Doris hands you her credit card and sponsors your shopping spree. For the rest of us, My First Apartment has many posts that show you how you can furnish your first place with much lower budgets, or even when you literally have no budget at all.
The statement “you get what you pay for” is true for every store. If you buy the lowest price item, you get the same in quality. Every store is going to have low price items and high price items that coordinate with the quality. I love Ikea!
When I decided to move to the USA, furniture prices at Pottery Barn were too expensive at the time, and IKEA and Target had a lesser quality than what I was used to. I found a decent company who helped me to design, deliver, and set up my furniture and made my move smooth. You can check them out at http://www.furnishr.com
Furnishr.com is awesome!! They made my life so easy! I ordered a few bedroom furniture pieces a few weeks before my move to NYC. I scheduled the delivery for the first day in NYC so I didn’t need to stress over finding a mattress and bed or staying in a hotel.
The Pottery Barn will last for years, vs IKEA, which will fall apart with a year or two