Furnishing a new build differs from furnishing an older home in one decisive respect: nothing is inherited. There are no fitted alcove cupboards, no chimney recess a bookcase already fits, no previous owner’s shelving left in place. Every function in every room has to be bought, and it has to be bought at once.<\/p>\n
That is the finding of this report. The cost of furnishing a new build is front loaded rather than higher. An older property is typically furnished in stages over years, absorbing what came with the house. A new build is furnished on the day of completion, which concentrates the outlay and produces the sense that new builds cost more to fill. Our advice follows from that: sequence the purchases by room use rather than trying to complete every room at once.<\/p>\n
A household moving from a Victorian terrace to a new build brings the same furniture and finds it does not fit. The wardrobe that stood in the chimney alcove has no alcove. The bookcase that filled a recess now projects into the room. The sofa that suited a 3.6m wide reception room dominates a 3.2m one. Nothing has been lost, but a good deal has to be replaced.<\/p>\n
At the same time, everything the old house provided by default now has to be supplied. Hallway storage, because there is no under stair cupboard of the old proportions. Living room storage, because there is no alcove. Bedroom storage beyond the built in provision, which is set to the standard the developer worked to.<\/p>\n
The cumulative effect is a large concentrated outlay in the weeks after moving in, and that is what people describe as new builds being expensive to furnish. Spread over the years an older property’s furnishing typically takes, the totals would look considerably closer.<\/p>\n
The main bedroom in a contemporary new build is usually adequate for a double or king bed with side access, but tight on wardrobe depth. A standard hinged wardrobe needs 60cm (24in) of clear floor for the door swing on top of its own 60cm depth, which is 120cm (47in) of the room committed to one piece of furniture. Sliding doors remove the swing entirely, and in a room where the bed already claims most of the floor that is frequently the difference between fitting a wardrobe and not.<\/p>\n
Second and third bedrooms carry the most pressure. Where a room is sized for a small double, buying a standard double removes the side access that makes the bed usable and the room navigable. This is a specification decision worth getting right first time, because bed frames are not easily exchanged after assembly. The small double fabric beds UK<\/a> range exists specifically for rooms in this position.<\/p>\n The open plan ground floor reduces the room count but raises the storage requirement, because one room now absorbs the functions of two or three. This is where a sideboard or a substantial media unit earns its place, and where households who furnish only the seating find themselves buying again within a year.<\/p>\n New build access is generally easier than period housing: level thresholds, wider entrance doors on newer plots and no basement steps. The constraint moves inside. Standard internal doors at 762mm (30in) and the turn at the top of a straight flight both limit what can be carried through assembled.<\/p>\n This makes flat packed and knock down construction genuinely useful rather than merely economical. A wardrobe assembled in the bedroom passes constraints that an assembled one does not, and the same applies to large bed frames and wide chests of drawers.<\/p>\n It is worth checking delivery arrangements early on a new development, because access roads, parking and unfinished pavements can complicate a large delivery in the first months of occupation. Free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes applies, and returns are available up to 30 days, which gives a reasonable window to establish whether a piece works in a room that is still being lived into.<\/p>\n The table below matches typical new build room provision to furniture sizes with adequate clearance. These are standard furniture dimensions and clearance requirements.<\/p>\nDelivery, doors and assembly<\/h3>\n
Sizing table: new build rooms and furniture that fits<\/h3>\n