Furnishing a College Apartment: Five Student-Friendly Sources of Furniture

One of the most exciting aspects of college is moving into an apartment and purchasing furniture. Of course, most college students would prefer to save money while buying furniture. Fortunately, there are some ways to furnish an apartment in college without emptying a bank account. In this article, I describe some low-cost furniture sources for college students.

College Apartment Furniture Source #1 - Your Network
Before you begin spending money, see if you or your roommates know anyone with extra furniture that they don't need or use. If you can decorate your apartment for free and help an acquaintance reduce clutter at the same time, it's a win-win situation. Even if an item isn't free, your connection to the individual may allow you to purchase it at a lower price, or you may be able to barter for it by doing a small amount of work for your connection. This is also a nice approach because you can have a greater amount of confidence in the person from whom you are receiving the furniture, although your selection may be limited.

College Apartment Furniture Source #2 - Do It Yourself
If you, one of your roommates, or anyone you know is handy, consider building furniture for your apartment. Furniture such as beds, desks, bookshelves, and tables can be built for much less than they would cost were they purchased in a store. The only caveat for this approach is that homemade furniture may not be aesthetically-pleasing as storebought furniture. But if you need cheap furniture, the DIY approach is as valid as always. In many cases, the furniture that you design will suit your needs better than what you could buy at a store, and you may feel more connected with a piece if you or someone you know has a hand in designing and making it.

College Apartment Furniture Source #3 - Sites Such as Craigslist and Freecycle
The internet is a great resource for people looking to buy and sell furniture. Websites such as Craigslist and Freecycle have tons of listings for furniture being disposed of or sold. Usually these items are sold for a small price or may be free. The low cost is an advantage, but there is a limited selection of furniture, you may not know the previous owner, and often these offers are gone within a very short amount of time. Nonetheless, great finds do exist on Craigslist and Freecycle, but they may take a while to appear.

College Apartment Furniture Source #4 - Department Stores
Stores such as Wal-Mart and Target have rudimentary furniture at low prices. This furniture probably isn't built to stand the test of time, but should serve its function for a reasonable amount of time.

College Apartment Furniture Source #5 - Ikea
Another furniture option for a college apartment is Ikea. Furniture from Ikea can range from inexpensive to expensive, depending on the type and model of furniture. At the same time, there are numerous options for any type of furniture, and many are reasonably-priced and pleasing to the eye.

A key thing to remember is that the furniture you acquire during your college years is probably not the furniture that you will have for the rest of your life. While it is always nice to have nice furniture, functionality and low-cost should be primary goals at this point in your life, as opposed to aesthetics or even durability. If you can get the whole package for a low price, great, but don't try to make a lifelong commitment to your college furniture. Good luck finding furniture, and thanks for reading!