apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

looking for any opinions...
We're moving into a new house and have a set amount of $$ to either get new furniture, where we really have nothing.
Or to hardwood the whole first floor, which is presently an ok looking off white carpet.

Carpet is liveable, but we def want hardwood eventually and won't have this large chunk of dough for a long time to come.

But we really have nothing in the way of furniture.
Any opinions would be great!

I would go for the hardwood and live with the old/thrift/craigslist furniture and then as you can, replace each piece that you need with the one you want. If you buy the furniture then you have to move it somewhere while rug is being pulled out and the messy floor installation happens. There's a lot of free or cheap furniture that will be functional while you save for your dream pieces and you'll have that great floor.

I totally agree. Go with the floors first and get the furniture later.

Invest in your home while you have the opportunity. Getting your floors done is a big PITA, and you may not have the time/money for a long time. This will increase the value of your house, too -- furniture will not.

Also, you may find that collecting one piece of furniture at a time, rather than trying to do it al in on giant sweep is more rewarding.

I did my floors just as soon as I could, and waited on the furniture. It made getting the furnishings like polish on the house and I'm quite glad I waited.

Floors! floors! :-)

thanks all, great advice

Did you ever see "When Harry Met Sally"?
He had an empty apartment for months, then he finally bought an oriental rug?

I'd get the floors done and sit on the floor for a while...

get the floors done. if you don't do them now, you may never get around to it. Get some cheap or free "livable" furniture in the meantime.

Also, i don't know how much money you're talking, but if it's the same to do floors of get furniture (and from what i know doing floors are really expensive) just get some cheaper but still nice furntiture, it won't set you back a ton, and you can upgrade later.

I'd say go on an AMAZING vacation and live with the carpet! :P Or go with the hardwood floors. Both options are great.

Go with the floors and wait for the furniture to find you. After my first serious, live-together relationship fell apart I was left with an empty apartment (other then a bed, dresser and TV). I didn't know how I'd survive, but it was actually a really great time. I didn't have the burden of "stuff" and cleaning was a breeze. I was shocked at how quickly the apartment came back together. The original furniture had been bought in one shopping trip at one furniture store...and it looked it. I was much happier with the fabulous clearance pieces and a great designer freebie couch that eventually came my way. The look ended up quirkier then before and far more original. I ended up with a style that was much more me! That was about 12 years ago, but there are still days when I long for that empty space. It was very freeing.

Definitely do the floors. You can get furniture later. I second the idea of going with Craigslist for furniture.

I tore out the carpeting in the bedrooms of my little Cape Cod, and had pergo put in to match the rest of the house. I love it every time I look at it. Do the floors!!!

Trust me go with the floors first! It took me 5 years to decide on the right floors and furniture for my living room. I just installed Bamboo a month ago and now I'm about to purchase the Carter sofa and 2 chairs by Gus Modern. I think it was all worth the wait and embarrassment. I couldn’t be happier right now. :-)

I agree entirely with the other posters--have your floors done first. Buying a number of major furniture pieces at one time is not a good idea. Imagine it--each piece is outdated at some point and in this case, possibly all at once.

You can find superb things curbside, craigslist and even cast-offs from friends. You'll get a more eclectic look and it'll be fun to collect pieces you like. (There are lots of diy projects that should likely come your way, too.) My entire apartment and lifestyle is built around not making major purchases, but waiting for the good stuff to come to me at a price that I can afford. I feel like I have some pretty interesting things and I tend to get a lot of compliments on my style.

New Topic Entirely.

We found an early century tin advertising sign that is scratched and rusting. The paint that hasn't yet been worn away by weather or aother abrasions seems to be fairly committed. We'd like to hang this on a brick wall in the kitchen. We 1) want to protect our food & drink from lead paint, and 2) protect the sign from further deterioration.

We're looking for suggested ways to seal the sign that won't discolor the paint, peel, bubble, or otherwise be unattractive/damaging. Suggestions?

Here's the sign (albeit upside down) being retired from it's last incarnation as a window covering. We can't tell if it's beer or soda, but its definitely a bevvy.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/2364333912_880d14dc51_b.jpg

kimg924, how about a shadow box treatment? with glass? it looks like an abstract masterpiece.

Help!!! I am not able to see photos on apartmenttherapy with my firefox. I can see the ones on the sides, but none of the center photos are showing up. I even upgraded and got a new firefox.

kimg924,

If you want to seal it, try using a clear spray like Krylon's Low Odor Clear Finish. I'd use the matte finish to keep your sign looking as original as possible.

http://www.krylon.com/index.cfm

Suzy, thanks for the krylon reco. that's exactly the type of thing we're looking for.

Jenzo, it's so industrial looking that we want to hang it on exposed brick just as it is. But if that doesn't look as hot as we think it will, a shadowbox may be the ticket. :-)

Please don't! Any non-archival finish (especially aerosols) will yellow--more so still--if exposed to direct sunlight.

The old paint and oxidation will speed this process, and will look not as nice as it does now regardless. The best (nay, only) thing to use is a furniture paste wax, most of which are museum-quality and suitable for antiques. This will protect both you (which I wouldn't worry too much about) and the piece.

Most hardware stores should have it... it isn't hard to find the Butcher's brand at all.