First Apartment Checklist & Affordable Furniture

Furnishing your first apartment and not sure where to start?

Moving into your first apartment is exciting, but it can get expensive. Here you’ll find some affordable furniture basics to get you started and my First Apartment Checklist will make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important.

After moving my older daughter into three different apartments in the last three years, I’ve gotten my share of experience. As a result, I’ve done a lot of research to find her well-reviewed, affordable furniture for small spaces that would be functional, fashionable and last for several years. So I thought I would pass along some of my best buys along with the comprehensive Apartment Checklist I created that you can download below.

Whether you’re a student moving off-campus or living on your own for work or graduate school, I hope the following helps simplify your move as well as save you time and money.

Feel free to jump down to:

Moving Tip

Take accurate measurements of your apartment doing your best to include every jut-out where there’s a radiator, column or recess, and sketch it all out on graph paper. Remember to measure windows and doorways too.

Then draw each piece of furniture you’ve bought or are considering buying, label each one and cut them out so you can move the pieces around within the room to figure out what will fit and which layout will work best. It will take time to do but it will make your move less stressful if you know everything will fit and the move will also go more smoothly when you know where everything goes. This will save you time and money if you’re paying a mover by the hour.

Affordable Furniture For Your First Apartment

Bedroom Basics

If you already have a mattress and boxspring with a frame, a simple faux leather headboard is an inexpensive way to add a sleek, grown up look to your bedroom. My daughter had a full sized bed so she opted for this one in gray.

This headboard is available in four sizes (twin, full, queen and king) and, as you can see, it comes in five colors. Prices vary depending on which size and color you choose but the full sized headboard we bought was $73.

Have a different aesthetic in mind? There’s lots to choose from on Amazon. Here’s a headboard search of 4+ star headboards under $150 to get you started.

An inexpensive place to get a good mattress is Ikea. They come in a variety of materials from springs to memory foam and different levels of firmness. I highly recommend going into the store to sit on the mattress to find the comfort level you like, which is what we did with my daughter. The mattress comes rolled in a box for easy transport but, trust me, do not open it until you’re ready to use it.

If you buy just a mattress and no box spring, you can get a nice platform bed frame with a headboard without breaking the bank at Amazon or Wayfair. For instance, this Emanuel Tufted Low Profile Bed is $228. If space is really tight, another option is the bed frame below.

If you don’t have space for a bed frame or headboard, this Folding Wire-Grid Bed Frame is a brilliant option. Available in every imaginable bed size, including twin XL. Prices start at $130 for a twin and go up to $220 for a California king. When my daughter moved to her first off campus apartment, we got her this frame in a full and it worked perfectly with the Ikea mattress. The frame folds flat for easy transporting and summer storage. It stands 18 inches tall leaving 17 inches of clearance underneath for storage.

A chest of drawers is a great way to get a lot of storage space in a smaller footprint than a traditional dresser. This unit has 5 nice sized drawers but it is only 31.25 inches wide by 16.5 inches deep and 45.6 inches high. We got this South Shore Step One Chest of Drawers in white for $166 at Amazon (same dresser was $220 on another site). It’s available in white, black, brown, and gray-oak. I found it to be very well made and easy to assemble.

A bedside table is nice to have if you have the space. And even nicer if it matches your other furniture, in my opinion. The South Shore Step One Nightstand that matches the above chest of drawers was a little too big for us to fit two in my daughter’s city bedroom and 22.25 inches wide. Instead, we got her this South Shore Fusion Nightstand, which is a little smaller at 21.75 inches wide by 17.5 inches deep, so she could fit one on either side of her bed. Yes, every inch counts in NYC apartments!

This one looks so similar and is the same shade of white since it’s the same manufacturer. My guess is no one knows it’s not an exact match (the drawer handle and toe-kick profile are slightly different). It’s available in white, black and grey-oak for $120. To see the great dimmable bedside lamps we got, jump down to lighting.

Window Dressing

Room-darkening curtains are helpful for city living or any time you need to sleep in and these curtains turned out to be great. No wonder they have a 4.7 star rating from over 41,000 reviewers! They’re available in over 20 colors and almost as many sizes that range from 46 to 80 inches wide by 54 to 120 inches long. Make sure you measure your window carefully before you order.

Each set comes with two panels; pay attention to the description when you change color choices because some are room darkening while others are blackout. My daughter’s window is really wide so we ordered two sets (four panels total) of the 52 x 63 inch grayish-white at $25 per set, less 15% off when you check the coupon box. Depending on color and size, the price ranges from $19-$47 for a set of two panels.

This great tension rod is so long and sturdy it can be used as a room divider. My daughter’s bedroom window is very wide so I ordered a tension rod that is 120 inches. This one has been up for months without a slip, even with her opening and closing the curtains every day. It comes in four sizes (28-150 inches) and four colors (black, gold, silver and white), for $30-$60 depending on size.

Another great tension rod with finials that I got for her roommate uses what they call “twist and shout” technology, so it actually sits inside the window frame with brackets (no tools needed). Available in brushed nickel or oil rubbed bronze. The rod adjusts from 49 to 84 inches for $31, or 28 to 48 inches for $33.

Area Rugs

Nothing pulls a room together like an area rug. Plus, most apartment buildings require you to cover your floors to help minimize the sound of footsteps and conversation. My daughter opted for a neutral gray rug with an understated pattern for her bedroom and something similar for the living room. This Grascon Area Rug comes in three colors and over 15 sizes starting at $30. Both Wayfair and Amazon have a huge selection of affordable area rugs.

Be Productive

Button to buy modern desk. — **Modern Desk**

1. Lots of people are working from home or going to school and need a desk. We like the clean lines of this simple modern desk with two drawers. It’s 47.2 inches long by 21.6 inches deep and 32.2 inches high, and available with white or gold frame legs.

2. A comfortable, adjustable ergonomic desk chair with good support is imperative to be productive and not ending up with a back ache. I researched a lot chairs and thought this one was best for the money ($139). It has a breathable mesh back, lumbar support, adjustable tilt-back, adjustable height padded seat, adjustable height arm rests (which most chairs don’t have), and five sturdy, smooth-rolling casters.

3. A great and inexpensive way to protect your furniture investments is to use clear protective covers. This one is non-toxic PVC. It comes in a variety of sizes and can be trimmed to fit with a good scissor. I ordered my daughter one for the top of her desk, chest of drawers and both of her night tables.

Look For Dimmable Lighting

Dimmable lighting adds ambience and it’s nice to have options. Bright light for work or reading and lower light for relaxing, watching TV or entertaining.

1. The dimmable LED desk lamp has 5 lighting modes (adjusts from warm to natural to cool), 10 levels of brightness, touch controls, USB port for charging a device, and a multi-angle adjustable head and arm — $27 in white or black.

2. This dimmable beside lamp has a really cool touch control with 3-way dimmable light and two fast charging USB ports. Plus, it comes with a daylight-white LED bulb. Available in three different lamp shade colors (white, gray and blue) for $37.

3. For the living room or bedroom (if you don’t have room for a night table), this floor lamp with shelves is a great option. It features two fast charging USB ports, a power outlet and comes with a three-color temperature LED bulb that adjusts from warm light to cool white light to white daylight. The base is available in five different colors, including white, black and brown. Prices range based on color from $50-$53.

Get Organized

My girls love shoes & the only way to fit them all in the closet is with this adjustable shoe rack organizer for $33. It expands from 16.5 to 28.3 inches and comes with four stainless steel racks but you don’t have to use them all. In fact, we only used three. Since the height is adjustable and the width is expandable, this shoe organizer will fit an any closet. It’s very sturdy and very easy to put together.

Adjustable drawer dividers are a great way to keep drawers neat and organized, especially socks and underwear (or the dozens of tiny crop-tops my daughters love). But you can use them anywhere, such as the utensil drawer in your kitchen. Each divider is 2.5 inches high and expands from 13.25 to 20.75 inches long. The dividers have non-skid foam pads on the ends to keep them in place and from scratching furniture. This set of four is $20 and comes in different colors should you want to match the inside of your drawers.

Living & Entertaining

There’s something about an L-shaped sectional couch that feels bigger and more cozy than one without a chaise on which to stretch your legs. This sectional can be arranged with the chaise to the left or right side by simply moving the ottoman and the long seat cushion. Or, use the ottoman separately by turning the long chaise seat cushion lengthwise on the couch and putting one of the square seat cushions on the ottoman. Not bad for $400 with free delivery for Amazon Prime members. This couch is 77.5 inches wide by 50 inches deep including the ottoman-chaise, 27.5 inches without, and comes in dark gray (shown), light gray and light brown.

Another option is an L-shaped section couch with storage and a pull out bed (on sale for $629 as of this writing, usually $779). This sectional has a chaise that opens for hidden storage and a hidden trundle that pulls out from under the couch. When open, the sleeper sectional can comfortably accommodate two people.

There are lots of small space couches to choose from on Amazon and Wayfair. Just compare prices and watch out for shipping charges.

A storage ottoman like this velvet one provides extra seating and storage in one. The ottoman is 15 inches square and can be can be used in the living room or bedroom. This gray one is $24 and is also available in a 30 inch bench for $38.

This lift top coffee table with storage is so functional for small apartments. If you don’t have room for a dining table and chairs or a desk, this table can do double duty. Plus, you can store stuff in the hidden compartment as well as on the lower shelf. The coffee table top is 83.6 inches long by 19.7 inches wide, which is a few inches wider than the base. It is currently $97 (I paid $120) and available in black, brown and white. The assembly instructions were straightforward and the table is very stable with the top lifted.

A multipurpose media entertainment center/console table/buffet cabinet with lots storage space, a sliding door and adjustable shelf can be used as a sideboard or a TV stand. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to put together and how nice it looks. The sliding door can be positioned to the left, right or center for out-of-sight storage. It fit perfectly in a nook in my daughter’s living room at a total width of 42 inches by 13 inches deep and 24.9 inches high. Available in black and antique white for $127.

For a smaller, less expensive option, check out this TV stand with glass cabinet doors. It’s only 23.75 inches wide by 15.75 inches deep and 26.75 inches high for $52. It comes in black, brown and white.

I got my daughter this 43 inch Insignia 4K Smart UHD TV that came equipped with Fire TV for her living room. She and her roommate only watch streaming programs so they didn’t have to pay cable. The picture is great and the streaming services work seamlessly. I got this TV during an Amazon Lightening Deal for $239! It’s no longer available but similar sets are selling for the same price on Amazon.

Dining

Here’s a space saving tip: Place a rectangular table length wise against the wall with one chair on each end and two chairs facing the wall for daily use. When entertaining, pull the table away from the wall and place chairs on all sides or facing each other, as shown here. Either way, the chairs make great extra seating in the living room when friends are over.

If you have space for a small dining table and chairs, no one beats Ikea for solid wood construction at a great price point. This Lerhamn black-brown table top is 46.5 inches long by 29 inches deep and comes with four chairs for $299. I really like that the chair seats are padded, which makes them more comfortable. A less expensive option with the same great construction but without padded seats, is the Jokkmokk for $179. You can always buy chair pads separately.

If you really need to conserve day-to-day space but want the option for more surface area when entertaining, the Ingatorp table is $210 and has two wings that collapse for daily use. The table goes from 25 to 36.5 inches with one wing open to 48 inches with both wings open. It comes with only two chairs so you might want to invest in a couple of folding chairs that you can find reasonably priced at Ikea or Amazon.

Wall Decor

Don’t judge me but, yes, I was “that mom” — I put up removable wallpaper in my younger daughter’s dorm room…and strip lights. And her room looked amazing, if I do say so myself. When my older daughter was living off campus in college, two of her roommates had put up removable wallpaper in their bedrooms and it looked great. The girls also put strip lights up in their living room, which was fun for parties. So I thought I would include both here.

1. Peel & Stick Removable Wallpaper can turn drab walls into works of art. If the landlord won’t let you paint, this removable wallpaper is great alternative. The brick pattern is available in three colors starting at $24 per roll and each roll is 18 feet long by 20.5 inches wide. I found it fairly easy to put up, like putting down contact paper on shelves. There are lots of other prints and styles available at the NuWallpaper Store at Amazon. I fell in love with this stuff and now I want to wallpaper my whole house!

2. I highly recommend this Wallpaper Smoothing Took Kit for $6 because having the right tools makes any job easier. The sharp blades were helpful for cutting uneven corners and the smoothing tool worked better than my hands for a smooth application as I pulled the backing from the wallpaper.

3. LED Strip Lights with remote control adjusts to multiple colors and brightness. My husband said our daughter’s dorm room looked like Studio 54! I think they’re fun and add ambiance. They’re available in a variety of lengths.

Guests

Having more guests than can fit on your couch? Be the hostess with the mostess with this twin deluxe Intex air mattress with internal pump. Your friends will appreciate not sleeping on your hard floor and you’ll look like a big shot who sprung for a fancy raised air mattress (16 inches high). The built-in air-pump is so convenient, just plug it in to inflate; no separate air-pump to deal with. The twin airbed is $50 and has 4.4 stars from over 17,000 reviews. Also available in a queen if you have the space.

Laundry

Unless you’re fortunate enough to have a washer and dryer in your apartment, you will have to tote your laundry to the laundry room in your building — be it down the hall or in the basement.

This backpack laundry bag makes carrying your laundry, detergent and dryer sheets easy. It’s well made, machine washable and holds a lot. I got my daughter two of these laundry bags in different colors for easy sorting, one for lights and one for darks. She likes that the bags are not mesh or see-through so no one can her undergarments on the way down to the laundry room. The laundry bags have 4.6 stars from almost 11,00 reviews. Available in a variety of colors and prints, prices range from $17.

If you need to keep a laundry bin in your room, this free standing double hamper is a good option. It has a magnetic lid and two removable, mesh laundry bags. The hamper is 25 inches wide by 14 inches deep so it doesn’t take up too much space and the lid keeps your dirty laundry hidden. Available in gray or black for $48, where it has 4.7 stars from over 3,000 reviews.

Stay Safe!

I got both my girls and their roommates these small personal alarms to attach to their backpacks and pocketbooks. When you pull the pin with the wrist strap, this little thing releases a 140db ear-piercing alarm to draw attention to you in case of emergency. The company claims it can be heard over 600 feet away and it will sound for up to 50 minutes. We tested the alarm and it is loud; we didn’t measure the distance at which it could be heard because no one wanted to listen to it scream.

The egg shaped alarm also has a handy LED flashlight, key chain ring and wrist strap. It has 4.5 stars from over 9,500 reviews on Amazon where, for $19, you get a set of six different colored alarms, perfect for sharing. I hope the girls never have to use these but I’m glad they have them, and so are they.

Apartment Checklist

Please feel free to download my Apartment Checklist. I hope it’s helpful and wish you the best in your new apartment.

Apartment ChecklistDownload

All prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publication unless noted otherwise.