If you like Crate & Barrel furniture, buy Crate & Barrel furniture. They make good stuff, namely Lee Industries sofas, Good quality.

Furniture shopping has become very difficult. Most stuffs made very cheaply. The stuff that is not is very expensive. It has become arguably better, in a lot of cases, to buy used furniture made before 1970 and fix it up to your liking, i.e.: painted, reupholstered, new hardware (draw knobs and pulls) that sort of thing.

Sofas are expensive, so IMO ,that is an area where it is worth spending $ on to get it right, namely that it is made of a hard wood, has blocks in the corners of the frame, is eight-way hand tied. Sofas also are so expensive to reupholster, so you want to try to avoid that and get it right the first time.

Same things with chairs. You would want new sofa cushion, i.e.: clean.

Only other thing you obviously absolutely want new is a mattress, for obvious reasons. And good luck with that. That industry is beyond sleazy. I'd go outside the box and look at independent mattress manufacturers.

For your curtains, I'd pick a heavy fabric you like (heavy so that it hangs well) and have a local seamstress/upholsterer custom make them for you.

Good luck! Your new house is beautiful. Have fun with it!

Check out IKEA for curtains. I prefer them over my PB curtains, which were way more expensive. West Elm also has nice curtains.
Also, checkout Craigslist. In my area, there are lots of C+B finds.

Big caution for you...just because it fits, doesn't mean it's right. Homes from the 50s tended to be smaller whereas a lot of today's furniture is designed for much larger homes. So you can measure and determine it fits, but then get it in the house and find it is way too large in scale. And the furniture always looks smaller in the store than at home.

One of the advantages of buying vintage is that it tends to be smaller in scale and more in keeping with an older home. I ended up buying and reupholstering a chair and ottoman for my bedroom nook...not only did it save me money, but the chair was of the right scale for the space....the new ones, not so much.

This is actually a big philosophical question: should you think about a longer timeline, or not. To me, investing 15K in furniture for just 10 years is almost a waste of money. If you know you want to stay in that house, and if the house dictates a certain style to you, then choose one or two rooms to do very well--or at least buy some good pieces for them--and little by little, acquire more things to fill in. I receive many compliments on my houses--and one day, I looked around and realized that with the exception of good sofas and chairs, re-upholstered during the years, I bought almost nothing at full price, and very little of that. Great quality furniture is given away or sold at very low prices every day. Estate sales, friends or family redecorating, Craigs List, Ebay--as long as you are buying quality things, almost everything can be cleaned up/gussied up. But, it takes some imagination and taste.

To get back to the original point--$15 K gets you a few pieces of upholstered furniture and your mattresses. I would definitely never spend full price on a dining room table and chairs. There is GREAT stuff out there that people don't want--thousands of possibilities. Reupholstering the seats of DR chairs is simple and inexpensive. If you don't have access to first class fabrics, there are websites/flash sales that can get you $200 a yard fabric for peanuts.

If you feel you want everything to be new at once, you have to lower your sights a lot on the quality/style side of things.

My two cents for the day....from this lady with a lot more aspirations than money....

Is that pic of your new living room? If so, please note that the furniture placement does not take advantage of the lovely fireplace...instead it ignores it.

It looks like it could support two separate seating arrangements with a cross linking piece in between...

I'd suggest determining what you absolutely need to live with and then just get that...you can always add pieces over time if you feel you need to, but a minimalist approach can be very effective and easier on the budget.

If you want custom curtains you can look at Smith and Noble...

http://www.halfpricedrapes.com/
explore their site and look at your kocal jcpenney for their custom draperies and local drapery houses.
most furniture is cheap made so keep an eye out for old furnishings that can be upholstered and/or refinished/renewed.

One reason you seldom see really nice full wide drapes is the expense. You could eat up your entire budget and more just on drapes. That's one reason many people opt for stationary panels.

Shop your local craigslist and the craigslists within a half day's drive. And consignment shops. Many consignment shops have websites with photos of their items. I am on an e-mail list to be notified when estate sales are coming up in my area - it's something like estatesales.org or estatesales.net. Most are not worth going to, but there was one recently 50 miles away of the estate of a music executive. That was worth the trip.

Take your time, shop carefully and your money will go further.

I agree with vedazu. If it were me, I'd invest in a good mattress/boxspring. My next good, long-term investment would be a sofa in a nylon fabric of neutral color or in real leather with simple lines that can transition to any decor. Casement/cabinets, side tables, coffee tables, dining table & chairs, dressers -- I'd look at older stuff that you can buy inexpensively at estate sales, garage sales, etc. Then remove hardware and refinish or paint. Side chairs -- to me, those are the items that get changed out frequently due to changes in color trends, etc. So, the side chairs are the items that I might spend less money upon at the big-brand furniture stores. The fabrics of the side chairs and pillows could be the items that get changed out in ten years when you might crave a new look, or when you move into a different house where the style/fabric doesn't fit - or, when you want to follow a different color/style trend.

Take your time. Every single time I've bought a piece of furniture because I had to have something right away, or by some set-by-me deadline, I've ended up regretting it.

That hand-me-down furniture can be place-holders for another few months.

The one thing I'd buy as soon as you close on the house would be the new king-size mattress. You can plop it on an inexpensive metal frame (you might even get one free with the purchase) until you find a bed that you love. Or even DIY a headboard for a couple of hundred dollars that will tide you over for a year or so. But a good night's sleep is worth a lot, so splurge on the right mattress.

Then live in the house. Find out what rooms you, when you use them and for what. Where does noise carry? Where's the morning sunlight? The afternoon sun?

Then create a plan for each room. Furniture should not be purchased in a vacuum. You have the paint color to consider, the flooring, the use the room will be put to.

It's okay if you seat your guests on folding chairs for six months. It's okay if you find the perfect family room rug and then don't find the right sofa for another 12 weeks.

As for where to shop, Crate and Barrel is a good place to start.

But also check out independently owned furniture stores in your area. They will carry a number of different lines of furniture. Some have interior designers on staff. Many have lines of upholstered furniture where you can pick the fabric that you want, so you can get the comfy sofa you love, in a fabric that will stand up to pets and kids.

Congrats on the new home. If you post some pics of decor you really like maybe we can help you pic out the common elements . That would give you a starting point.

I can't say enough about Smith Brothers furniture. It is made in the mid-west (Indiana, I think). I was redecorating a living room and bought two custom chairs from SB. Due to a change in plans they didn't look right with other living room pieces so I am using them in my library. I also purchased a Hancock and Moore sofa, recliner, and a Jess Charles fireside chair covered in a Hancock and Moore leather. I love the H & M pieces but I can honestly say that the SB chairs, though upholstered, are every bit as nice quality wise. The upholstery is done absolutely perfectly, I love the lines of the chairs, and they are extremely comfy.

I also agree that you should live in your home before deciding what pieces will work best for how you live in your home.

I also agree that the best money you can spend is on a high quality mattress. Your back will thank you for it every morning.

holly-kay - sort of strangely serendipitous that you mentioned Smith Brothers in this post, because that's exactly the brand I was thinking of when I suggested lakeviewmama purchase a nice sofa in leather with simple lines. :-) I have my eye on one of the Smith Brother sofas and plan to visit a supplier sometime this summer to see if they are scaled right for my size - 5'5"

Is the room pictured going to be the main living area/family room for watching tv, etc? If so, then invest in good sofas and chairs that will hold up to everyday use. If it is a room that won't get used much...just when company comes over....you can get less expensive pieces. I have Smith Brothers and have been happy with them.

Agree invest first in good mattress and take your time with the rest. And actually, a designer can save you $ in the long run. They help you avoid costly mistakes and can pull everything together to achieve the look you want.

I would second the "live with what you have for a while" advice. Until you've lived in the house for a bit, it is hard to tell what you might really want or use.

Three months ago, DH and I bought a new mattress. Based on Consumer Reports ratings, we bought the Costco Novaform Serafina. We have been very pleased with the bed. You cannot beat the price ($950/king) or the warranty (1 year).

Thank you all for the great advice!

@AnnieDeighnaugh Agree on the issues of scale and older homes. And we love vintage furniture -- have a few pieces (side tables, a bench for our bedroom) that I would love to incorporate and add to.

@vedazu Agree on that too! To me 10 years just feels long in that I can't picture really what our needs will be beyond that time horizon, but would definitely want furniture that can last beyond.

@AnnieDeighnaugh No this is the current arrangement that the sellers have. I really love the fireplace (it's original) and hope we can come up with a layout that gives it more focus.

@joaniepoanie This is the only main floor living space. The basement has a nice finished den that will be where our current giant sectional will go, as well as our big TV. I would love for this room to be just a tad prettier but not too formal.

Thanks for all the tips as well! Agree that our first priority is a new bed, and I will try to be patient on the rest. I contacted Smith Brothers online to see about retailers in my area.

Just another vote for "buy vintage and reupholster!" Every stick of furniture in my house (except for the sectional in the basement) was purchased used or a hand me down. I've had much of it reupholstered several times over the years and it is all quite nice and unique. The hunt is also lots of fun!

I've attached an older thread that people discussed (at long length) the advantages of spending 'big' money on furniture. It offers a lot of different perspectives on the topic.

Its a joke in my husband's family that they always buy the more expensive piece in the store. And, when they get it home, it is the most uncomfortable thing they've ever sat/laid on. They spend good good money on furniture. I think sometimes you'll just never know.

I've also had this issue come up lately since we just closed on a house and need to (partially) fill it with furniture. I'm going the 'get what you want, but buy less over a long period of time' route. I love antiques, and the house really is small. So, every piece counts 'cause there isn't much room for many pieces! I've pretty much decided to spend almost 5,000 on a dining table and a secretary desk. My father is an antique dealer, and in all my life, I have never seen two pieces like these. They are just so unique.

On the other hand, many pieces of furniture won't be purchased/updated for a long time. The IKEA coffee table and TV are staying. I'm not getting rugs. We are using our old dining chairs that will look positively awful with the new table. I'm making a upholstered headboard (which I've done once before) for the bed. My mother wants me to pay $100 for a table - but she always has hated most of her furniture. Why would I want to if we have the financial means?

Anyways. End rant. Let us know how it goes!

Oh, and to whoever suggested the estate sale website. THANK YOU. Now I have someplace to browse piles of people's old stuff!!

Here is a link that might be useful: old thread

I'll pile on to the "live with it for awhile" and buy what you love. Use what you have until you find the right piece. Some days I am the mood to buy furniture, and it happens pretty quickly. I have a list of the things I am looking for, and once in awhile will pop into stores, antique stores consignment, etc, and sometimes I'll find something, and other times I will not.

I also have the benefit of a "catalog" dealer in the area.This guy can order almost anything and it's very reasonably priced- the markup on new furniture borders on ridiculous. It's probably 1/2 to 2/3 retail price.

What a lovely room! Honestly, if it were me, and I was basically starting with a blank slate...I'd hire an ID. That is a lot to buy all at once, and you don't want to make expensive mistakes. A designer could give you a cohesive plan. You could get the pieces that are the highest priority now, then fill in as you can. You will feel so much more confident about your purchases knowing that each are a part of the overall plan. If you are upfront about your budget and timeline there should be no issues. Best of luck to you!

Re: buying used/vintage and having it reupholstered. Make sure you've got a good upholsterer in your area. When DD moved into her new house last year her MIL and I gave her chairs that we had that nearly matched. I had them re-upholstered for her so that they now appear to be a matched pair of chairs. I had never had upholstery work done in this area. I got recommendations from the nice lady at the local fabric store. What a mess! The upholsterer did a terrible job on the chairs.

My advice would be, before you jump into having things reupholstered, look at the work of some upholsterers and talk to friends who've had furniture reupholstered. Make sure you've got a quality upholsterer lined up to do the work