Furniture Options For the Off-Campus Apartment
Trying to furnish an off-campus apartment can be a frustrating experience for many college students. Money is about as tight as it can get and options for furniture seem thin when compared to needing books and supplies. Because of this, many off-campus apartments are furnished with the bare essentials. As such, the furniture that is bought needs to be specifically tailored to serve many purposes and be affordable.
Most college students that have an off-campus apartment want a decent looking pad. They have lived the dorm life usually, and have now moved on to something a bit more like a regular home. Many times they are actually renting their apartment along with several friends. By pooling your resources, you can usually find good furniture options if you know where to look.
The first thing you need to do is decide whether you are going with new or used furniture. Most college students have friends or family that have extra furniture or used furniture for sale cheap. This is a great way to get beds, end tables, appliances and even dressers. When it comes to living room furniture such as couches, love seats and chairs, however, the used furniture is not always going to be the best choice. The reason for this is because this furniture is what is going to be visible to your guests. What are the odds that five odd pieces of used furniture will be similar enough in style and color to match up with each other or the apartment in general? Slim to none really.
Fortunately, there are some furniture options in the ready to assemble (or RTA) market that are perfect for off-campus apartments. They are extremely well made, and do not cost a fortune either. The biggest thing here is to make sure you look into the custom made RTA furniture options as opposed to the cheapo RTA options. The cheap RTA furniture will be destroyed by college students quickly, as it is cheaply made with particle board and cheap fabrics. Custom made RTA furniture will be solidly built, and still cost much less than the typical showroom furniture pieces.
Custom built RTA furniture offers college students great sleeper sofas, chairs, loveseats and couches in various sizes. They are made with the strongest wood frames and are available in a large number of styles and makes. You can pick from hundreds of different combinations of patterns and colors, all while spending much less than you would on high end furniture. The best part of it is that the furniture will look great and be highly functional in a college off-campus apartment setting.
The sleeper sofas that are available with custom made RTA furniture companies are perfect for college life. They can quickly and easily be turned into extra bedding if you have guests over, while serving as a full sized or small couch normally. They are extremely comfortable and have a great deal of value serving two purposes. These sleeper sofas are often used in studio apartments to be the primary bed and couch for the owner. If it is comfortable to be an every night bed for them, then it will be the perfect solution for overnight guests to your apartment.
Keep in mind that furnishing an off-campus apartment should not be overly expensive. You should spend your money on the furniture items that will give you the maximum amount of functionality and style in the most visible areas of your apartment. The back rooms and bedrooms are less of a concern as they generally are not seen by visitors anyway. Use these areas to pick up used furniture and hand me downs.
