How to Furnish Your New Home in Canada for Less (Without Sacrificing Style)

The reality is that rushing to fill that space with brand-new furniture sets might be appealing until you see the price tag or your bank balance quickly falling. Maybe you’re considering turning to low-quality, lower-cost furniture stores – but you know that ‘fast furniture’ is a huge environmental issue (and you don’t like the look or feel of it anyway).  

Fortunately, there are ways to sidestep the stress and expense of furnishing from scratch, so you can keep more money in your pocket while still creating a space that reflects your personal style. In this post, we’ll share all the secrets of furnishing your home in Canada for less.  

Key Takeaways 

• Sourcing lightly used, secondhand items can help you furnish your home for less, but it’s tricky to find trustworthy sellers online (if you don’t know where to look).  
• Karrot is a prime example of an online marketplace that connects you with nearby sellers. You can find local secondhand items for sale on Karrot, plus you can easily filter your search results based on your style.  
• There are five easy steps you can take to save money on stylish, quality furniture.

2 Common Mistakes Newcomers Make When Furnishing A Home 

Before we dig into the do’s of furnishing your new home, we’ll quickly cover some dont’s to help you avoid some common mistakes we see:  

Don’t Feel Bad If Your Home Isn’t ‘Insta-Worthy’ 

Immaculate rooms and curated decor are everywhere online, but this doesn’t mean it’s the norm. The average Canadian home has been pieced together over time and contains a combination of pieces that ‘do the job’ and pieces that those who live there love.  

Your home doesn’t need to look magazine-perfect from the moment you move in. We repeat: your home doesn’t need to be perfect from the moment you move in.  

Take your time to work out how you want to use your space, and save yourself the cash, and heartache, of trying to get everything social media ready from day one. Why? Because this can (and likely will) lead to overspending on pieces that might not even fit your real-life needs or your actual space. 

Treating Your Current Home As Your Forever Home 

If you’re very new to Canada, you’re likely going to change jobs in the next year, start making much better money within the next five years and you may even plan to buy a home, start a family, or have your eye on a different neighbourhood that better suits your lifestyle. Whatever your next steps are, it’s very likely that you’ll move within the next few years – especially if you’re currently renting.  

So, with that in mind, spending a small fortune on furnishings is likely a mistake. Those pieces may not fit into your next space, or they might clash with the colour of the feature wall. And, as we mentioned above, fast furniture comes with a host of issues for the environment and might not be the highest in quality. 

What To Do Instead To Save Money on Stylish Furniture 

Here’s our step-by-step plan for furnishing your home on a budget, without sacrificing on your style:  

Step 1: Ask How You’re Going To Make The Space Work For You 

By prioritising functionality—such as ensuring there’s enough seating for your family in the living room or adequate storage in your bedroom—you’ll focus on selecting pieces that genuinely improve your day-to-day life, rather than merely checking off a box on a décor wishlist. 

At this stage, you should make a list of your furniture needs (including any specific storage or functionality required), and maybe add a few wants in too, just make sure you mark them as a want, not a need.  

Pro Tip: Actually make this list and stick to it. It’s very easy to get carried away when furniture shopping, especially if you’re buying things secondhand and it seems like an incredible deal. Just because it’s a good deal, doesn’t mean it will work in your space. So this list can help you avoid overfilling your space and hurting its functionality.  

Step 2: Learn What You Like 

For some of us, this might be the fun part. Get online and take a look at some Instagram or Pinterest pages to work out what your style is. Are you a mid-century modern enthusiast? Or is cottage more your style? Or do you like more contemporary styles? Learning the name of your style can help make the rest of this process much simpler.  

Pro Tip: At this stage, adopt a slow decorating approach.  

In the digital age, we’ve grown accustomed to near-instant gratification, which can extend to how we decorate our homes. But many interior design experts advocate for a “slow decorating” mindset—taking time to accumulate pieces that truly resonate with you and align with your lifestyle. By not rushing to buy every chair and table at once, you allow your taste to evolve with your daily routines, ensuring that each new addition genuinely enhances how you live. 

Yep, that means your new space might look a little sparse for now. But that’s okay. Your friends and family will be fine if they have to BYO chairs to spend the evening at yours, playing board games on the floor. Rome wasn’t built in a day.  

Step 3: Source What You Can Secondhand 

In Canada, thrifting and treasure-hunting for previously owned items have become not just budget-friendly choices, but also environmentally responsible ones. As people become more conscious of waste and the environmental toll of mass-produced furniture, purchasing pre-loved pieces isn’t just a thrifty move—it’s a sustainable one, too. 

Karrot is a prime example of an online marketplace that connects you with nearby sellers. You can find local secondhand items for sale on Karrot, plus you can easily filter your search results based on your style.  

Here are some of the benefits of using Karrot, and other similar online marketplaces:  

• Local focus means you can often avoid shipping or long drives, cutting down on both costs and time.  

• Items are usually lightly used and in generally good condition. Though owners are usually transparent about the actual condition. 

• You can save a great deal of money, with many items being between 30-50% off retail in our experience. Some items are up to 70% off.  

• You get a chance to engage with people in your area—this can be especially helpful when you’re new to a community and looking for easy ways to meet neighbours and learn about local deals. 

What sets Karrot apart is its user-friendly interface and built-in trust features that let you see real people’s profiles and reviews. This can give you greater peace of mind when you’re buying furniture, since it’s often an investment—even in second-hand form. Plus, the chat functionality allows you to negotiate prices, ask detailed questions about an item’s condition, and arrange pick-up times without the hassle of endless email threads or phone calls. 

Step 4: Consider If You’re Ready To Upcycle Used Items 

Can’t find exactly what you want secondhand? Could you upcycle something that’s close enough? 

There has been an explosion of DIY furniture refurbishers in Canada. So, there’s a very good chance you’ll be able to find a YouTube video or TikTok showing exactly how you can turn those second-hand chairs or those nightstands in very rough condition into something you’d be proud to have in your home. 

Step 5: Buy What You Need To New 

While you can often furnish most of your home with pre-owned finds, certain items—like mattresses—might be better purchased new for hygiene and comfort reasons. That doesn’t mean you have to blow your budget, though. Keep an eye on sales, use coupon codes, and shop around major holidays when furniture retailers often drop prices. If you plan ahead, you can time your big purchases to coincide with seasonal promotions, helping you save even more. 

Pro Tips For Buying Secondhand Furnishings 

1. Having a clear budget for your furnishings is crucial. Decide in advance how much you want to allocate for each major piece—like your sofa, dining set, and bed. Once you start browsing online marketplaces or local thrift stores, don’t be shy about negotiating. Many sellers expect a bit of haggling, especially if an item has been listed for a while. You can politely propose a lower price, or ask if there’s any flexibility—often, the worst that can happen is they’ll say no, but you might be pleasantly surprised by what they’ll accept. 
2. While saving money is the main goal, it’s also important to understand that not every piece should be bought at rock-bottom prices. High-traffic items like sofas, mattresses, or dining chairs get a lot of wear, so investing in quality can save you money in the long run. Just remember, quality doesn’t necessarily mean new. Do your research and you can often find high-quality furniture using online marketplaces.  
3. When buying second-hand, always do your due diligence. Inspect items thoroughly for damage, especially structural issues that might not be obvious in photos.  
4. If you’re using a trustworthy platform like Karrot, take advantage of direct communication features to ask specific questions, request extra pictures, and confirm pickup logistics—these simple steps go a long way toward ensuring you’re getting a piece that meets your expectations. 
5. Be very wary of scams. If you’re buying an item, offer to pay in cash or only send an e-transfer after you have met the seller in person. If they mention that they won’t meet up without an etransfer, you’ll need to balance the risk of getting scammed with the cost of the item. If it’s too much for you to risk losing, walk away – no matter how good the deal seems. While some buy-and-sell platforms have a reputation for reacting to scams slowly or ineffectively, or not at all, Karrot has strict user verification requirements that greatly reduce the risk of scams. 

To sign off, we want to remind you that the best rooms aren’t flawless. They’re the spaces where you can kick off your shoes, host friends and family, and truly relax without worrying about a scuff or a spill. By taking a mindful, resourceful approach, you’ll discover that furnishing your new home for less can be a creative adventure, leading to a warm and welcoming place that feels authentically like you. 

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