HomeFurnishing our Dining Area for under $250
chonkychowhaus
Self-designed 4rm HDB resale | Cosy, quirky & a little bit of everything 😺
Furnishing our Dining Area for under $250
416
- Free Style
- HDB (Resale)
- ~1,000 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Welcome to our dining area! Together with the living area, this forms the heart of our home where our family and friends gather for meals and catch-ups :) When we don't have guests over, this is still one of our most utilised area, doubling up as a work desk - also approved by our cats as they seem to like holding their meetings here too (Refer to Exhibit A below). 
Exhibit A: Pardon the mess, there's a very important meeting on world domination going on. 
Picket & Rail Dining Table: Free There was definitely a bit of decision paralysis while shopping for our dining set as there were so many options varying across design and budget. But when we eventually let go of the need for our first dining set to be 'perfect'/'right', 'The One' presented itself in the form of our parents' dining table lol. This Picket & Rail dining table was pretty under-utilised (used only to stack items, not eating) at our parents' place so they were happy for us to clear it. We like it for its simple, timeless design but most importantly, it felt meaningful to have a piece from the husband's childhood home (this table has been with him since he was in pri sch!). And of course, the unbeatable cash savings heh. 
4x Chairs: $123 With the dining table sorted, we started looking for chairs that would match (or in this case, mismatch) and eventually settled on this mix of orange and green chairs from Taobao. 
Dining Bench: $34.50 We also browsed Carousell frequently to look for unique pieces or good bargains to furnish the space. This dining bench is by far our most value-for-money purchase at $5! We paid $29.50 for delivery but it was still well worth it for the design, quality and spacious seating! 
Pair of art prints: $10.36 (Taobao) They (loosely) translate to: 'How is life bitter than coffee?' (Left) and 'Life is bitter, but milk tea makes up for it.' (Right). As coffee and milk tea lovers who like to whine about life, these serve as good reminders. 
Table Runner: $7 More accessories we got from Taobao, like this table runner, to spruce up the space a little. 
Light: $22 (Taobao) Artwork: $15 (An art shop in Hanoi) 
Total damage: $211.86 With all the costs that comes with reno and other big-ticket items, furnishing our dining space on a budget definitely helped. This experience taught us to view our home as a work-in-progress, evolving with us over time. Embrace what works for you right now, and remember, it's ok to take your time! :)
