Soldato
I mean yeah, but it's not exactly something you consider a priority when you are trying to set up home.
Not sure why it's even being mentioned in this thread.
Things you wish you'd spent less / more on?
- Thread starter ultralaser
- Start date
I mean yeah, but it's not exactly something you consider a priority when you are trying to set up home.
Not sure why it's even being mentioned in this thread.
Man of Honour
And neither of which should be necessary in the average home, which is why I'm saying don't overspend on it. It's a very specific use case if you want it for gaming or work (why aren't work providing, unless you are self employed?)
3 grand on a normal home PC is just bonkers.
Associate
Totally agree with this, people often just buy the cheapest but for not much more money you can get much better quality and looks.
I changed all the sockets, switches and door handles in my house from generic ones to brushed chrome and it's made a real difference to the looks and all the handles and switches now have a satisfying feel to them.
Wish I spent more on:
+House, bought in 2008 so was worried about the downturn and losing money on a more expensive property, but would've had a nicer house (4 bed detached instead of 3 bed terraced) and made more on appreciation over longer term
+Sofa, we have a fabric sofa and a leather armchair of the same type, the leather is much easier to clean
+Blinds, getting fitted blinds seemed really expensive so I bought our own made to measure and it doesn't really fit properly, keeps falling down and means there are too many holes where it was fitted now to put back up properly
+Dining chairs, ours seemed pretty decent value but the springs are squeaky and not the most comfortable to sit on after a while, you can feel some wood. Then again, very happy with the table they came with.
+Our old grill that didn't have dishwasherable plates, much easier with the replacement
+Flooring in bathrooms and hallway, should've gone with something more durable
+PC, I used to spend a lot of time gaming etc but have always looked for value rather than buying better stuff. I don't get much time for it these days and to some extent wish I'd splashed out while I had the time to enjoy my money.
+Mattress for our spare bedroom, it doesn't get used much (perhaps 10 nights a year) but slightly embarrassing as it isn't really firm enough [no, that isn't a euphemism!]. Then again I guess if you compare cost per nights used a year it is way more expensive than our master mattress.
Wish I spent less on:
-Baby/toddler stuff, very little usage compared to the total outlay of many thousands
-Sofa, in hindsight a big corner sofa with recliners takes up loads of space making our (moderately large) living room feel smaller, and things fall through the cracks and get stuck underneath
-Gadgets in general, e.g. blender and coffee machine sit largely redundant taking up space in the kitchen. When I say spend less, I mean don't buy at all.
+House, bought in 2008 so was worried about the downturn and losing money on a more expensive property, but would've had a nicer house (4 bed detached instead of 3 bed terraced) and made more on appreciation over longer term
+Sofa, we have a fabric sofa and a leather armchair of the same type, the leather is much easier to clean
+Blinds, getting fitted blinds seemed really expensive so I bought our own made to measure and it doesn't really fit properly, keeps falling down and means there are too many holes where it was fitted now to put back up properly
+Dining chairs, ours seemed pretty decent value but the springs are squeaky and not the most comfortable to sit on after a while, you can feel some wood. Then again, very happy with the table they came with.
+Our old grill that didn't have dishwasherable plates, much easier with the replacement
+Flooring in bathrooms and hallway, should've gone with something more durable
+PC, I used to spend a lot of time gaming etc but have always looked for value rather than buying better stuff. I don't get much time for it these days and to some extent wish I'd splashed out while I had the time to enjoy my money.
+Mattress for our spare bedroom, it doesn't get used much (perhaps 10 nights a year) but slightly embarrassing as it isn't really firm enough [no, that isn't a euphemism!]. Then again I guess if you compare cost per nights used a year it is way more expensive than our master mattress.
Wish I spent less on:
-Baby/toddler stuff, very little usage compared to the total outlay of many thousands
-Sofa, in hindsight a big corner sofa with recliners takes up loads of space making our (moderately large) living room feel smaller, and things fall through the cracks and get stuck underneath
-Gadgets in general, e.g. blender and coffee machine sit largely redundant taking up space in the kitchen. When I say spend less, I mean don't buy at all.
Caporegime
If we'd spent just 15% less on all the fitted blinds (wifey gets what wifey wants) I would have been able to get a Drimaster purchased and installed at no additional spend.
They are nice blinds, but still...
They are nice blinds, but still...
I was used to two ply before buying tp for myself when moved out. I went for triple ply and it was so much nicer. Then I tried Andrex Supreme Quilts which is quad ply
I've not gone back since. The only downside is you can't risk as much per flush so there is a little up tick in water cost, if you're on a meter.
Definitely agree to not skimp on bed + mattress.
On the sofa front, if you're ever the type to eat dinner on the sofa. Don't get a light coloured fabric. You'll be paranoid every time you sit down with a cup of tea or glass of wine or lasagne. I don't particularly like leather sofas, but they're much easier to clean.
On the sofa front, if you're ever the type to eat dinner on the sofa. Don't get a light coloured fabric. You'll be paranoid every time you sit down with a cup of tea or glass of wine or lasagne. I don't particularly like leather sofas, but they're much easier to clean.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,372
The frame means nothing so long as its sturdy. You can put a mattress on the floor, on pallets or even a pile of bricks. It's the mattress that really matters. The frame not so much so long as it's solid.
Permabanned
My experience:
- In sofas you want foam not that other filling garbage that just goes flat.
- For furniture you want solid wood. Hard wood is better. Some of the IKEA stuff is soft wood which is OK but won't last a lifetime. The cheaper IKEA stuff is garbage.
- If you buy IKEA stuff, get an electric screwdriver.
- Get a decent size TV. I got a good deal on one but ended up shuffling the room around and then it was too small.
- Get a high quality mattress.
- I got cat6 everywhere but it's just been less stable than wifi, so I shouldn't have bothered. Modern wifi is rock solid.
- I got robot hoovers, so getting stuff a robot can hoover under is smart.
- I had white goods included, so dunno about that.
- I wish I'd spent more and got the whole garden paved rather than part paved part turfed, coz it's a pita to have to keep cutting the grass.
- I spent quite a bit getting custom curtains made and fitted and it just wasn't good value for money, get a few quotes for that stuff, or DIY.
- I should have got wood flooring everywhere instead of carpet everywhere. Got nice tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms which was worth it.
- Get LED lightbulbs.
- In sofas you want foam not that other filling garbage that just goes flat.
- For furniture you want solid wood. Hard wood is better. Some of the IKEA stuff is soft wood which is OK but won't last a lifetime. The cheaper IKEA stuff is garbage.
- If you buy IKEA stuff, get an electric screwdriver.
- Get a decent size TV. I got a good deal on one but ended up shuffling the room around and then it was too small.
- Get a high quality mattress.
- I got cat6 everywhere but it's just been less stable than wifi, so I shouldn't have bothered. Modern wifi is rock solid.
- I got robot hoovers, so getting stuff a robot can hoover under is smart.
- I had white goods included, so dunno about that.
- I wish I'd spent more and got the whole garden paved rather than part paved part turfed, coz it's a pita to have to keep cutting the grass.
- I spent quite a bit getting custom curtains made and fitted and it just wasn't good value for money, get a few quotes for that stuff, or DIY.
- I should have got wood flooring everywhere instead of carpet everywhere. Got nice tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms which was worth it.
- Get LED lightbulbs.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 8 Feb 2004
- Posts
- 4,539
Good point about led bulbs - I would always buy Philips now as they are the best on the market in terms of reliability - albeit from my limited sample size. Don't need to buy Hue unless it takes your fancy, just anything made by Philips should do nicely.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,372
I bought the absolute cheapest ones for each fitting from screwfix and ebay. Been 3 years so far with zero failures.
Soldato
Running 15 screwfix led gu10 spots and not had one fail in 3 years either.
LEDs are typically rated in hours rather than a length of ownership time. I have finally run through a set (LAP Screwfix) in my kitchen which we built 5 years ago now, 16 of them in there (GU10) and 90% of them finally failed after i think around 25-26000 hours. They are rated at 25000 so i'd say that seems fair. I have happily bought more cheap ones (£1 each from wickes 
) which seem fine a month in, we'll see in 5 years time whether they lasted the rated 25000 hours.
) which seem fine a month in, we'll see in 5 years time whether they lasted the rated 25000 hours.
Man of Honour
I initially had loads of cheap GU10 LED bulbs fail on me, just cheapy ones from Robert Dyas etc and the ones that came with the house from Taylor Wimpey. Must have tried 4-5 different brands and at least one would fail over the course of a year.
Eventually gave up and went the extreme route and spent close a grand replacing every bulb/spotlight with Hue Colour/Ambience bulbs
Eventually gave up and went the extreme route and spent close a grand replacing every bulb/spotlight with Hue Colour/Ambience bulbs
Soldato
I've still not had a single hue bulb fail on me so far. Had my first ones for years now.