STYLISH homes evolve gradually, but the first few weeks will be hell without some crucial basics:

Sleeping in a well-chosen bed makes a world of difference to health and happiness. Take your time, but do your back a favour and buy a futon for the months you’ll spend dithering over which bed you want. The Futon Company has a good range, the most basic costing £100.

As one of the longest-lasting appliances you will ever own, a fridge may not be the place to economise – and you might as well have a freezer with your fridge. A tall fridge-freezer (particularly a looker, such as a Smeg) will set you back more than £1,000. A Beko, on the other hand, is only £250; it’s a little low in the style stakes (white and angular with basic shelving) but it is only a fridge after all.

Having helped the delivery men with a couple of token boxes, you (and they) will be dying for a cuppa. Cuisinart does two stylish kettles at a good price. One a jug style and the other a traditional, rounded shape; both are cordless and cost £19.95. All that unwrapping creates a serious mound of packaging to darken your eco-conscience. Banish unsightly bin bags into Habitat’s old-fashioned lacquered Alto dustbin for £25.

Related Internet Links

• An essential guide for first-time buyers

Background

• Getting on the property ladder: DIY approach

• Affordable first-time buyer homes

• New homes offer a first step on the housing ladder

Ten things you need to know about... buying your first home

Soaring property prices have made it difficult for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder. But a slower market could provide new opportunities: find out how to make the most of them

• A step-by-step guide to buying your first home

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• First-time buyer special

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According to figures, first-time buyers are leaving the property market, with numbers falling by a fifth in the past six months

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

• First time buyers risk negative equity

Background

• How to get onto the property ladder

• Useful websites for first-time buyers

• Rise in buyers borrowing five times their income

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

Background

• We need more homes

• Grab a home in Tuscany

• Furnished with brainpower

• Auction stations

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• The home town exiles

• Affordable first-time buyer homes

• First-time buyers face highest mortgage costs in 15 years

• Useful websites for first-time buyers

Background

• A problem shared is a problem solved

• Beware of bidding for bargains

• Step on to the property ladder

• Young home-buyers forced into record debt

Background

• Wimpey to fight for first-time buyers

• Chic and cheerful

• First rung

• Beware of giving it 110 per cent with your loan

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• Keep it in the family

• How do I get in?

• The rise of parent power

• Pester power

One night using plastic cutlery from the new-found local takeaway is quite enough. Search eBay for antique silverware in advance, or, if secondhand eating doesn’t float your boat, Matalan has a 24-piece silver cutlery set for a slim £12. Even its 40-piece set is only £40. Either way, at a pound a piece or less, it’s cheap. Matalan’s plain white porcelain crockery, from £1.50 a piece, should also tide you over until something more sophisticated in in order.

Buying a dining table can take ages as you search for the perfect style – the right shape, size and finish can be hard to find. But don’t picnic on the floor; get a fold-out table and chairs, such as the Metal Bistro set, £59.99 from Homebase, throw a tablecloth over it, and, when you get the real thing, move it into the garden.

Avoid the East End-squat look by quickly popping some simple, spherical paper lampshades over those glaring bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Big ones look best, for breezy Seventies chic. Ikea calls them Regolits and sells them for a minuscule £1.49 each.

Curtains instantly give a furnished look: keep your nightlife private with M&S’s kindly priced Pure Cotton Pencil Pleat style, from £15, which (as the name suggests) has proper pleating at the top, rather than the fabric loops called “tab top” found on most cheap curtains. These are unlined, however; to keep the sunrise at bay in bedrooms, try Debenhams, whose Ashley Wild range starts at £14, or £4 in the online sale.

It’s not pretty and it’s not big enough for even a quarter of your clothes, but Argos’s clothing rail costs £5.97 and will decrease a few weeks’ worth of outfits until you fork out for a wardrobe.

Go on, admit it, you would be lost most evenings without your flashing friend, the goggle box. Argos and the omnipotent Tesco have basic 14in colour televisions for about £45. If you want high-definition-ready viewing, Comet has a 19in Goodmans model, reduced from £229.99 to £179.99.

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