Furnish Your Home The Military Way
By Meredith Leyva
Summer 2004
Whether you're a bride-to-be or a seasoned military wife, it is always a good idea to consider the military lifestyle when buying furniture and household items. After all, these items can prove expensive. The two most important factors to consider when stocking up your household inventory are frequent moves and the need for storage.
The typical military family moves every three years. That means having burly guys (maybe even including your husband!) pack up your good china and collectibles. So consider the following tips:
- When entering military life, it's probably not a good idea to start collecting antique teacups or glass figurines.
- Select durable china patterns such as Wedgwood, with colors that are baked in instead of painted on. Patterns with gold rims may look durable, but gold paint often chips off in the dishwasher.
- Choose thick crystal instead of the delicate thin kind.
- Let professional movers pack your china and breakables but let them know in no uncertain terms that these items are delicate.
Military families also tend to live in base housing or rentals, and that means a lot of white walls. Despite your best decorating intentions, you are not likely to paint so it's better to strategize a solid decorating theme that will look good whether you're stationed in Japan or California or Washington, D.C.
- When buying your first pieces of furniture, select a general color scheme for the entire house. Every time you buy a new piece, make sure it fits into that scheme even if it is for a different room. In a few years, all of your furniture may wind up in the same room together, so it must coordinate.
- Do not select color schemes with neutral colors like white, beige or black. Your walls always will be white or beige, so you'll need to brighten things up with color.
- Buy wooden picture frames and shelves that can be painted. It's a great way to spiff up white walls.
- Recognize that "California casual" style furniture does not look appropriate everywhere. When selecting the cloth for your furniture, choose patterns that will fit in almost anywhere. Then use inexpensive tablecloths, curtains and decorative pillows to make your look more casual or formal.
- Wood antique or foreign furniture are great collectibles, inexpensive, and capture the memories of where you once lived. In Washington, D.C., for example, you can get a beautiful dark-wood clothes drawer (circa 1900) at local antique fairs for about $70. Japanese "stair" chests are another great investment.
- When you've finally convinced your husband that the Budweiser Girls are not considered art, consider buying a mirror instead of a large poster or painting. They're less expensive than good art and fit in with all decor.
Finally, there is the challenge of switching from single-family homes in low-cost areas to apartments or townhomes in high-cost areas. How do you fit an entire house full of furniture into an apartment without giving half of it away? Below are some tips:
- Invest in a quality sofa-bed. It is more expensive than a regular sofa, but you can put it in the living room or a guest room.
- Use laminated bookshelves that are put together and taken apart for easy storage. Buy one neutral color, such as black or white, so the items may be mixed and matched in any room. They don't have to be used for books; they are suitable for bathrooms, children's rooms or clothes storage in closets.
- For holding china, consider buying corner cabinets instead of traditional rectangular monstrosities that take up an entire wall. Triangular in shape, corner cabinets hold a lot more that you think and can fit in almost any room. They're harder to find, but usually you can buy them in any style at your favorite furniture store.
- When choosing bedside tables or end tables, select those with drawers for extra storage space.
- Get a library card. Books are surprisingly expensive, they require a lot of storage, and their accumulated weight takes up too much of your allocated shipping weight.
- Avoid buying knick-knacks or trinkets, especially delicate items. If you want to collect memories, get your family interested in photography.
- Every three months, make your entire family review their clothes and belongings and give away any item that has not been used in the past year. Not only will this improve storage and packing time, it will force every family member to think twice before buying something.
If you must give away furniture and sundries, make an effort to give it to another military family. In the end, we will all reap the benefits.
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Meredith Leyva is the founder of CinCHouse.com and author of "Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends and Women in Uniform." E-mail your questions to cinc@cinchouse.com.
Related articles:
Getting Ready For Your First Military Move: PCS Moving Tips
Countdown To Moving Day: PCS Relocation Checklist
'Families First' Program Set To Ease Military Moving Process
Deployment and Relocation: Neat Freak Or Pack Rat: What Documents To Keep, What To Trash
Keep Your Sanity At Moving Time: Relocation Advice for Military Families
Military PCS and Moving Advice: How To Submit A Military Claim
