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Instead of following in the footsteps of thousands of buyers and purchasing any of these 18 products, I have other recommendations. If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to turn your home into the perfect retreat to enjoy with friends and family. The right house items can make a big difference—without the need to overspend.
There’s a fine line between splurging on today’s ‘it’ thing and purchasing quality items you’ll enjoy for years. Then there are the TikTok crazes and the tantalizing glossy magazine editorials, which are great for inspiration but can easily pull you away from your aesthetic.
If there’s anything you take away from my experience and research for this article, please don’t get hooked on a look. Talk to someone who has what you’re considering buying, and do your own research. To jumpstart the process, here are 18 purchases for your home that you’ll want to skip.
1. High-End Fine China
I don’t know if this is just a carryover tradition from hundreds of years ago, but what makes people want to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy set of dishware they’ll probably never use? Don’t get me wrong, I love a beautiful place setting as much as the next person, but why does it have to be so expensive, and why china?
Instead, just buy a nice set of dishes you can always use and dress up for the occasional family celebration. With the money you save, you can get all the fancy placemats, napkins, and napkin rings you want!
2. Cheap Furniture
Moving is an expensive endeavor, but you can’t just sit on empty milk crates and old pallets in your beautiful new place, so you’ve got to purchase some furniture. However, many shoppers regret rushing in too quickly to buy furniture and opting for cheap pieces that fall apart much sooner than they were planning to replace them.
I know it might sound cringy, but consider checking out a rental center for temporary furniture so you can take your time shopping for items you’ll really love.
3. Specialty Small Appliances
Juicer, sous vide, deep fryer, ice cream maker, pizza oven, the list goes on. We all get on a kick of some sort occasionally, but is it worth hundreds or thousands of dollars when you’ll likely be over it in a week or two?
If you’ve just got to try out one of these single-use small appliances, try searching Facebook Marketplace local thrift stores and talking to friends to see if you can pick up a gently used item. If you find you’re still using it several months in, you’ll have a better idea of what to look for when you make your final purchase.
4. Playground Structures
Your kids may have begged you for it, and your inner child may have also been pretty excited by the idea of having a fun swing set and slide in the backyard, but after the novelty wears off, the whole family is usually over the purchase.
Kids grow so quickly, and without regular use, these structures can quickly become home to all sorts of bugs and other critters. Then there’s the maintenance and mowing around them like you do with a fire pit. For the cost and enjoyment, planning a few extra trips to the local playground is a better use of everyone’s time and money.
5. Exercise Equipment
It’s sad but true. Most people who buy exercise equipment hoping to get back in shape let their purchase take up space and collect dust almost as soon as they buy it. As someone who absolutely enjoys exercise at home, I can also understand why many people don’t.
When you’re recovering from an injury or just prioritizing your health, establishing a consistent workout schedule is difficult and not so fun. So submitting yourself to some tough love at home isn’t likely to happen. Instead, spend that money on a multiweek fitness class or personal training. This will help you instill the habit, emphasize safe form, and be more enjoyable.
6. Oversized Furniture
Do you remember twenty years ago, buying a huge entertainment center was all the rage? Let’s not repeat that mistake again. Many homeowners regret the difficulty of moving these enormous pieces of furniture and the limitations they imposed on all other decor in a space, not to mention the restriction on the size TV you could fit depending on the configuration.
The dislike of oversized furniture doesn’t stop with entertainment centers. Huge sofas and recliners are also in this category. They take up so much space and can overwhelm a space.
7. Outdoor Heaters & Fire Pits
They look so good in all the home decor magazines that you can taste the s’mores roasting and hear the laughter of enjoying a nice evening outside. You have one or two of these fun gatherings, and then these items are never touched again. The fire pit is another annoying thing you have to mow around, and the heater is either always out of fuel or fails to work at all.
8. Knick-Knacks
Again, back to those glossy home decor magazine pages and dreamy Pinterest boards. A well-dressed bookshelf can be such a great focal point in a room, but what they fail to tell you in those editorials and pretty pictures is how annoying and time-consuming it is to dust all that stuff. Heaven forbid you drop one or knock something over, and it breaks in the midst of your cleaning. Instead, prioritize spending on items that serve a greater purpose or sentimental value.
9. Dark or Grey Flooring
So you bought the house with the huge basement with plans on turning it into a great finished space. You do your research and find Vinyl Plank Flooring is not only durable and affordable but also relatively simple to install, so you could probably DIY it.
It all sounds great until you’re finished and realize how drab and dark the grey looks rather than sleek and modern. Grey flooring has been super trendy for a while now, and while it has the potential to look elegant and contemporary, it has to be installed in a space with a lot of natural light to pull off the look.
10. Messy Landscape Plants
Every time I drive by one of my neighbors’ beautifully new landscaped yards, I cringe and wonder if they know what they’ve just signed up for. They’ve just planted seven of them in what looks to be the early makings of a privacy barrier in the front of their yard.
Magnolias are gorgeous, quintessential trees of the South, but anyone who has lived with one for a season or more will tell you what a mess they are. Like most trees, magnolias will shed some leaves in the fall, but they also drop huge seed pods you’ll need to pick up. There are dozens or more messy landscape plants out there, so before you rush to buy something, know what you’re getting into.
12. Recroom Items
Pool tables, foosball tables, air hockey, you name it. They’re a blast when you’re out with friends at a bar or arcade. But these items fall flat when you try to bring the fun home. They’re expensive, heavy, and awkward to move and take up a lot of space. In the end, they become very expensive dust collectors.
13. Trampolines
Similar to Playground structures, trampolines are another purchase many homeowners regret. I loved being able to play on friends’ trampolines as a kid, but we were lucky never to suffer any real harm. Other homeowners seriously regret buying a trampoline after it has sat unused and begun to fade, or worse; someone gets a costly injury.
14. Store Bought Art
Like buying knick-knacks to give your home a more lived-in feel, many homeowners feel the need to add art to their homes. Rather than save to buy unique pieces from their travels or from a local artist they found particularly captivating, they’ll buy reproductions from stores. These are usually less expensive items that are particularly trendy.
They don’t hold any real meaning or significance and can deteriorate quickly. It can also be a little disappointing to see the same piece at someone else’s house or in the lobby of a newly renovated doctor’s office.
15. A Wet Bar
There’s having a bar cart or a liquor cabinet, and then there’s installing a permanent wet bar in your home. Even a prefab bar can be expensive, and it’s never used as frequently as homeowners hope.
However, if you’re really set on the idea, keep it on the smaller side and consider treating it like a drink station instead. That way, if and when you move, it could be staged as a coffee, soda, juice, or actual bar, depending on preference.
16. Outdoor Sports Equipment
If you have a kid who’s involved in or interested in pursuing a sport, I wouldn’t discourage you from buying these items if you can find them gently used or handed down from a friend or family member. However, the challenge is that these items, like basketball hoops and soccer or lacrosse nets, are cumbersome and often deteriorate quickly when left outside, making them hard to donate.
17. Crystal Wine Glasses
In the same vein as the fancy china and wet bar, have you noticed that homeowners tend to spend a lot of money on things they plan to use for the comfort and convenience of others? How many parties have you planned to host this year, and does the occasion really require crystal?
I’ll admit it: I fell for this money trap, too. I love to host Thanksgiving parties and other big get-togethers, and I was absolutely obsessed with the look of the champagne flutes I picked out. Sadly, they’ve been used a whopping once, and I quickly realized that I’m primarily the only one who enjoys champagne or most sparkling wines.
18. TV’s
So many homeowners have commented on their discontent with buying a ‘nice’ new TV only to have it damaged upon arrival or start failing months after buying. It’s no secret they just don’t make TVs or many other items like they used to.
However, since you’ll likely make this purchase regardless, wait for a big sale like Black Friday if you can. Also, be realistic about the size if you’re serious about saving money. Is an 80-inch TV really necessary in your two-bedroom condo?
