Buying guide · Whole home

Furnishing a new-construction home, room by room

A new house arrives empty, and the first weeks are the moment to get the big pieces right. Buyers in Brentwood, Oakley, Tracy, Manteca, Lathrop and Elk Grove come to us with the floor plan in hand; this is what we tell them.

Measure at the final walkthrough

Before the keys, walk the house with a tape and note: the longest wall in the family room, the dining room’s length and width, the primary bedroom’s wall opposite the door, the width of the front door and the garage entry, and the ceiling height. Photograph each room from the doorway.

Note the windows and the vents. A sofa in front of a floor vent, or a dresser across a low window, is the mistake you only make once.

First week: beds and a mattress

You will sleep there before you sit there. A bedroom set gives you the bed, a dresser and nightstands that match, delivered together and set up in one visit. The primary bedroom in most new builds takes a king with nightstands on a wall of 12 feet or more; a queen fits a wall of 10.

Order the mattress with the bed. A new frame with the old mattress is the most common regret we hear.

Queen and king beds

Second: the family room

Open-plan family rooms in new construction usually run 16 to 20 feet, and a sectional of 110 to 130 inches anchors them without filling them. Face it to the TV wall and leave 18 inches between the seat and the coffee table.

Sectionals for an open plan

Third: the dining room

A dining set is the easiest room to get right: the table should leave 36 inches to each wall so chairs can pull out. A room 11 by 13 feet takes a table up to 72 inches long seating six; a counter-height set suits the eat-in kitchen that most new plans include.

Dining sets

Fourth: the TV wall and storage

A TV stand should be wider than the screen by a few inches each side; a 65-inch TV is about 57 inches wide, so a stand of 64 inches or more. Then the entryway: a bench and a console by the door are the pieces a new house is always missing.

TV stands 64 inches and over

Timing the delivery

Give us the closing date and we schedule delivery after it, once the floors are done and the painters are out. Everything we deliver is carried in and set up by our own crew.

Asked in the showroom

What should I buy first for a new house?
Beds and a mattress, then the family room seating, then the dining set, then the TV stand and entry pieces. You sleep there before you host there.
What size sectional fits an open-plan family room?
Most new-build family rooms run 16 to 20 feet; a sectional of 110 to 130 inches along the long side anchors them without closing the room off.
Can delivery wait until after closing?
Yes. Tell us the closing date and we deliver after it, once floors and paint are finished. We deliver and set up across Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Sacramento and Alameda counties.
How far from the showroom do you deliver?
Across Northern California: the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Central Valley. See the delivery page for every city.

Tell us the room and we find the furniture: your personal designer, or call (925) 325-8537.

More guides

  • The best sectionals for a large family — How to choose a sectional that seats six or more: width, U-shape vs L-shape, reclining, fabric, and getting it through the door. With pieces we deliver across Northern California.
  • Choosing a mattress size — Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king and California king: the exact dimensions, the room each needs, who each suits, and the mattresses we carry in every size.