Furnishing a rental is its own kind of puzzle: you want a home that feels warm, layered, and truly yours, but you also know you might be packing it all up in a year or two. The trick is spending well on the pieces that move with you and going gentle on the things that stay behind. Here is what it realistically costs to furnish a rental in Canada, broken down room by room.
What does it cost to furnish a rental?
For a one-bedroom apartment, expect to spend roughly $3,000 to $8,000 CAD to furnish it comfortably from scratch. A bachelor or studio can come in closer to $2,000 to $5,000, while a two-bedroom typically lands around $6,000 to $14,000 depending on how many rooms you actually furnish. These are estimates only, of course. Prices vary a lot by region (Toronto and Vancouver run higher than the Prairies or Atlantic Canada), by the quality you choose, and by whether you shop a big seasonal sale or pay full price.
The good news for renters: you don't have to do it all at once, and you can lean heavily on secondhand and flat-pack to stretch a budget.
Cost breakdown by piece
Here's a rough sense of what individual pieces run in Canada, from budget to investment quality:
- Sofa: roughly $500 to $2,500. A flat-pack or entry sofa starts around $500–$900; a quality mid-range sofa runs $1,200–$2,500.
- Bed frame + mattress: roughly $600 to $2,500 combined. A decent queen mattress alone is typically $500–$1,500.
- Dining table + chairs: roughly $400 to $2,000.
- Dresser/storage: roughly $250 to $1,200.
- Coffee + side tables: roughly $150 to $700 total.
- Lighting (floor + table lamps): roughly $150 to $600.
- Rugs: roughly $100 to $800 each.
- Window treatments: roughly $100 to $500 (renter-friendly tension rods and ready-made panels).
- Soft goods (bedding, towels, throws, pillows): roughly $300 to $800.
- Kitchen + dining basics: roughly $200 to $600.
Budget, mid-range, and invest tiers
Budget (roughly $2,000–$4,000): Mostly flat-pack and secondhand. Think IKEA for the bones, Facebook Marketplace for a real-wood dresser, and HomeSense for the styling layer. Totally livable and genuinely cute if you edit well.
Mid-range (roughly $4,000–$8,000): A mix of IKEA or Structube for storage, one quality sofa, a solid-wood dining table, and a few investment-grade lamps and rugs. This is the sweet spot for most renters.
Invest (roughly $8,000–$15,000+): Heritage-quality pieces from EQ3 or Crate & Barrel that you fully intend to move from rental to rental to your eventual owned home. Spend here only on the things you'll keep for a decade.
Where to save vs. splurge
Save on: bookcases, nightstands, TV stands, and any built-in-feeling storage. Flat-pack is perfectly fine for these, and they take the most abuse during moves. Window treatments and trendy decor should also stay cheap, you'll want to swap them.
Splurge on: your mattress (your body will thank you), your sofa (it's the workhorse of the home), and one or two timeless pieces, like a beautiful dining table or a quality armchair, that will follow you for years. A good rug also reads as expensive and pulls a whole room together, so it's worth a mid-range buy.
Where to shop and source in Canada
- IKEA is the renter's best friend for affordable, packable storage, bed frames, and kitchen basics.
- Structube offers on-trend mid-range furniture at gentle prices, great for sofas and dining sets.
- Article and EQ3 are where I'd go for an investment sofa or sectional that will last through several moves; EQ3 is proudly Canadian.
- Wayfair and Amazon are handy for rugs, lighting, and one-off pieces, just read reviews carefully.
- Urban Barn and Crate & Barrel sit in the mid-to-higher range for warm, classic pieces.
- West Elm is lovely for organic-modern styling and lighting.
- HomeSense is unbeatable for affordable decor, throws, art, and the little layers that make a rental feel personal.
- Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and local estate sales are gold for solid-wood furniture at a fraction of retail. Some of my favourite pieces cost me $80.
Money-saving tips
- Buy secondhand for solid wood. Real-wood dressers and tables from the 80s and 90s are built better than most new furniture and cost a quarter of the price.
- Shop the calendar. Furniture goes on sale around Boxing Day, the May long weekend, and Labour Day. Mattresses are deeply discounted on holiday weekends.
- Stick to renter-friendly fixes. Use tension rods, peel-and-stick options, and freestanding pieces so you're not paying to repair walls when you leave — the same reversible approach behind these renter-friendly kitchen upgrades.
- Furnish in phases. Start with the bed, sofa, and a place to eat. Add layers over a few paycheques rather than maxing a credit card on day one.
- Keep the boxes for big flat-pack. It makes the next move infinitely easier.
FAQ
How much should I budget to furnish a one-bedroom rental?
Plan for roughly $3,000 to $8,000 CAD if you're starting from nothing. You can do it for less with secondhand finds, or more if you invest in quality pieces meant to last beyond this lease.
Is it worth buying nice furniture for a rental?
Yes, but selectively. Invest in pieces that move with you: your sofa, mattress, and dining table. Keep storage and trend pieces cheap.
What's the cheapest way to furnish a rental?
Combine secondhand solid-wood pieces from Marketplace or Kijiji with flat-pack basics from IKEA, then layer in affordable decor from HomeSense. You can furnish a small space for around $2,000.
Should I buy or rent furniture?
For most people, buying (even secondhand) is cheaper over a year than renting furniture. Furniture rental makes sense mainly for very short-term stays.
Furnishing a rental well is really about restraint and a little patience. Spend on the few pieces that will follow you home, lean on Canadian retailers and secondhand finds for the rest, and let the space come together in layers. A rental can feel every bit as warm and intentional as a home you own, without the homeowner price tag.
About the author: Paige Eaton is a design-obsessed DIYer, home renovator, and the founder of Organic Moderne.