So, you’re about to buy your new home in Cyprus and are ready to start the fun bit: choosing furniture and fittings. If you’re not shipping anything from the UK, you’ll be starting afresh – so don’t miss my tips for where to get the best value and what you’ll need in Cyprus.
When we first built our home here I forgot that we would need new things to fill it! You tend to just focus on completing the external structure and forget about things for the inside. Twenty years ago there weren’t such good stores around to get them in either. Now though, it’s a whole new story.
Find out what else you’ll need to do when moving to Cyprus by downloading your free Emigration Guide.
Find out where to furnish your new home in Cyprus.
White goods
The first thing to note is that we have electricity and not gas here in Cyprus. There is talk about piping gas to Cyprus in the future, but there is much political wrangling about it at the moment. So we can safely say that electricity is here to stay. Central heating is electric. And it means that your washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge, dishwasher, cooker, hob/oven all run on electricity.
So where do you get them? Well, there are stores nationwide like Electroline or MegaElectric where you can find branded washing machines, fridges, dishwashers etc. You can also find televisions here, with smart screens and small and large screens, home cinemas, computers etc – just like back home. Personally, I have found Electroline the cheapest, and when you buy two or more items from them, they will sometimes give you a generous discount (although this is not advertised).
Personally, I have found Electroline the cheapest, and when you buy two or more items from them, they will sometimes give you a generous discount (although this is not advertised)!
Air conditioning
Here’s a tip – every home needs air conditioning in the summer! We have temperatures now in the 30s at the height of summer. The good thing is that air conditioners here are dual cold air and hot air, so when I feel a bit chilly in the winter, I turn on the heat on the air conditioning to take the chill off the room. Air conditioning units are not cheap, but believe me they are essential!
Prices range depending on wattage and make, e.g., the smallest one, a 9,000 btu, starts at about €300 for a local make imported from Greece to €400 for a Bosch unit. I’ve found that the 9,000 btu one is good enough for the bedroom(s) but remember that it will cost more if you have a unit in every room. For the bigger rooms, you would need a 18,000 btu, which I find does for both the lounge and the dining area of my house (it’s open-plan!). For this unit you need to budget about €600 for a local make and maybe another €100 on top for a branded one. There are also in-between sizes, and the store will help you to choose the right one for your room.
Fixtures and fittings
Superhome or Mangas will be your first port of call for fixtures and fittings.
Where do you get your taps, shower heads, shower, bath (not many of these as Cypriots have never used them unless they grew up in the UK – showers here are the norm), and light fittings? You’ll find these in the DIY type shops. There are many of these nationwide. At one time, you could only get these things from the builders who built your house, and they were expensive. But now you can find them at DIY stores like Superhome or Mangas.
When buying things like taps and door handles, each one of these is priced individually so you need to multiply this price by the quantity you need. It’s the same with light fittings. You can also buy light fittings from specialist light shops. These tend to have unique designs. Like taps and door handles, prices range from reasonable to expensive – generally, the more decorative they are the higher the price.
For items like doors and wardrobes, the builder can supply these, or, if you prefer wooden doors/wardrobes like me, you can arrange for a carpenter to make them to your specification but it can be expensive. You can also find them in the DIY stores, along with tables, chairs, garden furniture etc. rather like B&Q in the U.K.
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Pots and pans
Again, there’s a big choice of these in the DIY stores, along with cooking utensils. You can find all the known makes here, particularly German kitchen utensils. There are branded blenders, sandwich makers, food processors, and of course the kebab rotisserie/barbecue that you will find that you love to use and cannot do without!
But now we also have Ikea in Cyprus and these are exactly like the ones in the UK. They have a good variety in design too, and you can get all your plates and dishes from here, as well as their famous bedding supplies etc.
Don’t forget the garden…
Remember to consider the Cypriot climate when planning your outside space.
Our hot summers make a carport/lean-to for your car to protect it from the fading effects of the sun very necessary.
All your garden tools and garden equipment, like spades, lawn mowers (yes, we can get grass here as grass seed that you need to cultivate, or artificial grass) are at the DIY stores. You can also landscape your garden and buy fruit trees, flowering plants etc. from the plant centres and nurseries here. But one thing I found that’s essential in my garden is a shed. You can either build one as part of your house or now you can buy them as flat packs from the DIY stores. And you can buy homes for your pets like a kennel for your dog from there too.
Another thing to remember – you need to have a swimming pool – even a small one in your garden! Our hot summers here make this very necessary, along with a carport/lean-to for your car to protect it from the fading effects of the hot sun!
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