Furnished vs. Unfurnished Chicago Apartments: Which Is Better for Your Lifestyle?

Apartment hunting involves plenty of decisions. Neighborhood, budget, floor plan, commute—and then there is a question that sometimes gets pushed further down the list than it probably should: furnished or unfurnished?

When comparing chicago apartments, the answer isn’t necessarily as obvious as it sounds. An unfurnished apartment gives you a blank canvas and plenty of freedom to make a space your own. A furnished apartment can make moving considerably simpler. Neither choice is automatically better. It really comes down to what you already own, how you like to live, and, perhaps most importantly, how much work you want your move to involve.

And in Chicago, where moving a sofa up several flights of stairs or across the city can become a project of its own, that last point can matter quite a bit.

What Does a Furnished Apartment Actually Include?

“Furnished” can mean different things depending on the apartment community, so it’s worth looking beyond the label.

Generally, a furnished apartment includes the major pieces you need to live comfortably, such as a bed, seating, tables, and other everyday furniture. Some communities go further.

At Post Chicago, furnished coliving apartments are designed to be move-in ready. They include premium furniture, equipped kitchens, in-unit laundry, central air conditioning, and household essentials. Residents in coliving apartments also have private furnished bedrooms while sharing common living spaces.

It’s a different experience from getting the keys to an empty apartment and immediately realizing you don’t actually own a dining table. Or lamps. Or, somehow, enough chairs.

You can explore the available layouts on the Post Chicago floor plans page, including private studios, two-bedroom apartments, and three- and four-bedroom coliving options.

The Case for Furnished Chicago Apartments

Convenience is probably the biggest argument for choosing furnished chicago apartments.

Moving into an unfurnished apartment often means coordinating furniture purchases, deliveries, assembly, and the actual move itself. If you’re relocating to Chicago from another city—or another country—that can turn an already busy few weeks into something more complicated than expected.

With a furnished apartment, much of that setup is already handled. You arrive with your personal belongings and start settling in.

There’s a financial question here, too. Furnished housing doesn’t necessarily mean spending less overall, and costs should always be compared carefully. But furnishing an apartment from scratch can involve a surprisingly large upfront investment. A mattress, bed frame, sofa, dining furniture, storage pieces, kitchen items…it adds up quickly.

For someone who doesn’t already own those things, having them provided may simply make more sense.

When an Unfurnished Apartment Makes More Sense

Of course, there are good reasons to choose unfurnished.

Maybe you’ve spent years collecting furniture you genuinely like. You have a sofa that fits your style, artwork you want to hang, and a desk setup you have no intention of replacing. In that situation, paying for a furnished space might feel unnecessary.

Unfurnished apartments also offer more creative freedom. You’re starting with an empty room, which means you can choose everything yourself—the furniture, layout, colors, and overall feel.

For some renters, that’s part of what makes an apartment feel like home.

The tradeoff is effort. Furniture has to get there somehow. You may need movers, delivery appointments, assembly time, or all three. And when you’re comparing chicago apartments, it’s easy to focus on monthly housing costs and forget about those less obvious moving expenses.

Neither approach is wrong. They just solve different problems.

Think About How You Actually Spend Your Time

This might be a more useful question than simply asking whether furnished or unfurnished is “better.”

How much time do you want to spend setting up an apartment?

If decorating and finding furniture sounds enjoyable, an unfurnished home could be appealing. If you’d rather spend your first weekend exploring your neighborhood instead of assembling furniture, furnished living starts to look more attractive.

Your daily routine matters as well. Post Chicago residents, for example, have access to community amenities including a fitness center, study rooms and lounge, coffee bar, outdoor terrace, package lockers, bike storage, and yoga studio.

That can subtly change what you need from the apartment itself. If you regularly work or study in a community lounge, exercise downstairs, or spend time on an outdoor terrace, you may care less about creating several different functional zones inside your own space.

Or maybe not. Some people still want their apartment to feel completely personal when they come home.

Furnished Living Can Make Relocating to Chicago Easier

Relocating is probably where furnished apartments have their clearest advantage.

Moving to a new city already comes with a long checklist: transportation, work or school schedules, groceries, finding your way around the neighborhood, and figuring out where everything is. Furniture shopping doesn’t necessarily need to join that list.

Post Chicago is located in Lincoln Park, with shopping, parks, restaurants, and everyday conveniences nearby. For someone arriving in Chicago without an established home setup, combining that location with a furnished space can remove a few of the logistical headaches that tend to pile up during a move.

For renters curious about shared living, Post Chicago also offers coliving in Chicago, where residents have their own furnished private bedroom while sharing the kitchen and common areas. It’s a somewhat different option than choosing between a conventional furnished or unfurnished apartment, but for someone new to Chicago, it’s worth considering.

So, Which One Fits You?

Start with what you already have.

If you own furniture you love and want complete control over your home’s look, unfurnished may be the natural choice. If you’re arriving without much furniture, don’t want to coordinate a complicated move, or simply like the idea of walking into a home that’s already set up, furnished living has an obvious appeal.

It also helps to see the space rather than trying to imagine it from a list of features. You can take a virtual tour of Post Chicago to get a better sense of the furnished apartments, layouts, and community spaces before visiting in person.

Key Takeaways

• Furnished chicago apartments can reduce the furniture shopping, moving, and setup involved in getting settled.
• Unfurnished apartments may be a better fit if you already own furniture or want complete control over your interior design.
• Look carefully at what “furnished” includes because the exact furnishings and household essentials can vary by community.
• Think beyond the apartment itself. Building amenities and shared spaces can affect how much furniture and personal space you actually need.
• Post Chicago offers furnished living options in Lincoln Park, including private and coliving layouts that can be explored through its floor plans and virtual tours.