New Homeowner Needs Flexibility : Start with sound basics that can be used as building blocks for future decorations.

The first-time homeowner doesn’t have to settle for make-do furniture because of a budget, says a furnishings and design editor.

“Instead, start with flexible basics that will look terrific right now, and also will make great building blocks for future decorating schemes,” says Denise L. Caringer, of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Don’t settle for lower quality and don’t feel locked into a look or color scheme that will be difficult or costly to change later on. Instead, she has these suggestions:

--Skip the busy wall coverings and fancy window wear. Instead, slick up and unify the background with white paint, white window blinds, shades or curtains and, if possible, neutral floor coverings.

This will produce an airy, expansive look, and will also make a neutral “canvas” on which style can be easily created.

--Avoid matching “suites” of furniture. Instead, choose a mix of well-designed basics that can be shifted to other rooms or other homes. A bedroom dresser, for example, has limited use, but an armoire fits in virtually anywhere, she says.

Consider modular storage pieces, bookcases and stacking cubes, with optional doors, drawers and shelves.

--Furnish a sitting spot with four wicker lounge chairs instead of buying an expensive sofa for the living room. Float the chairs in a cloverleaf-shaped grouping in the middle of the room and anchor them with an area rug. Wicker is versatile, she says, so you won’t lock yourself into a changeless look. Fabric cushions can set the mood.

Later on, you can move them to a porch or split them up, using a pair with a new sofa and moving the others to bedrooms.

--If the living room does not have a natural focal point, such as a great window or a fireplace, put two or three low-cost white bookcases together, or place an antique bench or a couple of low chests side by side and hang an oversized poster above them.

--Stacked books next to a chair make a great resting place for a cup or glass. Turn a cube, basket or a concrete block into a coffee table by topping it with a piece of glass.

--Simple, well-designed lamps, such as flex-arm architects lamps, ceramic-base table lamps or sleek metal floor lamps, can be supplemented with clamp-on spotlights to highlight artwork and canister-style up-lights to wake up dull corners.

--For dining, a white outdoor table and casual chairs--wicker, molded plastic, metal or wood-and-canvas--serve as “summer-house” companions to the airy living room scheme. For a more formal or traditional look, buy quality dining chairs and team them with a round, skirted-to-the-floor dining table.

--Let your personality color the surroundings. Family photos? Seashells? Books? Baskets? Group small treasures for a bigger impact.