Solid gold is kinda in right now! 😂 Everyone's comments were very, very helpful and I am going to tackle this project on my own for a 1/3 of the price! THANKS EVERYONE!!! 

I just full furnished a 620sq ft apartment for $5k - I purchased mostly new furniture but did find some smaller items on FB market place and second hand stores. Wayfair & Amazon have some good deals. Good Luck! 

I furnished a 1,000 square foot home for about $1,000 by buying used-but still nice-furniture, shopping for some things at Goodwill, and buying linens at a deep discount store. $15K sounds like a lot to me for such a small place.