The other day, I was looking around my living room, and I realized that over 50% of my furniture and decor is second hand. It’s something I’m actually proud of. It started because Joey and I didn’t have a lot of money. We moved to Seattle without jobs and lived in a dingy apartment that we furnished with finds from Goodwill Outlet. Once we got jobs and became more financially stable, a lot of things changed. But the one thing that stayed the same was our love for thrifting. For Joey, his frugal nature is the primary reason for choosing second hand. But for me, buying second hand is more so about lessening my environmental impact. I’ve become painfully aware of the amount of waste that I create. Buying second hand furniture is one way that I can make a small difference, and for me, it’s an easy swap. Yes, I still buy some things new, but I try to be mindful about what I’m purchasing and ensure that I’m not going to toss it in a few years. Plus, I find that second hand furniture and decor fits my style better anyways. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few of my thrifted treasures that are currently residing in our living room.
Let’s get started, shall we. In the photo below, there are two things I want to point out. There is a glimpse of our Ikea Karlstad Sofa, which we got on Craigslist years ago. We purchased a new slip cover and swapped out the legs to give it a fresh look and it basically looks brand new. But the real showstopper in this photo is the artwork. We have three of these prints hanging in our living room. They are engineering prints, which we mounted on foam boards. The foam boards were actually free. Someone left them in the lobby of our Condo when they moved out. Free second hand is the best kind of second hand, am I right?
Moving on, one of our more recent finds is the yellow lamp in the photo below. We found it at Goodwill and it’s probably my favorite lamp I’ve ever owned. It has little raised dots on it and for some reason, it reminds me of a cactus.
Then we have the record storage, which was also a Goodwill find. It’s from Target and actually came in it’s original box. Pro tip: sometimes Target will drop off excess inventory at a nearby Goodwill, so always keep your eyes peeled.
Our coffee table is also a relatively new Goodwill find. It’s faux marble and was a steal at less than $10. It’s actually for the best that it isn’t real marble because Florence has designated this as her “art table,” which means it’s always covered in crayon markings. In this photo, you might also notice one of the Eames chairs, which were my greatest Craigslist score of all time. If you ever wondered how to restore a pair of Eames chairs, definitely check out this post.
That’s just a small sampling of the second hand finds we have around our house. There is so much more and I love it all. So next time you get an inkling for swapping out furniture or decor, I encourage you to consider buying used. It’s so much better for the earth and for your wallet, which is a win win.