It may seem like such a simple thing to do, but buying home décor items second hand can save a ton of money, giving your space an updated or "new to you" look at a fraction of the cost of retail. Plus, with so many avenues to score deals on gently used items such as Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and Upcycling locations like Habitat for Humanity Restore, your opportunities abound to find your next home décor item at a discount.
I learned this valuable lesson at an early age. And while I may not have appreciated it at the time, it has been the lifeline to furnishing every place I've ever called home. I was probably 14 years old and I recall my mom picking up this hideous wicker conversation set for our back patio:
After school one day, my mom excitedly pulled me into the back yard to show me her amazing garage sale find and asked me what I thought she paid for it. Having no clue at the time how much even a throw pillow cost, I didn't have any reasonable guesses to offer. But obliging her sincere excitement, I think I guessed $200 or so. At that, her smile grew bigger as she revealed she snagged it for like $40. I laughed because I thought she was insane to even pay that for what looked like garbage. The two chairs and loveseat were discolored, dirty and the cushions were in even worse a state. But, "Not to worry," she said. She was "going to clean and spray paint the furniture and sew new cushion covers for it and it would look like a completely new set!"
And in fact, when it was transformed, it looked amazing. We had that set for many years and it served its purpose well without feeling cheap or out-of-place. And it fulfilled a need without spending a fortune.
Little did she know that she was planting a seed that would grow into a lifelong interest for me, turning old and worn down items into something full of beauty and purpose again. However, the best part is that these repurposed items offer functional design solutions without the high-end price tag.
You will come to find that many of my designs incorporate second-hand treasures or pieces that I own and have repurposed. In that, I hope you find inspiration in many of the examples I look forward to sharing with you. I hope it gives you confidence to look past something hideous or dated and see instead the life it can breath into your home's design. I think you too will be as amazed as 14 year old me at my mom's garage sale patio set transformation.
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