Three Reasons to Shop Secondhand that *aren’t* affordability
Almost all of the items procured for this client’s home were secondhand- including the Restoration Hardware couch, Lee Industry chairs, Four Hands ottoman, side tables from Gas Lamp Antiques, and lamps.
As a team, we are passionate about shopping secondhand. There are so many wonderful reasons to prioritize secondhand furniture, and affordability is definitely one of them. But what are some of the other reasons that secondhand is better? We think there are many great reasons,but here are three to get you started.
It’s just better for the environment- There is so much stuff that has already been produced and is not being used to its full potential. Have you ever noticed how many storage buildings there are on every corner across the country? Americans have and store too much stuff. There are enough pieces already in the world to make your project great- without running up your credit card bill on the West Elm website. When you purchase pieces that have already been produced and sold to another owner, you are preserving the Earth’s precious resources by reducing your carbon footprint.
New furniture is not made as well as old furniture- There are exceptions to this rule, but furniture-making as a craft is not what it used to be. With online furniture shopping sites that make it all too easy to “add to cart” and push that “purchase” button, things are made to be mass produced at lower quality- that’s how they can sell it so cheap. Have you ever stopped to look closely at a quality piece of vintage furniture? There is a reason there is still so much vintage furniture in rotation. It was just made really well- including dovetailed joints, solid wood, and exceptional appliques. You would be hard pressed to find something on a furniture website nowadays that has the same level of craftsmanship. Time and again we have been disapppointed with the quality of an item after setting down our screwdriver and spending hours building that particle board piece. It’s just not the same as finding that vintage solid wood piece that has already stood the test of time.
An item’s story- Call us crazy but we just love hearing the story of an item. It is meaningful to us to hear how the seller acquired what we are purchasing from them. Sometimes their grandma passed it down or their child outgrew the item. When my daughter was little, I had an antique armoire that held all of her precious baby clothes. When she grew older, it just didn’t fit into our lives the same anymore. It literally pained me to have to sell the piece because it held so many beautiful memories for me. When I sold it to the next person who would cherish it like I did, it was with a bit of a heavy heart but also excitement that the piece could continue its journey for someone else. It’s beautiful if you think of the story that items could tell of all the memories that are stored in them.
Shopping secondhand is the best way to have your home have a collected, quirky, curated feel and to have pieces with history. It is at the heart of what we do as a company and will always drive our business.