I realized a little while ago that almost every single thing in my front room was sourced secondhand or passed down by family members. It gives the home a warm, eclectic feeling that just can’t be replicated when you buy all-new furniture straight from the store.
So for today’s blog post, I thought I’d take you through my process of finding good items on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. It can be a little frustrating at first. Once you get the hang of it, though, you’ll be amazed what gems you can uncover.
Step One: Learn What You Like
The thing about shopping secondhand is that the range of style and quality will vary much more widely than what you’ll find in stores at any given moment. That’s because the vintage furniture market is going to have pieces from 10 years ago, 50 years ago, 100 years ago, and sometimes even older, depending on where you live. Each of those different time periods had different styles. All of those styles are going to show up as secondhand furniture.
So the first thing you need to do is narrow down what exactly it is you like. You need to develop your own taste.
How do you do that? Well, a good place to start is Pinterest. Make a board, and start saving images that speak to you. After a couple weeks, go back through the images you’ve saved with a notebook next to you. Write down what exactly it is that you like about the images. Do you like the color palette? The tones of the wood? Certain shapes of furniture? The textiles? What is it that made you like that image so much that you saved it?
Then, start exploring resources to understand interiors a little better. I am a big fan of checking out interiors books from your local library. There are also YouTube channels where people talk about their interior design process, and many designers have blogs. You do not have to pay for a course to learn this information.
Reading more about different interior decor styles will help you develop the vocabulary to describe the pieces of furniture you’re looking for. Are you trying to find a French country sofa? An Eastlake chest of drawers? Maybe you’re looking for a Danish teak credenza?
Whatever it is you’re trying to find, it’ll be easier if you know the words you need for searches. It’ll also help keep you from jumping on a piece that’s a good bargain but isn’t actually what you want.
Step Two: Think About How to Describe What You’re Looking For
Once you’ve developed your personal taste a bit and have acquired the vocabulary you need, make a list of what it is you’re searching for.
Then, make a list of all the ways people who know what that thing is might also describe it.
And finally, make a list of all the ways people who don’t know what they have might describe it.
For example, let’s say you are looking for an art deco dresser. You know that’s exactly what you’re looking for, because you’ve done your research. But you also might want to use other search terms.
Somebody who really knows what they’re selling might describe that dresser more specifically using a subset of art deco, like streamline. If the seller is not well-versed in furniture styles but knows furniture shapes, they might describe it as a chest of drawers or a highboy. A seller who doesn’t know the shape of the furniture but knows the material might describe it using what kind of wood it’s made out of, like teak or mahogany.
And then you have the people who have no idea what it is that they’re selling. They might recognize that it’s old but describe it as being from the wrong time period. For example, you might find somebody describing that art deco dresser as either midcentury modern or Victorian. I’ve even seen somebody describe a dresser as a “chester drawers.”
Think, too, about regionalisms. There are some parts of the US, for example, where people say “draw” instead of “drawer.” If that’s common where you live, consider using “draw” as a search term. Something called a “sofa” in one region might be a “couch” in another, a “settee” in a third, and even a “divan” if you’re really digging. Synonyms are your friend.
Step Three: Look for Indicators of Quality
Once you find something you like, examine it for quality.
Quality Indicators in Furniture
For example, if you’re buying furniture, solid wood is always preferable to wood with a veneer. Wood with a veneer is still preferable to MDF with a veneer. If you are buying garden furniture and you want one of those ornate patio sets, cast-iron will be more durable than aluminum. Generally, the heavier it is, the more likely it is to be sturdy and durable.
But you’ll also want to look for construction methods. For example, if the piece you’re buying has drawers, look to see how those drawers are assembled. Some type of interlocking joinery, like a dovetail joint, will be more durable than a drawer front that is just nailed on. If there are doors, check how tight the hinges are and how well attached they are to the main piece of furniture.
Finally, check the finish on the furniture. It’s not uncommon for furniture flippers to buy a piece, go over it with a paint sprayer a few times, slap some new hardware on, and call it good. If the piece is painted, take a look at whether the paint was allowed to cure properly. Check, too, to see if there are any spots where the paint is already lifting up.
What if you’re not buying old furniture, though? What if you’re buying other home decor items?
Quality Indicators in Non-Furniture Items
Well, some of the above guidelines also apply. For example, solid silver is going to be more durable than some other metal with silver plating on it.
When it comes to other things, though, you’ll need to make item-specific assessments. If you are buying a set of china dishes, for example, check to see whether the set is complete or whether it’s missing a broken piece or two. Check each piece to see if there are scratches, cracks, or crazing. If there is gilding on it, look to see whether that gilding has worn away in spots.
For a lot of secondhand items, some amount of wear and tear is normal. Perfect condition is rare. Sometimes, the wear and tear is even desirable, and people start calling it a patina instead. If the item is too damaged to use for its intended purpose, though, and you are not a serious collector who knows that this damaged item is an important addition to your collection, I would pass. Most of us are not looking to add things to our house that can’t be functional parts of the house.
Step Four: Have Patience
Unlike going to a store and buying a full suite of new pieces in one fell swoop, this process is going to take time. You will need to check the listings regularly and be ready to jump when you see the perfect item. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are each a great place to find the pieces that will make your home feel uniquely yours, but the perfect dining table or vintage dresser might not pop up right away.
I didn’t really feel like my living room was where I wanted it until about two or three years ago. We moved into this house in 2013. I am still tweaking little things here and there. I probably will do that for the rest of our time here.
But that’s one of the joys of decorating your home yourself. It’s a process. The person you were at different phases in your life will show up during that process and stay with you over time.
And that’s what helps turn a house into a home with history and personality.
Bonus Step: Train Your Algorithm
One final tip: while this won’t work on Craigslist, on Facebook, you can actually train the algorithm to show you more things you like on FB Marketplace. When you click into a listing, the algorithm will register that you liked that thing, and it will show you more listings like that one. Conversely, Facebook allows you to mark a listing as something you are not interested in.
When I was training my Facebook algorithm, I ran regular searches for the kinds of items I was looking for and bookmarked lots of listings that I liked, even if I wasn’t ready to buy yet. Doing that helped show Facebook what I was interested in seeing more of and helped reduce listings that were totally off base.
