Second Hand Furniture

Buying second hand furniture is a wonderful way to make your home beautiful. Buying second hand furniture can allow you to get better quality, nicer items than you would otherwise be able to get. This is possible not only because of the reduced cost of buying used furniture but also because, in many cases, the old adage "they don't make 'em like they used to" is very true when it comes to furniture.

Brand new, high quality, furniture is often extremely expensive. A sectional sofa usually starts at several thousand dollars and only goes up from there, and that's just one piece of furniture you need for one room. When you start adding in kitchen tables, chairs, dining sets, beds and dressers, you could easily spend tens of thousands of dollars furnishing a room.

Unfortunately, not all of this added cost is going to get you top quality items. Many furniture manufacturers- including some of the big name brands- outsource much of their labor to China or other countries that provide lower cost labor. While this isn't necessarily always a bad thing, you do need to pay attention to construction methods and quality control. Furniture that is made of particle board or veneers is likely not going to have the same lifespan as solid wood furniture, and furniture (but sometimes can be less maintenance) where drawers are stapled or glued together is simply not going to last as long as furniture made with dove tailed construction.

When you buy second hand furniture or used furniture, you may be able to get older pieces of furniture that have higher quality and better construction and features than the newer pieces do. The price of wood only gets more expensive as time passes and the resources become more scarce, so often second hand or older pieces of furniture are the only way to get real wood through and through without paying exorbitant upcharges.

Once you've made a choice to buy second hand furniture, the next question is: what do you buy? How can you put together a mix of pieces that makes your home beautiful, welcoming and inviting by using second hand goods? The answer is easy: you want to have a plan for the look and feel of your room before you go shopping. Of course, you can always wing it and change your mind if you stumble upon the perfect piece, but it is vital to know measurements and the theme and mood you want to evoke in the room before you head out to go shopping.

For example, if you know you want your dining room to be formal and your living room to be calm and tranquil, having this plan in place before you go out to a second hand furniture store can help you to more quickly narrow down what you want to look at and what options will best help you to achieve your goal. If you have a plan, you can also tell the staff at your local store what you have in mind or what you are looking for and they may be able to help steer you in the right direction.

Aside from having a plan, it can be helpful to think about how the different styles of pieces you choose are going to mix. Another great thing about buying second hand furniture is you will probably be less tempted to simply copy an entire room out of a catalog or buy a whole display that is all put together and matched (although you certainly can do that if that's your choice). For those who want to put a more unique stamp on decorating, however, a perfect mix of old and new, modern and contemporary, simple and ornate, can be a great way to introduce layers into a space that capture the eye and keep your interest.

To do this successfully, you need to think about how furniture will play well together. If you have a lot of clean lines in a room, consider only adding one softer, curvier or rounder piece of furniture to add a bit of visible tension. If most of your items are ornate, choose a few very simple pieces to give your eye a spot to rest. If you keep pictures with you of the rooms you have, or at least take a good look at those rooms before you head out to go shopping, it can become easier to get an idea of how the pieces play well together.

Finally, often, introducing one showstopper piece or one special or unique piece of furniture is enough to take a room for ordinary to extraordinary. Keep an eye out as you browse for that certain special piece that you can use to complete a room and snap it up when you get the chance. If you develop a good relationship with a second hand furniture store in your area, the staff might even be willing to let you know when something that seems to fit the bill for your special room comes in, perhaps allowing you to capture a great piece of furniture before anyone else can buy it out from under you.

By shopping second hand furniture stores and following these tips, you should be able to create a truly beautiful and unique home that is a reflection of your taste, style and personality and that is like no other.