I Used Marketplace to Furnish My Apartment
I keep saying it, but I’m so happy to be in my own apartment. In my last post, I said that I was going with a completely new style when decorating this apartment. I also went with a new way of finding my furnishings. Instead of going to the Ashley’s, Joss and Main’s, and Wayfair’s of the world, I furnished my apartment almost only with Facebook Marketplace and secondhand stores.
Not only is this option more sustainable, it’s also better on my wallet. When I moved to Florida I bought my bed/mattress and desk and desk chair from stores. Those items cost me $527.32 all together. I spent over $500 on one room! That is crazy to me. However, my mom pointed out to me recently that I had no other way to furnish my room in Florida.
Before revealing how much money I spent on my new place, I want to outline all of my amazing finds.
Multi-functioning Mid Century
The very first items I bought off Facebook Marketplace where these gorgeous mid century dressers. They were the exact style and size I was looking for. They are sturdy and well made, and only required a small bit of work to make them perfect. For a large dresser, smaller dresser, and mirror I paid $135. You can’t even buy one dresser for that price at an actual store. I’m sure this set is valued well over $500.
We took these babies home, stripped the old stain off, gave a nice sand, and restained them. I wanted light wood in my space, not only to make it look less crowded, but because light wood screams mid century to me. These dressers give me so much extra storage space that my tiny studio needs, and one even doubles as my entertainment center. I love a multi-functional piece!
Dreamland Deals
Let’s talk bedding. I think I noted this before, but I brought all my bedding home from Florida. My sheets, quilt, blankets, and pillows all made it into the Chrysler 200. My bed frame and mattress however, did not. I loved my bed in Florida – it was comfortable, and I love iron beds. I wanted the same type of bed in my studio. Instead of paying the $300-something for a mattress and bed frame, I found a headboard on Facebook Marketplace, and my dad found a bed frame in our garage.
I found this beautiful distressed bronze iron headboard for $35! The design strays from the mid century, but adds gorgeous character to my bedroom space. I find a lot of good things through secondhand, but I was not going to risk bedbugs and dustmites. I bought a brand new box spring and mattress for this bed. Peace of mind is priceless.
My favorite part of my bed is this cute little tray I found at Goodwill. I was there looking for baking dishes, when my eye fell on this gem. I never knew I needed a “breakfast in bed tray” until I saw one. It was $4, and needed a little love. The wood matches everything else perfectly, and it adds some charm to my bedroom.
Seating Steals
For the first couple weeks, I had no where to sit besides my bed. I was that person who had lawn chairs in her living room. (Insert shaking head emoji.) Those days are long gone, and my lawn chairs are in their proper place on my balcony. I found a darling barrel back chair on Facebook Marketplace for $15. It was dated, but I fell in love with it, and bought it before even consulting with my design assistant. (AKA: mom.) A wipe down, and new fabric later, it’s the perfect chair for drinking morning coffee, and reading a book.
Finding a couch was the hardest part of this whole experience. For some reason, I had no real vision or direction of what type of couch I wanted. I didn’t want something too modern, but the fluffy Pottery Barn styles didn’t go. I was stuck. Until my mom sent me this listing on messenger. A gorgeous navy blue mid century style couch for $150. We got up at 6 AM to hit the road to pick up this awesome find! The good stuff always goes fast, and we weren’t going to miss this one. The navy adds the perfect statement to my apartment, and really defines the living room from the bedroom.
To complete my space I needed counter stools for my bar top. I hate shopping for counter stools. None of them are cute, none of them were what I wanted, and all of them were over priced – even on Marketplace! I decided that with my living room all finished, I wanted the most basic backless stool I could find. I didn’t want my view of my living room obstructed by the backs of stools. These stool look basic, but they are the perfect color to match my dressers, and were only $10. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with them!
Low Cost Lighting
My mom and I love lamps. Even my dad says we have an over obsession with them. We love them because they are easy to replace and fun to try in different places. They can change an entire display! There is no need to spend a large amount of money on a lamp. Go to Goodwill and you’ll find tons of gems. That’s how I found mine. The lamp on my nightstand was a $3 Goodwill find, and my living room lamp was a $5 Goodwill find. How can you beat that!? The only downside of thrifting your lamps is that they may not come with lampshades.
That was the case for me, and in pursuit of the perfect lampshade I almost spend $50 on 2 shades! That did not sit well with me. If that’s the case I may as well go to Target and buy a $40 lamp that comes with a shade, right? Wrong. I ventured to Homegoods and found 2 discounted lampshades for the price of 1 full priced shade. Maybe they’re not “thrifted” but they’re a great steal. Homegoods has brands like Kate Spade and Ralph Lauren Home to choose from.
Affordable Add On’s
Every couch needs an end table. This rattan one was thrifted at Salvation Army for $10. It needed a little cleaning, but it’s the perfect size and adds a little quirk to my living room. I like that there is a lot of surface area on the table for a lamp, candle, glass of wine, snacks, you name it.
Have you ever heard of a hall tree? No, it’s not a coat rack. They are very different. Hall tree’s are stylish and sturdy, even though they have basically the same function. Anyway, I found a darling one for only $10 on Facebook Marketplace. My mom loves hall tree’s, and loves to refinish them because they’re an easy project. This one needed work, and we needed something that wasn’t wood. So, we decided to paint it navy blue. It’s stationed in my bedroom and brings the navy from the couch into the other space. It’s perfect for hanging my bathrobe, or styled with a hat.
I’m on the hunt for one more finishing touch, but I’ll leave that to be a surprise. Thanks for tuning in to my apartment tour! What are some of your favorite thrift finds?
