A Spatial Evolution
This has been a time overflowing with personal change: I’ve moved into a new place of my own and I’ve been carving out a space for myself in the freelance world. It’s been extremely unstable and there were many moments where I felt like I had made a massive mistake. Now, I’m confident that so much of that uncertainty and doubt was a result of me more or less destabilizing so much of my life at the same time (for the record, I don ‘t recommend it, like, at all).
I’ve found immense satisfaction in the process of building a space that I can take immense comfort in, in a space where I feel calm and safe. My goal is to source as much as I can from vintage stores and secondhand sources like Facebook marketplace or Etsy. It’s a bit more slow-going than other methods but I enjoy the process of it coming together piece by piece. At times, I worry its a little bare yet I think it will be worth it in the end because each time something slots into place, it’s wonderful.
Finding vintage furniture pieces can be hard, full stop. I grew up thrifting; I’ve been doing it for over a decade at this point. While the time and experience has helped me spot things, I can admit that it’s a whole different challenge from thrifting clothing. I find it quite difficult for a few reasons:
I’m not always sure what I’m looking for until I find it
I’m often filled with doubt over a find because I wonder if I could find a piece that would be more in line with what I am looking for
Transportation is not on my side. I don’t have a car so I try to be strategic about when I can go and what I can commit to buying because I have to get it back to my space
Financially, it can be challenging because sometimes it comes in waves where there are a lot of good finds back to back
With that being said, I also wanted to share how I’ve been trying to keep up my current approach of sourcing a lot of things secondhand in spite of these challenges.
A catalog of inspiration
I am always willing to browse but if I’m on the hunt for something (say, a lamp) but I have no idea what type of lamp I actually want, I’m going to spend time looking at lamps until one really catches my eye. Sometimes, I enjoy that; other times, it really turns me off from wanting to look in the first place. What I’ve done to combat this is to create a visual catalog of lighting I’ve seen online and what about it in particular appeals to me. Is it the type of shade? The type of light the lamp gives off? Is it one type of lamp in particular? Knowing what I’m looking for as well as what flexibility I have can then make searching much easier.
For example, I’ve saved this lamp because I love the shape of the shade. This beauty was sourced by Maison Singulier (who find some really lovely items) and I didn’t want to pay the price they were retailing it for nor did I want to pay to ship it from Canada. After doing a quick search for other lamps like this, I discovered that there are many other lamps with a similar shade design and, while I do enjoy the base on this piece, I’m not committed to it nor am I set on having it be from any specific designer. Now, I know I have something to keep my eye out for.
The (NOT SO) dreaded What if?
One the flip side of finding this inspiration is finding pieces that are similar but not exact and wondering if there is another find around the corner.Is there something that might work that much better? Does it come down to the shape of the legs or the color of the wood? When it comes to cutting through the what if?, I take my experience from thrifting clothes. When there’s something I know I can’t leave without, 'I’ll take it; if there’s a doubt, I leave it with the intention of returning to buy it if I keep thinking about it afterwards or if, on my next trip, it’s still there and I like it just as much as I did the first time.
Above all, it’s important to remember that this is vintage furniture we’re talking about. It’s not high stakes and there’s a very strong chance that, eventually, the piece will show up again. Plus, you can always take to the internet to expand your reach for the search.
Getting it home
Like many folks who flock to the city, I don’t own a car and don’t have much interest in changing that situation. I love to bike and the public transit in Boston is good enough that I can get around with ease. However, that mindset goes out the window when I need to transport furniture or home goods across the city. If I’m going to the antique mall or the thrift store, I’m usually hunting for something unexpected or unknown and I bike. In these moments, it really helps me make some serious decisions because I can’t carry it all. I do leave with the comforting fact that I can go back for it. This vase is a perfect example of a piece that kept haunting me every time I went.
I’d seen this vase sitting here for the last 3-4 visits I had make to the antique mall over the course of like 2-3 months. I liked it but, on previous trips, I found other things that I wanted to take home instead. The most recent trip, however, didn’t present me with a lot of other good finds and, since I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I brought this beauty home.
If I happen to find a larger piece on, say, Facebook Marketplace, I typically snag myself a zipcar or a friend to go grab it. As someone who has been doing this for a long time, I’ve had poor luck with calling a ride share; they typically refuse to take me which I can understand but it was hard for awhile because I felt that it was my only option. If you’re a city bb like me, I cannot recommend zipcar enough for a quick furniture pickup. Lifechanging.
FINANCIAL EBB & FLOW
Perhaps the hardest and least talked about part of sourcing vintage furniture is the financial irregularity of it all. There can be periods of time where you don’t find anything and then BAM you’re hit with three or four finds that all fit the criteria of what you’re looking for. I mentioned this when I first moved into my place and I will reiterate it again because I think it’s important for people online to hear this because we see so many lifestyles that are unattainable without a lot of product gifting or an unspoken budget — I don’t have the budget to sit in front of my laptop on a random Saturday afternoon and furnish a whole room. So, it can also be tricky when a few pieces that would work perfectly appear all at the same time.
It seems like this might be my answer to all of these obstacles but I always try and prioritize around what makes the most sense for my right now. My current goal is to source more lighting pieces for the whole space and side tables for my bedroom + living room. Hypothetically, if I found one of those and a sideboard, I would opt to prioritize the lighting and side tables just because they are a more immediate need for me. I use my living room a lot so having plenty of surfaces is important to me and I want me space to feel like it’s bathed in a warm light soup which is why I’m so focused on lighting too. Another surface/storage piece won’t be as much of a game changer right now, especially since I have that built in.
the evolution continues
Something I really want to hone in on this year is trying to document, as best as I can, a journey of realistic growth in building a space or a wardrobe for yourself. I’ve lived in this space now for 8 months and each small, subtle change feels like a good step forward. Things do feel a bit bare but I know that’s only temporary.
I can appreciate that sustainable fashion + furniture can be more expensive (which is why I love thrifting + antiquing) but something that we tend to forget is that we shouldn’t be trying to consume at the same rate when we make this intentional shift in what we buy. How we buy is just as critical and that should be a slow, thoughtful process. Now, don’t not have something you need if you can’t get exactly what you want at this moment in time. I have a secondhand coffee table that I think is truly just fine but, for now, it works. Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing groups are great spaces to get those interim pieces that you’ll pass on to someone else.
I’m excited to keep sharing what comes next and I’ll continue to my best to share how I do it so that, hopefully, you feel that you can do it too.
