When it comes to decorating your home, how do you achieve a look with high-end taste using a low-end budget? For home designer Emilia Marie (@emiliamariehome), the answer is simple.
"You thrift!" she said in a recent apartment tour video on TikTok.
@emiliamariehome Secondhand home finds >>> Slowly curating vintage and secondhand finds for our city apartment. It takes time and patience, but it's so worth the wait! Plus, holding out for that perfect secondhand find allows you to build your dream space on a budget! #homedecor #frenchcountrystyle #cottagecore #vintage #thrifting #homefurnishing ♬ original sound - will paquin
Panning around her home, she explained that she had been "slowly curating vintage and secondhand finds for our city apartment. It takes time and patience, but it's so worth the wait!"
After all, as she pointed out, "Holding out for that perfect secondhand find allows you to build your dream space on a budget!"
Among the great secondhand finds she highlighted were a high-quality wooden side table for $30, a vintage floor lamp for $50, a bookshelf for $40, and an oversized chair for $600 — a 60% discount from the original $1,500 price, she pointed out. But perhaps her most triumphant find was a set of vintage wooden bistro chairs that she found for free on Facebook Marketplace.
"FREE bistro chairs??" one person enthused. "You scored!"
Emilia agreed, calling it "the best score." She explained, "I was sooo lucky to see the listing in time - someone near me in the city was moving that day and just needed them out."
Obviously, some of thrifting involves luck like this, but with patience and dedication any shopper can essentially guarantee that they'll find something along the lines of what they want.
And the possibilities of what can be found in thrift stores, as well as on Marketplace or at yard and estate sales, are nearly endless. From high-end kitchen appliances to rare vintage items, designer clothing, and even one-of-a-kind art pieces, dedicated secondhand shoppers are drawn as much to the thrill of the hunt as they are to the low prices.
🗣️ What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores?
🔘 Cheaper clothes 🤑
🔘 Trendier items 😎
🔘 Reduced environmental impact 🌎
🔘 I don't thrift 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Not only does this method of shopping allow for finding great items on a budget, but it also prevents high-quality pieces from simply going into the trash, where they clutter already-overflowing toxic landfills and add to the planet's pollution.
"Thrifting is my love language," one person said.
Another agreed, calling it "the best way to shop!"
And when it comes to curating finds for an apartment, Emilia recommended searching for desired items plus "vintage" or "antique" when perusing Marketplace.
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