There’s no getting away from it, lockdown has forced us all to spend a huge amount of time indoors this year. And with all that sitting around inside, you might have noticed something; your furniture could really do with an upgrade. Or, at least, it would be nice to have one or two little additions to liven the living room up.

Alright, perhaps you haven’t noticed that at all. Perhaps you are perfectly pleased with your furniture thank you very much. Whatever your furniture situation is, we want to share with you 5 reasons to buy second-hand furniture that are nigh on guaranteed to make you think twice about that (very expensive) brand new dining table.

Here are the top 5 reasons to buy second-hand furniture.

  1. Skilled Craftwork Made to Last

Now, to be sure, not every piece of second-hand furniture will fall into the category of ‘skilled craftwork’, however, if you’re willing to put in a bit of time and effort searching, there are some truly wonderful hidden gems to be found.

You see, furniture making now is a completely different process to what it used to be. Nowadays, tens of thousands of identical products are churned out of factories that cut corners to cut costs and use flimsy materials as standard. The result isn’t all bad; there is a need for affordable furniture.

But back in the day, skilled craftsmen and women poured their soul into creating beautiful and unique pieces of furniture from the finest solid woods they could find. Intricate hand carvings and careful design resulted in ornate furniture that looked amazing and lasted a lifetime.

Many people don’t realise the value of what their getting rid of, so spend time searching through magazines, online marketplaces, auctions and car boot sales and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.

  1. Save Money

There are two reasons buying second-hand furniture will save you money, one that’s guaranteed and one that’s conditional.

First and foremost, second-hand furniture is cheaper to buy than the brand-new stuff. It goes without saying that if your buying second-hand, you can expect to make a significant saving on your purchase.

Secondly, if you buy well, and by that we mean getting your hands on a quality piece of well-made furniture, you will save money in the long term too. Cheaply made and cheaply sold furniture may seem like the most economical option, but these will inevitably have a far shorter lifespan than quality furniture, meaning you’ll be shelling out for a new item much sooner than you would like.

Most people will allow you to go and assess whatever furniture you’re buying second-hand, so use this opportunity to take a look and make sure what your buying looks and feels like its got a lot of life in it yet.

  1. It’s Environmentally Friendly

By not buying something new, you avoid consuming precious natural resources. Not only that, because you’re likely to buy second-hand items locally, or at least from within your own country, there is a far smaller carbon footprint involved in transporting your furniture than if you were to buy a new bookcase freshly shipped from China.

Recycling furniture in this way will make your house look great and make you feel even better.

  1. Exclusive Items

As we were saying, the old way of making furniture is a dying art, meaning truly great pieces of furniture are becoming rarer and rarer. If we indulge the vain side of our personalities for just a moment, who wouldn’t rather have a gorgeous, unique, handcrafted coffee table over a (ahem) certain standard style of Swedish stock.

  1. Upcycle

Who here said we have to play by the rules? You don’t have to buy something and use it as just that or leave it in the condition you found it. The internet is awash with amazingly creative examples of upcycling and repurposing second-hand furniture.

Upcycling involves taking some really cheap boring old junk, spending a bit of time and money renovating it and turning it into your very own masterpiece.

Repurposing is similar and involves upcycling with the added twist of changing how you use the piece of furniture. Found a beautiful big armoire that needs some TLC? Why not transform it into a stunning kitchen pantry. Found an old sewing table? Why not turn it into a handy drinks table.

Creativity is key here but if you’re struggling there is endless inspiration online.

As you can see, there are some great reasons for buying second-hand furniture, from saving money to letting your creative streak run wild. You can have a quick scan online for a good bargain or turn it into a project to work on in your spare time.

How you buy second-hand furniture is up to you, but however you do it, we promise you won’t be disappointed.

Good luck and happy hunting!