How to Use Someone Else’s Furniture in Your House
My mother moved from a large condo in the city to a small house in our 55 and older community just before last Christmas. Disposing of the furniture she couldn’t use was a complicated jigsaw of shipping ( cousin in NC), waiting for pick up (SIL in NC), donations, and moving van delivery to me and DS2 (who had just moved into a new apartment). I took a beautiful cabinet I have coveted for years that is now in the downstairs family room, and the pieces of my parents’ bedroom furniture that wouldn’t fit into her new house. I love her bedroom furniture and since she was keeping an armoire, bench and nightstand I took the desk and tall dresser so someday someone would have the complete collection. There was only one place for it—- the twin guest bedroom. I put my daughter’s handpainted chest of drawers in storage and donated the antique wicker desk painted pale pink; it never would have survived another child anyway. I had the room repainted the same color I chose for my mom’s bedroom in the new house, PPG Filigree—- an ethereal lighter blue that looked great with her blue and green furniture. We had to move the beds far apart to accomodate the wide desk, and the chest is just a tad too large for the room. Mom liked my baby ruffled white cotton curtains so I gave them to her, and she offered some silk ones she’d used in her dressing room that I took and are beautiful. It’s not the room I envisioned, isn’t fun and kid friendly, but it echoes my childhood home and I do love the furniture itself.
I kept the headboards and bedding, and the mirror I bought to go over DD’s chest.
Depending on how you look, the desk is actually more blue than green. That’s my existing bench from DD’s old room with the infamous Ballard sage green check upholstery. I didn’t even realize until I saw the picture that one of mom’s tassels was still attached 🙂 And there’s DD’s old rabbit lamp, still on nightime duty.
Pressed flowers on the wall, one my mom’s and four I framed.
The chest with my mother’s colored pencil portrait found during her move. I had it framed in similar colors to the chest.
This gives a better look at the colors. This is from Baker, late 60s or 1970, I think.
Curtains still need to be steamed. You can’t tell from the photo but they are light blue and green plaid, aqua where the two cross.
An upholstered stool from my mom’s house at the foot of one bed.
And this beauty at the foot of the other. It needs to go, it is completely out of place in this room, but where can I put it? ☹️ It was in my mother’s small den next to an apple green chenille upholstered chaise positioned between a white marble fireplace and a tall window looking out onto trees in a courtyard.
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Comments (8)Of the places you and others have mentioned, I've only ever used Craigslist for selling large furniture, though most of what I sell isn't super high end (we're not at the point of down-sizing yet). I have bought a few higher end items (antiques) through Craigslist at what I would consider fair prices, though less than what an antique store would charge. My general rule of thumb for buying through Craigslist is I don't pay more for an item than I think I could re-sell it for if I change my mind. I love Craigslist for the simplicity and ease, and have never had a bad experience selling (or buying) items through the site, though as others have mentioned you just have to make sure you ignore the scammers. It's easy to weed them out once you know to expect them anytime you list something of significant value. Just read the page on their site that details typical scams and follow the guidelines to avoid being scammed. Craigslist didn't work well for my in-laws when they were downsizing a couple of years ago, but they were also on a tight schedule and I thought they were asking WAY too much for their furniture. I listed it for them but didn't have the heart to tell them that it just wasn't worth much in today's market, even though they took great care of it and kept all the original receipts. They eventually donated it because no one was interested at the prices they wanted for it and they ran out of time. If you'd rather get something than nothing, you just need to price it low enough and someone will buy it. If you are selling 80s/90s honey oak furniture, it doesn't matter how nicely its been cared for, the market is saturated with it and realistically you are not going to get much for it. Take a look on your local Craigslist and see what the market is like in your area. Is there a lot of furniture like what you are wanting to sell, and how much are other people asking for it? If your items are priced to sell, they will sell. humbleandkind's advice to be willing to break up sets is excellent advice for the secondhand market. People are often looking for individual pieces and sets aren't as popular as they used to be, so you'll likely get more for your items if you are open to selling pieces individually. I bought our breakfast table off of Craigslist and it came with chairs I didn't like, so I just re-sold them on Craigslist to 3 different buyers. Good luck with your move!...See MoreRelated Professionals
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- 2 years ago
Lol, Ally!
Allison, our powder room has a bossy blue wallpaper
But I am thinking that I could try it between these two chair, although I don’t think the curtains would work with it and I would have to change the lamp.
The current table between these chairs is an antique oval tray my mother had fitted with a glass top. I have it on a faux bamboo metal stand and could use it in the DR as a stand for a champagne bucket as needed. I’ll try the pink table here later today.
- 2 years ago
2 years agoKswl thanked beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally- 2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
Allison (and anyone else who would weigh in) here is the possible change from tray table to the pink and green table from the bedroom between teo rose tweed club chairs in our front sitting room. The lamp probably would have to be changed, don’t you think?
existing tray table
(Click on the picture to see it larger.)While the table takes up little visual space it is much wider than the pink table, which has a little more heft:
Here is the lamp
and here is a picture of the tray. There is a very nice inlaid medallion made of different woods and ivory and the handles are brass. This was also my mother’s but she gave it to me years ago. The glare is glass.
- 2 years ago
I do use the lamp, but additionally it is on a timer and comes on at 7 pm and stays on all night in case someone comes in or comes over late. I also just like having a light in the front window. Nothing just right comes to mind, but finding something new and wonderful would not be a hardship 🙂 I need to find something that won’t argue with the half lamps just opposite:
There are 2 of these flanking a large mirror.
- 2 years ago
Pink table does not work in dining room, the main reason the tray table does work is because I could pull it out as needed; the tray can be lifted up (held onto the legs with strong suction cups) and the legs scissored flat for storage. I am going to look at it for a day or two in the sitting room. My mother says she has at least one lamp that she thinks I would like to use, possibly two to choose from and I am welcome to either. I’m taking her a lasagna tomorrow and picking her up to go to the new George Clooney / Julia Roberts movie and will get a look at her lamp possibilities then. in the meantime I have seen a few that look interesting, all 18” or under:
Metal would be nice slthough i prefer brass to anything gilded
Very pretty
Love this one!
This one is alabaster.
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