My husband and I have been married almost three years and have gone through our share of garage sale and thrift store furniture over those years. Since we bought a house last year, we’ve had a lot of fun slowly finding furniture pieces that we love that are both beautiful and functional. These five tips below are my best pieces of advice for finding quality furniture for cheap that you love, is in good shape, and will last you a long time.
Before I share those, I do have one important side-note and/or disclaimer: Do some research to find out what the price range is for things like couches, dining room sets, beds, etc so you have a good idea what is cheap, average, and expensive. A big, comfy sectional might run you several hundred dollars on Craigslist but still be a great deal. The goal is to get the furniture you want at a price that is reasonable (or super cheap!) for whatever that item is!
Anyway, without further ado…
Five Ways To Find Quality Furniture For Cheap
1) Buy floor and display pieces or slightly damaged items.
I’m putting this tip first because it is my absolute favorite. SO many of the items around our home were purchased at a 40-60% discount because they had a slight scratch or chip. If the damage is something you can live with (and it usually is), then make sure to ask stores if they have any “as-is” items available. Ikea has a great as-is section where lots of folks have gotten great deals. This dining room table below is one of my favorite things we own and we got both the table and bench for almost 50% off because there’s a 2-3 inch scratch on the top. We buffed it out a bit, stained it, and it’s good to go!
2) Shop at the right time of year.
Certain things go on sale at certain times of the year. Indoor furniture like couches, dining room sets, etc tends to go on sale in January as stores prepare to bring out new collections. We moved into our house last January and got TONS of great deals by shopping sales at places like World Market! In contrast, things like patio furniture go on sale in late summer/early fall, so that is a better time to buy those items. Do your research to know when the best sales are and you’ll save lots!
3) Use Pinterest to find knockoffs of higher-end things you like.
Y’all, I swoon over these beautiful slipcovered couches from Pottery Barn. Most of my favorite pins on Pinterest have similar styles, so I did some research for Pottery Barn knock-offs and the Ikea Ektorp sofa collection came up over and over. We ended up buying this sofa for a fraction of the price of the Pottery Barn one but it’s still a similar style and has the slipcover we could remove and wash (but let’s be real, we’ve yet to do that). Ikea, Target, and World Market are great places to get cheaper versions of designer furniture. Online stores and flash sale collections like Wayfair, Overstock, and Joss & Main can be great too, although they sell collections for limited times so you have to be able to act fast!
4) Shop garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment stores in nicer areas.
If you’re willing to put in a little elbow grease to give old furniture new life, this can be a great way to find some good pieces. We’ve had less luck with upholstered pieces since they show wear a lot more, but we have gotten high quality chairs, end tables, a rocking chair, and lots of other great pieces by knowing when the wealthiest neighborhoods around us have their annual neighborhood garage sales. I know folks who’ve done the same thing by researching when the city has large-item trash pickup day and just driving around neighborhoods looking for things to scoop up!
I updated this cheap Ikea dresser ($30!!) with a few coats of paint and some new hardware. I love it! (Check out the tutorial here!)
5) Join reward programs.
We have saved TONS of money by joining the rewards programs for some of our favorite stores. World Market has a great rewards program with frequent coupons and sales. We also just got a Target Redcard and have been using that to save on our overall purchases and shipping online. I don’t know that I’d recommend opening up tons of credit cards, but reward programs that track your purchases and give coupons or insider sales are great ways to save money.
Our front room with some fun sale pieces from World Market and a free hutch we inherited.
It’s been so fun to slowly find pieces of furniture we love that fit our lifestyle and home over these last few years. We’ve been able to create a home that I love and am proud of without breaking the bank!
What are some of your favorite tips for finding affordable furniture? Share the love!
Great tips, Lauren!! I’m all about cheap/free furniture. Our entire living room was furnished with things given to us and things we trashpicked! Plus, all that thrifted/trashpicked furniture provides some good DIYs 🙂
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I love seeing how other people get their hands on cheap furniture – my fiance and I are slowly stocking our first apartment and have been using a local online classifieds! It has been great to find things in the style we like for under $100(AUD) And I love Ikea’s ‘as-is’ section as well. Who doesn’t love seeing 70% wiped off of a price tag!
These are wonderful tips! I’m planning on being so intentional about our furniture/decor when we buy a house (hopefully SOON!) but we’re not going to have a ton of freed up money after the down payment… These tips are amazing!
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It’s amazing the good quality items that you can find in a pre-owned furniture store. I have found items in pristine condition. Other items may have some slight damage- but not all is lost. If they are wood you can refinish or paint or if upholstery you can have reupholstered. That way too, you can put your own personal touch on it. There are so many possibilities with pre-owned furniture. Thanks for sharing!
I own an estate sale company. Our whole goal is to clear out the entire house of stuff- furniture to small items and everything in between in TWO DAYS. For us- we won’t take a sale unless all items are in good – great condition. Buyers can have an entire house of furniture to pick through at a fraction of retail. 🙂 Google estate sales in your area to find sales. Owner tip- if you really want something- you might have to wake up early to wait in line- but the money you’ll save versus buying it new will be well worth your time. Just beware! You might have weekend plans for the rest of your life. It’s addicting!
Please tell me where you got the beautiful map artwork in your dining room. Thanks!
It is from World Market! It’s a bit expensive so my hubby got it for me as a Christmas present when it was on sale a few years back. I love it!
Thanks for sharing these tips! It’s a great idea to look for sales at certain times of the year. Updating second hand furniture with paint is a good way to give it a new look.
if you really want something, it will cost you less but you might have to wake up early to wait in line, but that will not matter as such.
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Very true! Sometimes we have to be willing to sacrifice some sleep or time to get the best deal!