Conscious consumers: why more of us are choosing vintage and pre-loved furniture

Pinterest has recently said that searches for vintage interiors and ‘hipstoric’ homes (the art of mixing modern with antique) have risen by 850%. eBay says the same, with its site reporting a rush of people shopping for second-hand furniture, which has caused an 80% spike in searches over the past three months.

No doubt about it for me – you must be MAD if you’re not bringing vintage furniture into your home.

Why conscious consumers are on the rise

Vintage furniture has a personality, a story, and it is SO much better made.

And that’s not all…

1. Second-hand can save you money. Most vintage pieces are cheaper than buying the brand-new equivalent.
2. It’s better for the environment. In the UK, we discard 22 million furniture items a year*. Pre-loved gives good pieces a second chance and stops them going to landfill.
3. Vintage always has more character than brand-new. You can never create the same sense of one-off style with something modern and mass-produced.
4. Contrasting old with new gives your space more soul. Whoever got a thrill from admiring their latest flatpack?
5. Repairing or recovering a forgotten treasure YOUR WAY creates something 100% unique.
6. Mixing times makes a home timeLESS. All modern interiors need a touch of vintage. If you fill your space with micro-trends thinking you’re staying up to date, you’ll find – ironically – it dates much quicker.
7. Broken is beautiful. Once you’ve experienced seeing new beauty in the forgotten or falling apart, you’ll never see ‘shiny and new’ the same again.

With so many benefits, it’s easy to see why more of us are choosing second-hand and vintage furniture, and the number of conscious consumers is growing.

Recently I asked my followers on social their reasons for making more eco-conscious choices when it comes to furniture. The question got a great response – here are just a couple:

“I find old things are made better and last longer. Not only that, I think they have a personality after being around so long; I wonder what they have seen. I would never buy anything brand new again if I could.”
– Laura.

“Vintage is my go-to every time. I don’t want what everyone else can buy; I have my own style. When people come to our house, so many pieces of furniture/artwork strike up a conversation.”
– Teresa

(*according to a 2019 report by the North London Waste Authority)

A second chance for a second-hand antique sofa

If you’re contemplating buying (or you already have) a pre-loved piece to reinvent, take a look at this recent re-upholstery transformation.

“Make my antique sofa anything but ordinary!”

A little background…

Tobias had bought this stunner of an antique sofa second-hand, and while the back and sides were intact and absolutely glorious, the seat was badly worn and needed replacing. Tobias wanted to keep the charm and character of the original, but when I suggested the idea of combining the blowsy floral with a plain, his response was, “oh no!” Tobias wanted chintzy, bold and a full-on dramatic contrast.

I didn’t need telling twice; Chintz is cool again, and I was eager to explore the possibilities of the rising trend for grandmillennial.

A FAB-U-LOUS outcome

Tobias could have played it safe and gone with a plain fabric that worked with the original fabric, but by being a little daring with the fabric choice, this sofa got the full bloomin’ floral reinvention he had in mind.

 

“Sharon did an amazing job of recovering the worn seat of my vintage sofa – responsive, thoughtful and a pleasure to deal with. Definitely going back for my next upholstery challenge” – Tobias

 

Conscious consumerism (making more environmentally friendly and sustainable buying choices) is not a trend – it never ends. It gives me a lot of hope that maybe more and more people are getting on board with seeing the wonder in tired, worn-out furniture.

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Have you found the perfect vintage piece and are wondering what could be next for it?

Get in touch, and let’s start dreaming about its reinvention!