Hey all, I had a post on my old site called ‘6 Places I Find My Coolest Décor.’ In it, I not only listed the 6 places I find my coolest décor, but I also packed it full of information on how exactly I find my décor from these six places. It had so much information and it was soooooo long, it was just too much. Too much for one blog post. And even though it had an enormous amount of useful information, I got the feeling no one was really reading all the way through, and therefore, missing out on valuable information.

Now that I have my new site and it’s finally up and running (sorry it took so long), I decided to take my old post and split it into a 6 part series where I fully explain where I find my coolest décor, one place at a time, in each post. So, with each new post I’ll be sharing a new place I find my best and coolest décor. Today is week 1 and part 1 where I will share my first place: Craigslist. (Part 2 is HERE).

A huge majority of my furniture and home décor in my house came from Craigslist. If you think that craigslist is packed with listings for expensive junk, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Buuuuuuut, there are also a ton of cool things waiting to be snatched up my someone who knows just where to look. I got my gorgeous, rustic-farmhouse dining table on craislist, my shabby chic, floral Victorian chairs, my hundred year old grandfather clock, my leather couch, plus a ton of other things that I feel I don’t even have room to name in this post. My point: I found some seriously awesome things on craigslist.

 

 

Tip #1: Don’t Look In The Obvious Places

Now you may be wondering what I mean by “don’t look in the obvious places.” By this, I mean, if you’re looking for antiques, don’t go straight to the antiques section. Why? Because the people selling things in this section on craigslist know what they have. You’re going to be paying full price or even much of the time, a higher price than you would even pay at an antiques shop. Stay away from the people who know what they have. You’re looking for the treasures that other people think are junk. I always start my craigslist scout in two places. 1) the ‘Furniture’ section, and 2, the ‘Free’ section. Now, browsing through these sections is going to take some work. You’re going to have to sift through a lot of crap to find something cool. But let me tell you, I have found some of the most awesome antiques and vintage items in these two sections of craigslist..and for cheap! Because the people listing antiques and vintage items in these sections either don’t know what they have, or they just don’t care because old things that someone like me is after, are just garbage to these sellers and all they really want to do is get rid of them. I recently bought a beautiful 1930’s Art Deco waterfall dresser from the ‘furniture’ section on craigslist for $35. The seller most likely didn’t care that it was in almost perfect condition and could have made her much more money–she just wanted it gone.

 

 

Tip #2: Use The Right Keywords

Adjectives are your friend. if you’re looking for a specific style table, use a descriptive keyword to search for it. My top keywords: rustic, shabby, shabby-chic, farmhouse, vintage, Victorian, reclaimed, antique, old, primitive. Using descriptive words will narrow down your search. However, don’t forget what I mentioned above. Many people don’t know what they have and some people can’t recognize a Victorian, shabby-chic armoire from an “old closet thing.” Trust me, I’ve been there. So, don’t expect all the cool things you’re searching for to come with the correct adjectives or descriptions. Therefore, you may have to search through a bit more, but it’s worth it. Also, most things I find do have some sort of relevant keyword attached to their descriptions.

 

 

Tip #3: Once You’ve Found Something You Have To Have, Go Get It, And Get It Fast

This one sounds obvious. You found something really cool and you want to get it. So, you call the seller and tell them you’d like to come check it out this weekend. Maybe you can even go see it today after work. But…that’s not going to be good enough. It’s common knowledge that people are flakey. If your seller has someone come before you with cash, they’re going to sell it to that person. They can’t risk waiting on you, when there’s no guarantee you’re even going to show up when you say you will, let alone, with cash in hand. My advice: get it as soon as you can. Preferably that hour. Have someone else pick it up for you. It all really depends on how much you want it. If there’s something I know I can’t live without, I make sure I get it somehow, no matter what. I’ve picked up chairs at 10’oclock in the dark before. Now, if it’s something you’d like and you do want but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you didn’t get it, wait until there’s a time that’s convenient for you and then contact the seller to see if it’s still available. Right now I’m playing the ‘wait and see’ game with an Art Deco dresser. I want it, it’s cheap, but I already have a million pieces of furniture I’m working on at the moment, including the other Art Deco dresser I recently got. And, it would be a big pain in the butt to pick up this dresser. But this weekend when my kids are gone and I have more time to do what I want? I might just go get that thing.

Have you purchased furniture or home décor on Craigslist before? Please do share!

Find Part 2 HERE.