Finding quality furniture on a budget can seem like a tall order. I love Pottery Barn as much as the next person, but if I have thousands of dollars to burn, I’d rather put it in the travel budget, not the living room sofa. What’s a PB loving, budget conscious, semi-addicted Pinterest scroller to do?
Enter: Online auctions. These are estate liquidation sales, but virtual. That means you can peruse the contents of a home without leaving your couch. That’s your first win. The second win is that these estates often have great vintage pieces (read: high quality). The third win, and pièce de résistance, is the price. If you can pick up the furniture yourself – I recommend roping in family members to help – you can score some amazing deals on one-of-a-kind pieces.
Couches for $1? Yes. Sideboards for under $100? Absolutely. Dining room tables for under $400. Sign me up.
Look, I don’t have anything against new furniture and I don’t begrudge anyone who prefers their furniture to come by way of a delivery truck. This isn’t for everyone. The reward for us “roll up your sleeves” types is not just in the cost savings, but also the history. I like knowing I’m giving a piece a new home, and carrying forward the memories created in its previous life.
If you’re ready to begin the hunt, I recommend creating accounts on estatesales.org and estatesales.net so you get notified of auctions in your area. You can also get yourself on the Bird’s Nest list to get notified of new sales.
