Second Hand Furniture Vs New Furniture

Buying new furniture for your home, office or apartment can be a daunting task. You have to decide on a style, colours and how much space each item can take up. Not to mention factoring in some sort of budget. On top of this, how do you decide between buying new furniture and buying second hand? Here is a look at each type of furniture and the pros and cons.

New Furniture

Pros: New furniture generally comes with a guarantee, so you’re sure you’ll be satisfied. If not, returns are incredibly easy to make so you can get exactly what you need without too much hassle. This also goes for the quality of the furniture. With new furniture, you can ask a lot of questions about the materials second hand to create the pieces you’re interested in.

Cons: The downside to buying new furniture is firstly the expense. If you’ve ever tried to outfit your entire home or apartment with new furniture, you know how quickly you end up breaking the budget. New furniture also takes a lot of time, not only for deliveries (which can sometimes take weeks at a time), but also for assembly once you have the furniture. The final downside to buying new furniture is the cost to the environment. Unless you’re buying expensive, sustainable and eco-friendly furniture, chances are you’re contributing to the declining resources on this planet.

Second Hand Furniture

Pros: Buying second hand furniture is incredibly budget-friendly. You can end up getting really great, one-of-a-kind pieces for a fraction of the original cost. When you buy second hand furniture, you’re also being eco-conscious – you’re giving the furniture a new lease on life, and by reusing/recycling, that’s ones less piece that ends up in the ever-growing landfills. Finally, buying second hand can be very fun and rewarding. You can get creative when searching for second hand furniture, whether browsing flea markets, checking out garage sales or comparing online.

Cons: One of the downfalls of buying second hand furniture is that you aren’t always guaranteed of the quality or what materials were second hand in producing it. The best way to make sure you’re getting what you want is to ask a lot of questions and arm yourself with basic knowledge of furniture production.

If you’re still unsure of whether you want to buy new or second hand, you might want to consider doing a bit of both. While buying second hand furniture has the most pros, it can sometimes be nice to mix it up and have contemporary pieces with beautiful, antique looking furniture. Just remember whether buying new or second hand, keep your eyes open for a deal and don’t be afraid to ask questions.