Amanda Jones is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on sustainable living and decorating a home in way that is good for the environment. See the rest of her articles here.
In September, my Instagram feed was full of the hashtag #secondhandseptember, and I couldn’t have been happier. It so exciting to see everyone’s second-hand treasures, and they really are treasures, because you know they have been hunted for, and celebrated when found. It got me really thinking about why do I love having a second-hand home so much? Why I prefer buying something old, to buying something new?
1. It's in my DNA
I grew up in a home full of second-hand furniture, textiles and crockery. Not the high-end fancy pants antiques, just your ordinary everyday items that were preloved. Both my parents were born in the 1920s from poor, working class families, their childhoods shaped by the hardships felt by many in the 1930s, and their teenage lives, by the scarcities of the second-hand war. They lived frugally, and didn’t waste anything.
It might have been through necessity that my mum filled our home with second-hand, but it didn’t stop her from loving them. It wasn’t just a lifestyle; it was a passion for her. Mum would love to hunt down a bargain it a charity shop, she would bring it home, and upcycle it, even before upcycling became a ‘thing’.
2. As an adult, it’s where I started from
When I set up my own home in the 1980s, my husband and I had barely scraped together enough money for the house deposit and legal fees, we had saved hard and there was no ‘new furniture fund’. My friends, parents, aunts and uncles, all chipped in with the odd chair, lamp, or wardrobe. Our best man arrived one evening before our wedding with the ugliest vinyl corner sofa circa 1970s, it had a hole in one of the seats, which meant unsuspecting guests would end up slowly sinking to the floor if we had forgotten to mention it.
My parents bought us our first new bed, which came with a free hideous green cord carpet I eagerly accepted (we were yet to discover the beautiful floorboards under the hideous tar stained carpet). We got a new fridge and bought the cooker and washing machine off the previous owner. It was my first, mishmash of a home, not in the least bit cohesive, or magazine ready but I loved it, as my mum had done hers.
3. A second-hand home, is a unique home
When you buy lots of pieces for you home from different eras, different styles, you will by default have a unique home. I’ve always loved that my home is a little bit different, I like that things come with a history, things may have a few dints and scratches, but that I feel adds to their patina. It also means that my home is less precious, that a few extra dints really don’t matter to much in the scheme of things. Our home is used, no standing on ceremony.
4. Quality items, that are cost effective
Vintage and old furniture is usually very well made, using good quality materials. Sometimes you can really get yourself a bargain, especially if you are prepared to give the item a little bit of tlc. The craftsmanship and skill that goes into some older pieces of furniture or home décor items, really can’t be matched today, unless you commission an artisan, and that understandably, can often be cost prohibitive.
5. It’s environmentally friendly
This is something I’ve only really started to appreciate in recent years, especially since I’ve learned more about how much waste we humans produce. Every time I buy something second-hand, I’m potentially preventing something from going into landfill, and reducing the demand to produce new. I visit a lot of charity shops, antique centres and vintage fares. I’m always scouring online auction sites, the vast array of stuff out there is overwhelming, I’m amazed we are still producing do much mass-produced stuff.
So, are there any downsides to having a home filled with so many second-handed things? It can mean creating a home takes much longer, it’s the ultimate in Slow Interiors. Sometimes it’s literally taken me years to find the right item. You might need to make compromises, maybe you can’t quite get the right shade of green sofa, or the right amount of matching dinning chairs. But that’s all part of the fun, the search, the wait, the challenge of making something fit. Second-hand is my history, my story, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I literally do feel my soul would die (or at least shrink significantly) if I lived in a home full of new stuff.
