One person's trash is another's treasure

While a poor-quality chipboard desk is cheap and convenient, so too can be a solid timber, vintage bureau.

If you know where to look, and appreciate furniture crafted in a time gone by, it's possible to fill your home with high-quality pieces, without breaking the bank.

With an eye for beautiful design, graphic designer Ellie Wright-Pedersen recently struck gold when she discovered four vintage rattan chairs on Facebook Marketplace. The lady selling them told her they'd originally been purchased from an antique auction. Years later, they now live out their third, maybe fourth or fifth, life in a small coastal town kitchen.

Green with envy, Ellie's second-hand win called me to reflect upon my own taste. I love to fill my home with functional and beautiful objects that tell a story. Buying second-hand allows me to do this, and to great effect.

On the hunt for artwork to compliment the aesthetic of my rural surrounds, I recently found exactly what I'd been looking for on the top shelf of a Sydney Vinnies.

Op-shops have been a source for many second-hand pieces before. From the trinket dish on my bedside table and place mats and matching coasters I found locally, to my beloved magazine rack I picked up from the "tip shop" in Broken Hill, I've collectively spent less than $10 on some of my favourite items.

The desk which I currently write from once sat abandoned on a nature strip, a "free to a good home" sign flapping in the wind. It's a metre deep, leather-topped, and complete with six sturdy drawers - all as good as new!

Recently, when I had to succumb to a pair of flat-pack bedside tables, I was reminded of another reason why I appreciate second-hand, vintage furniture so much.

The chipboard had ironically begun to chip, one of the screws had a damaged thread and was therefore rendered useless, and once complete the structure was so flimsy I wouldn't risk sitting my cup of tea atop it.

Yet I have seen that bedside table everywhere - it's sold across hundreds of stores Australia wide. It fits the brief - cheap, convenient and on-trend. The entry requirements to landfill.

Not dissimilar to the fast fashion industry, fast furniture isn't made to last generations, be repaired or reused.

"Waste is increasing, but the proportion of waste we're recycling isn't. Every bit of rubbish that ends up in landfill is a missed opportunity to contribute to a circular economy in which nothing is wasted," said Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water.

In the Australian government's National Waste Report 2022, donating and sourcing second-hand furniture and bric-a-brac, through charity reuse stores, is listed as an important waste prevention strategy. Though not buying into the fast furniture craze to begin with, and instead participating in the second-hand economy of quality goods, is what will really make a difference.

The default should be your local op-shop, online resale sites, or the weekend garage sale. You never know what might be hidden in the charity shop you always walk past but never enter. Chances are, your favourite piece of furniture is in there, waiting for its new home.

Why not start with IKEA's As-is market? You can give second-hand furniture and ex-showroom displays a second chance at a second home, while helping your wallet, and the planet.