Eccentric Minimalism

I absolutely LOVE looking at other peoples stuff. Seriously, new or used. I am always enthralled by it. How it looks, what they used it for, how someone might put something together. I however cannot afford nice things…

I often find myself fawning over designer looks in magazines like Aspire Design & Home . If I only had the time I could make all this cool stuff myself! However, until my youngest is out of the nest, I would just be sentencing myself to years of watching it be slowly destroyed in front of my very eyes.

One way I have always depended on having at bare mimimum, cool stuff that brings me joy in my home, is finding things in thrift stores, on marketplace, or even in the trash! I wanted to show you how easy it is to find cool looks for little to no money using only the resources at your disposal. You can be broke and have nice things. Let me show you how it’s done.

CWI Design

I found this first look by CWI Design  in Aspire Design & Home. It struck me as something I could easily source because so many of the items in the image are trending and have been trending for quite some time. I really enjoyed the Minimalist Approach to maximalism and I always love a pop of color. The goal: Find the table, chairs, rug, and art to pull off the whole look.

Facebook Marketplace

I’ve been sourcing and selling on Facebook since before MArketplace was even a thing. There used to be groups where you postd your stuff and were FORCED to sell to the first person who expressed interest or you were expelled from the group! It was the wild west back then and so much has changed since then.

I like Facebook Marketplace because it is so easily filterable and searchable if you are looking for anything specific. It’s also a good way to look at people sstuff without feeling bad about not buying it.

Simply by opening the app I was blessed with this first listing. It was literally the very first product listed on the opening page. This vintage Tulip Table would be the perfect fill in for the fluted base example in CWI’s design! The best part? It was completely FREE. 

The listing was for a moving sale, so I opened the product to see what else they had, and low and behold, the perfect rug was right there with it! I had found half of my objectives in less than 20 seconds and would need to invest $0 to make it happen. 

50 Mile Radius

I’m always surprised at the distance people are willing to travel to own cool shit. I expanded my search to cover within a 50 mile radius of New York, New York, thinking “This place is pricey, what can we find for dirt cheap?!”

To my surprise, prices in the big apple were right about the same as they were here in Ann Arbor, MI, sometimes even cheaper! I had a follower comment on a post once sayng it is likely because furniture is so hard to move in the city. I bet there’s a lot of truth to that theory. Either way, has me thinking of a road trip with a UHaul this summer!

The next step was to find some chairs. I was looking for ones similar to the picture, but also found some options of pops of color. Ultimately I settled on the plain white ones. I thought I might find the pop of color I was looking for with the art. I could get these as a 4 piece set for just $110. People don’t realize what a STEAL that is! So now we have 2/3 of our look and we are only out $110!

Minimalist Art

I spent the most time searching for this look on this piece in particular. I started with the very obvious keywords “Minimalist Face” and searched through pages of some cool stuff, but not what I was looking for. I knew I would be hard pressed to find anything likt the sculpture in the image, but I have seen a ton of minimalist face art. I had no idea it would be so difficult to find with such specific terms.

Label your listings people! Anyways, After broadening my search to jusst “Minimalist Art” I found the perfect piece that I thought would express the same sentiment of the CWI Design. This piece was listed for just $25!

Never Pay Full Price

Now, even though we found all of these pieces within a 5 mile radius for under $150, that doesn’t mean you have to pay full price. When reaching out to sellers on Facebook Marketplace, always reach out and ask if they are willing to negotiate on price.

DON’T throw them a low ball offer, that’s rude, but DO ask if there is any wiggle room. If the piece has been up a week or more, they may be desperate to get it off their hands. I am NEVER in the market for new furniture, because I have so much as it is, but sometimes, If I think a piece is truly magical and I can’t stop thinking about it, despite not having the funds to buy it, I might reach out and let them know if they never sell it, and need it to be taken off their hands, to think of me and I will happily do so for free. You would be surprised at how much free stuff you can get this way. Never, and I mean NEVER devalue someones listing just because you think it should be, or want it cheaper. We are all trying to make a living out here. Be respectful out there.

What’s your favorite look? Need help finding it?

 My goal is to make this an ongoing series where I help people find their dream furniture and decor and maybe sho them a thing or two about restoring or re-imagining it! Some people have a hard time visualizing as well as me, I’d love to help you with that process. Drop a comment in the thread or shoot me an email with your ideas to lullcostudio@gmail.com.