The Beauty of Buying Vintage Furniture Online
This year, I made a vow to shop for quality over quantity—not only in my wardrobe but every area of my life, including the items I bring into my home. As I continue to spend more time than ever inside, I’m particularly interested in finding the best vintage furniture online.
Not only are those antique pieces a sustainable way to decorate your home, but they’re oftentimes better quality. “Having touched and examined many pieces of designer vintage furniture, I can attest to the fact that there is certainly a distinction of quality that differentiates second-hand vintage furniture from its newer and mass produced counterpart,” says Carmen Nash, a vintage furniture connoisseur who sells her finds through her Instagram, Loft and Thought. Meghan Lavery and Daniel King, founders of the popular Brooklyn shop Home Union, are quick to agree. “People have lived with these designs—be it a chair, sofa, or lamp, for decades, which is telling. That means it’s functioning well, and likely coveted and loved,” Lavery and King say in a joint e-mailed interview. “Pieces of yesteryear were often made with more care, better materials, and weren’t derivative in the same way big-box stores leach onto a trend and suck it completely dry of any character.”
What’s even better? You don’t have to leave your house to find the best vintage furniture. There are several online retailers that offer timeless home essentials on their websites, from One King’s Lane to ABC Carpet Home. Even social media platforms are making it easier than ever to discover beautiful antiques. “Facebook Marketplace is still a favorite of mine for online shopping,” Nash notes. Vogue’s senior living and beauty editor Ella Riley-Adams relays that Craigslist can be another goldmine—after recently finding an orange-accented entryway console on the site, she made it her own with ceramic vegetable-shaped drawer pulls from Etsy. And there’s always the chance sidewalk find—New Yorkers know that the Instagram @stoopingnyc is worth a close follow. To jumpstart your search for amazing vintage furniture online, read on for 20 of Vogue’s favorite designs.
