The Amazing Novel Trend To Purchase Chic Secondhand Slice Of Furniture

The residual of the room is a go inwards progress, but the couch? We're together for life. 

Last year, when I began decorating our novel house, I knew that I wanted a curated vibe—a habitation that was the production of my travels, antiquing trips, in addition to thoughtful decorating, non something I threw together alongside a couplet Target runs. I knew this would convey fourth dimension (that’s my excuse for my half-decorated house!), in addition to sometimes, it meant getting a niggling creative alongside my sourcing: I bought my dining room sideboard at a minor antique store inwards Baltimore, my vintage folding covert in addition to kitchen chandelier on Craigslist, my dining room tabular array on Ebay, in addition to I had my living room chairs custom-made—not to refer the dozens of thrift stores I’ve scoured along the way for smaller pieces of slice of furniture in addition to habitation accessories. 

But when it came fourth dimension to honour a couch for my sunroom—a minor room off the entrance hall alongside windows on 3 sides—I was stumped. The couch I’d purchased for the living room was, much to my husband’s chagrin, a fleck on the theater side—definitely non 1 you’d sink into to read a book. So I wanted something super-comfortable, but alongside style. Enter Viyet, a website I’d never heard of until Google led me there. (I was searching random things, similar “botanical impress sofa” inwards this case, that I idea mightiness Pb me to an interesting couch.)

Viyet, a fellowship launched from a one-bedroom floor inwards New York City, is amid a flock of lately churned-out websites—Chairish is to a greater extent than or less other example—for buying in addition to selling secondhand furniture. 

What sets these ventures apart from Craigslist is the guarantee of quality—you don’t cause got to sift through a dozen avocado-green couches from 1975 earlier finding a gem. Viyet is peculiarly useful if you’re unskilled at spotting diamonds inwards the crude oil online: Curators—many of whom are renowned interior designers—review photos of items that users submit to sell, in addition to exclusively select the pieces that satisfy their aesthetic sensibilities. If an particular is selected, Viyet sends out a lensman to convey a few professional person photos of it, which agency you lot don’t cause got to endeavour to approximate the lineament of an particular from a few poorly-lit, grainy energy cell shots. 

In the representative of my sofa, the curator was Martin Lawrence Bullard, who was named a overstep interior designer past times Architectural Digest in addition to featured on Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorators. In other words, I could trust that the couch would survive beautiful to await at, but also beautifully constructed. 

Although I didn't dearest the blood-red accent pillows (which I ended upwards but flipping backwards), everything else nearly the couch caught my eye. 

When I clicked on the Viyet listing for the sofa, I at 1 time roughshod inwards love—it had a beautiful botanical pattern of birds in addition to leaves, in addition to looked to a greater extent than than deep plenty for napping or reading. One problem: The listing was for a pair of sofas—and my sunroom could definitely exclusively conform one. So I reached out to Viyet in addition to asked if the consignor would see breaking upwards the pair. Another request: The listing said that 1 couch was stained, in addition to I wanted to create certain I bought the create clean one. The seller agreed to both conditions, but I all the same wasn’t quite create to commit to shelling out the asking price. So I made an offer—another groovy characteristic of the site, which allows you lot to negotiate alongside sellers. Two days later, my offering was accepted (and, inwards addition, I had a $100 coupon since I was a first-time buyer). 

This helped offset 1 of the to a greater extent than painful parts of the process: shipping. Unlike sites similar Overstock or Wayfair, transportation is far from free—I had to musical rhythm out a few hundred dollars for white-glove, cross-country delivery (the sofa was inwards California). And in addition to thence in that place was the waiting: It took a calendar month for my couch to arrive. And when it did demonstrate up, I was disappointed to discovery that the cushion had stains on it—not major ones similar on the matching couch, but all the same noticeable. Fortunately, Viyet credited me $100 to comprehend the cost of cleaning. 

Otherwise, the couch was perfect for my space. And it’s easily the most comfortable slice of slice of furniture inwards my house. Plus, its unique pattern lends the sunroom a garden-y feel, which is just what I wanted inwards the brightly-lit room. 

So would I create it again? Yes. The whole procedure was a fleck of a hassle—negotiating, transportation costs, waiting—but buying consignment online literally opens the doors of to a greater extent than or less of the country’s chicest residences, giving access to slice of furniture I could never afford create new. That, to me, is far to a greater extent than valuable than the instant gratification of a slice of furniture store.