Another helpful idea: Share your wishlists among your friends/family! If your mom and three of your pals are also watching, you’re much more likely to find it. My mom wanted pale yellow clip earrings. Highly specific. I was as happy about finding them as I’ve been about finding things for myself!
Taking time to decorate a space instead of all at once helps too. If a space is built up over time, it allows more thought behind each addition. Interior designers are able to put together a concept and mood board, but for most people - just taking the time to see it come together little by little is a great way to make sure your interior space reflects you.
Would love to see a video about this with a “decluttering” lens as well!!! A Zen To life channel has a bunch of videos on decluttering (and others obviously) but it seems like mainstream decluttering and fast furniture aren’t opposed forces but are feeding off of each other….
it bothers me when people (and i know Tiffany is not one of those people) don’t recognize that pieces from IKEA can be heavy duty “forever” items. i cannot even imagine getting tired of furniture after a couple of months and trashing it! when I entered high school my parents took me on a special trip to IKEA to get my bedroom "forever furniture". I was so grateful then and even more now 10 years later with those same pieces placed around my first home with my partner. i hope this trend helps the world become more resourceful! :-)
That's so true. I think it greatly depends on how we treat things. The problem occurs when we think that cheaper things have less inner value, do not deserve to be taken care of and become neglected.
People don't assemble the furniture correctly. You HAVE to follow the instructions 100% and make sure every single piece is perfectly lined up. I love Ikea and honestly feel like I'm buying higher quality furniture when I shop there than anywhere else (except if I spent 1000s at like a boutique furniture store). Literally the only way I acquire furniture or other homegoods is Ikea, thrift stores, or craigslist.
Same here, I found a couple bright red Kallax things second hand after that color was discontinued like 7 years ago and they're still going strong and I still love them. They're sturdy, they're functional and my favorite color, I don't see myself getting rid of them any time soon.
Yes. My home is honestly mostly IKEA and everything but one item will last ages. One kallax in the kitchen has water damage so we will replace it when our kids get older and stop ruining everything 😂
I was looking for a comment like this, my parent bought almost all of their furniture for their first home from ikea - it's been a couple of decades and all of them are in great shape and fit beautifully!!
Someone did a video about "what makes your home look cheap" and mention fairylights. I love lights & fairylights so i dont care if it look cheap. Good video Tiffany
As an interior designer who specializes in LASTING spaces, I am so happy to see creators like Arial from Canada who is showing her curating her home and decor to her OWN style. Her OWN individual style, budget, and aesthetic. I appreciate her use of repurposed pieces and not trying to keep up with crazy expectations. Her home will age well due to her careful cultivation.
I stumbled upon Caroline Winkler on TH-cam and have been appreciating her approach to curating her space for the same reasons. Thanks for the new channel recc!
Something that should be talked about: you're not limited to neutral colors or simplistic designs when you have your first 'adult' homes. I have mustard yellow armchairs in my orange living room with pink curtains because I can. that's "neutral" to me! I also have a jumbo sized coffee table because I can and I love walking into the room every day. i've never understood why people try to have a certain style that doesn't reflect them. that's no fun.
moving into my new home soon and i am currently painting my office wall pink, i also have a lot of "childish" decor, could be a 5yo living here lol. i dont care, my place my style 🤷🏻♀️ if its even called a style, i just buy things i like and place them where i like them and thats it. lots of flowers, pink, my own art and butterflies
My biggest “aha” moment was realising that my apartment doesn’t need to be fully furnished within the first month of living there. Whenever you move, it’s ok to give yourself time to really live in a new space and slowly figure out your needs within it and let a the place grow on you before making major purchase decisions. I love that I’ve been slowly making major purchases over the course of a couple of years because it works for my budget and the home is always exciting-it’s ALWAYS a work in progress and it’s never stagnant
This. My first apartment WASNT fully furnished! And the furniture I had, was the epitome of mismatched lol. Now my fiancé and I own a house, and we still don’t have a couch for our basement, 2 years here, and that’s ok. Furniture is expensive
I've been living in my condo since 2016. I'm STILL getting my kitchen to function the way I need it to. I haven't even gotten to the office yet much less the bedroom. It requires living in a space to understand how it works and how you work in it. My favorite examples of this are those who ikea a closet set up because they *finally* have a walk in closet and they drop a fair chunk of change on that... only to realize it doesn't suit how they use the space at all! They ditch their shoes at the door and so now they're purchasing a shoe organizer for by the door and the expensive one in the custom made closet is going unused because it doesn't work for anything else. But I'd say unfortunately its hardest for people like me who need to really accommodate themselves in their space and are soooo tempted to impulsively purchase whatever system they "just know" is gonna finally work for them... only to find that $400 worth of acrylic organizers doesn't fit their brain function/needs AT ALL. Big fan of "never put off function while waiting for aesthetics" which I also interpret as meaning, "rig up a temporary approximation to see if the thing/idea actually does work in the space for you and if it does, then upgrade to something more durable/permanent". So for me this has meant cardboard drawer dividers to see if it works well for me before purchasing sturdy options... or using some bins I already had to see if I'd actually sort my laundry as I made it before investing in a really nice laundry sorter.
@@Chaotic_Pixie that’s so smart! More people need to think this way. My “aha” moment was hearing the about the container concept. So simple: containers are made to contain, so if your stuff isn’t fitting in containers, you don’t need more organizers, you need less stuff.
Wishing you well on your new journey! Nearly all the furniture in my house is collected from years of functional needs. I still use the dresser and nightstand my parents bought for my room when I was born because they still work for me. I add a little personal touch to my room with vintage objects I find. I used to hate the headboard for my bed, but then I threw a blanket with a cool pattern over it and it 100% solved my problem XD
My best advice is don’t buy everything at once! You’ll make yourself go broke and you’ll find a lot of it for good deals if you look and don’t buy all the home stuff immediately
Congrats!! When i moved out, I also had so many visions of finally curating my own space. But just know it rarely works exactly like that, most curated homes take years to get there because it takes years to not only have the budget, but mostly to find out what kind of furniture actually works for you. Even in my 3rd apartment at age 23 I had such a good idea and beautiful concept for where my desk and workspace would go, I put up shelves in the corner, everything. Just to never once sit there and instead hole up in the couch (which I also learned I don't like that much, I wish I had a comfy armchair instead) with my stuff very impractically all over my lap. Eventually I caved and moved my desk to where my couch is, which looks crammed and awkward, but now I sit on there every day. It's okay to not get it "right" every time, and it's normal and okay to learn that one of your theoretically great ideas simply doesn't work for you. Wishing you the best of luck!! :)
To be fair with Ikea, I’ve had plenty of pieces from them for over 15 years and they are still going strong. I have no intention to replace them any time soon. I think if you buy ikea and treat it like it’s high end then you’ll have it for a very long time
Was just coming to comment the same thing! 95% of my ikea things have lasted 10 or 15+ years. My mid-range ikea corner couch has lasted 10 years so far, versus the Brick couch I had that lasted one year before looking terrible, and the high end sears couch that did the same. Was especially impressed with the foam comfort and durability. Instead of replacing it when I'm bored I just swap covers. What I especially love about a lot of their things is the versatility to move things around and set up them up in a million different ways, so I can optimize my space for whatever's happening in my life (from before kids, to toddlers and now to teens, from being a student myself to being a professional...) We just treat things with care and have disassembled some of the pieces carefully or half-disassembled them, and we move around things with care. Shoutout to PAX & ALEX drawers of all heights.
Most people who has a negative opinion on Ikea has absolutly no idea how things work. If people trully expect a 25€ coffee table made of cardboard is going to be as durable as a solid wood one they are simply stupid. That being said, that carboard coffe table made by Ikea is pretty much the best coffe table made of cardboard you can get at that price range. They sell products on several price ranges depending on the materials. Their quality is comparable to any other product of similar characteristics but at a lower price because their production model and scale allows them to be more competitive than any other furniture maker. Any furniture that is assembled using screws is not meant to be reassembled more than once, not just Ikea's. Expensive furniture is held togheter by interlocking glued joints, that means the whole thing has to be shipped and stored mostly completely assembled, which increases its costs even further.
ikea is fairly cheap and durable i mean. i also still have a dresser and desk from 10 years ago, 2 beds ive had 15 years etc. i have never met a person that throws away ikea furniture other than it finally broke after multiple years
It could be the case however that the quality of their products has gone down in the last 10-15 years though. Like the same piece you bought 15 years ago could be much different quality if you bought it one year ago or today, but idk.
A friend who does stone work told me a story about being hired to lay new marble in a wealthy couples condo bathroom. When he entered the bathroom, it was impeccable, gorgeous marble all over. Looked straight out of architectural digest. But he was hired to destroy it all and put a new, different type of marble in just because they felt like a change. ☠
@@snflwrchan8019 did u ask tho? i don't see any problem with it lol...if I'm that rich (arguably bit stupid) that i don't mind getting rid of beautiful pieces, i also won't mind wherever it ends 💀
The environmental impact makes it not okay. Also, what an insult to the skills of the person who did the original work. Clearly their time and quality would have been better spent on people who could appreciate it.
i remember when someone posted about finally being able to afford getting a bed frame and all of the replies were so incredulous and amazed that someone was finally showing realistic parts of life on twitter, as was I!! looking back it’s just really unfortunate that we are all so thirsty for content that reflects the difficulties non-influencers have, it all can make us feel so alone.
Yep yep, the only reason I have a bed frame is bc we "stole" my husbands teen bed from the inlaws place. Even Ikea products are absurdly expensive and unattainable to the average customer. Ive sadly come to realize Ill never have a "complete" apartment because the few pieces I CAN afford are simply not the best quality so will not last decades 😭
Same! I cried when I could afford to buy my own adult bed! I waited for everything to go on sale, used credit card points, and snatched it up. I still feel accomplished for having done that 😊
@@alessandrasmith339 same! Getting a real mattress was terrifying even after i had done weeks of research and got it on sale. The bedframe I was looking at also went on sale at that time too, so i bought them at the same time. Scariest purchases ever, but knowing I paid the least i could for it really helped me. Now i sleep better than i have in years and feel like a real adult xD
I’ve heard so many older people with beautiful homes say it look years/ decades to slowly bring their house to what it is present day. Now, we rush to decorate the whole place then realize a few months it doesn’t work. I try to look at my space and think about how my family functions to decide if a piece is worth getting. I can’t count how many times I’ve bought this magical piece of furniture that will solve all my family’s needs and my family doesn’t touch it lol.
Exactly! In my adult life I’ve realized that even where you put your furniture changes as you live in a space. We’ve lived in our apartment a year and a half and have done a couple of rounds of rearranging some furniture because as we’ve lived in it we’ve learned how we use the space. And over time we’ve gotten some second hand furniture or inherited pieces or found fun stuff that now our apartment is full of furniture and art we love. There’s definitely stuff we have that we don’t 100% love but we’ll figure it out over time and especially when we manage to buy a place to live and feel like we can really make it our own. I’m very much the kind of person who wants to really make my forever home my own, I want to build some built in bookshelves and renovate a bathroom, but like I want to live in the space first, learn how I use it so I can customise for practicality and really make any changes fell like the right choice. I don’t really understand the people who like renovate a whole place before moving in. Like what if you end up really liking the view from a certain window, but the way the kitchen is renovated you can’t see out of it where you sit most of the time. It’s the little things you learn through living that really make a space special.
Very true. And the older I get the more I want my decor style to just look like a warm, lived-in, wealthy grandparent’s house lol. A homey feel but high quality.
Last summer, my roommate and her boyfriend did a lot of dumpster diving. We live in a college town, so we hit the big dumpsters on campus and around off-campus housing to find a LOT of great items that college kids throw away when they moved. Quite a few pieces in our apartment were FREE from these finds, and they made some extra cash flipping the pieces. And they had fun! It's not super glamorous, but that feels like deinfluencing/resisting the urge to me.
I’m a college student and I got a great rug from next to the dumpers, $50 rug, and all it needed was a vacuum, it was probably bought in August and dumped in May
A little bit off topic, but not really. It baffles me how many good quality, perfectly fine clothes state get thrown away all the time. Dumpster diving is lowkey the best way to get authentic vintage/retro pieces, lol
i live in a student accommodation and we have a shelf for keeping stuff you don’t want anymore esp if you’re moving out. i got the prettiest rugs, pots and purple stained glass cups this week alone. at least it wasn’t thrown away!
That tiktok clip of that peeson being proud and happy with having their own apartment. I FELT that. To everyone else, it is not the best, but it is MINE. My house, my rules. I just got that freedom and privelege. I dont have a couch, but I am here and I am loving my own space!
I had that, had a couch I was going to get and it got delayed so my grandmother pressured me to take her couch and now I have a shitty broken couch I didn't want in the first place that I'm going to have to pay to dispose of at some point and then buy a couch myself anyway.
Tip for people who are almost broke and in a new place: giant 18 gallon sterilite or rubbermaid totes. You can get them in many colors for less than $10, they store a crapton of stuff (for me it's off season clothes and craft supplies) and they stack very nicely. Put a nice scarf or tea towel over the top and you have a table. One is a good small side/coffee table, two high makes a good nightstand or desk extender. In a pinch it could even be a dining table. Best part, as you replace them with real furniture you can still use them as good storage for whatever it is you need.
As someone who went to graphic design school, all my friends are amazing artists and we mostly gift each other self made stuff. Having wonderful pieces of art with emotional value really adds something to ones apartment :)
i so remember how happy i was when i moved out and finally was able to buy my beloved big yellow chair. it is ikea and every time prior purchase when i visited an ikea i sat in it and imagined myself finally owning my own. and although the yellow is a little restrictive aesthetic-wise, it is the piece i connect so much joy with ❤️
I think I have the exact same chair and it was my first (and up to now, only) purchase from IKEA that was not based on functionality but with the sole purpose of treating myself. I love my reading chair and hopefully it will last me decades.
Oh I feel this. I know what chair you are talking about. My boyfriend's mom loves that chair too and he and his sister finally gifted in to her last christmas. She's so happy she finally has that chair. My sofa is from IKEA and I love it still after 8 years. Good investment because our dog loves it, too. For some pieces it's also very nice to see that IKEA sells the upholstery individually because after 8 years the sofa really needs it - but no way am I getting rid of that sofa. It's very basic but big enough and (as Tiffany mentioned) it's a the biggest piece in the livingroom and it's a neutral. I can built up on that. I have moved 5 times now with it and it's still not falling apart. I wish you a very happy and long coexistence with your lovely yellow chair :)
I really appreciate the footnote you placed in the video when talking about Ikea. For me, Ikea furniture is high-end, and definitely not something to throw away after a year or two. My family has always had mismatched furniture from the thrift store, or stuff we found on the side of the road. So much of it is old, damaged beyond repair, falling apart. When I finally had the opportunity to decorate a new room for myself I decided to go all-out on new Ikea furniture and used Ikea furniture from a friend. I've never had a space this nice. And I could tell the exact same story about my clothes. Needlessly throwing stuff away after a short period of time is one of the biggest complaints against everything "fast", whether that's fashion or furniture. And it's an extremely valid complaint. But sometimes it bothers me that people don't recognize that for those who are poor, these ''fast'' items are often the very best they can afford, and they will make sure to use up an item until the very last fiber or particle board, for years and years on end. The ones throwing everything away like it's nothing are, ironically enough, often the ones who could've afforded better stuff in the first place, and who are now preaching at others to "invest" in better quality pieces.
that's what's so confusing to me about the way people talk about ikea on the internet now. to me, growing up, ikea was the highest of high ends. i didn't even know there were other places to get new furniture for a while, and all the things i have from ikea are quite great (except my wardrobe, but it was a later purchase - maybe ikea has gone a little downhill on quality, because the things i've had for longer like my desk which i've had since around 2008 are standing strong without even a wobble)
YES! Ever since I started dressing how *I* love, decorating my house (rented apartment) how *I* like in whatever way is practical to *me*, I’ve gotten so many compliments. But then, all of the sudden in the last year or so, at the end of it has been “what style/aesthetic is it?” and finally that happened enough times where I literally had to google what they were talking about. Now whenever I tell people “it’s just me! It’s whatever I like and find cool!” half the time people accuse me of gatekeeping by not labeling my own personal style. It’s terrifying how ignorant so many people still are of the extent to which the consumption cycle chasing mass manufactured trends has ballooned/is affecting them. There’s always been trends, but never, ever like this, and it’s dangerous on so many levels.
@@user_gov FR, the first time someone was overtly rude to me I just like had an existential crisis for like a day straight lol- less even about myself but more like “what have we become”. It’s not like I actually gatekeep even- I am always telling people exactly where I got/how I made something usually before they even ask 😂 but it seems like the actual “aesthetic” and ability to define it is now the sought after thing and it’s like it’s own whole class system it’s fcking terrifying
Omg somebody accused you of gatekeeping bc you don’t want to label YOUR experience? I need Advil for this headache that annoying person’s comment caused. people are too much these days.
@@Whoknows-mf1cv more than once unfortunately 😬 each time it’s been from someone a bit younger (not their fault for falling prey to ofc but definitely a scary societal conditioning thing happening) and along the lines of like “how are people supposed to be able to replicate the style if you won’t say what to search. You’re not giving it a name bc you want to gatekeep it so no one can figure out how to do it” kind of thing. Like we’ve delineated literal personality so far into algorithmic “content” ppl literally believe that’s what it must be 100% of the time 😩
@@Whoknows-mf1cv I see it in comments on Pinterest a lot too- look through enough trending pins especially of personal style or bedroom decor and you’ll see dozens (usually from acts that say right in the profile they’re a teen or preteen) of “what style is this???” “Name of aesthetic??” and like it just makes me so sad to think there’s this whole social media brainwashing thing making esp vulnerable young ppl believe that EVERYTHING is a labeled box for trends sake. 😭
Just wanted to add a note to be careful when finding stuff on the side of the street: my friend found a free couch and ended up getting bedbugs in her whole house from it 😭 even though they thoroughly washed/vacuumed it Edit: this video came out at the perfect time for me though! I'm looking into getting my first apartment rn 🙌
I would add to that, some antique furniture may have been painted with paint containing lead, so just keep that in mind before sanding an older piece of furniture
Ugh yeah I’m deeply afraid of facebook marketplace after we got really nice old dressers and it turned out they were internally rotting and we got mould mites through our whole home 😢 I love restoring and painting and DIY but you’ve also got to be careful
in the spirit of cute, meaningful decor and furniture: every painting in the house has been painted by my mum, from pictures i’ve taken. the couch was bought at the op shop, took forever to get through the door, but everyone says it’s the comfiest couch they’ve ever been on. the bookshelf was a cheap flat pack from kmart but my uni housemates and i put it together with butterknives, the tv in my room was a gift from my friend when i helped her move house. its a reminder that each piece in my house has some love in it.
I just bought a home and the first “forever” piece I’ve gotten is a dining room table I picked up for free, sight unseen, just because the measurements would fit my tiny space. Ended up being a vintage chestnut wood gable legged table with unique accents, it was handmade in the 70s by the previous owners mom. Talk about a statement piece! My jaw dropped with joy when I showed up and saw this FREE table!
for a couple years now my "bookshelf" has been some wooden milkcrates that i stacked on top of each other, and i freaking love it. it's sturdy and unique and cost basically nothing, makes my little collection of books so happy and cozy 🥰
As a student living in furnished apartments, it is very interesting to me how each person has the same or similar set of furniture but it is full transformed by the little details- linen, plants, posters. Especially since we are all on a tighter budget! When I moved in I hated the massive dark wood coloured furniture pieces but now I have learnt to make slightly less 'aesthetic' things my own by the presence I bring to them. Creating a space I love helps me be more productive as well.
I’ve had all my Ikea furniture through 3+ moves and it’s all fine. My bed frame has been taken apart and reassembled several times and it’s still in good condition as well. My whole house is basically second hand with a few Ikea pieces thrown in. I think taking care of your things is a big part of it.
I'm 25 years old and have never had a dresser until about a week ago. I would just store my pants/shorts in a few small piles on my bedroom floor lol. My sister is moving, and she was wanting to get rid of some stuff, including the small, antique dresser that my dad had painted green for her when she was little. It's the perfect hand-me-down I've waited my entire life for! :D
Another thing is, it also feels like people don't actually care about the practicality (or lack thereof) about home decor trends and home trends at all. It's like individuality is discouraged, but "individuality" of a person's home exists through the lens of chasing the "hottest" or "latest" trends in home decor. [Sharing a take] -Raven (He/They+)
I think there was a rally great Atlantic article about this and how depressing it is to people that when they spend tons of money renovating it’s not even to something that matches their personality / aesthetic / needs
This de-influencing trend is the best thing to happen to the internet in a long time. My little apartment is filled with things that make me happy, but pretty much hardly anything is new. My bed is from my high school bedroom (I did get a new mattress though), my couch is from Facebook marketplace (super-shampoo'd it, dw), table and chairs and bookshelf were found on the side of the road and fixed up, etc. I have a mixture of books and plants/flowers all around the place, which I guess is my main "decor".....LOL. But in all seriousness, most of the photos on my wall, pillows, little decor pieces etc were either gifted to me from loved ones or thrifted by me. The result is a place that I LOVE being in because it's cozy, charming, and most importantly, a reflection of ME. There's nothing wrong with treating yourself to a nice thing here and there, but you should only buy things you actually love and not just cheap, trendy shit that will go out of style in a year.
when my dad died and my mother moved into a nursing home, I had all these amazing pieces, but moved into a tiny apartment. it broke my heart to sell so many things I've had since I was a kid, (some they got before I was born). I do still have a good amount and they're so well-made that I know I'll have them for life. keeps my apartment feeling like home 🧡💚
As an interior designer, I don't really love trendsetting, people tend to get the bad case of FOMO and then buy something that not only clashes with the rest of their home, but most of the time doesn't fit dimension-vise. That's even more egregious if the apartment is small. In the times when apartments and living spaces are getting smaller, I can't recommend enough buying/making transformative furniture, which are both functional and can refresh the look of the space.
A major factor that I am so glad you mentioned is access to a vehicle or even a drivers license and even just having a place to park near the flat in question on moving day let alone regularly. Getting furniture second hand is near impossible without some form of vehicle or a willing friend. And carrying things is only viable in a very small radius. Also large pieces of furniture can be hard to move so being able to disassemble it to get it through the door is sometimes a real necessity particularly on a flat that is upstairs.
It’s so true that we don’t see normal people’s houses anymore. Just the other day I had my physiotherapist ask me: did you decorate this apartment? Me: yes, why? She: it’s so nice! Literally my first thought was: is it? don’t get me wrong, I put a lot of effort and love into my apartment, but compared to what you see online, it’s far from that. Puts things in perspective 😊
My partner and I managed to buy our first home in 2021 and I felt SO pressured to make it look like all those lovely Pinterest photos and felt really down when I realised how long/how costly that would really be. Slowly, and after a bunch of fairly intense deeper/expensive unforeseen issues with the house, we’re just grateful to have this place and be able to steadily fill it with little marketplace bargains, free stuff from the street and occasional new items. Our shabby little hand me down sofa will one day be replaced with an olive green velvet one (manifesting this), but what we have now does the job!
I literally kept coming back to this $2 stamp on a stationary website for YEARS, and never getting it bc you know, it’s a stamp. It’s not vital. But I finally got one this week, and you know what? I love it. I’ve been using it to mark completed assignments/tasks in my planner, and it’s extremely cute. Sometimes waiting (even years for something that is a couple dollars) makes it feel even better when you finally do decide that it’s something you want in your life.
All white/all grey is always so boring and personality-less in my opinion. Home decor should show items you genuinely love. It's also easier to shop sustainably whilst looking for items you genuinely want and need since the whole shopping process is slowed down by choosing with intention.
My home is minimalist and beige but I do genuinely love it/find it really calming and it has personal touches to me, even if that wouldn’t be obvious to someone else.
I think of the larger pieces of my furniture as a backdrop. I don't want to buy something that's trendy now but will look dated and horrible in less than a decade. So yes, the larger and more expensive pieces are either neutral toned or paintable. (And bought because we need them.) What goes ON or IN those pieces; that's eclectic. That's me (and my family). That's everything from a hand-crocheted shawl to hubby's collection of interesting rocks or bestie's hats. I don't mind all white/all grey as long as it's the backdrop to someone's personality. But there's no way I'd be able to keep all white/grey clean. My neutrals are more wood-tones.
I’ve never had a problem disassembling ikea furniture, or even moving it intact for that matter. Solid wood chests of drawers on the other hand...I’ve never seen anyone try to disassemble those to move them. It really bothers me that people treat furniture as a disposable item. This topic has been on my mind a lot the last couple years! Really interesting video.
Something that’s been on my mind recently that I want to add to this conversation is DIYs for superficial interior redesign (I mean superficial as in not structural). One response to this cycle of design trends is products and DIYs to change things like wallpaper, what your countertop looks like, stuff that looks like tile or stone for backsplash or in showers. As someone who has watched my parents put ridiculous amounts of time and resources into undoing poorly done DIYs on our house I can definitely see some of the DIYs and projects that are being suggested becoming a real problem to clean up later. For example, in our house, the kitchen floor had three layers of plywood and linoleum on top of the original wood floor because previous owners had just put new floor on top of the last layer instead of taking up the previous flooring and replacing it. In other rooms in the house the floor had been painted, and then later plywood and carpeting was added. This isn’t a critique of style, just the method. Especially seeing products with adhesive being used now I worry about how difficult it would be to take off and how the adhesive might change over time. These kinds of upgrades I think is another area that mindfulness and thoughtfulness would be a good idea, and research on products and surfaces before using quick fixes. One tip I would add for second hand furniture is ReStore! It’s run by habitat for humanity and they screen their donations a bit more throughly than some other thrift stores, so there’s a higher minimum for condition. If you have one in your area they’re great!
ReStore is amazing!! My partner and I moved into our first house recently and all the pieces we love the most came from the ReStore down the street. Ironically, we paid more for a painting that we loved (an original Hewitt Jackson, he painted ships mostly) than we paid in total for a dining room table with six chairs, two matching pink armchairs in excellent condition, a coffee table, and three art prints! All from the ReStore, and all accumulated slowly over the last few months. Can't recommend it highly enough!
I adore my local restore!! I've gotten great deals and donated. They're one of the few thrift style stores that still has true thrift prices too lol. It's great to have a second hand store for large home items to supplement the abundance of clothing centered second hand stores. I love that proceeds go to improving my local community as well.
Good comments! Yes, we are trying to buy a house rn and the realtor explained that in older houses, the men used to take pride in doing household modifications and repairs themselves, and thought it was weak to hire a professional to do those jobs. So as we tour houses we are seeing all kinds of oddly jacked up situations, lol. But then yesterday a professional plumber told me he would buy an old house every time bc the building materials are so much more sturdy and long lasting than the cheapo stuff slapped together these days.
I think about this every time I see TikToks/videos of people doing that kind of thing. My childhood home required a lot of intensive labor from the whole family just to repaint the walls because the family before us had just painted over wallpaper instead of scraping it off first. (it is a hundred times more difficult to scrape off wallpaper when there are two layers of house paint over it lol). Now, as an adult, I cringe every time I see someone paint a wall without scraping the old paint off first.
@@laindarko3591 MOOD. Our house has three rooms where the previous owners painted over wallpaper. I can see the seams starting to crack under the paint 🙃
my vintage floral couch is so perfect and i would, ideally, keep it forever. it is beautiful and i got it (and a matching chair!) at a local thrift store for $100 🥺❤️ she’s truly so important to me (she is the couch 🥹😳)
I think a lot of fast fashion type furniture stores (like West Elm or Ikea) can last a long time if people don't treat their furniture like it's disposable just because it's affordable. I'm somewhat surprised by how long my ikea TV stand has lasted. I think it's going on almost 10 years at this point??? But that's very much the result of taking care of it during moves and treating it like an antique and not something that can be knocked around just because it was cheap.
Same! I have a twin bed frame from ikea that has lasted me 12 years and 6 moves out of very temporary college type living arrangements so it was not even preciously taken care of. But we did make sure to save every peg and screw upon disassembly and even patched up some areas that did not hold up super well. Bed still looks nearly the same and most of all functions just like a bed frame should!
I have some wooden (not particle board) storage shelves from Ikea that I expect to last a great long while. What it's made of matters quite a bit for durability.
Exactly the same! My big Ikea closet I've had since I've been a kid, and it has survived 4/5 moves so far... i think people also really just dont treat their stuff well anymore. Or they just go over the limits of their furniture (putting too much stuff in it for example, or not oiling stuff or cleaning it properly)
Thank you for this video! I have felt myself getting caught up in this lately. I am very lucky that my public library has a huge collection of framed artwork that you can check out with a library card. I rotate through new artwork every few months and it is a really great way to refresh my space. I highly recommend looking into this in your area!
@@Fueledbychapstick my public library in Berlin (Germany) has the same concept because they have the biggest archive and don’t want precious art to just rot away in some basement.
i genuinely love the look of “dated” 70s/80s decor, i won’t have my own place for a while but i plan to decorate with things i find in thrift stores/estate sales/things that my parents want to get rid of. all of the stuff back then was definitely built to last and still beautiful in my opinion! currently i want to get a curio cabinet to display all of my knickknacks and i’m looking for a nice antique wooden/glass one instead of just getting a cheap new one from the store.
I'm extremely lucky that the previous owners of my house left us their curio cabinet in the dining room. I'm sure they used it to display their nice dinnerware, but my partner and I have filled it with old books, D&D minis, LARP weapons, and a gorgeous tea set that we thrifted for $20. We've found some beautiful, affordable secondhand furniture at Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations - best of luck to you in your search!
@@snowyy.5275 eh, trend cycles never made sense to me anyway. why wait for something to be “in”? i’d rather make my own decisions on what i like and what to wear/display in my home than wait for someone to tell me it’s ok for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
It was a huge deal for me to be able to buy an ikea dresser for myself this December… it was still $400 and on a teacher salary there’s no way I could have afforded anything else. I saved for about half a year to get it bc wages aren’t reflecting the rest of the rise in cost of living. We’re all barely scraping by. IKEA is going to have to suffice
the ikea thing is interesting cause their furniture being short-term is not my impression at all living in norway. most my parents' furniture is ikea, all my furniture is ikea, some new and some hand-me-downs from my parents. it probably depends on what you get but some of my billy bookshelves are probably older than i am. used, functional ikea furniture usually gets resold, not trashed, too
yeah this is definitely an American attitude! I wanted to research the difference in IKEA / consumer behaviors in different countries but that would've been a total rabbithole hahaha. I still want to look into it in the future!
My childhood bedframe (that I now use as a guest bed in my new flat) is from 90s Ikea and looks as good as new! Survived a whole childhood of bed-jumping, moving, disassembling etc. My parents had to travel to Austria to get it because we didn't have Ikea yet, so it was considered very good quality and with the trip :) it may not be the most stylish or coolest bedframe in the world, but it does the job and if there's a purpose for it, we're keeping it around!
appreciate the reminder that most people’s homes don’t look like *that*. I get into these funks where I hate my space and want to shop for all new things (don’t have the $ for that either lol) but when I step back and reflect on my space, I realize that it’s really a reflection of me and I really like it. And when people occasionally come over, they always think it’s cute! So I gotta focus on that haha. I’m proud that almost all furniture I own is secondhand :)
since my grandfather passed, I've been slowly inheriting things from him that my nana finds around the house. I have some of his tools and an xacto kit from the 1950s, and it's really insane how they're still completely usable (if not a little beat up) after like, seven decades. and I'll probably have them the rest of my life! imo it's the small things that really demonstrate how far away from quality, longevity-focused products we've come. edit: NOT LILSIMSIE 😭😭
TRUTH. I was gifted some oak furniture by my aunt, the same furniture my grandparents bought in the 40s or 50s for their kid's bedroom is now in my kid's bedroom. It's so sturdy!
I’m amazed that you still have a craft knife from the 50’s, that’s like still having a chapstick from the 50’s, like how has it managed to exist for over 70 years without being lost somewhere?
@@phoenixfritzinger9185 you probably Do Not Care but it seems like it's more of a carving set than anything like contemporary Xacto knives! all metal and wood, though I think the base of the handle is plastic. it's in a nice wood box with a latch, so I assume that's how he kept track of it throughout the years! I have quite a few knickknacks of his from around that time, I think he just liked taking care of his things :)
This is why I always tell clients or even friends to select pieces they truly love instead of trends. The cycle of trends moves too quick and just like fast fashion - fast furniture is cheapER but it’s still expensive (and kinda bland when all interior spaces look the same)
I think a lot of people can’t tell the difference between something they truly love and something the Tiktok algorithm has served up to them so many times that they just think they love it… until the algorithm starts serving them the next trend.
@@aisling7244 I know, it usually takes an outsider perspective to remind them to truly think on it 🙈 The best way to approach it is with patience, building a space overtime instead of all at once helps allow thought behind each addition
i understand the benefits of not labeling oneself as one aesthetic vs another, but I think the cottagecore/dark academia/farmhouse aesthetic has helped me curate an environment that helps me work, relax, and feel more comfortable with my home than ever! I’ve always loved these aesthetics, even before they became mainstream, so it’s nice to get inspo from others. But overconsumption is something these aesthetics don’t usually advocate for, which is one reason why i like them! I forgot the point of this comment, but i think a video on different aesthetics and how they came into being main stream would be interesting! There’s tons on escapism and the rise of cottagecore that really made me feel called out lol
Agree with not randomly following with trends, but also keep track of trends to see if you find anything that you genuinely enjoy. I had a specific style - collecting old books and browned paper, skull-shaped paper weights, vintage faux-leather, dark wood, etc. which had no name initially until I saw "Dark Academia" trending many years later with GenZ, and I was so happy to see this is a thing around which a community and style has popped up.
i’ve been moving a lot lately due to college and studying abroad. but the piece in my childhood home that sticks out to me is my bed. the bed frame is beautiful, solid oak that has a gorgeous carving on the headboard. it’s been passed around in my family for i don’t know how long and i grew up with it. definitely encourages me to buy secondhand, sturdy pieces when possible.
I did not realize that IKEA furniture literally had on the instructions that it’s not meant to be disassembled and reassembled! My husband and I have moved our IKEA bed frame and dresser 3 times in the past 5 years. Now I feel accomplished 😂
I think those instructions must be a US or North America thing. Never heard of this in Europe. They've even started releasing disassembly instructions as a part of their sustainability agenda and at least in my country you can often get screws and stuff that you lost or broke.
If you are careful you can do it. By careful I mean not just pulling pieces apart and ripping them out. I have the same line of BILLY bookcases for at least twenty years now from IKEA and two years ago I even painted them a different color. No harm done and it looks great. But at the same time I remember reading that the pieces in USA and Europe are different. Not sure why or what's the difference though
@@MissieK we bought two chairs once. Went back to go get two more and the quality was so significantly different we took the second pair back. They were ridiculously different. I think there was a huge shift in quality at some point. Now it's all fall apart stuff which is sad. We still have the two original chairs and they are solid.
@@azlizzie True..My first desk from ikea I bought it twenty years ago and it is going strong, took it apart many times, painted it and changed it. Second desk less than a decade ago and is falling apart without ever being pulled apart or any damage being done to it. It literally just stands there and has things on top and that is enough to make the color fade or to have breaks in random points.
The sage green everything craze was tempting but I'm glad that I have resisted jumping into the trend and waited to see if I will like it as much over time. And the answer is yes hahah but I feel it's more me and genuine than trendy 💖
I am very very glad my dad is an interior designer and industrial designer. He makes furniture that is timeless with amazing materials and most of it can be reasembled easily and if not he always can assembles it again. It is a blessing on this day and time tbh
also estate sales 👀 i got so lucky and found a beautiful rug for $15 at an estate sale. i had just accepted that the floors would be bare bc i was about to graduate college and could not justify spending $$$ on a rug
THANK YOU for talking about this. My dream is to own a late 70s early 80s ✨UN renovated✨ home. I used to watch house hunters a lot to relax at night but I had to stop because I couldn’t stand the perpetual need to rip out every last detail that made the home what is was. Ripping out the kitchen and removing the original fireplace for white cabinets and grey plank floors? Groundbreaking.
Thank you feel the same way, I know its not real but based on what they say on some of that stuff really sways my opinion on what they should get. IE people who can not live in a house because the granite counter tops are not white, or other such nonsense. Especially when they say its not 'move in ready'
@@tiffanyferg omg a Tiffany ferg reply!!! Ilysm🥹 it’s sad and sometimes dangerous if corners are cut during renovations. So many old homes were built with old materials like asbestos and it’s rlly scary!! Hopefully when I’m old and grey I can afford to buy a home 🥲
@@dangermouse4871 the move in ready thing drives me absolutely bananas. Gotta knock out the walls, god forbid a bathroom has brass finishes etc etc. I don’t get why everyone wants to live in a white box
I grew up in a house built around 1900, and it would’ve been stunning if we could have afforded a remodel in its original style. That’s my dream now! Rip out old electrical and plumbing and upgrade those for sure lol but the other stuff adds character!
I don't know, if that was a trend or just so happened to be popular where I live, but I like how often people started decorating their rooms with garlands. Like, small stars, hearts, and other shapes on a thread - one of the easiest yet so cozy looking decor pieces. And you get to experiment a lot :>
I recently moved into a house and found myself with A LOT of rooms to "fill" - my favorite things in the world are interior design and thrifting, so 90% of everything is secondhand and vintage (or just old) lol. the one item I couldnt find was a bed frame, so I bought it new online (around $300, so def fast furniture). this was only 4 months ago and it is the ONLY thing i've had trouble with structurally AND THE ONLY REASON I BOUGHT IT is because it's a dupe of emrata's. so dumb
All my furniture was found on the side of the road for bulk trash pickup. My bed frame is also something I’ve had trouble with. The wood planks were missing for under the mattress so me and my mom reused the ones from my old bed. The issue came when they started moving around under the mattress. Now I have concrete blocks holding the center planks (the ones that shift) up and it’s worked perfectly!
Honestly while a splurge, I was so happy with my thuma bed frame, I got it mainly bc of the Instagram ads but it’s so durable and when I inevitably have to move again it’s gonna be so easy. Will pay for itself in that one day honestly
Highly recommend getting older furniture re-upholstered! We did this with a rocker/glider from my grandparents. Worked with a great local upholsterer who replaced the foam and springs and helped us order fabric samples and choose trim. It was such a fun process and made the rocker look brand new.
My town has a really great used furniture cycle. Between the Facebook marketplace and free couches on the road I've lived in 5 separate homes with many different roommates and never spent a dime on furniture. My roommate spent $15 on one of our chairs, but that is literally the only thing we've bought.
Every piece of handmade pottery i've thrifted (and use as daily dishware) is a huge spark of joy for me. I've been trying to patiently curate my forever home and wardrobe around these principals and its very satisfying!
My favorite home decor aesthetic is 70s futurism (I don’t know what the proper name for this is it’s what a search for on Pinterest) I showed my parents because I thought it might evoke some nostalgia and they told me that houses don’t have any of the curves and hovels anymore because people in the 80s thought it was lame and ruined it.
It's called Retrofuturistic Design. I've also seen it called Vintage Futurism, which has some overlap with elements from Vintage Industrial Decor, but is mostly an aesthetic focused on what the future was thought to look like back then.
3:15 I so agree! Whenever I watch HGTV, it's always a little shocking when prospective home buyers are like, "Ugh, those cabinets need to GO." And then, instead of removing the cabinets carefully so they can be repurposed or donated, they just take a sledgehammer to the whole thing. For the camera, I guess. :/
I used to work in furniture/ decor shop that is a bit more expensive. Not crazy overpriced but definitely not cheap. So people would come in and everyone is so focused on looks and everyone aspired the Minimalistic look. So they always forget to think about how they want to feel when they come home. I started to ask my customers how they want to feel in certain rooms. Suddenly a lot less people chose to decorate their home minimalistic. If you make yourself aware how a certain esthetic makes you feel it makes you more aware how you want to decorate.
My dresser used to be my diaper changing table when I was a baby- my dad converted it when I was older. I am 24 and I've been in my first apartment for 4 years, had this dresser all 24 years of life. When the finish peels, I will refinish it. It is good quality and the drawers roll very satisfyingly. I love my forever dresser! I wish everyone an item like this!
I’m an upcycler and I’ve been studying this for several years, thank you for speaking up about it❤ decor/architectural trends contribute to homelessness, dissolution of the middle class, marginalization, mental health, shitty “luxury” TINY apartments, just so so much.
the book 'goodbye things' by fumio sasaki really helped me stop impulse shopping! i would recommend it. its not too long and its well worth the time imo
Getting my first apartment in Canada, I was so excited to decorate. But I also wanted to be practical so the first thing I did was make a list of everything I needed. Then see what I can take from my family's house (that old couch we don't use anymore, mine now!, The old bed I bought that's in great condition taking that! And I was lucky that my workplace has a very active internal marketplace so I could snag some electronics at really affordable price and from people I can generally trust! Since this is my first rental, I went with what is essential. Funny enough I still don't have a desk or chairs haha. But if/when I buy my own place, I'll be ready to slowly increase the items I need. But for now, I have exactly what I need.
your videos are so interesting to me. i dont use tiktok or instagram so i no longer keep up with any trends or ANYTHING. your videos are my only glimpse into the dare i say online world LOL. im in my own little bubble and i love it lmao
Tiffany, I know this is random but you’re the big sister I never had lol. But seriously thank you for making this, what you said at the end is SO true about personal or homemade or curated stuff is the most interesting and admirable things and you’re so right. Made me rethink buying to fit an aesthetic versus buying a piece that is personal to me.
I've lived in my apartment for a year and sometimes get so frustrated when it dont get to have that magical before/after transformation because i'm picky and will spend a long time trying to find the perfect items! I went without a dresser for 3 years until i found one close to what i was looking for on FB marketplace for a steal!! but as a renter who usually has to move every year once my contracts up its SO impractical having so much of your own furniture to take with you, especially as so many places come furnished now!
@@tiffanyferg same and even if it moves into a van easily then theres no guarantee it'll actually fit into the next place either! i find the best way to keep up with trends or update my space is with things like candles (you can just burn them to get "rid" of them) and prints on recyclable material !
this is kind of off topic but you’re genuinely such a comforting person to me. i was feeling like shit but clicking on this video just immediately made me feel better and more secure. i’ve been dealing with a lot lately but i won’t get into that. anyway, i want to thank you for being you. also i never realized how freaking beautiful your eyes are like omg!!😍
1. thank you for introducing me to the term deinfluencing, 2. also yes lilsimsie !! edit: I have this pretty gaudy bright purple egg chair from like 2006 that my parents bought for my sisters room to match the purple theme. does my room have a purple theme? no. but its so comfortable and I can cover it with blankets and make it feel like a new piece whenever I want!
We recently moved to our first apartment and for the first month we've been here I sometimes felt our space felt "empty". But we had what we needed, a piece of artwork here and there, and a colorful rug that I loved. Recently I started to realize that I'm glad we didn't have the budget to go all in on the decor. Working within a constraint meant I had to choose carefully.
the empty apartment feeling can be rough! especially when you've just moved in and things aren't organized / put away yet. but enjoy the process!! it can be a blank slate in the best way
I feel the same! Had I been able to decorate all at once I may have chosen popular peices that I probably would have gotten very sick of fast cuz I watch way too many decore videos l!
I usually "window shop," make a cart and then wait a week to check out and I end up removing most of the stuff I added because I realize it's actually not my style or not useful in my life. At this point most rooms in my home are completely styled so I'm not trying to completely overhaul them no matter how cute interiors online are
Honestly (as an university student in Europe) when I moved in with my partner we bought all our furniture used or took stuff my parents had been keeping in the basement for me for years. There are a lot of Ikea pieces in there as well (mostly five or so Kallax shelves) and it's possible to reuse them and even take them apart and put them back together (not many times but for moving them once or twice from one home to another) if you're really careful. It saved us so much money (though it did take a while) and made our appartement feel so much more like home knowing we'd given all these pieces a second life with us. Everything in there feels familiar, like an old friend and I think that's really nice. Thank you for bringing attention to this!
Ooh so glad you mentioned how living alone could be a limitation! I live in a regional area, alone. No vintage stores. Secondhand items are mainly very poor quality flatpack items, because we have one Kmart that furnishes most of our homes. There’s nowhere else to buy from unless you’re ordering something very high end. Places like IKEA are the dream because they are a fraction of the price, will deliver items I could never find locally to my home, and get the items I can’t lift up the stairs!
Loved the enjoying the imagination part of shopping part :) that’s why sometimes I have more fun creating a family on the sims and imagining all the possibilities and when I actually start playing I get bored lol
Home decor, for me, has always been about displaying the items I was most proud of. I didn't have much growing up, and that reflects in my spaces now. The carefully cheated bookshelves in the living room, the little knickknacks I've gathered from years of living gathered around the spines, journals on the coffee table- icebreakers and topic-starters about my life- and so on, all arranged in a way I find pleasing. Decor trends have always slightly puzzled me, when I would dream about having a home, a space purely for me. It never appeared as a space curated for others, for appearing a certain, perhaps not inauthentic but purposefully trendy, way. It feels as if some don't live in homes, but commit to a permanent 'realtor space'. Like they're selling a brand of themselves, and to do so in what's supposed to be their own space? It must be draining.
Huge moment for me when I realized I could buy vintage furniture for the same price as all the pieces on West Elm I was looking at…and the vintage furniture is actually made of real wood and will last so much longer!
I’ve always been a huge fan of buying furniture second hand and don’t know why people don’t talk about it more. I’ve found so many incredible pieces that would’ve been thousands otherwise!
As a gamer, this happens so much with gaming setups too. People having this perfectly themed setups, changing them with the season or their current favourite game. Tech is so expensive and people are out here changing keyboards every two months
I feel like "deinfluencing" is just the fancy new term for what TH-camrs called "anti-hauls". Same thing really. Either way, I agree with it. As for items in my home that feel the most me, other than random skulls scattered about, I have 2 crochet plants that I made that I'm very proud of. :)
Every time I travel, I always buy something that I want or need for home decor. It's so nice to have something practical that has been on my wishlist and reminds me of amazing memories. I can't recommend this enough!
I ended up inheriting a dresser set that belonged to my great grandma when a family member moved. I never gave it a second look in her house but I am IN LOVE with both pieces now and know that people would pay through the nose for genuine vintage furniture that’s so unique yet timeless. ❤️❤️❤️ not to mention the family history makes it feel extra special
I am about to move into college and I am really excited to have a dorm space to decorate, I have lived with siblings my whole life so it will be nice to make a space that is truly me. No shopping spree of course, just figuring out what style I like!
Having bought my first home I’m so glad I am slowly building my space, my favourite furniture are my two Facebook marketplace finds. My granny passed last May so I’m also receiving so much of her furniture as well as little things like a kitchen timer that sat on her fridge we used to scare her with by leaving it ticking, I use it every time I cook something in the oven because it’s so much easier than my phone and every time I use it I think of her which is lovely.
i find this so interesting because i’m from a post soviet country and we treat ikea like a high end furniture store. also, my grandparents got rid of all their soviet and replaced it with modern furniture. their home looks so much cosier and warmer now.
I've been working to knit myself the blanket I've been dreaming of having for my living room! I know I'm going to feel so proud when I finally finish it and get to watch my friends and family stay warm in something I made!
i loved slowly accumulating furniture (basically all used) for my apartment rather than buying it all at once. it made me feel like i was in the early stages of a game of animal crossing, lol
I have always loved buying antiques since I was a kid and have acquired a lot of hand me down furniture from family that I stored until I had my own place . My house is an old log cabin that I renovated ( i had some help from experts when I needed it , like plumbing and electric ) so the older piece fit the look perfectly. I wouldn’t say i thought it was an aesthetic place but it is amazing how little touches over time can make it uniquely you . I am also blessed and my father found out he has a knack for wood work during the lockdown so he has made me a lot of unique piece or helps me rework old pieces so I can do it myself down the road.
I studied furniture design in college and now refinish furniture as a hobby. When you say "they don't make them like they used to" you're more right than you can imagine. Even if you get a new piece of furniture with some solid wood parts to it, the wood is going to be much less dense and sturdy than older wood. Even from the same species, older old-growth wood will be much stronger and denser than new. As for particleboard, it can be made to be strong and withstand time. I have a Danish teak nightstand that is just a teak veneer over particleboard and that thing is STRONG compared to newer furniture. It's wild how many corners were cut
also something that has been so nice that i take for granted is that there are these sets of tables that my family bounces around everyone’s houses whenever someone gets tired of them and it’s nice because we always know someone has them in their bedroom or living room and they’re not getting thrown out!
The two home decor items I have that are most *me* are a 3x3 foot portrait of a fox that I bought from a local artist and an enormous rope and yarn rainbow that I made myself. Buying art (from artists, not mass-produced stuff) and secondhand frames to put it in is my addiction and I’ve never regretted purchases in either of these categories.
I was that person who moved out for the first time and couldn’t pick up secondhand furnitures. I’ve dreamt of having a pink sofa since I was a wee little girl and I had ordered it off Amazon to have it delivered! It’s a forever piece for me and I love it. It’s pretty high quality from a brand called novogratz.
hi hi!! let's have a little chat about home decor, through the lens of deinfluencing
Another helpful idea: Share your wishlists among your friends/family! If your mom and three of your pals are also watching, you’re much more likely to find it. My mom wanted pale yellow clip earrings. Highly specific. I was as happy about finding them as I’ve been about finding things for myself!
Curious as to opinions on houseplants (real and fake) when it comes to this topic.
Taking time to decorate a space instead of all at once helps too. If a space is built up over time, it allows more thought behind each addition.
Interior designers are able to put together a concept and mood board, but for most people - just taking the time to see it come together little by little is a great way to make sure your interior space reflects you.
@@llamasugar5478 oooo this is a great idea! i'm gonna start doing this.
Would love to see a video about this with a “decluttering” lens as well!!! A Zen To life channel has a bunch of videos on decluttering (and others obviously) but it seems like mainstream decluttering and fast furniture aren’t opposed forces but are feeding off of each other….
it bothers me when people (and i know Tiffany is not one of those people) don’t recognize that pieces from IKEA can be heavy duty “forever” items. i cannot even imagine getting tired of furniture after a couple of months and trashing it! when I entered high school my parents took me on a special trip to IKEA to get my bedroom "forever furniture". I was so grateful then and even more now 10 years later with those same pieces placed around my first home with my partner. i hope this trend helps the world become more resourceful! :-)
That's so true. I think it greatly depends on how we treat things. The problem occurs when we think that cheaper things have less inner value, do not deserve to be taken care of and become neglected.
People don't assemble the furniture correctly. You HAVE to follow the instructions 100% and make sure every single piece is perfectly lined up. I love Ikea and honestly feel like I'm buying higher quality furniture when I shop there than anywhere else (except if I spent 1000s at like a boutique furniture store).
Literally the only way I acquire furniture or other homegoods is Ikea, thrift stores, or craigslist.
Same here, I found a couple bright red Kallax things second hand after that color was discontinued like 7 years ago and they're still going strong and I still love them. They're sturdy, they're functional and my favorite color, I don't see myself getting rid of them any time soon.
Yes. My home is honestly mostly IKEA and everything but one item will last ages. One kallax in the kitchen has water damage so we will replace it when our kids get older and stop ruining everything 😂
I was looking for a comment like this, my parent bought almost all of their furniture for their first home from ikea - it's been a couple of decades and all of them are in great shape and fit beautifully!!
Someone did a video about "what makes your home look cheap" and mention fairylights. I love lights & fairylights so i dont care if it look cheap. Good video Tiffany
Damn some people just gotta ruin things other people like😂 fairylights make a space look so warm and cute!
Fairy lights are magical in my mind 😂😂😂😂.
Damn, now i need me some fairylights. I love the way they look and warm up unlit walls and corners.
Fairy lights are very cozy! They warm up and bring comfort to a space 😊
i will never not love fairylights they're just way too cute 😭
As an interior designer who specializes in LASTING spaces, I am so happy to see creators like Arial from Canada who is showing her curating her home and decor to her OWN style. Her OWN individual style, budget, and aesthetic. I appreciate her use of repurposed pieces and not trying to keep up with crazy expectations. Her home will age well due to her careful cultivation.
I love her videos
Interior designer here too. My brand is about timeless design. I want my clients to have a 20 year runway.
@@AllisonJaffeID YES 🙌 This is what I like to hear!
@@n0tadr1anna plus the joy that comes from creating a space that suits her soul. It’s so beautiful and awesome.
I stumbled upon Caroline Winkler on TH-cam and have been appreciating her approach to curating her space for the same reasons. Thanks for the new channel recc!
Something that should be talked about: you're not limited to neutral colors or simplistic designs when you have your first 'adult' homes. I have mustard yellow armchairs in my orange living room with pink curtains because I can. that's "neutral" to me! I also have a jumbo sized coffee table because I can and I love walking into the room every day. i've never understood why people try to have a certain style that doesn't reflect them. that's no fun.
I love that! Orange walls and pink curtains! So cute!
moving into my new home soon and i am currently painting my office wall pink, i also have a lot of "childish" decor, could be a 5yo living here lol. i dont care, my place my style 🤷🏻♀️ if its even called a style, i just buy things i like and place them where i like them and thats it. lots of flowers, pink, my own art and butterflies
Exactly! I have a pink couch, teal couch, rainbow rug, blue coffee table, etc.
My biggest “aha” moment was realising that my apartment doesn’t need to be fully furnished within the first month of living there. Whenever you move, it’s ok to give yourself time to really live in a new space and slowly figure out your needs within it and let a the place grow on you before making major purchase decisions. I love that I’ve been slowly making major purchases over the course of a couple of years because it works for my budget and the home is always exciting-it’s ALWAYS a work in progress and it’s never stagnant
Needed this message, thank you!
THIS
This. My first apartment WASNT fully furnished! And the furniture I had, was the epitome of mismatched lol. Now my fiancé and I own a house, and we still don’t have a couch for our basement, 2 years here, and that’s ok. Furniture is expensive
I've been living in my condo since 2016. I'm STILL getting my kitchen to function the way I need it to. I haven't even gotten to the office yet much less the bedroom. It requires living in a space to understand how it works and how you work in it. My favorite examples of this are those who ikea a closet set up because they *finally* have a walk in closet and they drop a fair chunk of change on that... only to realize it doesn't suit how they use the space at all! They ditch their shoes at the door and so now they're purchasing a shoe organizer for by the door and the expensive one in the custom made closet is going unused because it doesn't work for anything else.
But I'd say unfortunately its hardest for people like me who need to really accommodate themselves in their space and are soooo tempted to impulsively purchase whatever system they "just know" is gonna finally work for them... only to find that $400 worth of acrylic organizers doesn't fit their brain function/needs AT ALL. Big fan of "never put off function while waiting for aesthetics" which I also interpret as meaning, "rig up a temporary approximation to see if the thing/idea actually does work in the space for you and if it does, then upgrade to something more durable/permanent". So for me this has meant cardboard drawer dividers to see if it works well for me before purchasing sturdy options... or using some bins I already had to see if I'd actually sort my laundry as I made it before investing in a really nice laundry sorter.
@@Chaotic_Pixie that’s so smart! More people need to think this way. My “aha” moment was hearing the about the container concept. So simple: containers are made to contain, so if your stuff isn’t fitting in containers, you don’t need more organizers, you need less stuff.
i’m moving out of home into my new apartment in 3 days and as a 17 year old who is obsessed with aesthetics and styles i really needed to hear this.
Congratulations! Very exciting 💖 but yes, take your time and enjoy the process!
Ooo all the best! Do you have a vision for how you want your space to look?
Wishing you well on your new journey! Nearly all the furniture in my house is collected from years of functional needs. I still use the dresser and nightstand my parents bought for my room when I was born because they still work for me. I add a little personal touch to my room with vintage objects I find. I used to hate the headboard for my bed, but then I threw a blanket with a cool pattern over it and it 100% solved my problem XD
My best advice is don’t buy everything at once! You’ll make yourself go broke and you’ll find a lot of it for good deals if you look and don’t buy all the home stuff immediately
Congrats!! When i moved out, I also had so many visions of finally curating my own space. But just know it rarely works exactly like that, most curated homes take years to get there because it takes years to not only have the budget, but mostly to find out what kind of furniture actually works for you.
Even in my 3rd apartment at age 23 I had such a good idea and beautiful concept for where my desk and workspace would go, I put up shelves in the corner, everything. Just to never once sit there and instead hole up in the couch (which I also learned I don't like that much, I wish I had a comfy armchair instead) with my stuff very impractically all over my lap. Eventually I caved and moved my desk to where my couch is, which looks crammed and awkward, but now I sit on there every day.
It's okay to not get it "right" every time, and it's normal and okay to learn that one of your theoretically great ideas simply doesn't work for you.
Wishing you the best of luck!! :)
To be fair with Ikea, I’ve had plenty of pieces from them for over 15 years and they are still going strong. I have no intention to replace them any time soon. I think if you buy ikea and treat it like it’s high end then you’ll have it for a very long time
The PAX system saved our lives. ❤️
Was just coming to comment the same thing! 95% of my ikea things have lasted 10 or 15+ years. My mid-range ikea corner couch has lasted 10 years so far, versus the Brick couch I had that lasted one year before looking terrible, and the high end sears couch that did the same. Was especially impressed with the foam comfort and durability. Instead of replacing it when I'm bored I just swap covers. What I especially love about a lot of their things is the versatility to move things around and set up them up in a million different ways, so I can optimize my space for whatever's happening in my life (from before kids, to toddlers and now to teens, from being a student myself to being a professional...) We just treat things with care and have disassembled some of the pieces carefully or half-disassembled them, and we move around things with care. Shoutout to PAX & ALEX drawers of all heights.
Most people who has a negative opinion on Ikea has absolutly no idea how things work. If people trully expect a 25€ coffee table made of cardboard is going to be as durable as a solid wood one they are simply stupid. That being said, that carboard coffe table made by Ikea is pretty much the best coffe table made of cardboard you can get at that price range. They sell products on several price ranges depending on the materials. Their quality is comparable to any other product of similar characteristics but at a lower price because their production model and scale allows them to be more competitive than any other furniture maker. Any furniture that is assembled using screws is not meant to be reassembled more than once, not just Ikea's. Expensive furniture is held togheter by interlocking glued joints, that means the whole thing has to be shipped and stored mostly completely assembled, which increases its costs even further.
ikea is fairly cheap and durable i mean. i also still have a dresser and desk from 10 years ago, 2 beds ive had 15 years etc. i have never met a person that throws away ikea furniture other than it finally broke after multiple years
It could be the case however that the quality of their products has gone down in the last 10-15 years though. Like the same piece you bought 15 years ago could be much different quality if you bought it one year ago or today, but idk.
my roommate and I have our furby collection on full display in our living room and that is probably what is the most "us" in the place
roommate goals
I DO TOO! I’ve been looking for a secondhand glass display case so they don’t get dusty
A friend who does stone work told me a story about being hired to lay new marble in a wealthy couples condo bathroom. When he entered the bathroom, it was impeccable, gorgeous marble all over. Looked straight out of architectural digest. But he was hired to destroy it all and put a new, different type of marble in just because they felt like a change. ☠
omg noooo
It hurt to read this comment to the end.
@@snflwrchan8019 did u ask tho?
i don't see any problem with it lol...if I'm that rich (arguably bit stupid) that i don't mind getting rid of beautiful pieces, i also won't mind wherever it ends 💀
I mean, it’s their money…
The environmental impact makes it not okay. Also, what an insult to the skills of the person who did the original work. Clearly their time and quality would have been better spent on people who could appreciate it.
i remember when someone posted about finally being able to afford getting a bed frame and all of the replies were so incredulous and amazed that someone was finally showing realistic parts of life on twitter, as was I!! looking back it’s just really unfortunate that we are all so thirsty for content that reflects the difficulties non-influencers have, it all can make us feel so alone.
Yep yep, the only reason I have a bed frame is bc we "stole" my husbands teen bed from the inlaws place. Even Ikea products are absurdly expensive and unattainable to the average customer. Ive sadly come to realize Ill never have a "complete" apartment because the few pieces I CAN afford are simply not the best quality so will not last decades 😭
Same! I cried when I could afford to buy my own adult bed! I waited for everything to go on sale, used credit card points, and snatched it up. I still feel accomplished for having done that 😊
@@alessandrasmith339 same! Getting a real mattress was terrifying even after i had done weeks of research and got it on sale. The bedframe I was looking at also went on sale at that time too, so i bought them at the same time. Scariest purchases ever, but knowing I paid the least i could for it really helped me. Now i sleep better than i have in years and feel like a real adult xD
I’ve heard so many older people with beautiful homes say it look years/ decades to slowly bring their house to what it is present day. Now, we rush to decorate the whole place then realize a few months it doesn’t work. I try to look at my space and think about how my family functions to decide if a piece is worth getting. I can’t count how many times I’ve bought this magical piece of furniture that will solve all my family’s needs and my family doesn’t touch it lol.
Exactly! In my adult life I’ve realized that even where you put your furniture changes as you live in a space. We’ve lived in our apartment a year and a half and have done a couple of rounds of rearranging some furniture because as we’ve lived in it we’ve learned how we use the space. And over time we’ve gotten some second hand furniture or inherited pieces or found fun stuff that now our apartment is full of furniture and art we love. There’s definitely stuff we have that we don’t 100% love but we’ll figure it out over time and especially when we manage to buy a place to live and feel like we can really make it our own. I’m very much the kind of person who wants to really make my forever home my own, I want to build some built in bookshelves and renovate a bathroom, but like I want to live in the space first, learn how I use it so I can customise for practicality and really make any changes fell like the right choice. I don’t really understand the people who like renovate a whole place before moving in. Like what if you end up really liking the view from a certain window, but the way the kitchen is renovated you can’t see out of it where you sit most of the time. It’s the little things you learn through living that really make a space special.
It took me two years just to decorate my bedroom. I got every piece from Facebook marketplace
Very true. And the older I get the more I want my decor style to just look like a warm, lived-in, wealthy grandparent’s house lol. A homey feel but high quality.
@@ceecollette6708 yes!!! I love this. This is exactly what I want.
@@snowyy.5275 wow that is really awesome!! I bet you have some really great pieces.
Last summer, my roommate and her boyfriend did a lot of dumpster diving. We live in a college town, so we hit the big dumpsters on campus and around off-campus housing to find a LOT of great items that college kids throw away when they moved. Quite a few pieces in our apartment were FREE from these finds, and they made some extra cash flipping the pieces. And they had fun! It's not super glamorous, but that feels like deinfluencing/resisting the urge to me.
I’m a college student and I got a great rug from next to the dumpers, $50 rug, and all it needed was a vacuum, it was probably bought in August and dumped in May
A little bit off topic, but not really. It baffles me how many good quality, perfectly fine clothes state get thrown away all the time. Dumpster diving is lowkey the best way to get authentic vintage/retro pieces, lol
Yeah, I’m never buying furniture ever again. There’s so much being thrown out here purely because it’s not the newest style
i live in a student accommodation and we have a shelf for keeping stuff you don’t want anymore esp if you’re moving out. i got the prettiest rugs, pots and purple stained glass cups this week alone. at least it wasn’t thrown away!
My college had a place where they were taking unwanted items for the local domestic violence shelter and the thrift store the shelter runs
That tiktok clip of that peeson being proud and happy with having their own apartment. I FELT that. To everyone else, it is not the best, but it is MINE. My house, my rules. I just got that freedom and privelege. I dont have a couch, but I am here and I am loving my own space!
yesss it's such a sweet feeling!
I had that, had a couch I was going to get and it got delayed so my grandmother pressured me to take her couch and now I have a shitty broken couch I didn't want in the first place that I'm going to have to pay to dispose of at some point and then buy a couch myself anyway.
Tip for people who are almost broke and in a new place: giant 18 gallon sterilite or rubbermaid totes. You can get them in many colors for less than $10, they store a crapton of stuff (for me it's off season clothes and craft supplies) and they stack very nicely. Put a nice scarf or tea towel over the top and you have a table. One is a good small side/coffee table, two high makes a good nightstand or desk extender. In a pinch it could even be a dining table. Best part, as you replace them with real furniture you can still use them as good storage for whatever it is you need.
HEY PEOPLE READ THIS
My nightstand in university was two Rubbermaid bins with a cute sheet I found at the thrift store draped over them!
@@MarionThiessen they are actually the best
As someone who went to graphic design school, all my friends are amazing artists and we mostly gift each other self made stuff. Having wonderful pieces of art with emotional value really adds something to ones apartment :)
that's precious!!
i so remember how happy i was when i moved out and finally was able to buy my beloved big yellow chair. it is ikea and every time prior purchase when i visited an ikea i sat in it and imagined myself finally owning my own. and although the yellow is a little restrictive aesthetic-wise, it is the piece i connect so much joy with ❤️
I know the one :D I love it
I think I know the one you're talking about and it was definitely a dream piece for me when I saw it a few years ago.
I think I have the exact same chair and it was my first (and up to now, only) purchase from IKEA that was not based on functionality but with the sole purpose of treating myself. I love my reading chair and hopefully it will last me decades.
Oh I feel this. I know what chair you are talking about. My boyfriend's mom loves that chair too and he and his sister finally gifted in to her last christmas. She's so happy she finally has that chair. My sofa is from IKEA and I love it still after 8 years. Good investment because our dog loves it, too. For some pieces it's also very nice to see that IKEA sells the upholstery individually because after 8 years the sofa really needs it - but no way am I getting rid of that sofa. It's very basic but big enough and (as Tiffany mentioned) it's a the biggest piece in the livingroom and it's a neutral. I can built up on that. I have moved 5 times now with it and it's still not falling apart. I wish you a very happy and long coexistence with your lovely yellow chair :)
Oh I really like that chair
I really appreciate the footnote you placed in the video when talking about Ikea. For me, Ikea furniture is high-end, and definitely not something to throw away after a year or two. My family has always had mismatched furniture from the thrift store, or stuff we found on the side of the road. So much of it is old, damaged beyond repair, falling apart. When I finally had the opportunity to decorate a new room for myself I decided to go all-out on new Ikea furniture and used Ikea furniture from a friend. I've never had a space this nice. And I could tell the exact same story about my clothes.
Needlessly throwing stuff away after a short period of time is one of the biggest complaints against everything "fast", whether that's fashion or furniture. And it's an extremely valid complaint. But sometimes it bothers me that people don't recognize that for those who are poor, these ''fast'' items are often the very best they can afford, and they will make sure to use up an item until the very last fiber or particle board, for years and years on end. The ones throwing everything away like it's nothing are, ironically enough, often the ones who could've afforded better stuff in the first place, and who are now preaching at others to "invest" in better quality pieces.
Absolutely agree! Lower income folks are typically the least wasteful. I'm glad you've been able to set up a great room for yourself!
yes!!! so glad you brought this up. rich people are so good at wasting money 💀
that's what's so confusing to me about the way people talk about ikea on the internet now. to me, growing up, ikea was the highest of high ends. i didn't even know there were other places to get new furniture for a while, and all the things i have from ikea are quite great (except my wardrobe, but it was a later purchase - maybe ikea has gone a little downhill on quality, because the things i've had for longer like my desk which i've had since around 2008 are standing strong without even a wobble)
YES! Ever since I started dressing how *I* love, decorating my house (rented apartment) how *I* like in whatever way is practical to *me*, I’ve gotten so many compliments. But then, all of the sudden in the last year or so, at the end of it has been “what style/aesthetic is it?” and finally that happened enough times where I literally had to google what they were talking about. Now whenever I tell people “it’s just me! It’s whatever I like and find cool!” half the time people accuse me of gatekeeping by not labeling my own personal style. It’s terrifying how ignorant so many people still are of the extent to which the consumption cycle chasing mass manufactured trends has ballooned/is affecting them. There’s always been trends, but never, ever like this, and it’s dangerous on so many levels.
This is terrifying.
@@user_gov FR, the first time someone was overtly rude to me I just like had an existential crisis for like a day straight lol- less even about myself but more like “what have we become”. It’s not like I actually gatekeep even- I am always telling people exactly where I got/how I made something usually before they even ask 😂 but it seems like the actual “aesthetic” and ability to define it is now the sought after thing and it’s like it’s own whole class system it’s fcking terrifying
Omg somebody accused you of gatekeeping bc you don’t want to label YOUR experience? I need Advil for this headache that annoying person’s comment caused. people are too much these days.
@@Whoknows-mf1cv more than once unfortunately 😬 each time it’s been from someone a bit younger (not their fault for falling prey to ofc but definitely a scary societal conditioning thing happening) and along the lines of like “how are people supposed to be able to replicate the style if you won’t say what to search. You’re not giving it a name bc you want to gatekeep it so no one can figure out how to do it” kind of thing. Like we’ve delineated literal personality so far into algorithmic “content” ppl literally believe that’s what it must be 100% of the time 😩
@@Whoknows-mf1cv I see it in comments on Pinterest a lot too- look through enough trending pins especially of personal style or bedroom decor and you’ll see dozens (usually from acts that say right in the profile they’re a teen or preteen) of “what style is this???” “Name of aesthetic??” and like it just makes me so sad to think there’s this whole social media brainwashing thing making esp vulnerable young ppl believe that EVERYTHING is a labeled box for trends sake. 😭
Just wanted to add a note to be careful when finding stuff on the side of the street: my friend found a free couch and ended up getting bedbugs in her whole house from it 😭 even though they thoroughly washed/vacuumed it
Edit: this video came out at the perfect time for me though! I'm looking into getting my first apartment rn 🙌
omg nooo that's so rough! anything with fabric can be tricky, definitely gotta watch out for that
I would add to that, some antique furniture may have been painted with paint containing lead, so just keep that in mind before sanding an older piece of furniture
Also wood, my parents bought cheap wood to replace a window frame and it had termites, they're slowly eating the window away
@@ari_fanieYou can purchase lead test strips to determine if an older piece has lead in the paint
Ugh yeah I’m deeply afraid of facebook marketplace after we got really nice old dressers and it turned out they were internally rotting and we got mould mites through our whole home 😢 I love restoring and painting and DIY but you’ve also got to be careful
in the spirit of cute, meaningful decor and furniture: every painting in the house has been painted by my mum, from pictures i’ve taken. the couch was bought at the op shop, took forever to get through the door, but everyone says it’s the comfiest couch they’ve ever been on. the bookshelf was a cheap flat pack from kmart but my uni housemates and i put it together with butterknives, the tv in my room was a gift from my friend when i helped her move house. its a reminder that each piece in my house has some love in it.
Simsie and Stanley have taught us all a great lesson about patience, hard work and the power of a hotdog suit.
I literally just watched her new video before this one.
and also the power of planting bugs on your neighbours :P
I just bought a home and the first “forever” piece I’ve gotten is a dining room table I picked up for free, sight unseen, just because the measurements would fit my tiny space. Ended up being a vintage chestnut wood gable legged table with unique accents, it was handmade in the 70s by the previous owners mom. Talk about a statement piece! My jaw dropped with joy when I showed up and saw this FREE table!
for a couple years now my "bookshelf" has been some wooden milkcrates that i stacked on top of each other, and i freaking love it. it's sturdy and unique and cost basically nothing, makes my little collection of books so happy and cozy 🥰
i've been thinking about doing this omg
And if you have to move, the books are already packed. LOL That sounds fantastic!
I love that so much!
As a student living in furnished apartments, it is very interesting to me how each person has the same or similar set of furniture but it is full transformed by the little details- linen, plants, posters. Especially since we are all on a tighter budget! When I moved in I hated the massive dark wood coloured furniture pieces but now I have learnt to make slightly less 'aesthetic' things my own by the presence I bring to them. Creating a space I love helps me be more productive as well.
I’ve had all my Ikea furniture through 3+ moves and it’s all fine. My bed frame has been taken apart and reassembled several times and it’s still in good condition as well.
My whole house is basically second hand with a few Ikea pieces thrown in. I think taking care of your things is a big part of it.
I'm 25 years old and have never had a dresser until about a week ago. I would just store my pants/shorts in a few small piles on my bedroom floor lol. My sister is moving, and she was wanting to get rid of some stuff, including the small, antique dresser that my dad had painted green for her when she was little. It's the perfect hand-me-down I've waited my entire life for! :D
Another thing is, it also feels like people don't actually care about the practicality (or lack thereof) about home decor trends and home trends at all. It's like individuality is discouraged, but "individuality" of a person's home exists through the lens of chasing the "hottest" or "latest" trends in home decor.
[Sharing a take]
-Raven (He/They+)
agreed!!
What does the + means after They
@@alexterieur8813 it means I also have additional pronouns besides the ones I mainly use for myself (which are he/they)
I think there was a rally great Atlantic article about this and how depressing it is to people that when they spend tons of money renovating it’s not even to something that matches their personality / aesthetic / needs
This de-influencing trend is the best thing to happen to the internet in a long time. My little apartment is filled with things that make me happy, but pretty much hardly anything is new. My bed is from my high school bedroom (I did get a new mattress though), my couch is from Facebook marketplace (super-shampoo'd it, dw), table and chairs and bookshelf were found on the side of the road and fixed up, etc. I have a mixture of books and plants/flowers all around the place, which I guess is my main "decor".....LOL. But in all seriousness, most of the photos on my wall, pillows, little decor pieces etc were either gifted to me from loved ones or thrifted by me. The result is a place that I LOVE being in because it's cozy, charming, and most importantly, a reflection of ME. There's nothing wrong with treating yourself to a nice thing here and there, but you should only buy things you actually love and not just cheap, trendy shit that will go out of style in a year.
when my dad died and my mother moved into a nursing home, I had all these amazing pieces, but moved into a tiny apartment. it broke my heart to sell so many things I've had since I was a kid, (some they got before I was born). I do still have a good amount and they're so well-made that I know I'll have them for life. keeps my apartment feeling like home 🧡💚
I felt that
🖤💜💙💚💙💜🖤
Much Love to you!!
As an interior designer, I don't really love trendsetting, people tend to get the bad case of FOMO and then buy something that not only clashes with the rest of their home, but most of the time doesn't fit dimension-vise. That's even more egregious if the apartment is small. In the times when apartments and living spaces are getting smaller, I can't recommend enough buying/making transformative furniture, which are both functional and can refresh the look of the space.
A major factor that I am so glad you mentioned is access to a vehicle or even a drivers license and even just having a place to park near the flat in question on moving day let alone regularly. Getting furniture second hand is near impossible without some form of vehicle or a willing friend. And carrying things is only viable in a very small radius. Also large pieces of furniture can be hard to move so being able to disassemble it to get it through the door is sometimes a real necessity particularly on a flat that is upstairs.
It’s so true that we don’t see normal people’s houses anymore. Just the other day I had my physiotherapist ask me: did you decorate this apartment? Me: yes, why?
She: it’s so nice!
Literally my first thought was: is it?
don’t get me wrong, I put a lot of effort and love into my apartment, but compared to what you see online, it’s far from that. Puts things in perspective 😊
My partner and I managed to buy our first home in 2021 and I felt SO pressured to make it look like all those lovely Pinterest photos and felt really down when I realised how long/how costly that would really be. Slowly, and after a bunch of fairly intense deeper/expensive unforeseen issues with the house, we’re just grateful to have this place and be able to steadily fill it with little marketplace bargains, free stuff from the street and occasional new items. Our shabby little hand me down sofa will one day be replaced with an olive green velvet one (manifesting this), but what we have now does the job!
I literally kept coming back to this $2 stamp on a stationary website for YEARS, and never getting it bc you know, it’s a stamp. It’s not vital. But I finally got one this week, and you know what? I love it. I’ve been using it to mark completed assignments/tasks in my planner, and it’s extremely cute. Sometimes waiting (even years for something that is a couple dollars) makes it feel even better when you finally do decide that it’s something you want in your life.
All white/all grey is always so boring and personality-less in my opinion. Home decor should show items you genuinely love. It's also easier to shop sustainably whilst looking for items you genuinely want and need since the whole shopping process is slowed down by choosing with intention.
You're so right!!
My home is minimalist and beige but I do genuinely love it/find it really calming and it has personal touches to me, even if that wouldn’t be obvious to someone else.
I like color but for my home I prefer neutrals. That doesn't make it personality-less 🙄
it only lacks personality in the way you decorate, nothing to do with the color scheme imo
I think of the larger pieces of my furniture as a backdrop. I don't want to buy something that's trendy now but will look dated and horrible in less than a decade. So yes, the larger and more expensive pieces are either neutral toned or paintable. (And bought because we need them.)
What goes ON or IN those pieces; that's eclectic. That's me (and my family). That's everything from a hand-crocheted shawl to hubby's collection of interesting rocks or bestie's hats.
I don't mind all white/all grey as long as it's the backdrop to someone's personality. But there's no way I'd be able to keep all white/grey clean. My neutrals are more wood-tones.
I’ve never had a problem disassembling ikea furniture, or even moving it intact for that matter. Solid wood chests of drawers on the other hand...I’ve never seen anyone try to disassemble those to move them. It really bothers me that people treat furniture as a disposable item.
This topic has been on my mind a lot the last couple years! Really interesting video.
Something that’s been on my mind recently that I want to add to this conversation is DIYs for superficial interior redesign (I mean superficial as in not structural). One response to this cycle of design trends is products and DIYs to change things like wallpaper, what your countertop looks like, stuff that looks like tile or stone for backsplash or in showers. As someone who has watched my parents put ridiculous amounts of time and resources into undoing poorly done DIYs on our house I can definitely see some of the DIYs and projects that are being suggested becoming a real problem to clean up later. For example, in our house, the kitchen floor had three layers of plywood and linoleum on top of the original wood floor because previous owners had just put new floor on top of the last layer instead of taking up the previous flooring and replacing it. In other rooms in the house the floor had been painted, and then later plywood and carpeting was added. This isn’t a critique of style, just the method.
Especially seeing products with adhesive being used now I worry about how difficult it would be to take off and how the adhesive might change over time.
These kinds of upgrades I think is another area that mindfulness and thoughtfulness would be a good idea, and research on products and surfaces before using quick fixes.
One tip I would add for second hand furniture is ReStore! It’s run by habitat for humanity and they screen their donations a bit more throughly than some other thrift stores, so there’s a higher minimum for condition. If you have one in your area they’re great!
ReStore is amazing!! My partner and I moved into our first house recently and all the pieces we love the most came from the ReStore down the street. Ironically, we paid more for a painting that we loved (an original Hewitt Jackson, he painted ships mostly) than we paid in total for a dining room table with six chairs, two matching pink armchairs in excellent condition, a coffee table, and three art prints! All from the ReStore, and all accumulated slowly over the last few months. Can't recommend it highly enough!
I adore my local restore!! I've gotten great deals and donated. They're one of the few thrift style stores that still has true thrift prices too lol. It's great to have a second hand store for large home items to supplement the abundance of clothing centered second hand stores. I love that proceeds go to improving my local community as well.
Good comments! Yes, we are trying to buy a house rn and the realtor explained that in older houses, the men used to take pride in doing household modifications and repairs themselves, and thought it was weak to hire a professional to do those jobs. So as we tour houses we are seeing all kinds of oddly jacked up situations, lol. But then yesterday a professional plumber told me he would buy an old house every time bc the building materials are so much more sturdy and long lasting than the cheapo stuff slapped together these days.
I think about this every time I see TikToks/videos of people doing that kind of thing. My childhood home required a lot of intensive labor from the whole family just to repaint the walls because the family before us had just painted over wallpaper instead of scraping it off first. (it is a hundred times more difficult to scrape off wallpaper when there are two layers of house paint over it lol). Now, as an adult, I cringe every time I see someone paint a wall without scraping the old paint off first.
@@laindarko3591 MOOD. Our house has three rooms where the previous owners painted over wallpaper. I can see the seams starting to crack under the paint 🙃
my vintage floral couch is so perfect and i would, ideally, keep it forever. it is beautiful and i got it (and a matching chair!) at a local thrift store for $100 🥺❤️ she’s truly so important to me (she is the couch 🥹😳)
I think a lot of fast fashion type furniture stores (like West Elm or Ikea) can last a long time if people don't treat their furniture like it's disposable just because it's affordable. I'm somewhat surprised by how long my ikea TV stand has lasted. I think it's going on almost 10 years at this point??? But that's very much the result of taking care of it during moves and treating it like an antique and not something that can be knocked around just because it was cheap.
Same! I have a twin bed frame from ikea that has lasted me 12 years and 6 moves out of very temporary college type living arrangements so it was not even preciously taken care of. But we did make sure to save every peg and screw upon disassembly and even patched up some areas that did not hold up super well. Bed still looks nearly the same and most of all functions just like a bed frame should!
I have some wooden (not particle board) storage shelves from Ikea that I expect to last a great long while. What it's made of matters quite a bit for durability.
Exactly the same! My big Ikea closet I've had since I've been a kid, and it has survived 4/5 moves so far... i think people also really just dont treat their stuff well anymore. Or they just go over the limits of their furniture (putting too much stuff in it for example, or not oiling stuff or cleaning it properly)
Thank you for this video! I have felt myself getting caught up in this lately. I am very lucky that my public library has a huge collection of framed artwork that you can check out with a library card. I rotate through new artwork every few months and it is a really great way to refresh my space. I highly recommend looking into this in your area!
Wow that’s amazing, haven’t heard of that before but I’ll definitely look into it
That is a fantastic idea!
Do you mind sharing the name of your library? I’m a librarian and I’ve never heard of that before, it’s such an interesting concept!
@@Fueledbychapstick my public library in Berlin (Germany) has the same concept because they have the biggest archive and don’t want precious art to just rot away in some basement.
@@thefiona Very cool thank you!
i genuinely love the look of “dated” 70s/80s decor, i won’t have my own place for a while but i plan to decorate with things i find in thrift stores/estate sales/things that my parents want to get rid of. all of the stuff back then was definitely built to last and still beautiful in my opinion! currently i want to get a curio cabinet to display all of my knickknacks and i’m looking for a nice antique wooden/glass one instead of just getting a cheap new one from the store.
I'm extremely lucky that the previous owners of my house left us their curio cabinet in the dining room. I'm sure they used it to display their nice dinnerware, but my partner and I have filled it with old books, D&D minis, LARP weapons, and a gorgeous tea set that we thrifted for $20. We've found some beautiful, affordable secondhand furniture at Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations - best of luck to you in your search!
If you wait long enough it’ll eventually come back into style I’m sure
@@snowyy.5275 eh, trend cycles never made sense to me anyway. why wait for something to be “in”? i’d rather make my own decisions on what i like and what to wear/display in my home than wait for someone to tell me it’s ok for seemingly no reason whatsoever.
It was a huge deal for me to be able to buy an ikea dresser for myself this December… it was still $400 and on a teacher salary there’s no way I could have afforded anything else. I saved for about half a year to get it bc wages aren’t reflecting the rest of the rise in cost of living. We’re all barely scraping by. IKEA is going to have to suffice
the ikea thing is interesting cause their furniture being short-term is not my impression at all living in norway. most my parents' furniture is ikea, all my furniture is ikea, some new and some hand-me-downs from my parents. it probably depends on what you get but some of my billy bookshelves are probably older than i am. used, functional ikea furniture usually gets resold, not trashed, too
yeah this is definitely an American attitude! I wanted to research the difference in IKEA / consumer behaviors in different countries but that would've been a total rabbithole hahaha. I still want to look into it in the future!
My childhood bedframe (that I now use as a guest bed in my new flat) is from 90s Ikea and looks as good as new! Survived a whole childhood of bed-jumping, moving, disassembling etc. My parents had to travel to Austria to get it because we didn't have Ikea yet, so it was considered very good quality and with the trip :) it may not be the most stylish or coolest bedframe in the world, but it does the job and if there's a purpose for it, we're keeping it around!
appreciate the reminder that most people’s homes don’t look like *that*. I get into these funks where I hate my space and want to shop for all new things (don’t have the $ for that either lol) but when I step back and reflect on my space, I realize that it’s really a reflection of me and I really like it. And when people occasionally come over, they always think it’s cute! So I gotta focus on that haha. I’m proud that almost all furniture I own is secondhand :)
Wowie another internet analysis so soon?? Tiffany you're blessing us 🙌
since my grandfather passed, I've been slowly inheriting things from him that my nana finds around the house. I have some of his tools and an xacto kit from the 1950s, and it's really insane how they're still completely usable (if not a little beat up) after like, seven decades. and I'll probably have them the rest of my life! imo it's the small things that really demonstrate how far away from quality, longevity-focused products we've come.
edit: NOT LILSIMSIE 😭😭
TRUTH. I was gifted some oak furniture by my aunt, the same furniture my grandparents bought in the 40s or 50s for their kid's bedroom is now in my kid's bedroom. It's so sturdy!
@@cbpd89 please get a lead testing kit, old furniture used to be painted with lead paint.
I’m amazed that you still have a craft knife from the 50’s, that’s like still having a chapstick from the 50’s, like how has it managed to exist for over 70 years without being lost somewhere?
@@phoenixfritzinger9185 you probably Do Not Care but it seems like it's more of a carving set than anything like contemporary Xacto knives! all metal and wood, though I think the base of the handle is plastic. it's in a nice wood box with a latch, so I assume that's how he kept track of it throughout the years! I have quite a few knickknacks of his from around that time, I think he just liked taking care of his things :)
This is why I always tell clients or even friends to select pieces they truly love instead of trends. The cycle of trends moves too quick and just like fast fashion - fast furniture is cheapER but it’s still expensive (and kinda bland when all interior spaces look the same)
I think a lot of people can’t tell the difference between something they truly love and something the Tiktok algorithm has served up to them so many times that they just think they love it… until the algorithm starts serving them the next trend.
@@aisling7244 I ask myself this all the time!!
@@aisling7244 I know, it usually takes an outsider perspective to remind them to truly think on it 🙈 The best way to approach it is with patience, building a space overtime instead of all at once helps allow thought behind each addition
i understand the benefits of not labeling oneself as one aesthetic vs another, but I think the cottagecore/dark academia/farmhouse aesthetic has helped me curate an environment that helps me work, relax, and feel more comfortable with my home than ever! I’ve always loved these aesthetics, even before they became mainstream, so it’s nice to get inspo from others. But overconsumption is something these aesthetics don’t usually advocate for, which is one reason why i like them! I forgot the point of this comment, but i think a video on different aesthetics and how they came into being main stream would be interesting! There’s tons on escapism and the rise of cottagecore that really made me feel called out lol
Agree with not randomly following with trends, but also keep track of trends to see if you find anything that you genuinely enjoy. I had a specific style - collecting old books and browned paper, skull-shaped paper weights, vintage faux-leather, dark wood, etc. which had no name initially until I saw "Dark Academia" trending many years later with GenZ, and I was so happy to see this is a thing around which a community and style has popped up.
i’ve been moving a lot lately due to college and studying abroad. but the piece in my childhood home that sticks out to me is my bed. the bed frame is beautiful, solid oak that has a gorgeous carving on the headboard. it’s been passed around in my family for i don’t know how long and i grew up with it. definitely encourages me to buy secondhand, sturdy pieces when possible.
I did not realize that IKEA furniture literally had on the instructions that it’s not meant to be disassembled and reassembled! My husband and I have moved our IKEA bed frame and dresser 3 times in the past 5 years. Now I feel accomplished 😂
I think those instructions must be a US or North America thing. Never heard of this in Europe. They've even started releasing disassembly instructions as a part of their sustainability agenda and at least in my country you can often get screws and stuff that you lost or broke.
I know someone who has a big armoire and a TV stand from IKEA. I’ve helped/watched them move those things twice. Both were a pain to move.
If you are careful you can do it. By careful I mean not just pulling pieces apart and ripping them out. I have the same line of BILLY bookcases for at least twenty years now from IKEA and two years ago I even painted them a different color. No harm done and it looks great. But at the same time I remember reading that the pieces in USA and Europe are different. Not sure why or what's the difference though
@@MissieK we bought two chairs once. Went back to go get two more and the quality was so significantly different we took the second pair back. They were ridiculously different. I think there was a huge shift in quality at some point. Now it's all fall apart stuff which is sad. We still have the two original chairs and they are solid.
@@azlizzie True..My first desk from ikea I bought it twenty years ago and it is going strong, took it apart many times, painted it and changed it. Second desk less than a decade ago and is falling apart without ever being pulled apart or any damage being done to it. It literally just stands there and has things on top and that is enough to make the color fade or to have breaks in random points.
The sage green everything craze was tempting but I'm glad that I have resisted jumping into the trend and waited to see if I will like it as much over time. And the answer is yes hahah but I feel it's more me and genuine than trendy 💖
I am very very glad my dad is an interior designer and industrial designer. He makes furniture that is timeless with amazing materials and most of it can be reasembled easily and if not he always can assembles it again. It is a blessing on this day and time tbh
omg that is truly a gift!
also estate sales 👀 i got so lucky and found a beautiful rug for $15 at an estate sale. i had just accepted that the floors would be bare bc i was about to graduate college and could not justify spending $$$ on a rug
estate sales!!!!! cannot stress that enough. they're so good.
THANK YOU for talking about this. My dream is to own a late 70s early 80s ✨UN renovated✨ home. I used to watch house hunters a lot to relax at night but I had to stop because I couldn’t stand the perpetual need to rip out every last detail that made the home what is was.
Ripping out the kitchen and removing the original fireplace for white cabinets and grey plank floors? Groundbreaking.
yesss I love seeing older homes that haven't been gutted! such a shame that more and more of them get flipped all the time. they're gems!
Thank you feel the same way, I know its not real but based on what they say on some of that stuff really sways my opinion on what they should get. IE people who can not live in a house because the granite counter tops are not white, or other such nonsense. Especially when they say its not 'move in ready'
@@tiffanyferg omg a Tiffany ferg reply!!! Ilysm🥹 it’s sad and sometimes dangerous if corners are cut during renovations. So many old homes were built with old materials like asbestos and it’s rlly scary!! Hopefully when I’m old and grey I can afford to buy a home 🥲
@@dangermouse4871 the move in ready thing drives me absolutely bananas. Gotta knock out the walls, god forbid a bathroom has brass finishes etc etc. I don’t get why everyone wants to live in a white box
I grew up in a house built around 1900, and it would’ve been stunning if we could have afforded a remodel in its original style. That’s my dream now! Rip out old electrical and plumbing and upgrade those for sure lol but the other stuff adds character!
I don't know, if that was a trend or just so happened to be popular where I live, but I like how often people started decorating their rooms with garlands. Like, small stars, hearts, and other shapes on a thread - one of the easiest yet so cozy looking decor pieces. And you get to experiment a lot :>
I recently moved into a house and found myself with A LOT of rooms to "fill" - my favorite things in the world are interior design and thrifting, so 90% of everything is secondhand and vintage (or just old) lol. the one item I couldnt find was a bed frame, so I bought it new online (around $300, so def fast furniture). this was only 4 months ago and it is the ONLY thing i've had trouble with structurally AND THE ONLY REASON I BOUGHT IT is because it's a dupe of emrata's. so dumb
All my furniture was found on the side of the road for bulk trash pickup. My bed frame is also something I’ve had trouble with. The wood planks were missing for under the mattress so me and my mom reused the ones from my old bed. The issue came when they started moving around under the mattress. Now I have concrete blocks holding the center planks (the ones that shift) up and it’s worked perfectly!
Honestly while a splurge, I was so happy with my thuma bed frame, I got it mainly bc of the Instagram ads but it’s so durable and when I inevitably have to move again it’s gonna be so easy. Will pay for itself in that one day honestly
Highly recommend getting older furniture re-upholstered! We did this with a rocker/glider from my grandparents. Worked with a great local upholsterer who replaced the foam and springs and helped us order fabric samples and choose trim. It was such a fun process and made the rocker look brand new.
My town has a really great used furniture cycle. Between the Facebook marketplace and free couches on the road I've lived in 5 separate homes with many different roommates and never spent a dime on furniture. My roommate spent $15 on one of our chairs, but that is literally the only thing we've bought.
that's amazing! can't imagine how much money you've saved
Every piece of handmade pottery i've thrifted (and use as daily dishware) is a huge spark of joy for me. I've been trying to patiently curate my forever home and wardrobe around these principals and its very satisfying!
My favorite home decor aesthetic is 70s futurism (I don’t know what the proper name for this is it’s what a search for on Pinterest) I showed my parents because I thought it might evoke some nostalgia and they told me that houses don’t have any of the curves and hovels anymore because people in the 80s thought it was lame and ruined it.
Either googie or atomic age is probably the commonly used word for what I am understanding you are describing.
It's called Retrofuturistic Design. I've also seen it called Vintage Futurism, which has some overlap with elements from Vintage Industrial Decor, but is mostly an aesthetic focused on what the future was thought to look like back then.
Our aesthetic is "furniture we have found on the side of the road, goodwill or that our church has given us" 😂
That’s the best kind! Did you guys refurnish anything or leave it as is
3:15 I so agree! Whenever I watch HGTV, it's always a little shocking when prospective home buyers are like, "Ugh, those cabinets need to GO." And then, instead of removing the cabinets carefully so they can be repurposed or donated, they just take a sledgehammer to the whole thing. For the camera, I guess. :/
I used to work in furniture/ decor shop that is a bit more expensive. Not crazy overpriced but definitely not cheap. So people would come in and everyone is so focused on looks and everyone aspired the Minimalistic look. So they always forget to think about how they want to feel when they come home. I started to ask my customers how they want to feel in certain rooms. Suddenly a lot less people chose to decorate their home minimalistic. If you make yourself aware how a certain esthetic makes you feel it makes you more aware how you want to decorate.
My dresser used to be my diaper changing table when I was a baby- my dad converted it when I was older. I am 24 and I've been in my first apartment for 4 years, had this dresser all 24 years of life. When the finish peels, I will refinish it. It is good quality and the drawers roll very satisfyingly. I love my forever dresser! I wish everyone an item like this!
I’m an upcycler and I’ve been studying this for several years, thank you for speaking up about it❤ decor/architectural trends contribute to homelessness, dissolution of the middle class, marginalization, mental health, shitty “luxury” TINY apartments, just so so much.
the book 'goodbye things' by fumio sasaki really helped me stop impulse shopping! i would recommend it. its not too long and its well worth the time imo
oooh I'll add it to my reading list! maybe I can find it at the library
Getting my first apartment in Canada, I was so excited to decorate. But I also wanted to be practical so the first thing I did was make a list of everything I needed. Then see what I can take from my family's house (that old couch we don't use anymore, mine now!, The old bed I bought that's in great condition taking that! And I was lucky that my workplace has a very active internal marketplace so I could snag some electronics at really affordable price and from people I can generally trust! Since this is my first rental, I went with what is essential. Funny enough I still don't have a desk or chairs haha. But if/when I buy my own place, I'll be ready to slowly increase the items I need. But for now, I have exactly what I need.
your videos are so interesting to me. i dont use tiktok or instagram so i no longer keep up with any trends or ANYTHING. your videos are my only glimpse into the dare i say online world LOL. im in my own little bubble and i love it lmao
hahaha glad I can share some tidbits! there's always a lot going on on tiktok
Pretty similar to me.
Tiffany, I know this is random but you’re the big sister I never had lol. But seriously thank you for making this, what you said at the end is SO true about personal or homemade or curated stuff is the most interesting and admirable things and you’re so right. Made me rethink buying to fit an aesthetic versus buying a piece that is personal to me.
I've lived in my apartment for a year and sometimes get so frustrated when it dont get to have that magical before/after transformation because i'm picky and will spend a long time trying to find the perfect items! I went without a dresser for 3 years until i found one close to what i was looking for on FB marketplace for a steal!! but as a renter who usually has to move every year once my contracts up its SO impractical having so much of your own furniture to take with you, especially as so many places come furnished now!
yes seriously! moving as a renter is a huge factor, it's definitely something I consider whenever I buy furniture
@@tiffanyferg same and even if it moves into a van easily then theres no guarantee it'll actually fit into the next place either! i find the best way to keep up with trends or update my space is with things like candles (you can just burn them to get "rid" of them) and prints on recyclable material !
this is kind of off topic but you’re genuinely such a comforting person to me. i was feeling like shit but clicking on this video just immediately made me feel better and more secure. i’ve been dealing with a lot lately but i won’t get into that. anyway, i want to thank you for being you. also i never realized how freaking beautiful your eyes are like omg!!😍
1. thank you for introducing me to the term deinfluencing, 2. also yes lilsimsie !!
edit: I have this pretty gaudy bright purple egg chair from like 2006 that my parents bought for my sisters room to match the purple theme. does my room have a purple theme? no. but its so comfortable and I can cover it with blankets and make it feel like a new piece whenever I want!
LOVE an egg chair. and omg I remember the purple room era. I couldn't paint my room (renting!) but my friends did and it was a lot lmaooo
Antique malls have been life changing in this aspect. So many cozy nostalgic affordable finds that will last way longer.
We recently moved to our first apartment and for the first month we've been here I sometimes felt our space felt "empty". But we had what we needed, a piece of artwork here and there, and a colorful rug that I loved. Recently I started to realize that I'm glad we didn't have the budget to go all in on the decor. Working within a constraint meant I had to choose carefully.
the empty apartment feeling can be rough! especially when you've just moved in and things aren't organized / put away yet. but enjoy the process!! it can be a blank slate in the best way
I feel the same! Had I been able to decorate all at once I may have chosen popular peices that I probably would have gotten very sick of fast cuz I watch way too many decore videos l!
I usually "window shop," make a cart and then wait a week to check out and I end up removing most of the stuff I added because I realize it's actually not my style or not useful in my life. At this point most rooms in my home are completely styled so I'm not trying to completely overhaul them no matter how cute interiors online are
Honestly (as an university student in Europe) when I moved in with my partner we bought all our furniture used or took stuff my parents had been keeping in the basement for me for years. There are a lot of Ikea pieces in there as well (mostly five or so Kallax shelves) and it's possible to reuse them and even take them apart and put them back together (not many times but for moving them once or twice from one home to another) if you're really careful. It saved us so much money (though it did take a while) and made our appartement feel so much more like home knowing we'd given all these pieces a second life with us. Everything in there feels familiar, like an old friend and I think that's really nice. Thank you for bringing attention to this!
I've had a kallax shelf since before it was called expedit. For over 20 years and it survived 4 moves. Still standing strong.
Ooh so glad you mentioned how living alone could be a limitation! I live in a regional area, alone. No vintage stores. Secondhand items are mainly very poor quality flatpack items, because we have one Kmart that furnishes most of our homes. There’s nowhere else to buy from unless you’re ordering something very high end. Places like IKEA are the dream because they are a fraction of the price, will deliver items I could never find locally to my home, and get the items I can’t lift up the stairs!
Loved the enjoying the imagination part of shopping part :) that’s why sometimes I have more fun creating a family on the sims and imagining all the possibilities and when I actually start playing I get bored lol
Home decor, for me, has always been about displaying the items I was most proud of. I didn't have much growing up, and that reflects in my spaces now. The carefully cheated bookshelves in the living room, the little knickknacks I've gathered from years of living gathered around the spines, journals on the coffee table- icebreakers and topic-starters about my life- and so on, all arranged in a way I find pleasing. Decor trends have always slightly puzzled me, when I would dream about having a home, a space purely for me. It never appeared as a space curated for others, for appearing a certain, perhaps not inauthentic but purposefully trendy, way. It feels as if some don't live in homes, but commit to a permanent 'realtor space'. Like they're selling a brand of themselves, and to do so in what's supposed to be their own space? It must be draining.
Huge moment for me when I realized I could buy vintage furniture for the same price as all the pieces on West Elm I was looking at…and the vintage furniture is actually made of real wood and will last so much longer!
I’ve always been a huge fan of buying furniture second hand and don’t know why people don’t talk about it more. I’ve found so many incredible pieces that would’ve been thousands otherwise!
As a gamer, this happens so much with gaming setups too. People having this perfectly themed setups, changing them with the season or their current favourite game. Tech is so expensive and people are out here changing keyboards every two months
I feel like "deinfluencing" is just the fancy new term for what TH-camrs called "anti-hauls". Same thing really. Either way, I agree with it. As for items in my home that feel the most me, other than random skulls scattered about, I have 2 crochet plants that I made that I'm very proud of. :)
Every time I travel, I always buy something that I want or need for home decor. It's so nice to have something practical that has been on my wishlist and reminds me of amazing memories. I can't recommend this enough!
I ended up inheriting a dresser set that belonged to my great grandma when a family member moved. I never gave it a second look in her house but I am IN LOVE with both pieces now and know that people would pay through the nose for genuine vintage furniture that’s so unique yet timeless. ❤️❤️❤️ not to mention the family history makes it feel extra special
I am about to move into college and I am really excited to have a dorm space to decorate, I have lived with siblings my whole life so it will be nice to make a space that is truly me. No shopping spree of course, just figuring out what style I like!
Having bought my first home I’m so glad I am slowly building my space, my favourite furniture are my two Facebook marketplace finds. My granny passed last May so I’m also receiving so much of her furniture as well as little things like a kitchen timer that sat on her fridge we used to scare her with by leaving it ticking, I use it every time I cook something in the oven because it’s so much easier than my phone and every time I use it I think of her which is lovely.
I moved with ikea furniture a couple of times and reassembling was fine most times =)
i find this so interesting because i’m from a post soviet country and we treat ikea like a high end furniture store. also, my grandparents got rid of all their soviet and replaced it with modern furniture. their home looks so much cosier and warmer now.
I've been working to knit myself the blanket I've been dreaming of having for my living room! I know I'm going to feel so proud when I finally finish it and get to watch my friends and family stay warm in something I made!
omg yes I love that! I've always wanted to learn how to knit, lmk if you have any youtube/tutorial recs!
i loved slowly accumulating furniture (basically all used) for my apartment rather than buying it all at once. it made me feel like i was in the early stages of a game of animal crossing, lol
Yes! All of my furniture in me and my boyfriend’s home are thrifted or hand-me-downs and it makes me feel so good! ❤️
I have always loved buying antiques since I was a kid and have acquired a lot of hand me down furniture from family that I stored until I had my own place . My house is an old log cabin that I renovated ( i had some help from experts when I needed it , like plumbing and electric ) so the older piece fit the look perfectly. I wouldn’t say i thought it was an aesthetic place but it is amazing how little touches over time can make it uniquely you .
I am also blessed and my father found out he has a knack for wood work during the lockdown so he has made me a lot of unique piece or helps me rework old pieces so I can do it myself down the road.
I studied furniture design in college and now refinish furniture as a hobby. When you say "they don't make them like they used to" you're more right than you can imagine. Even if you get a new piece of furniture with some solid wood parts to it, the wood is going to be much less dense and sturdy than older wood. Even from the same species, older old-growth wood will be much stronger and denser than new.
As for particleboard, it can be made to be strong and withstand time. I have a Danish teak nightstand that is just a teak veneer over particleboard and that thing is STRONG compared to newer furniture. It's wild how many corners were cut
also something that has been so nice that i take for granted is that there are these sets of tables that my family bounces around everyone’s houses whenever someone gets tired of them and it’s nice because we always know someone has them in their bedroom or living room and they’re not getting thrown out!
The two home decor items I have that are most *me* are a 3x3 foot portrait of a fox that I bought from a local artist and an enormous rope and yarn rainbow that I made myself. Buying art (from artists, not mass-produced stuff) and secondhand frames to put it in is my addiction and I’ve never regretted purchases in either of these categories.
I was that person who moved out for the first time and couldn’t pick up secondhand furnitures. I’ve dreamt of having a pink sofa since I was a wee little girl and I had ordered it off Amazon to have it delivered! It’s a forever piece for me and I love it. It’s pretty high quality from a brand called novogratz.