Why buy vintage furniture and How to clean your vintage UpholsterY
We polled our Instagram audience recently and found that a shocking percentage of people would prefer to purchase a new couch vs. a vintage couch. Why? Germs and bed bugs. See our round-up of vintage and new couches here. Those who wrote in preferring vintage noted quality, price point, style, and peace of mind as their reasoning. Heather from our community told us “we have a dog and a kid so the idea of buying new scares me.”
Claires in-progress den features her new-to-her sofa from facebook marketplace. She had it professionally cleaned by a guy who was blown away by the quality of her marketplace find. The couch was free, delivered for free and the upholstery cleaning was $100. She replaced the pull out mattress for $150.
Our quick spiel for why we at House Friends loveVvvVe vintage furniture:
Vintage is typically extremely high quality and built to last, hence being able to find pieces from a variety of time periods handed down in families or resold.
It’s an excellent alternative for pesky supply chain delays. If finding a specific furniture piece quickly is your focus, we love shopping from vintage resellers.
You can find vintage furniture pieces at a WIDE variety of price points. If budget is a factor in how you shop for furniture, vintage is a no-brainer. And depending on what you pay and how you treat it, it typically will retain its value or appreciate in value. That’s just smart shopping! We love facebook marketplace with a burning passion for finding incredible pieces at incredible prices.
Vintage offers warmth, charm, and unique character to a room in a way that new furniture often tries to…emulate. While new furniture can be original and well-made, you’re going to have to pay for it. If you’re looking for quality at accessible price points, that’s where it gets tricky. New, cost-effective pieces can be made with cheap materials and not hold up well over time, which contributes to a gnarly cycle of furniture waste.
If you want unique, well-made pieces at an accessible price point, vintage is king.
Linny snapped a pic while shopping at Goodwood
Couch in Linnys in-progress living room
Linnys couch is from her favorite vintage store in DC, Goodwood. It was $695 plus $50 delivery and was in pristine shape. She needed a couch quickly for her new home so she turned to her favorite resellers.
We may be a little bit passionate about this topic, however, we also completely understand the reality of bed bugs and the fears around cleanliness. Let’s talk solutions:
Check for bed bugs before purchasing. Avoid anything with stains, holes, bugs, bad smells, etc. You can absolutely exclusively buy vintage furniture from clean environments. Keep your wits about you and be picky.
Hire an expert to clean your upholstery. Claire’s tip is, if possible, leave your new furniture piece in your garage to air out. Then she recommends hiring an upholstery cleaning service to come and give it a deep clean.
Reupholstery. Dropping off your vintage piece at a professional reupholsterer is an excellent way to restore a furniture shape you’re in love with and put your own spin on it. The downside of reupholstery is it can be as expensive as buying new. While simple projects you can tackle on your own, major furniture reupholstery is definitely best left to professionals.
Clean it yourself. Linny’s tip is to start with a thorough vacuum, then disinfect and deodorize with vinegar. Spot clean any stains with an upholstery cleaner like Folex. If it needs a little more attention, you can do a DIY dry clean, Linny likes to use her carpet cleaner with vinegar and/or a detergent like Oxi Clean (Claire likes Branch Basics as a plant-based alternative to Oxi Clean.) Otherwise, try a foam carpet cleaner and blot with a microfiber cloth.
folex a holy grail product for spot cleaning
laundry brush use it for spot cleaning
little green carpet cleaner machine use for a deeeeep clean
vinegar a natural deodarizer and dienfectant
microfiber cloths go-to for spot cleaning and blotting
baking soda sprinkle,let sit for 20 mins, vacuum it up for a natural deodorizer. Works on musty wood furniture, too!
dyson holy grail vacuum
spray bottle ideal for vinegar or DIY spot cleaning solutions
As always, our community House Friends is a space for genuine feedback and support as you’re making big decisions for your home. We’ll be there for you while you make big purchases, solve design dilemmas, or if you just like talking about this stuff!