Budget furnishing: second hand

We hope you all got some inspiration from our latest post! Our next tip for furnishing your house on a budget is to make use of second hand furniture. Every country has its own website for second hand furniture, in the Netherlands we have Marktplaats.

Second hand is much cheaper then new furniture and many times you can buy something unique! Sometimes, you have an idea in your mind but you can’t find in the stores, then you have to take a visit to a second hand furniture website. You can’t imagine what people offer for incredible low prices! However, searching on a second hand website can take a lot of time. Every day, thousands of new products are being presented. You need to decide what you are looking for in what color etcetera. If you want something specific you have to take a short look every day. Note that when you find something, call or e-mail the seller instead of making an offer on the website. Offers are often being ignored because sellers don’t know if it’s serious.

Many people buy their stuff on these websites. Sometimes it’s great quality stuff and it can be very unique. Moreover, people won’t even notice you bought second hand furniture if you don’t want people to know! It’s also possible to combine second hand furniture with new furniture.

Take a look and have fun!

Decorating your house on a budget: thrift stores

There’s no place like home. We think every woman can agree on that one. Everyone decorates their house in their own style and we want to achieve one thing: it must feel like your own special place.

Students, starters, divorced people and people with a low income can’t buy expensive furniture. Unfortunately, the most beautiful couches, tables and chairs are often very expensive. The first solution everyone considers is bringing a visit to IKEA. Although IKEA has very nice products and the quality is okay, you will get bored eventually.. If you don’t like IKEA furniture and you want to decorate or re-decorate your house in a different way, we have some nice tips for you!

Take a visit to some thrift stores. The furniture in thrift stores is often a little bit old-fashioned but you can pimp everything with paint. Last year, Kim found a dining table and a coffee table at a thrift store for 20 euros. The tables were very old-fashioned and we all laughed a little bit about her purchase. But she painted the tables white and they are beautiful!! We were shocked about the difference. Are you bored with the color? No problem, just give your furniture a new paint job and you have a new look!
Another nice tip is to buy four or six different dining chairs, look up some pictures on the internet and see for yourself that it looks really nice!


If you’re looking for a new couch but you have a low budget, ask your friends, family and parents if someone wants to get rid of their old couches. Choose a couch which is comfortable and visit a market where they sell fabrics. Some entrepreneurs sell lots of different fabrics so you can choose your perfect color and nature. For about 20 euros, you can buy enough fabric to cover your coach. The result is an awesome couch in your living room!

For our Dutch readers: take a look at gratisoptehalen.nl. If you’re lucky, you can find some nice pieces on this website.

Second hand Treasures

Earlier this week we posted a column about ‘The clothing party’. A really nice party to clear out and extend your wardrobe. Today we have a second budget tip to extend your wardrobe. This tip is all about ‘Second hand treasures’.


‘Second hand treasures’ asks for some serious shopping. Therefore you probably have to go to the stores you usually not go to. You can buy cheap clothes in second hand (vintage) shops. Also at markets you can shop for second hand clothing. However, it is very hard to find proper second hand clothing that fit your body and are trendy and stylish. But that is no longer a problem. It is a trend to make your own clothing these days. But making your own clothes from scratch is very difficult and takes a lot of practice. This is where the second hand clothes come in. You can update lovely second hand clothes and make them trendy and fashionable. It is much easier to adjust existing clothing then make them from scratch. For inspiration you can look at the TLC show: Dresscue me.

Watch the Dutch promo of Dresscue me:

Starting from scratch
If you do want to make your own clothes from scratch it is important that you start with the basics. Don’t try to make a complicated dress when you sit behind the sewing-machine for the first time. You can find great books which cover the basics of sewing. A budget tip: try to buy your fabrics at the market, they sell cheaper fabrics than the official fabric stores.

The clothing party

We girls love to shop, only our budget doesn’t always allow our desire for shopping. This week we will give you girls some tips on how you can extend your wardrobe without spending a lot of money. Sometimes even without spending money at all. Can you imagine shopping without a budget?! Today’s budget solution is called: ‘The clothing party’! Combining our two favorite things in one evening, that sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

If you look in your closet you can pick out easily a number of pieces you never wear (even worse: have never worn at all). Don’t be ashamed, you are not the only girl who has a closet full of bad bargains. Even better news, your girlfriends most likely also have a closet full of bad bargains. That is why it’s time to organize a clothing party. You plan a date and invite all your girlfriends and they can invite their friends as well, because the more people the better. There is only one condition; everyone has to bring their bad bargains. Let the party begin!
Every girl can pick out the clothing that she likes. Your living room is the fitting room. You can easily ask your girlfriend for their opinion. The clothing party, is really a fun night on a budget. You can ask people to bring food and drinks along, to reduce the costs. At the end of the night everyone goes home with ‘new’ pieces without spending a dime. Your bad bargains are someone else’s treasures!

The clothing that is left at the end of the evening (the real bad bargains ;)) you can donate to a charity. In one night you clean out your closet and fill your closet with amazing new and free pieces!

Budget shopping

We all recognize the following problem: we would like to score a new outfit but we also have to pay the rent at the end of the month. I am going to give you some tips about how you can do both. The solution: budget shopping!! Of course we all know the shops where you can buy low budget clothing, for example H&M and Primark. But the consequence of shopping there is that you will see your outfit at almost every street corner.

To create a more unique look you need to put in a bit more effort. Online you can find unique bargains. Many brands have online outlets where you can buy last season’s collection.  Another fashion paradise online is markplaats.nl. Here you can find the shirt you fell in love with in the store for a fraction of the original price. You can find clothing that is never been worn, the price tags are still attached! Last year, I found an amazing long summer dress in the store that I fell in love with but my size was sold out. Later on, I found the same dress on marktplaats.nl. The girl who owned it sold the dress to me for 50% of the original price. Talking about killing two birds with one stone!!

Another great tip to find beautiful labels for a great price is a sample sale. When a brand wants to get rid of their old collection they organize a sample sale. Sometimes you will even find sample sales from current collections. Sample sales are usually organized in big locations. So count on some use of elbows and long queues, but you can find great pieces for a fraction from the original price. On the Internet you can find information about the upcoming sample sales. 

In the Netherlands, there are great markets where you can find nice vintage and second hand clothing. In Amsterdam for example, you have Waterlooplein. But women who don’t like second hand clothing can visit one of the many outlet malls in the Netherlands. A few examples are Batavia stad in Lelystad (bataviastad.nl) and Rosada in Rosendaal (rosada.nl).  These outlet malls consist of different brands that all have an own store. The malls look like little villages, you can shop here all day and find great brands with nice discounts. The villages also have great lunchrooms and parking is really good arranged. The only disadvantage is that the stores tend to have really old collections. You have to be lucky and visit when they just got restocked. If you are there at the right moment, you can shop till you drop.

When you want a bargain, look outside the normal shopping street in your own town. Labels become affordable if you look in the right place. Even on a small budget you can score a great outfit and as well have a fun day with your girlfriends. In a few weeks I will post a column about more creative ways to extend your wardrobe.