The Collected Home: Stretching Your Budget

5 secrets from an antique dealer who has decorated her entire home in secondhand finds and antiques without spending a fortune!

Hello friends.

Thanks for stopping by today. I am excited to share with you my advice for making a limited budget go that extra mile when decorating your home in a traditional way with collected decor.

Here at Pender & Peony, we love and advocate secondhand shopping and decorating with antiques and heirlooms. I truly believe it is the best way to decorate a home full of layered stories, quality classics, and personality. Antiques can be a major investment though, especially when not inheriting family pieces, and don’t get me started on the cost of designer fabrics these days.

The good news is that the secondhand market is full of fabulous gems just waiting for a second chance to shine.

Here are my 5 recommendations for stretching your budget to achieve your dream traditional home full of collected decor:

No. 1 Embrace The High Low Mix

Part of collecting your home brings with it a certain level of eclecticism and mixing of styles, which is perfect for blending high and low furnishings and decor. Mix custom pieces with ready made, especially for upholstery and drapery. Think about ways you can take a ready made piece and enhance it with customizations. For example, adding a beautiful trim to store bought curtains.

While I will always advocate for the patina of an antique, don’t be afraid to pair antiques with quality reproduction furniture. Much of the reproduction furniture from the mid to late 19th century was still made with solid woods and durable construction methods. And these days may even be a 100 years old even if it is not of the period. Your antique ceramic collections or beautiful original art works will still look beautiful when mixed with reproduction furniture.

I have a full post on blending high and low here.

No. 2 Hold Your Splurges to Very High Standards

When you DO splurge on a special piece be very picky about the quality and design. Spend your hard earned money on classic pieces that will stand the test of time both stylistically and in terms of durability.

When I consider investment furnishings and decor I ask myself:

-Does the piece have classic appeal beyond trends?

-Is it made of quality materials and well constructed?

-Is it the right size and scale?

-Is it versatile? Can I use it in different rooms and for different purposes or seasons?

In my course The Collected Room method I dig deeper into how to choose the right piece for your space and what makes a piece quality! Learn more here.

No. 3 Do Your Price Comparisons

One of the best ways you can save yourself from overspending on antiques is by taking the time to research prices and understand the market. Venue, geography, and time of year are going to impact pricing structures.

Pay attention to auctions. Sign up for an account with LiveAuctioneers and start searching for the pieces you want to add to your collection. Save them to your watch list and then start keeping a record of sale prices. This is a good way to get a clear idea of what pieces are selling for in a fair market environment. Don’t forget to factor in buyer’s premiums and shipping costs.

This will help you gain confidence out on the hunt and recognize when something is over or under priced.

No. 4 Size Matters

If I had a dollar for every Facebook Marketplace listing that reads: “I bought this without measuring…”

Measure your space! Measure it again!

Avoid costly mistakes by having a firm grasp of the space you have available for furniture and art. Keep a list on your phone of each piece you are hunting and what size it needs to be, so you can easily decide on something when out shopping.

Remember that scale is pivotal to these calculations. You have to consider the size of a potential piece in relation to what you already have and the architecture and scale of the room. Play with the layout and sizes within your space to see what really feels most comfortable.

No. 5 Don’t Discount Facebook Marketplace

It is understandable to find Facebook Marketplace a bit daunting or get frustrated with the algorithm and all the necessary logistics involved. BUT it truly is a treasure box of amazing furnishings and antiques.

To keep your algorithm fine tuned get on everyday and search for pieces. Save the ones you like even if they are too high priced or outside your travel comfort zone. Try location hopping even by a few miles to bring up new finds.

When it comes to working with the sellers: be polite, don’t be afraid to negotiate, ask for missing information like measurements before you make a deal, and be ready to pick up right away.

Ready to discover more about the collected home and how to decorate your house with secondhand finds and antiques on a budget?

Sign up for The Collected Room Method!