One conscious decision we made in transitioning into a bigger apartment was that we wanted to start investing in furniture that we actually liked (rather than desperately needed). Luckily, Berlin is basically a treasure trove of beautiful pieces with lots of history. However, we also knew we didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg for our furniture and we also knew that the professional antique dealers were totally out of our price range.
So, we set out on a very slow and methodical search of ebay and Craigslist offers, crossing our fingers that we’d have a little bit of luck. It has definitely required some patience in terms of having to tolerate a half-furnished apartment while we conduct our search, but we were pretty confident that it would eventually pay off.
And today, after more than a month of searching, we’ve become the proud owners of dining room table (found on ebay) and dresser drawers (found on Craigslist), both for totally reasonable prices. Phew! Once we manage to get them transported to our apartment and all set-up, I’ll make sure to give you a photo update on how they’re enjoying their new home.
Of course, the search for a number of other items still continues, but it’s nice to see everything slowly coming together! Do you have any tips for buying antique on a budget? Do any of you Berliners have any favorite spots of furniture shopping?
Congrats on owning grown-up furniture!
I often tire of our international Ikea collection, but sheer laziness keeps it from being replaced.
@Jul: Thanks, although I’ll definitely admit to just wanting to buy Ikea and get the apartment furnished already. :)
I like ebay for that kind of thing. I have had some luck for even new furniture there. Though the downfall is not being able to see it beforehand, as well as the dreaded concept of being home when it gets delivered.
Lovely table. Did you have to “abholen”? Or are Berliners pretty nice about delivering stuff?
Good for you!!! We also furnished our apartment with as little non-Ikea furniture as possible. However, we scoured a few flea markets here and there. It requires a lot of patience and a rental car but was well worth it. The tourist Flohmarkt were not helpful. We found almost all of our furniture there. Here is a list of Flohmarkt in Berlin. http://ow.ly/56wcS
Sorry-am very tired and I am not sure my comment above makes any sense. Let me know if I need to translate. :)
@Andrew: Yeah, not seeing the furniture in person beforehand when buying from ebay is definitely a disadvantage. We tried to counter that as much as possible by selecting offers that had as many photos available as possible, asking specific questions of the sellers, and making sure we knew exactly the dimensions of the furniture we’re searching for. For the dresser we bought from Craigslist, we were able to actually take a look at it in person before we committed to buying it. Luckily and coincidentally, both purchases occcurred on the same day, so we were able to rent one van to pick up both pieces of furniture on the same night. I imagine we’ll be doing that a few more times as we continue to buy additional furniture, unless the seller happens to offer a reasonable delivery price.
@Yelli: No worries, you made sense to me. :) Thanks for the Flohmarkt list, that’s definitely a strategy we could make better use of — if we could convince ourselves to get out of bed earlier on the weekends. ;)
Have you heard about “Haushaltsauflösung(en)? Or have you ever been to one?
That is something very special in Germany – like an estate sale or a garage sale. The chance to find the REAL Schnäppchen there is pretty high. To me it seems to be more successful than via ebay.
Gebrauchtmöbelmärkte run by the “Lebenshilfe” or other charitable organisations are also a real good option and a rich source for nice antiques, vases, tableware etc.
Good luck with your search.
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You will find ads about Haushaltsauflösungen in your local freesheets or in the Kleinanzeigen part of your weekend newspaper.
@HeuteHierMorgenDa: Thanks, that’s good to know!
Beautiful pieces that you will enjoy for a lifetime. It’s worth the wait.
This is really exciting! I’ve rather tired of the extremes in home decor here in Germany – it’s either really cheap or really expensive. This is the perfect find right in the middle. Good luck with furnishing the rest of your new place!
@German Gems: We definitely feel the same way.
@Shoegirl: Yeah, you’re right. I love spending just about what we would if we would buy Ikea, but ending up with such beautiful, high quality furniture!