Last year, I achieved a major New York City milestone: I moved into an apartment with a bedroom that could fit more than just my bed. But I immediately faced a new problem: After years of living in cramped quarters, I had very little furniture to fill my new space.
That move marked the beginning of my year-long quest to secure as much free furniture as possible. I combed the streets of Brooklyn for discarded items, scrolled endlessly through Facebook Marketplace, and enlisted friends and neighbors in my quest. I did spend some money, but far less than I would have spent for brand new accouterments.
I scored a couch my roommate planned to discard on the curb, a standing desk for $30, a used dresser for $70 and a tall shelf for $60. I picked up smaller items for free: dishes for jewelry, crafting supplies, a wicker basket, and more. I made $100 by selling a TV stand, bringing my total spend down to $60. Now, almost a year later, my room is finally full.
If you’re looking to decorate your apartment on the cheap, read on for how to find furnishings that won’t cost you a thing, except maybe your sanity.
Try Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other resale sites
Earlier this year I became fixated on finding a dresser. I wanted to get my clothes out of the juvenile roller drawers underneath my bed. I wanted to fill the extra space I finally had in my new bedroom. I wanted something serious, heavy and adult.
My fixation snowballed into long episodes of scrolling on Facebook Marketplace, where I sent half the dresser-owning population of NYC palpably desperate messages: “Is this still available?” “Hi I absolutely love this–is it still available?” “Hi, could I pick this up tomorrow?” I texted friends endless screenshots of my latest find, dragged my partner to good prospects, and spent more than one night combing the streets of Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights. The dresser became the embodiment of all my problems, promising to transform my life if I could just complete one clear mission: redecorate.
A month into my search, I thought I found my dream dresser: a blue wooden number hand painted by the artist who owned it. But the back of the chest was loose, and my back was certainly not going to survive the haul down four flights of stairs.
That’s the price you pay on Facebook Marketplace. The goods are heavily discounted, but inspection, pickup, and delivery usually falls on the buyer. (As a rule, I don’t buy anything sight-unseen unless I'm comfortable losing that money.)
Facebook Marketplace also requires patience, but what I lacked in money I had in time. Eventually I found the perfect dresser from a wonderful woman in her mid-50s. She told me she and her wife were cleaning out their rent-stabilized unit before moving into their newly purchased NYC apartment. She accomplished a huge milestone—owning in NYC—and I, finally, got my clothes off my floor. Winners all around.
Enlist your neighbors, friends, and lovers
Last year, I stood underneath the L train waiting for a south Boston-based gemstone importer to deliver a harp. (Yes, I play the harp when not writing about housing or dumpster diving for free furniture).
I had brought a friend because traveling to a secondary location to meet an internet stranger solo felt naive, and I had to make sure I didn’t hallucinate this Facebook Marketplace gem dealer. I hadn’t—he was incredibly sweet, and even threw in a few extra harp strings for free.
But don’t just drag your friends to help you pick up your latest second-hand score. Roommates, partners, and neighbors can all help you find free furniture in the city. So don’t be shy about your search: post on social media and enlist everyone, even your latest fling.
My friend’s short-lived Hinge date secured our coffee table. That relationship didn’t stick—his fault, obviously—but that stone table will last forever. My next-door neighbor gifted me an ornate picture frame, some safety pins, and a few new books while she cleaned out her apartment. My partner found the chair I now use for my home office, to match my $30 Facebook Marketplace standing desk.
Don’t be afraid to stoop
You can also find free furniture through stooping—the art of rehoming another’s trash—either by walking around or checking out the free items on display on the StoopingNYC Instagram account.
Before you discount a stoop find, remember that garbage is a matter of perspective. If something can be cleaned, repurposed, and made useful to you, it’s no longer trash—just think of the piles of landfill that formed part of the ground beneath Lower Manhattan.
The city’s stoops have offered me a lot over the past year: A Perry Ellis sunglasses case. Two matching picture frames. A new wine glass. A wicker end table. A cherry-red credenza (that a neighbor and delivery driver kindly offered to help carry). People even give away actual money; just this week, I found a green dish full of loose change, including some Costa Rican colóns.
You might be hesitant to grab something off the street because you don’t know where it came from, but the stuff you find might be more familiar than you expect. I once brought home a computer stand I saw on my own stoop. When I showed it off to my roommate, she informed me that she had put it out the night before.
For items that are easy to clean, stooping is a great, free way to find furniture and decor without schlepping to the Red Hook Ikea. It’s a good instinct to be cautious with upholstered furniture, clothing, or anywhere a bed bug could hide, though I don’t always follow this advice. I once picked up a sweater and a tank top off the stoop. Don’t worry, I washed it first. (Well, I washed the sweater. Laundry day ambushed me that week.)
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