A Simple Guide to Buying Second-Hand Furniture

Why second-hand furniture deserves a second look

Buying new furniture is one of the quietest ways we use up resources. A solid oak table represents a tree, a lot of transport and a fair amount of energy, and far too much of it ends up in a skip long before the wood has given up. Buying second-hand keeps those materials in circulation, saves you a considerable amount of money, and often gets you something built far better than the flat-pack equivalent at the same price. The trick is knowing what to check before you hand over your cash. Here is how to shop for second-hand furniture with confidence.

Check the frame and the joints before anything else

Ignoring the finish for a moment, get your hands on the structure. Give it a firm wiggle. A chair should not rock, a table should not twist, and a wardrobe should not lean when you push a corner. If it moves now, it will move more once it is carrying books or sitting on your uneven floorboards.

• Drawers: pull each one right out and look at the corners. Dovetail joints — the interlocking zigzag pattern — signal proper craftsmanship and decades of life. Staples, glue and nothing else are a warning sign.
• Chairs: tip them over and check where the legs meet the seat. A loose joint you can see is usually a joint you can fix with wood glue and a clamp. A crack running through the timber itself is much harder to save.
• Solid wood against board: solid timber can be sanded and re-oiled again and again. Chipboard and MDF are fine while they are dry, but once water gets into a swollen edge they crumble, and screws rarely bite a second time in the same hole.
• Upholstery: press down firmly on the seat. Crumbly foam, sagging webbing or a frame you can feel through the cushion means a reupholstery bill, which often costs more than the piece is worth.

If the frame is sound, almost everything else is negotiable.

Look past the scratches: sorting cosmetic from costly

Most surface damage is far less serious than it looks. A scratched top, a water ring, a dull finish or a bit of sun fading are all part of a weekend's work with a light sand and a coat of oil or wax. Light veneer lifting at a corner can be glued back down with a warm iron and a cloth. A wobbly leg can be tightened.

What you should walk away from is damage that has gone structural or will not come out: deep gouges through veneer into the board beneath, a warped top that will never sit flat, drawers that have been forced and split, or chairs that have been repaired badly with screws driven across the grain. Ask yourself whether the fault bothers you or whether it bothers the piece. Old furniture is allowed to look old, and a few honest marks usually look better than a factory finish.

Be alert to damp, woodworm and smoke

Smell matters more than most buyers expect. Damp or musty upholstery can carry mould into your home, and cigarette smoke soaks into foam and fabric in a way that no amount of Febreze will shift. Trust your nose at the door.

• Woodworm: small flight holes are common and often historic, but if you see fine, fresh sawdust trickling out, the infestation is active. Leave it.
• Damp: check the back panels of wardrobes and the undersides of drawers for dark staining, softness or a swollen, flaking surface.
• Fire labels: upholstered furniture sold in the UK should carry a fire safety label. If a sofa or armchair has no label and no history, be cautious, particularly with anything vintage.
• Mattresses and soft furnishings: buy these new. The savings are never worth the hygiene risk.

Measure the piece, the doorway and the stairs

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that turns a bargain into a problem on the pavement. Measure the widest point of the furniture, then measure your narrowest point: usually the front door, a hallway turn, or the gap between a stair handrail and the wall. A typical UK internal door is around 76cm, and Victorian terraces are not known for generous corners.

Write down the height and width of the space it is going into, and mark it out on the floor with newspaper or masking tape. Remember that sofas and wardrobes can sometimes be tipped on their side or have their legs unscrewed, which can buy you several precious centimetres. If it will not fit, no discount makes it worth the argument.

Where to find good pieces, and how to get them home

Charity shops, house clearance sales, local auction rooms, online marketplaces and neighbourhood noticeboards all turn up solid mid-century and older pieces for a fraction of new prices. Go early, take a tape measure, a torch and a friend, and be ready to say yes when something good appears.

For transport, a local man-and-van service or a hired van for a few hours is money well spent on anything heavy. Blankets, straps and a bit of patience will save the veneer. Once it is home, a clean, a tighten and a coat of oil will give a well-made piece another twenty years. That is good for your wallet, good for your home, and a small, practical win for your neighbourhood's waste stream.