New in town?
New boy Tom has arrived in SE4 clutching his brand new brief case and he's anxious to distance himself from the nerds and find out how the Brockley jocks do things.
He writes:
I was wondering if you fancied doing a post on advice for new residents?
In our rush to rent an unfurnished flat, we seemed to forget that we don't own any furniture so any tips about good places to buy second-hand furniture would be much appreciated.
45 comments:
Buy your beds at Uncle Ned's. Or at least that's what the slogan says. There are a few secondhand / cheap furniture places on Lewisham Way near the junction with Malpas Road and Florence Road, including the avucular divan salesman. Cheap and reasonably cheerful, nothing fancy.
freecycle is very economical
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lewishamfreecycle/
I once saw a home improvement show where they hired a van and took a ferry to france for the weekend - loads of warehouses full of antigue furniture at silly low prices...
if you like the eclectic look...
Get stuff from Ikea and use your arts skills to enhance them, benefits if renting is that you can dismantle the stuff and take with you.
in my experience, dismantling IKEA furniture and then reassembling, leaves you with extremely wobbly bits.
you could probably furnish most of your flat for free from freecycle. You just need your own transport to be able to pick it up.
Cheap and cheerful sounds exactly what I'm after. Thanks for the tip Matt, now all I need is an Aunty Mabel's that sells dining-room tables.
I'll definitely have a look at Freecycle, I also have quite a bad eBay habit already so that's another option.
Welcome to Brockley!
Try the reclamation yard on Lewisham Way (opposite the Talbot) for dining chairs and tables (as well as a wealth of other stuff!)
The antiques warehouse at Crystal Palace has four floors packed with stuff - not fancy-schmanzy and not too pricey at all.
There are second hand furniture shops on the New Cross road, by Sainsbury's, on the corner of Lewisham Way and Malpas, and on the corner of Ladywell Road and Wearside. As well as the one opposite the Talbot that used to be a railway station.
DAGE in Deptford High Street also do second hand furniture and actually deliver.
Happy hunting - and have fun.
(And if you are new to the area and new to this blog - come along to various Telegraph Hill Festival events - a lot happening very close by.)
The place opposite the Talbot is good for props, if your thinking of making a film as well.
No Little Boots quote to open the post with? Shame on you Nick!
Thanks for all the tips, the reclamation yard sounds especially promising. Just got to get the move out of the way next weekend then I can start exploring properly.
Have a look at "Trade Secrets" (website has address, its down near Beckenham.
If your lucky you'll find lots of returned M&S, John Lewis stock going at 50% discount.
Banbury warehouse tends to have more stock than teh south london one, which is a bit back street... but still worth a look.
There's a very nice man in a very cold shed / garage type thing at the junction of avignon road and st asaph. He's got tonnes of furniture at very good prices. Cheaper than the reclamation yard who are starting to be a bit overpriced.
He also once got very excited about his new find of a 'Berlin Chair' (think he meant Barcelona) apparently you sat backwards on and was worth a fortune. Can't blame a man for trying!
If you want to decorate too you can always come to my jumble sale and take advantage of cheap art student stuff... (see the going for a song posting).
There's likely to be all sorts of crap/delights.
Good luck. You chose well.
I have a dining table I want someone to take away - I was going to put it on freecycle. It's a wooden table very much 'of a certain era' (used to be my husband's grandma's) not to my taste but it has been very useful, sits 6-8 when fully extended but can be made smaller by folding down the middle leaf. It might look cool sanded down and painted, or alternatively just cover with a tablecloth! I also have an LG american-style fridge freezer currently on eBay,auction ends on Sunday, and I have a miele dishwasher (nearly 10 years old but miele stuff is amazing and lasts forever!) I was planning to put on eBay soon. Any interest, let me know...
Also, if anyone responsible would like to borrow/look after my piano for 3 months while our house gets ripped up and put back together, I'd love it to go to an appreciative home (not up any stairs). Preferably no young kids - older kids who won't bash it with toy hammers etc are ok! It hasn't been tuned for a while but not TOO badly out.
Aladdin's Cave on Lewisham Way is awesome for really eclectic stuff and yes - I totally second the point about Freecycle. You also have Deptford Market on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays which is awesome for weird stuff.
I've always found Freecycle clunky to use but I can recommend Gumtree for offloading old furniture.
Good luck with Lewisham Freecycle. I was never quite quick enough to bag anything on it (despite working from home, and being able to pick the item up at the drop of a hat). And that was pre-recession.
I second Tamsin's suggestion of the junk-shifters down in Ladywell, though. Ten years on, my sanded-down and waxed fifties birchwood dining-table purchased from said vendor, still draws comments - some of them almost favourable, too.
Talking of gaff-furnishing, do any plantsmen or women here know of anywhere selling slightly more exotic houseplants? I'm bored of the usual offerings from Homebase/Ruxley Manor/Polhill (Boston Ferns, Peace Lilies, Cheesy Swiss plants and all that jazz), and I think they're overpriced. Ikea used to be pretty good, but it's a bit of a schlep.
It's just occurred to me that Columbia Rd will soon be within reach. Is that any good for the exotic stuff?
Tom, just seen your blog. You mention running and you say:
"....if you see a small, hairy, sweaty man running along slowly muttering about cameras and looking a bit lost...."
That could be me (except the bit about cameras).I should point out though that I'm the only small, hairy running man in this manor, back off. If you must run, Hilly Fields is worth a schlep.
There is an auction house in Greenwich (sales on a sat morning) which might be worth a look. . .
See you on hilly fields I am small, bald and sweaty muttering about splits and how fast the London Marathon comes around
I once saw a home improvement show where they hired a van and took a ferry to France for the weekend - loads of warehouses full of antique furniture at silly low prices.
hey! online rent payment stole my comment! (see comment no. 3).
I smell a rat... a rat that smells of spam... a spam rat if you will...
not any more. Every antique dealer and their dog was onto that before the program came out.
There was a time when every Normandy/Brittany barn was seemingly choc-a-bloc with vintage pine dressers ready for a 1000% mark-up to the relatively ignorant chattering classes of SE England, but like everything else, the moment Joe Bloggs gets to hear about it (generally after it's made it to TV/press), the moment is gone.
I'm sure there are still opportunities though for a quick buck, if you know your way around the antiques field. A family aquaintance of mine has now virtually retired (at forty) on the proceeds of buying old furniture in France and selling it in America.
Blue sky, I could be interested in the dining table...could you email me? It's my username at gmail dot com.
Has anyone ever actually bought a bed... from Uncle Ned?
Monkeyboy - I've seen a few small and hairy things up on Hilly Fields so you're not alone.
I once tried to give away a sofa and couple of chairs to that second hand place at the end of Malpas Rd where I live, all he had to do was pick it up. Turned his nose up at it, the cheeky git. Had to pay the council to pick it up....it was horrid though.
Crofton Park Ranger - they even corrected your typos - now that's sophisticated spamming!
emmaus.org .uk
homeless charity - shop on lee high rd
Had a 3 piece suite in my parents house. In that special room nobody uses except Christmas and the guy couldn't take it away because it never had the fire label on it,looked brand new.
PS My mate took it down the tip,and some East Europeans asked if they could have it along with a fridge freezer and an Oven.
I can second the emmaus.org .uk
tip. They are very big in France and it is places like this where you can still buy French antiques for a song.
I only realised they were in the UK when I saw them delivering on Tressillian Road last summer.
Does Bucks furniture Evelyn Street still exist?
For ex-display and end of line stock.
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/interiors/article4738505.ece
Damm Patrick1971 beat me to it on the dining room table!
Looks like you've got plenty of suggestions, but one more: British Heart Foundation have a furniture store on Old Kent Road.
I've been told this place is good but never made it there myself. Probably one of those places that's hit and miss.
http://www.g2g.org.uk/shops.html
Ali, Blue Sky contacted me about the dining table (thanks, Blue sky, haven't replied yet sorry) and said it's from the 1950s. I'm looking for more of a 1930s one; Blue Sky is going to send me some pics so I'll get back to you, I may not want it after all. I'll let you know on here once I've seen it.
Monkeyboy – my plan is to do my back in lugging boxes in the move so that I can avoid running for a while with a bit of luck. I wouldn't worry though, with my pitifully slow speeds I guarantee I won't be any competition.
Thanks again to everyone for all the furniture tips, I'm looking forward to checking them all out.
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Little tonys sleeping on the couch snoring away!! my goodness!! Oh.. and there go the church bells across the street.. . I really should go back to church.. I say it every sunday.. when those church bells ring!. Hubby just left for his sunday morning coffee, that he goes for every morning! Jenn and Rob and ashlee are not up yet. But, Jenn will be getting up soon because she does go to church! she is the music director at her church.
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