Moving In: All of Our Furniture is Secondhand

The other day I stopped by Home Depot to grab a couple knobs and bars to hang some of our smaller items on. Think silk scarves, crinkle toys for babies, etc. I knew that we sourced all of our furniture secondhand because I'm the one buying it, but it only occured to me then, that these knobs are the only new item we have bought to decorate the shop.

We get asked about our furniture a lot. (It's not for sale.) Though we chose secondhand pieces to be more economical and sustainable, it quickly became clear to us that our fixtures added an incredibly homey, welcoming element to the shop. Despite the pieces being older, it had a modern feel to it. The warm tones of the wood complimented the earthy but earthy hues of our products, and played a large part in pulling together our widespread collection.

Where do we find everything?

Facebook Marketplace and local thrift stores. While you can find exactly what you're looking for on Facebook Marketplace, some of my favorite pieces have been found at the thrift. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

We're able to keep the space from looking mismatched by sticking to a single material: wood. We play with shape, size, and color tone, but tend to keep to the same materials. Rarely will you see anything wicker, metal, or plastic. I've always been very wary of the shop looking too boho, or being mistaken for a vintage store, and found that being very strict with what type of secondhand items we bring in helps to maintain our earthy modern mid-century aesthetic. 

this $45 Crate & Barrel bar cart is perhaps my most bragged about Marketplace find

I bought the credenza, and was given this table & bentwood rocker by the owners for an extra $25

Nothing profound to say ~ just obsessed with this converted bar cart

Thrift Stores are where we generally find the smaller display bits. 

this rolling bookshelf from Marketplace is perfect for the new seating area! There's also the $10 thrifted rocking chair, $30 hand-painted side table, and $45 gossip bench we found on Marketplace. The rug was a thrift find, and the plant on the right came from the side of the road with a "free plants" sign on it

Why it Works

A home is a house that's been made your own. It's cozy, lived-in, and well-loved. There's no word for the shop equivalent, so for now we'll call it a "shome". Having worked in retail for many year, it was quickly apparent how relaxed of a shopping environment we created in the Annapolis pop-up by making the store largely resemble someone's living room. It was the unintended effect of using various people's old living room furniture to decorate the place.

Despite the general model of shopping being that you go in, spend money, and leave ~ we love it when people dilly-dally, and want to create a space where people don't feel rushed or pressured. I hate it every time an older person, usually an older lady, apologizes to me for taking up my time when I'm perfectly enjoying our conversation, too. I get that having a retail store means the majority of conversations are based on a transaction, but I don't like it when conversations are transactional. You don't have to buy my time, and I think it's exceptionally sad how many people feel like they need to apologize for existing.

We deliberately designed the store to encourage conscious gifting while also being a "third place" where people can pop into and just enjoy. Read a book in the corner ~ we'll gladly pour a cup of tea. There's obviously a fine line to this, but the general inspiration was my old job: people would come in to talk to my bosses because they are lovely humans more than they would to shop (they would do both), but because there was nowhere to sit, they'd often end up standing by the cash register for ages, and having to move in and out of the way if another customer came.

This is all just to say, we want Green & Bean to resemble a shoppable living room. I feel more like I'm in the hospitality business than retail. It's more important that people feel comfortable, welcomed than it is to make a big sale. It's rewarding when someone leaves having accomplished their goal (getting a great gift) and feels like they got something for themselves, as well.

Plus, being where we are in downtown Bethesda, I think lots of people will enjoy a space where they feel free to pop in for a couple minutes just to have a chat and get away from the workday, and I think that's a need we consider and want to cater to, even though its not necessarily a product we sell.

All in All

One of the biggest paradoxes about starting a business is how much it costs before the doors ever even open. By shopping secondhand, we've legitimately saved thousands of dollars on furnishing our store. The cash wrap we found was $1300, and I think all of the other furniture combined cost around another $1300, definitely no more than $2250, including stuff we bought for the old location.

On paper, it doesn't even seem like old furniture would work with higher-end gifts, but with a careful eye and a thrifty mentality I think we've proved that you can design an eco-luxe gift shop together on a budget!