The furniture in our chambres d’hôtes is to a large extent second hand. We bought the mattresses new and fresh, the kitchen has some novel items but the tables, chairs, couch and dinner plates were found on an online marketplace, a thrift store or in the attic of a relative.
Besides all the benefits of buying second hand (environmental, economic, supporting local charities) the thrill of finding something unique, beautiful or exactly what I need, gives me a lot of joy. And it gives stories. Stories you won’t get with a click on a website, a delivery guy and a new couch on the driveway.
I will tell you 3 stories about pieces I found, that are now in the common room.
The table
The winter of 2023 was mild, just a couple of days of snow and temperatures below zero. On one of these days, we picked up a table. I found one on LeBonCoin, a farm table. Old, solid feet, the yellowish glow of old varnish and the dents and scars of a long life. Not yet living in this area for 6 months, and coming from a very flat country, I underestimated the weather.
We hooked the trailer on and went searching for the address in a mountain village close by. We found it at the bottom end of a steep road covered with snow. The last time we drove with a trailer, a truck driver had to rescue us as we were struggling to get out of a parking spot backwards. So, confidence was low. We decided to park on top of the road and walk the 300m to the house.
The table was perfect, it had already been in the family for generations and had moved from house to house. Getting the car down on the slippery road was out of the question, so we needed to take the table up. I can tell you that 300 meters feels like miles: carrying a heavy table, wearing non-suitable shoes on an icy road, with your partner in crime who is wondering why this was the best day to pick up anything. But it was all worth it, you will see!
The plates
Emmaüs, 09.45h. A queue of people is waiting for the gate. We are too late I realize; we should have come earlier to be in the front. I get a bit giggly, I don’t know this phenomenon. Yes, on Black Friday at the big department store, but not on a regular Saturday in October at a second hand shop.
The gates open and the people in front start to run. I know where they go: to the right, to the left and then all the way in the back where the good stuff is. Not feeling comfortable to take a run for it, I start to walk very fast which probably looks ridiculous. I enter the area, hear the woman in charge call out to a guy how is bargaining too much, see all these people and think: ‘Zut, I am too late.’ But then I spot the breakfast plates: Sarreguemines Châtenois. In good condition! The plates I needed to complete my tableware for the B&B. This lucky find makes my day, and frankly, the next one too.
The lamp
On a small getaway to another countryside, we enter a Brocante. The owner, looking like an old, well-groomed sailor, follows us closely as we roam around the shop. He is not completely trusting us with his precious items, that’s for sure. There is a gorgeous lamp shining in the corner and I can’t help but go and see it. No price tag. Luckily the guy is standing almost in my aura so I can ask him. 1500€ he replies. This is so much over budget that we leave right away, not to be tempted to spend more than we have.
Back home I start to search on the Dutch marketplace and find a similar kind of lamp. To my surprise it is in a house across the street from my sister in Amsterdam. The sheer luck! I can bargain a bit (I love that, but the French like it less unfortunately) and buy it for 60€. My brother-in-law picks it up, fixes the old wires and brings it to my dad where I can pick it up at Christmas. I am happy with my new piece of vintage.
I am the only one, so it seems. My sister thinks the lamp is incredibly ugly, my brother-in-law found it ‘interesting’ at first but now everybody is being honest: yes, very ugly. My father dislikes the color. I hope Julien likes it, but when he eventually sees it, he is not convinced. I start questioning myself and wonder if I lost my eye for finding nice stuff. But I reassure him (and myself) that it will be perfect in the room with the earth walls. And indeed, fits like a glove!
Well, judge for yourself when you pass by. I’d like to hear your thoughts about it! You can be absolutely honest, like everybody else was 🙂