How to furnish your office or home with stylish, eco, quality stuff for less than Target or even Walmart—& get it delivered, saving time. 

One word: Craigslist.
So we just rented our first office in 6 years.

We’re not rich. But we’ve got rich taste. And eco taste. I want American-made, long-lasting, eco, uplifting furnishings for my staff and guests.

So.

I’ve bought Eames armchairs (Vitra, the real thing, eco-made, high style) for $100 each ($600 new). I’ve bought Thonet chairs, white-washed except for the wood feet, $100 each (usually $400 and up). I bought a custom video conferencing table, beautiful, made out of an old table, $700. I bought an Emeco chair—US-made, family-owned company, recycled out of Coke bottles and recyclable—for $150, usually $250 or so. I bought two Restoration Hardware leather chairs, one a wingback, the other lounge, for 1/3 of the original cost (and as a vegan, the only leather I can feel better about is secondhand, anyways). I’ve even bought 10 plants (plants new can be crazy expensive!) for $10 each, including clay pots. Some of the plants are huuuge. I’ve bought a fancy stylee chandelier, $75. I bought WWII china, gold-plated, from a lady whose father gifted it to her mother after his service overseas. It came with love and a story. I’m buying a bunk bed for fun work and sleeping for visiting staff, also Restoration Hardware. I bought a designer coffee table and…well, you get the idea.

Buy secondhand, ask first if it’s in tip top shape and if so, no surprises, say you’re happy to pay cash if they or a friend can deliver…and you can furnish a house or office overnight, and make friends doing so. Half the folks I messaged knew me or elephant, anyways, but I imagine it’s the same for many of you in your small towns or communities. You don’t get any of that affordability, quality, century-old tiger oak, new quality name brands at 1/5 of the cost, plus delivery if you buy it new. And when we buy new, typically, these days, it’s made overseas. Craigslist keeps the money in our community. It’s cheaper. It’s better quality. It’s quicker. It’s more meaningful, often.

Additionally, I’ve invited local artists to feature their work in our main room. I’ve got a fancy Big Chill seafoam fridge for 1/3 cost, just ’cause it’s got a scratch. Go used.

May it be of benefit!

Yours in the Vision of an Enlightened Society,

Waylon Lewis
Editor-in-Chief: elephant journal; host: Walk the Talk Show