What to do with unwanted furniture?
Interior design and renovation projects typically involve a certain amount of furniture replacement. We take a sustainable approach and where possible, will upcycle and refurbish items for reuse. When this is not appropriate we help our clients to find new homes for their unwanted furniture. Antiques and heirlooms may be able to be resold via Auction Houses or specialist furniture shops and sites, but what do you do with the rest?
Many of our clients they do not want to make money from these items but they also do not want them to go to waste. There are a variety of websites where you can donate your furniture for free or sell it for a small sum – such as facebook marketplace, gumtree and freecycle, but they do involve some hassle and also, increasingly populated by time-waters and spammers. Ebaby has a relatively good reputation if you do want a financial return.
Another option is to give to charitable organisations. There are many one off shops supporting local communities. Some of the larger organisations include:
Emmaus: Emmaus is a homelessness charity that goes beyond offering a bed for a night. They offer homeless people a home, work and the opportunity to belong to a like-minded community. Emmaus has shops across the UK, where you can donate your furniture. There are some differences between each store, about what they will and won’t accept but many of them will take items in need of repair and upcycling. Your donation helps save precious resources and thousands of tonnes of products going into landfill every year. It is also these donations that keep the Emmaus communities going. They would not be able to survive without them and that also saves many lives. Find your local Emmaus shop here
The British Heart Foundation: In addition to their general charity shops, The British Heart has specialist Home Stores around the UK. They accept and sell a wide variety of furniture and electrical appliances. You can book a free collection from many areas (Click here to see if they collect from near you) The revenue from the furniture they sell goes towards life-saving research into heart disease and of course also saves product from going into landfill. The British Heart Foundation also have an ebay store selling furniture online
Find out more: www.bhf.co.uk
Sue Ryder: The Sue Ryder organisation supports people through the most difficult time of their lives: when they are living with a terminal illness, a neurological condition or are recently bereaved. They are an extremely worthwhile charity to donate your furniture to if they collect in your area…Check here.
Find out about the Sue Ryder organisation: www.sueryder.org