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My SZN — Life, in season.

Hauls · ☀️ Summer

The secondhand home haul that beats new

Six categories where used is genuinely better, and three where it isn't.

£ · a Saturday · 4 min read

A collection of mismatched vintage mugs and stoneware on a wooden shelf

Almost every home in a magazine has secondhand in it, and it's usually the part people ask about. It's also the only route to good materials at low cost.

The trick is knowing which categories reward looking, because browsing everything is how a Saturday disappears.

Where used wins

  • Glassware. Old glass is heavier, and nobody's chipped tumbler is worth much — you'll pay pennies.
  • Stoneware and studio pottery. Unglazed bases and real weight, at a fraction of new-ceramic prices.
  • Solid wood, of any age. A wobbly joint is a twenty-minute fix; particle board never becomes solid wood.
  • Mirrors and frames. Frames are the expensive part of new art and the cheap part of secondhand.
  • Wool blankets. Older wool is often better wool. Wash on wool cycle, dry flat.
  • Baskets. Genuinely hard to find good new ones under twenty pounds.

Where it isn't worth it

  • Upholstery you can't see inside — smell it, and check for a fire label
  • Non-stick pans. The coating is the product and it's always past it
  • Electrics without a plug test, unless you can PAT-test them

A better hour of looking

  1. Go on a weekday morning if you can — stock goes out overnight and Saturday is picked over.
  2. Go to the shelves first, not the rails. Homeware turns over more slowly and gets less attention.
  3. Carry a tape measure on your phone's notes: the width of your shelf, alcove and table.
  4. Buy the material, not the style. Wood, wool, glass and stoneware all restyle; plastic doesn't.

Make it yours

Kept for later 🤎📸 Remember it

Kept ideas live in My Keeps, keep their category and season, and can be planned, lived and remembered later.

My SZN editorial inspiration — our own seasonal idea, not a listing for a verified external event.

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