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I’m obsessed over anything Pottery Barn. I could browse their website and catalogs for hours, just visualizing how amazing their furniture would make our home look. And I sometimes frequently continue on to imagine an article of ourselves in Better Homes and Gardens discussing how that one Pottery Barn piece just transformed our living room from “meh” to “WOW!”….

Eh hem. Basically what I’m saying is that Pottery Barn is awesome, beautiful, and inspiring. Unfortunately, it’s no Ikea or Target in price. Also, many Pottery Barn pieces are made in China and thus have to be shipped long distances (i.e. it’s not a very environmentally friendly choice). Bummer.

How then, can you get Pottery Barn furniture without paying Pottery Barn prices AND without having to have it shipped from overseas? Sure, you can make Pottery Barn-inspired furniture, or use Ikea hacks to make your room look like it has been touched by the Pottery Barn fairy. But I have a different, somewhat lazier, way.

Buy it second hand!

So here I’m going to give you tips on how to use different classified ad platforms to buy real Pottery Barn items (or anything else you like!): stalk Craigslist (in a non-creepy way), join apps like OfferUp or Take5, and wander through consignment and thrift stores. You’ll find some amazing deals (just always use proper safety precautions when buying from strangers)!

Through Craigslist and OfferUp alone, we furnished our entire living room with real Pottery Barn (just about, I’ll get to that in a minute…) and did it under $1000! Here are a few general tips for using these sources to score on Pottery Barn furniture (or any other furniture you like):

1-) Be patient

The challenge with Craigslist and similar apps is that you are at the mercy of what other people are selling at a particular time. If you browse everything today and don’t find anything, don’t panic because the listings constantly change. You’ll see new posts tomorrow (and the next day, and the next….), I promise.

With that being said,you must check at least daily until you find what you want . Once I’m in the daily checking mode, I just sort my search results by “date added.” This makes the daily checking process quick because I can minimize browsing through posts I’ve already seen.

How we used this advice in our living room:

I spent weeks looking for a slipcovered sofa bed that was in reasonable condition. Although it was something very specific, I knew something would come up eventually. And it did! I landed a PB basic slipcovered sofa and matching love seat…a super comfortable and durable set by Mitchell and Gold !

2-) Do not low-ball offers

Let’s say you are selling a 1.5 carat diamond platinum ring for $2000 and someone offers you $100 for it. Would you be offended? Probably, especially if you have an emotional connection to that ring and even more so because $2000 is already a reasonable price for the ring.

So don’t do it to anyone else. Just don’t. It’s happened to me, and I can tell you that I’ve flat out told people “no” without being willing to haggle from there.

Here’s my rule of thumb that I’ve made for myself:

•  unused still in box: up to ~75% of the original price is a reasonable listing
• used good condition: up to ~50% of the original price is a reasonable listing.

These are just ball park numbers I keep in my head when I’m researching pieces I’m interested in. However, what I “feel” is reasonable depends on the actual condition and how much I’m interested in a particular item.

If I feel that the value of an item is drastically lower than the asking price, I don’t put an offer in. Often overpriced don’t sell quickly or at all, and eventually the owner may lower the price. At this point I normally feel more comfortable putting in an offer.

How we used this advice in our living room:

We found a listing for a PB set of a coffee table, end table, and four large shelves all made out of solid wood and iron. The owner was asking $350, which I determined to be extremely reasonable- even with wear-given that a similar coffee table alone on PB retails for $800. When we went to look at it, the woman selling the set said that people were offering her ~$50 for all three pieces (umm… I don’t even think Ikea is that cheap)! By the time we arrived, she so desperately wanted to get the set out of her way that she offered it to us for $250 (a $100 discount) as long as we bought it that day (which we did).

3-) Be flexible

I have been the second, third, or even fourth person to show interest in an item. Often though, I’m still the one who ends up buying the item because we were the only ones who were willing to take the time or pay for a U-haul to pick it up.Think about it: if someone is willing to give you a solid wood dining set for $200, you’re still going to come out way ahead if you spend an extra $50 for a U-haul. Sure, it’s extra work. But you only have to do it one time and you can have that piece (or set) for many years.

The same goes for timing. Obviously timing can get tricky with work schedules, activities, etc., but if you offer a few different times that you may be available up front then you show that you are willing to work with them…and hopefully they’ll do the same in return.

How we used this advice in our living room:

I had been looking for an entertainment center for a few weeks when I came across a posting for a FREE Ethan Allen entertainment center (this is the one piece that isn’t PB)! The owner posted it 30 minutes before I saw it, and I immediately responded because free offers go fast! But as it goes on the internet, I was still the second person to show interest. Boo.

But lucky for me, the first person who offered fell through because they didn’t have a vehicle to pick the huge entertainment center up in! So we reserved a zip van, “hired” our friend for some muscle (we treated him to dinner at his favorite place…Chile’s), and asked another good friend to keep an eye on our toddler for a few hours. It took some planning, but we “bought” a $5000 entertainment center for the cost of a van and a trip to Chili’s. Bam! That’s how you bargain shop!

4-) Build a positive connection

Just like low balling an offer builds a negative connection and can hurt your chances at obtaining an item (especially if it’s at a low price or in high demand), building a positive connection can help you. Something small like letting someone know how perfect their piece would be in your space can go a long way in building good vibes!

How we used this advice in our living room:

Remember the couch I mentioned in the first piece of advice? We actually weren’t the first ones to show interest. I was so excited that I finally found a couch that met my needs, and I expressed that in my response to the listing. I also said I was thinking of giving it new life by buying it a new slipcover, which the owner thought was a great idea! We really connected on our visit to look at the couch, and she said that we could take both the couch and the love seat for her highest offer on the couch alone ($450)!

OK, here’s the final tally:

Coffee table, end table, and shelves: $250

Couch and love seat: $450

Entertainment center: $0

U-haul and “paying” friends for help (via food): $250

Grand Total: $950

And that, my friends, is how you furnish your living room with Pottery Barn for under $1000!

Looking for a fun DIY project to complement the farmhouse or Pottery Barn style? Try out my DIY mug or measuring spoon holder!