Charity Shopping Furniture

The crumbling pile of a house we bought has up until fairly recently been very full of boxes. Boxes of cardboard, boxes of wood, boxes of plastic - all stacked in places which will have shelves and cupboards when we get round to buying them, overflowing with china, books, DVDs and bits-and-bobs like sleeping bags. But now, at least some of those many, many boxes can go into the garage, folded away. We have a sideboard.

Photographed in excitement, before dusting.

Well, how exciting! Probably not that exciting actually, unless you're me and have nowhere to put the Chrimbo china the rest of the year. I got this little beauty at a charity furniture showroom - cheaper than a retro/antique dealer and (due, sadly, to the fact that people who set up home in the 30s-50s are now of an age where they move to retirement homes, or pass away) a fantastic place for good quality mid-20th-century furniture, and money to good causes. Actually, I spotted some new stuff in there too, if that's your thing. Cast aside ideas of dusty and broken down junk shops (although there are some, locally, which I do like to explore), charity showrooms are similar to any other furniture store. The only difference is the price and the fact that when it's gone, it's gone.

Just so early-20th-century...

I adore the crescent moons -
something quite mysterious about them.

This piece is similar to items I have seen for £150; solid wood (Oak) not ply, well constructed and with hand carving. The shade is quite dark, as it sits smack bang in between the two 1930s trends of sleek Deco and the 'mock medieval' of the garden suburbs. I understand that this dark wood isn't in vogue at the moment, but for the look I want in my dining room (faded golds, eu-de-nil and deep woods) it works perfectly, with the advantage of bridging historical and modern designs so that I can source items from a wider range of eras.

The carving on the drawer handles and door panels looks to be done by hand, I like the chunky 'Arts and Crafts' vibe and the half moons. These sit by the classic 20s-30s lines of the door handles, with that classic cruise-liner shape; it sounds like it won't work, but it does. And to bring it just a little bit further into the mock-medieval, you have chunky acorn carved legs. Not only will it store a whole load of vintage china, it will also make a fine display table for silver (well EPNS) and glassware.

The dust came free.

If you're based in London, there are quite a few good charity furniture showrooms around. Most will also deliver, so if they're a bit out of your way, why not take a nice trip out? The charge will go, again, to the charity (although, word of warning- their timings are not as tight as John Lewis or Homebase...ours arrived at 8.30pm, having been booked for 3-7pm). Take your pick:

Fara home and furniture - One of my favourite charity chains, both as it's a children's charity and that it perfectly treads the line between trendy-designer-sorted and reasonably priced.

British Heart Foundation - they have a great store in Ealing, West London. The site is a little tricky to navigate - you have to search your area and then check what type of shop it is. However this means their showroom is a 'hidden gem' right now.

Cancer Research have new homewares on their website and in their shops. Again, the list cannot be sorted by shop type, so you just have to browse.

Oxfam - it goes without saying, the big daddy of them all has several furniture shops and an online presence.

RSPCA- they have a furniture showroom in Hillingdon, to find them elsewhere, use the 'my area' search.

Fancy shopping from home? Don't forget EBay for Charity ... but make sure they deliver if the seller's any distance away!

Do let me know of your favourite sources of furniture, whether chazza or bootsale, London or elsewhere. What bargains have you found there...?