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The Room That Facebook Marketplace Built

Cameron Renfrow

Updated: Jan 29

January 2025

Words by Cameron Renfrow


 

In 2025, I'm practicing slow-living even more. I'm cutting out fast shopping as much as I can, and re-focusing on sourcing for the home in my local shops, thrift stores and online re-sales. I've always purchased my furniture, vintage art and pottery via secondhand, so today I'm going to show you just how to build a space by only using items we find from Facebook Marketplace. I asked my Instagram followers what the budget should be, from $750-$2500, and majority voted that today's challenge should be no more than $1,500. Will we be able to build a living space that's one-of-a-kind and under budget? Let me know how I did in today's challenge of "The Room That Facebook Marketplace Built".


 

Step 1: Establish Our Budget & Game-plan.


Since we know that we can't spend more than $1,500 on the overall space, I think the most expensive items should be the larger furniture. For the sofa, I don't want to spend more than $500-$750, so that we have room in the budget for accent pieces. The rug will range from $150-$300, an accent chair should cost us around $50-$100, and the coffee table will be no more than $200. At the highest end of the range we're at $1,300. Now, you could stop here and build your space overtime by mixing smaller accents like art, pillows, and decor in, but I'm going to try to achieve it all for our total of $1,500. Remember, it's Marketplace and seller's tend to accept offers, so don't be afraid to ask.


 



Step 2: Narrowing Down Our Search


We need a starting point for our space. The sofa is going to really dictate our style and overall feel of the room, so let's use some keywords to help us find the right one. I like to use keywords like "vintage", "modern", "mcm" and other descriptors to weed out some of the endless scrolling. Today, I found a sweet sofa that's being sold be a local vintage re-seller, @oldcouchgirl. You'll find that there are plenty of resellers on Marketplace, and this could be very helpful. If you click their seller profile, other items may pop up that are similar to what you're looking for. This sofa has great bones and fits within our sofa price range at $595, so let's get started on our space.







Now that we've established our starting point, let's ground the space with a rug. I find that sofas this large need rugs around 7'x9' or 8'x10', so that's what I'll put in the searchbar. Looking at the color and pattern of the sofa, I'm going to look for something that is neutral, yet has a pop of color. I could pull the reds, pinks, or purples out of the fabric, but I found this Sarah Sherman Samuel's 8'x10' "Iconic Stripe Rug" from her collection with Lula & Georgia marked down from $400 to $300. It looks to be in good condition and just needs a light cleaning.


If you need tips on how to care for your vintage finds, I have check out our article here.









Our sofa and rug need a unique coffee table. I found this coffee table by typing "rustic coffee table" into the search and it popped up after a few moments of scrolling. I like the character and warmth that this table gives to the space, but what I love the most is the price! To keep tabs on our budget, we are currently sitting at $1,045 spent with ONLY $455 left to spend. Are you geting nervous, becasue I am?!


I'm going to try to add a side table, accent chair, some art for the wall, pillows, decor and maybe some greenery to really bring it life.






To finish the base layer of furniture, let's add a chair and a side table. I wanted something light and airy, and this arm chair with rush seating adds some texture to the space. This cute small side table will be perfect beside the sofa.



 


Step 3: Add in the Art


With $325 left to our budget challenge, let's get to adding some charm and color. We're going to need lighting, art, something for the coffee table and possibly a tree for balance and greenery. This is the part where I ask my followers why they hate me and have given me such a hard task! Let's see what we can add to bring this space to life.


I'm thinking this space belongs to a person who enjoys some pops of reds and pinks with their neutrals. This will help connect all the pieces together and add some character and depth to the space. Mixing it all in also helps the space feel more aged and elevated than what it is.




I found some art that was both vintage and original. The listing for the 'Vintage Art Gallery Wall' is a set for $80 and we get 6 pieces, which is perfect for our remaining budget! The 'Handpainted Snake Canvas' was recently painted and affordable. We'll spend the last bit of our art allowance on the Fabulous Man Poster that's marked down from $75 to $35.



 

Step 4: Lighting!


Every space needs lighting and we don't have much left in our budget of $170, so I'm setting the price range for each search to be under $50. I want a textured pendant for the center of the room and a sconce for above the side table. I was able to find the Paper Cloud Pendant Light for $25 and the Brass Double Wall Sconce from Anthropologie for $45 from $200! The listing even says that the sconce is brand new, so what a saving!



 


Step 5: The Final Touches


Now that we have our last $100 to spend, I'm thinking we need a large fiddle leaf fig to balance the gallery art and sconce. There are tons of plants on marketplace, so we're going to look for the best deal and know that they'll continue to grow once in their new home. I was able to find one for $75, which is a fraction of the cost at large plant nurseries.


Next, I want to add some fun to the coffee table. This Vintage Leather Leopard Statue is the perfect way to tie in the art gallery. After adding the statue and tree, we have $5 left and I still want a textile for the sofa to pull in the rug.








I had to really make the algorithm work for me, since we were on such a tight budget for a pillow. I set my price range to $5 and typed in pillows. A lot of interesting pillows and covers popped up, but I finally found the perfect lumbar pilllow. I can't believe it was marked down to $4! This brought our overall leftover budget to $1 and I think we are safe to put it all together now.










 

Final Step: Putting It All Together!


Our challenge, "The Room That Facebook Marketplace Built" with a $1,500 Budget has come to an end with $1 in our pocket! It was tough challenge, but we were able to create this colorful and eclectic space all from secondhand items from our community.

So, before you go and order that Amazon art or Target chair, be sure to check out what your community has to offer online. This challege was so fun and we can't wait until the next one. What style or budget would you like for us to tackle next?



 

If you want more content like this, follow us on Instagram @cameronrenfrow and @artofmaking_. Join our maker community to stay up to date on our current stories via our newsletter. Until next time, what are you making?


Words & Moodboard by Cameron Renfrow. Cameron is a Prop Stylist and Designer in North Carolina.


Sources are linked in the Article. Items may be sold out by the time this is posted. Sourcing locations include Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, NC.


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