A platform where people themselves decide on what terms to enter into transactions. Here you can buy something that is not sold anywhere else, and find a buyer for things that no one seems to need.
We have collected stories of people who often use Avito. Lifehacker's videographer told how, and a young couple from Voronezh told how. In this article, Lifehacker's commercial director Olga Makarova tells how she became a restorer and explains how to look for truly rare things using Avito.
Olga Makarova
Commercial Director of Lifehacker.
In my free time I remodel and paint furniture. When I lived in Ufa, I even had a workshop where I made custom work.
Why did I take up furniture restoration?
I graduated from art school and always loved to draw, sew, and do things with my own hands. When I gave birth to a child and was on maternity leave, I realized that I simply couldn’t help but do this, it became impossible to live without creativity.
At that time I had no experience working with furniture, but I decided to try it anyway. After all, this is a hobby, there is no risk here: even if it doesn’t work out, well, that’s okay. I started with my grandmother's chairs. She restored it, painted it and gave it to her brother for his wedding. My brother appreciated it, the guests were delighted too, and most importantly, I really enjoyed working with the furniture. This process was very inspiring.
How buying on helped me open a workshop
Once I found a buffet from the beginning of the last century on Avito. They gave it away for symbolic money, just so that someone would finally take it.
The buffet was in disgusting condition, but I remade it and literally gave it to him new life.
On the left is the same buffet in the process of restoration, on the right is kitchen set, which I decorated with painting After that, I realized that I liked the idea of reviving old things, and decided to open a workshop.
My brother’s wife communicated with the Ufa crowd of restaurateurs, so they began to contact me with requests to paint tables in a coffee shop or help with interior design.
Custom painted table For one apartment I decorated the entire bedroom: bedside tables, dressing table and lockers. The owner gave me a bookcase that she got from her grandmother to remake. In terms of beauty, the bookcase was not of particular value, but it was very valuable as a memory.
The bookcase that I helped fit into the new interior I made it consistent with the rest of the decor to preserve the piece of furniture that looked like a false tooth in this apartment.
I often looked for furniture for remodeling on Avito. From time to time we came across interesting items first half of the 20th century. In Moscow and Ufa, such things are quite expensive: everyone has played enough modern interiors and learned to see value in history. In villages and towns the opposite is true.
If you set up a search for small settlements, That unusual furniture can be found for next to nothing.
I found these chairs on Avito, updated them and painted them The workshop worked for two years. At first I made do on my own, but gradually people recognized me in the city, and the number of orders increased. It was probably worth expanding, looking for investors and investing in the development of the business, but then I didn’t have the opportunity. Firstly, I needed money, and secondly, I lacked confidence that I could manage it.
Then I moved to Moscow. I had to forget about remodeling furniture: the pace of life does not allow me to devote enough energy to this hobby. If you start again, then take the matter seriously: you need a separate room, a paint shop and much more. Restoration remains my hobby: I have my grandmother’s chest of drawers, I want to remake it for myself.
What am I buying on Avito now?
I usually look for products here that don't make sense to pay extra for. Recently I was looking for a picnic basket. This is not the most necessary thing, so people often sell baskets that someone once gave them.
A new basket costs some strange money - around 10 thousand rubles. And on Avito you come across quite normal thousand for three. You can take it to nature several times, and then sell it the same way.
Some things become even more valuable after going through several owners.
For example, the same wooden furniture: if you buy a new one, it may turn out to be of poor quality, and after a few years it may dry out and lose its decent appearance. With furniture that is at least 5 years old, everything that could possibly happen has already happened. If she still looks normal, she will probably stay that way.
Now I'm looking for my daughter bunk bed. Even if someone slept on it for several years, the bed will do nothing. But it costs not 15, but 5 thousand, this is a big difference.
How to look for interesting things
- Don't limit your search to a city. If you want to find something rare, search by region or even in other cities. Delivery is not a problem; on Avito you can arrange it from anywhere.
- Ask questions. If the ad does not contain details that are important to you, contact the seller and clarify the details you are interested in.
- Offer your terms. I don’t like to haggle, but in cases where the seller deliberately set an inflated price, I offered to pick up the goods quickly for a more adequate amount.
- Remember that there are many similar offers on Avito. Even unusual things are rarely sold in one copy here. I have not come across any products that had no analogues.
- Please evaluate the seller carefully before purchasing. If he behaves suspiciously, for example, insists on prepayment, it is better to play it safe and buy from someone else.
There are things that you want to get rid of long before they serve their purpose, and there are things that you simply cannot part with. But they too gradually become unusable. Fortunately, in most cases they can be restored. To do this, you just need to learn how to restore things with your own hands.
This work is creative, because you almost constantly have to learn something new. Old things will constantly present you with new problems, and you will try to solve them. Moreover, the correct solution would be an item that has received a new life and at the same time has not lost the patina of time. Otherwise, the thing looks like a cheap remake and loses the very aura for which you wanted to keep it.
What can you restore with your own hands?
You can give a second life to a variety of things, from furniture to children's toys. Of course, when we talk about restoration, we primarily mean furniture. It may be very old, left over from grandparents or more distant ancestors, or perhaps one’s own acquisition, but due to constant use, it has lost its “marketable” appearance. Of the antique things, most often cupboards and chests of drawers remain in families, but you can also find tables, secretaries, various bookcases, mirrors and shelves.
Nowadays you almost never see such things, and it is important to understand that there are objects that can be restored with your own hands, and where you can show your creativity and imagination in all its glory, and there are those that can only be entrusted to professional restorers, otherwise the thing will simply be mediocrely ruined . If you have even the slightest suspicion that your grandmother’s chandelier or grandfather’s chair has historical value, be sure to consult a specialist so as not to bite your elbows later.
Basically, you can put household items in order yourself, while you will enjoy creativity, and your home will become more and more comfortable.
Usually old things are ideal for country style interiors. We have already told you how to make a sideboard in a similar style or a chest of drawers. But round table, a chandelier or a mirror would be more suitable for the interior in classic style or baroque. Not so long ago, the loft style came into fashion here, and if you are a follower of it, then use UV printing during restoration upholstered furniture and choosing textiles and find a place for a chest or suitcase. In general, it is the little things that complete the interior design. Therefore, do not neglect boxes, key holders, cornices and other small antique things.
It is desirable that the entire interior be designed in the same style, and now this is often achieved by trying to adhere to one era. One of the simplest and beautiful ways to age things is crackle - creating a network of craquelures on surfaces - cracks, like in the paintings of old masters. In addition, they use the effect of worn paint and other tricks. These techniques are not difficult to learn, but before you begin the actual thing, you need to practice on a piece of plywood.
Antique furniture is called antique because it has managed to survive after many years. Some items are very well preserved and have not been touched. unfavorable factors and fatal accidents. Others are not so lucky and need restoration done by our restoration experts.
Restoration of antique furniture - the process of restoring it appearance and the functionality laid down by the master who brought it into the world. This is a long and painstaking process that requires a lot of knowledge and skills. He should not be trusted to a person who does not have special education, since, in this case, there is a high probability of irretrievable loss of the restored item, which has historical and financial value. The specialists of the “Kontora K” project do not create “antique” furniture; they only carry out complete restoration unique things that have existed for many years.
Antique furniture tends to be replete with unique and highly intricate wood carvings done by a highly skilled carver. Specialists of the “Kontora K” project restore wood carvings of any complexity, preserving the surviving elements and creating new ones to replace the lost ones. The unique pattern embedded in the furniture during its creation is restored bit by bit, recreating the furniture or piece of furniture and bringing it back to life. Restoration of antique furniture should not be confused with repairs carried out with partial preservation of the structural elements of the furniture, in which materials and processing methods are used that did not exist when it was created.
Antique furniture restoration is broken down into: large number stages that are performed by various specialists, and sometimes by teams. This includes carpentry work, restoration of wood carvings, finishing work, and restoration of the appearance, upholstery of furniture and restoration of its fabric covering, if present.
The “Office K” project, which carries out repair and restoration work on antique furniture, is a reliable partner in the world of antiques. Our specialists will restore interior items damaged by time and people and bring them back to life, reupholstering antique sofas and other upholstered furniture, giving them the opportunity to continue to bring people comfort and create a unique style for their home. Contacting the “Office K” project is the right step if the task is related to the restoration of antique furniture and antiques. The furniture we restore awaits your attention and will give you much more than filling the space of your home. It will fill life and bring comfort.