3 min readWhen it comes to designing one’s apartment, the phrase, “You live, and you learn,” is certainly applicable—at least in my case. In the past five years of living in my New York City shoebox, I have definitely made furniture and decor purchases that I thought would make my space look incredible, but ended up being so-so in the end.
Sometimes, I’ve scooped pieces up in a bit of a rush, as was the case with a few auction and Facebook Marketplace items that I thought I simply had to have, hands down. But other times, I simply made the best decision that I could at the time and ended up learning the hard way that a piece I was initially excited about simply wasn’t all that great.
Here, I’m highlighting five specific items that I now feel that I wasted money on in my apartment so that you can hopefully learn from my mistakes and avoid making the same ones. If you do buy something that you come to regret, though, don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ve all been there!
A Sizable Mirror at Auction
I’ve always admired the look of oversized, ornate mirrors, particularly the pier mirrors you often see in New York City townhouses and brownstones, so when I spotted a stunning gilt mirror in an online auction (for $1,000 or so—a splurge!), I knew that I had to scoop it up for my space.
When the mirror arrived, though, I noticed that it had chipped a bit in transit, and unfortunately, it only began to deteriorate more over time. It was also extremely large in scale for my small apartment, and the only place that it really made sense to go ended up being in my hallway. Next time, I’d probably try to source a mirror like this locally to get a full sense of its condition and size before bringing it home.
A Leaning Mirror in My Bedroom
Speaking of mirrors, I made another mistake in purchasing this standing mirror. Fortunately, it was something I got on Facebook Marketplace, so I only spent $100 or so, but essentially, it wasn't practical because of its size. It was too short to allow me to view my whole outfit at once, and it took up unnecessary space.
I’ve since landed on a minimalistic full-length mirror that’s drilled to the back of my door—simple yet effective!
A Dining Table and Chair Set
It might sound silly, but as someone who lives alone in New York City, I honestly don’t eat many meals at a table—when I’m getting together with friends, we generally go out for dinner, and when I’m at home, I usually am just eating on the sofa. (Judge all you want, but it’s true!). I’ve tried a few iterations of dining nooks in my apartment over the past five years that I’ve lived here, but honestly, none of them have stuck.
I’ve since allocated the spot where my dining nook once sat to a sizable secretary desk, which I use to store barware and other entertaining items, but can also sit at for video calls and the like. While my dining setup sure was cute, it just wasn’t the most reasonable for my day-to-day lifestyle.
Oversized Stone Vessels
When I spotted these stone vessels at a super reasonable price (around $120 for the pair), I knew I had to bring them home. They didn’t stay in my apartment for long, though, because they were simply too large not to serve a real purpose. I thought about using them as planters, but they weren’t the right shape. Thankfully, Facebook Marketplace turned out to be the perfect place to pass them along—and that’s exactly where they ended up.
My First Sofa
My first sofa was so wide it wouldn’t fit through my apartment’s front door without help from the Couch Doctor, a New York–based service that literally cuts sofas in half and stitches them back together in about an hour. The service ended up costing nearly as much as the sofa itself, which hardly felt worthwhile for such an inexpensive piece that didn’t stand the test of time anyway.
Looking back, I wish I had invested in a more durable sofa from the start and purchased the best one I could realistically afford, which is generally what interior designers will urge their clients to do.
