How to Find $1,680 in Your Bedroom
We go beyond the change in your sock drawer to show you unexpected sources of cash hiding in plain sight.
By Nathalie Gorman
Your Bed Frame
If you've been thinking about replacing your bed but need a bit more cash, consider selling your current one—especially if it's the Ikea Edland. A frame from the Swedish vendor might not seem like a covetable item, but the Edland was dubbed
the world's most popular bed by the cult home-design blog
Apartment Therapy. It's certainly been featured in many a design magazine spread. Since it was discontinued recently, its desirability has increased, and you can expect to receive at least $150 when you sell yours.
Framed Prints
Whether it's an old magazine cover or a rendering of sailboats gliding across a bay, almost any image in a frame will net you some cash on
eBay. Assuming you're not waking up each day to a heretofore undiscovered print by Picasso, the going rate is about $30.
Trunks
Your steamer trunk went with you to college. It was the coffee table in your first apartment. Now it's in your bedroom because you thought it might function nicely as a bench of sorts, but mostly you just stub your toe on it when you're headed to the bathroom at 3 a.m. Spare your feet by selling it. Michael Capo, owner of
Capo Auction, says the most popular are large hard-shell trunks from the '20s and '30s with drawers inside. One such piece will fetch between $200 and $300.
Photo: Prime Gallery LLC via 1stdibs
Lamps
We're not suggesting you sit in the dark, but if you've got a light on the bedside table or sitting in the corner that you never turn on, why not free up some space? In addition to ever-popular midcentury modern silhouettes, Asian-inspired pieces created by designer James Mont have a high resale value. Mont is known for his pagoda shades and his use of china figurines and carved lamp bases like
those in the image at left. Capo says that Mont pieces go for upward of $2,000 at auction, but adds that pieces in a similar Asian-inspired style are worth a good deal of money as well—usually between $300 and $400 each.
Armchairs
Armchairs (especially the squashy, sink-into-it kind with brightly patterned fabric) are a great place to sit and read. They're also a great place to dump your clothes when you're too exhausted to hang them up at night. If you're using the one in your room more in the latter capacity, consider selling the chair. Adam Hutter, owner of
Hutter Auction Galleries, says classic wingback chairs by
Baker are popular at auctions and can sell for $600 to $1,000 apiece.
Mirrors
Mirror, mirror on the wall...I don't like you very much at all. If you're putting up with the mirror you've got simply because it's not a very high priority (and you've got to look
somewhere to make sure you don't have toothpaste on your face in the morning), it's time to trade it in. It might be valuable, especially if it's an older Venetian-style piece. These are typically rectangular glass plates framed by smaller glass panels that are sometimes etched. Michael Capo says they were manufactured widely in the United States in the early 20th century but are now hard to come by. Depending upon such a mirror's condition, it can be worth $400 or more.
Next: How to save $339 in 33 days
Published 01/16/2013
