It's my uncle's unintentional hobby. He would pick up a furniture he spotted on the street or on somewhere that is surely has been thrown, that no one will go looking for it. So he won't be accused of stealing it. After, he would go home with it and then repair and redesign it to make it back to its presentable and functional state. So he could use them the way they have been used or find a new use for them.
I've only seen furniture dumped on the street once, but they were not in a good shape already, and the foam already has holes in it. I don't have a car so I don't think that it's feasible for me to haul furniture, but if I have the means, then why not, right? I could resell it.
We don’t have that here – people leaving their old furniture outside for anyone to pick up. But what we have here are ambulant vendors of furnitures. In Metro Manila, it is not a common sight but not a rarity either to see a man carrying a wooden cot or a bamboo sofa that he is selling. It is an authentic native craft and cheaper by around 50% compared to the furniture store prices. But the catch is the warranty, there’s no warranty since that particular ambulant vendor would not pass by your area anymore. In my younger years, I bought a sala set made of bamboo. But it lasted only for a year and it broke down due to poor quality of bamboo.
I can't say I have,but one way to deal with thrift store furniture or something along the curb for the garbage man to pick up is to simply clean it up. Pests can burrow into furniture that you picked up down by the road,so first I would take the piece out to your garage or shed. You then need to spray it with some bug spray,and they make a bed-bug spray i thnk as well. Then wipe it down with some disinfectant and use water and vinegar for the mildew.
Nobody has ever thrown their old set of furniture on the street. The people in our place are to resourceful. They refurbish their old or worn out furniture to look new. If they don't, they resell them to the furniture maker or upholstery. If nobody is buying them or they are beyond repair the owner discard them or use them as a fuel.
We too pick up furniture from what others throw out. We got a nice chair very sturdy and clean. We cleaned it up, made sure no bugs or anything different about it and sanitized it and using it. I prefer waiting for sales, but free is free and so far so good. American Pickers do this too when they see ornate furniture people threw out they pick it up and re-purpose it. Other people have the luck to go to places waiting for demolition and pick up some very nice pieces for resale or re-purposing. After watching American Pickers I feel proud of picking up furniture before it gets thrown into the dumps.
@Dora M Not from the street, but where I used to live in this house there was a charity shop near to me. I went there and purchased something and they had a cabinet outside that was labelled free to a good home. The lady in the shop let me have it as I was a good customer of hers and they delivered it for me. I went home to wait for the delivery and strangely enough, when I arrived home there was a couch placed outside my front door. It wasn't new and was only a two seater but had all its cushions with it. I was amazed and looked around the street. No one was around so I took the couch inside. I use it for my dogs now. They have a nice comfy seat to sit in. I asked about the area if anyone knew who had put the couch outside my door, but no one knew any information on it so it became mine!
