After more than a decade of renting, Emily Dao proudly purchased this Ivanhoe East apartment as her first home about a year ago.

‘As I was renting and moving around very often, the furniture I had with me were not of any particular style,’ Emily explains.

‘They were a combination of new pieces from big box furniture stores or painted wooden pieces I picked up in hard rubbish. I was scared of pieces suited specifically for any rental in case I needed to move.’

As a result, Emily had wound up with a collection that didn’t feel personal or intentional for her new, more permanent, home.

The 1960s apartment building had a certain mid-century charm, inspiring Emily to start fresh, shopping for furniture and homewares with the same elegant energy — while still sticking to a modest budget.

Now, almost everything in her 72-square-metre home is a second-hand bargain discovered on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, alongside the odd piece from Grandfather’s Axe, and a few basics from IKEA.

Often when collecting a vintage find, Emily would learn that the sellers had been holding onto their chair or side table since the ’60s of ‘70s, and were delighted to share their sentimental origin stories.

‘Most of the times the item would be around an hour trip or sometimes two hours away,’ she adds, driving all the way to Korumburra in South Gippsland for a special set of Danish-style side tables.

While she had to (literally) go the extra mile tracking down these vintage gems, the prices were incredibly affordable. Some — like the pleated lamp in the living room, or the tartan armchair — were as cheap as $50 or less, allowing Emily to splurge a on hero pieces like the new green sofa from Brosa, which is her most expensive purchase at just $1292.

It’s taken her almost 12 months to completely furnish the 72-square-metre abode, but she’s spent no more than $5000 on the endeavour.

‘When you’re trying to furnish with mostly secondhand finds, there is a randomness in what comes up in the market that makes timelines difficult. For months I would be without a coffee table, or using a free Billy bookcase as a stopgap measure for my books until I found the shelves I have now,’ Emily adds.

By leaning into the creativity that comes within these constraints, it’s also allowed Emily the freedom to experiment, constantly rotating her collection without a big financial investment.

After all, it’s the slightly mismatched tables and differing tones of timber furniture from all different eras that has given this home the warm, lived-in atmosphere that Emily loves!