This Mom of 3 Furnished Her NYC Apartment with Free Curbside and Buy Nothing Finds

“I call it a magical menagerie,” she says. “When I moved in seven years ago during my divorce, it was a beige bachelor pad. But it had great light and space, and I could afford it. I had a vision of creating a welcoming nest for my girls and me. Now it is truly home. It’s a happy place.”

Working with a limited budget, nearly everything was secondhand or DIY. Then she discovered the serendipity of street cast-offs. “I still remember my first find,” she recalls. “During a snowstorm, my daughter spotted a large pink mirror on top of a pile of garbage. She wanted it, but I thought ‘Ewww … that’s not coming into my house.’”

She quickly got over her hesitation. Now, she says, 75% of what’s in her home comes from the curb or her Buy Nothing Group, a hyper-local online network where neighbors give and receive items for free. Through both, she’s retrieved lamps, rugs, storage containers, tables, paint, and even a large decorative wicker animal head.

A former luxury fashion and beauty marketer, turned interior design professional, Marcelline curates just the right piece for every spot. “It’s organic. There was never a plan,” she explains. Instead of a backsplash in her tiny kitchen, ornate framed paintings hang. Peel-and-stick wallpaper and floor tiles liven up small spaces, while remaining rental-friendly.

Everything gets a glow-up. The medicine cabinet is lined with colorful wallpaper. Tassels adorn storage baskets. Even the girls’ triple bunk bed is covered with fabric to elevate its ordinariness.

She credits her Buy Nothing Group with not only filling her home, but also giving her the sense of community she lacked after moving from Las Vegas to New York City in 2006. “They say it takes a village, but in New York it’s a neighborhood,” she says. “They’ve been a godsend, especially when it comes to my kids. Whenever I need something, I put out an ISO (In Search Of) request and soon I have more than I need.”

The love of the hunt keeps her going. “Finding something you’d never have considered before forces you to be creative.” She’ll drop everything when she’s tagged in a “curb alert.” When she heard about two antique wooden chairs being discarded nearby, she grabbed her coat and rushed out to rescue them — baby and stroller in tow.

She arrived just as they were about to be tossed into a garbage truck. Realizing she couldn’t cart them home, a kind sanitation worker tucked them into a compartment in his truck and delivered them to her building.

As long as there are more chance finds out there, her apartment will remain a work in progress, she says. “It is always evolving. That’s what makes it fun.”

• West Elm chandelier — Craigslist
• Neiman Marcus mirror and planter — Curb find
• Target cabinet — Craigslist (with fabric from Buy Nothing and handles from Etsy)
• Basket — Buy Nothing group
• Wallpaper — Target

• Paint — Sherwin-Williams’ “Meandering Blue” on walls, and “Blithe Blue” on ceiling 
• Sectional — Interior Define Saylor Sectional in Lavender (we made our own red legs)
• Pillows on couch — Anthropologie and Goodwill
• Coffee table — Vintage trunks off the curb
• Bookshelf — Walmart 
• Upholstered chair — Curb find (throw and pillow are from Anthropologie)
• Tapestry — Anthropologie
• Artwork — Mostly by Marcelline
• Frames, kids’ rocking chair, kids’ multicolor chair, Anthropologie pillows on window seat — Curb finds
• Table lamp — Curb find but Marcelline made it over
• Plants and planters, stained glass, mushroom pillow, blue lantern, ark toybox — Buy Nothing group
• Window seat — Buy Nothing group (but was upcycled from a window valance)
• Capiz shell wall light and bird frame — Buy Nothing but originally from the curb
• Ball light fixture — Craigslist 
• Baskets — Amazon (tassels and paint from Buy Nothing)
• TV — Samsung Frame

• Table and chairs — Amazon (similar)
• Mushroom seat covers — IKEA
• MOMA kinetic mobile, wall shelf, all art supplies, teacups, kids’ vending machine — Buy Nothing group
• 2 hanging wall organizers — Amazon (not currently available on Amazon, but similar here), spray painted with Rustoleum Vintage Teal
• Rug — Annie Selke
• Antique wall cupboard — Free Stuff online group, originally from curb
• Play kitchen and kitchen cart — Curb finds

• Table — Amazon (Similar table)
• Ghost chairs — Craigslist
• Antique chair — Curb find
• Painting — My own, frame thrifted
• Deer and rabbit vases — Anthropologie

• Chandelier, tea cart frame — Curb finds
• Backsplash wallpaper — Amazon
• Basket fruit holder, cookie dome, marble pedestal bowl — Crate and Barrel
• Frames, art, candleholders above cabinets — Buy Nothing and curb finds
• Yellow cookware — Le Creuset
• Le Crueset red cookware, basket and crystal sugar bowl, shelf, mugs, cutting boards, bowl, vintage platter on wall, tray, tissue box holder, pen container, antique baskets, owl lamp, deer head, MacKenzie-Childs tea kettle, painting, spoon rest, salt and pepper shakers — Buy Nothing
• Vases and pitchers — Anthropologie
• Counter lamp — Flea market
• House of Hackney lampshade — Housing Works collab
• Deer frame — Buy Nothing, originally from the curb
• Rug — Ruggable venom rug

• Wallpaper in frame — Drew Barrymore Flower Home/Walmart
• Antique cabinet, hallway chandelier, large hallway art of woman — Facebook Marketplace
• Circular rug — Wayfair
• House of Hackney lampshade — Housing Works collab
• Small planters — Amazon
• Curtains — Curb find (hemmed the curtains and made cornices from the extra fabric)
• Bedding and lumbar pillow — House of Hackney for Anthropologie
• Embroidered Japanese artwork above bed — Goodwill
• Main chandelier — Craigslist
• Small hallway floral art — Reprise Vintage NYC
• Antique bed — aptdeco.com
• Wallpaper — Walmart
• Antique armchair chair, antique lamp, antique dresser, antique wall shelf, planter and fiddle leaf, floral screen, antique desk, vintage mirror, antique desk chair, floor lamp, gold screen, Chinese planter and plants, large floral hallway artwork, orange crystal container — Curb finds
• Artwork above chair, artwork by bathroom, lamp, planter and plant on desk, mini suitcase organizers and basket, hand-knotted antique rug under bed, Pottery Barn tapestry pillows on bed, plants, trays, antique sconces with crystals — Buy Nothing groups

• Wall shelf, some plants, cabinet handles — Curb finds
• Towels — Target
• Rug, toilet roll holder and matching toilet handle, painting and frame, some plants — Buy Nothing group
• Yellow cabinet — Buy Nothing (made over)
• Shower curtain— Anthropologie
• Light fixture — Curb find (made over)
• Trash can — Amazon

• Bunk bed — Restoration Hardware (made over with free fabric from Buy Nothing)
• Rug — Anthropologie
• Light fixture — Goodwill (made over)
• Bottom bedding — Anthropologie
• Middle and top bedding — Beddy’s
• Ice cream truck, reading corner pendant light, rattan wall bookshelf, organizer baskets, milk glass lamp, tray, strawberry basket, all paint for walls and mural, furry rug — Buy Nothing group
• Huge teddy bear — Amazon
• Reading corner cushion — DIY with free fabric from Buy Nothing
• Tall bookcase, wall animal heads, Antropologie green chair — Curb finds
• 95% books — Buy Nothing or curb finds
• Rattan mailbox — Poppie Toys
• Rattan doll carriage — Poppie Toys 
• Dollhouse — Thrifted
• Antique dresser — Facebook Marketplace
• Artwork — My kids
• Coat tree — Buy Nothing group (made over)

• Planters near window — Buy Nothing group or curb find
• Rattan dresser, rattan mirror, large cactus, animal heads — Curb finds
• Sink tray, wall shelf, candleholders, planter, wood birds, all wall and mural paint — Buy Nothing group
• Sink face planter — Anthropologie
• Large sink planter — Target
• Candles — Amazon
• Rug — Amazon
• Shower curtain — Anthropologie

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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