Honestly, I don’t really use Facebook outside of the DIY Playbook. In fact, I didn’t have Facebook for years after college and only started a new profile to get admin access to our DIY Playbook page. I rarely ever send friend requests and don’t scroll through the news feed very often since I prefer Instagram. My lack of Facebook use probably explains why I never heard of Facebook Marketplace until a few weeks ago. But now that I know about it, I’m loving it!

What I love about the Facebook marketplace is that I can set the parameters to look for furniture/decor in my local area, which is exactly what I did when I started exploring it. I set the filter to only show me furniture/decor within 3 miles of my house and love that this makes the pool of options manageable to check-in on every so often. It’s easy to scroll for 60 seconds or less every few days and be completely up-to-date on what’s for sale at the moment.

I don’t have to worry about scrolling forever to see what’s new (like I sometimes fall victim to doing on Craigslist). So that’s what I’ve been doing lately, casually checking in on local items for sale in hopes of finding unique pieces that catch my eye for areas in our home that are still on my 2019 to-do list.

And that’s exactly what happened recently when I ran across a posting for this mid-century modern side table on Facebook Marketplace.

I messaged the seller (who happened to live just a few minutes away!) and set up an appointment to go see the MCM side table in person.

Low and behold, it was the perfect size & color for the space next to our couch. I’ve had my eyes peeled for a new piece to go here but just couldn’t find something that fit perfectly since our couch is so deep. I’ve brought home other options (with much higher price tags) and just never loved any of them.

But when I saw the shape and dimensions of this $40 (!!) MCM side table, I was excited to bring it home and give it a try. I mean for $40 and the option to sell it again on Facebook if things don’t work out, what did I have to lose?!

The table fits perfectly next to our deep couch and makes the room feel a little more layered and collected. Having this table in place, even inspired me to finally add lighting in here!

I ordered this swing arm light and love everything about this updated corner of our living room. Before we added this mounted light (and hid the cord using this tutorial), we only had can lights in here. I LOVE the dimmable can lights but having another, more subtle option, for evening lighting has been amazing.

Then I added a few baby-friendly accessories on top of the table so that Ben can explore, but we don’t have to sacrifice style. The planters are super light-weight wood and the plants are fake (both from HomeGoods). The Target tray is actually plastic (you can’t even tell) and I filled it with teething beads for Ben and some two-piece puzzles that Ben can play with. I’m sure I’ll be forever tweaking this table, but it makes me happy that it can be styled, yet baby-proofed at the same time!!

I’d love to hear if anyone else has had any luck finding unique furniture pieces on Facebook Marketplace?! Or am I officially the biggest dork for not knowing about this magical place until now? Or better yet, the only one who thinks this marketplace is magical?!! hahaha