Mrs. Secondhand

Located off Lygon Street in Brunswick East, Mrs Secondhand is a retro, vintage, antique, and new furniture shop. You’ll find a mixture of vintage and contemporary designs that overflows onto the sidewalk from the warehouse.
Mrs Secondhand herself is quite friendly and will assist with your furniture needs. I didn’t need furniture; I just wanted to take a look at all the amazing ones on offer. There were some great wooden cabinets, particularly corner cabinets that could be used as a TV stand and also, quite efficient use of space.
I also liked the various rocking chairs, which you don’t really see around anymore. The prices here aren’t cheap, but more affordable than a brand new furniture shop. You can find sofas around $ 500-​$ 800 — I saw a really cool purple leather couch.
There are a lot of knick-​knacks around so it can be quite time consuming. Definitely dedicate at least an hour if you’re serious about purchasing something. Remember to bring cash because she doesn’t put items on hold!

If you’re in need of some retro second hand furniture, then Mrs. Secondhand on Ann St, Brunswick East is always worth a peek. The place is crammed full with couches, chairs, tables, bookshelves, dinner sets and other useful household things. There’s also a collection of second hand books loosely themed around Melbourne and other specialty interest subjects down the back, and a rack stuffed with the best/​most hilarious of 1980s (and a couple of other eras) fashion.
Most of the goods are pretty functional, and make me wish I had a) money and b) space to put it, but there’s also the odd trinket for people who have a plain old love of old stuff, such an old school tricycle that must have been from the 1950s or 1960s.
Everything is also being sold through ebay, gumtree and Mrs. Secondhand’s own website, so if you love something, buy it on sight lest it be sold to someone off site.

Down Ann Street you’d be pressed to not see the truck out the front of this establishment. Decorated in flowing bubble stylised text in bright colours Mrs Secondhand is the two roller doors nearby full of magic beyond.
The number of occasions I’ve walked in and come across a piece of furniture I didn’t think I needed but fit perfectly when I git it home (next to the piece of furniture I got from here the time before) it is simply uncanny. The owner simply must have an eye for the goods, as I’m yet to come across anything below quality.
There’s le internets for all of you that can’t be bothered walking in. Mrs Secondhand lists on ebay (as stated on the truck), so you can get a taste of the variety before leaving the comfort of your own home.
A friend of mine works here, and can’t say enough about the place. If you’ve got half an hour or ten minutes lose yourself in here.

Mrs Secondhand is Tracey, and she has been Mrs Secondhand for long enough that the role probably feels rather like second skin now.
And I’m so glad that her vast warehouse of wonderful wares is around because I have found some serious gems in there and I didn’t even have to look that hard. I casually strolled in one afternoon and a vintage 60s Royal Doulton dinner set caught my eye. It was love at first sight and I had to have it. Luckily for me, Mrs Secondhand could tell the dinner set would be going to a good home and she gave me a good deal on it. She’s very reasonable like that.
You could also check out Mrs Secondhand’s goods online on Ebay, Gumtree, Facebook and on her very own website. The best part is, when you’ve found something that you’re keen on, you can then take a little trip to the warehouse and seal the deal, which is actually a really nice thing to do because then you’ll get to meet Tracey (she’s really nice and she’d probably really like to meet you). That is, if you can wait that long and don’t find yourself madly clicking the ‘Buy it Now’ button, oh ye of little self-​control.