Laura Gruppen (22), a fourth-year Communication student, is giving us a look into her apartment next to the canals of Zwolle, it is filled with secondhand gems.
Laura has moved once in the three years since she lived on her own, from the downstairs to the upstairs room. She has an entire floor to herself. She only shares the front door, toilet and a washer with her housemates.
“I am from a busy family. You then notice how much value you can attribute to having your own space to yourself. Now that I live on my own, the bond with my family has also become stronger.”
Only real gems
Her apartment is full of vintage things. “It started with everything coming from Ikea, but in the meantime, I have gathered stuff from everywhere. Secondhand things are a lot more personal. You have more opportunity to develop your own taste. My taste? A sleek basis with bohemian-like items. Very playful.”
No messiness, she doesn’t like that. “I try to enhance sustainability and also buy less. But when you run into something fun and cheap, you cannot really pass it up. I don’t want too many things in my house and tend to pass them up either way. I only go for actual gems.”
Her best-scored item? The rattan cabinet, that is in her kitchen. It is filled with cookbooks, cooking utensils and food. “Not from the thrift store, but it is secondhand. I got it for free when they usually go for over two hundred euros.”
Vintage accounts
“There are now more and more vintage accounts on Instagram, but those are commercially priced. It is better to look at Marketplace on Facebook, that is where people get rid of their ‘garbage’. You do have to be quick with picking it up or you might lose your chance.”
Final tip: “Ask your family members if they have things lying around that they don’t use. Then you won’t even have to go to the store.”
Text : Michelle van der Molen
Photos: Jasper van Overbeek
