Furnishing and decorating your apartment is one of the great conundrums of life. You could spend weeks if not months on Pintrest until the most ungodly hours of the night. You google what the difference is between Brazilliance and Martinique wallpaper. You drive upstate on weekends to go antiquing. Well, let us propose a more sustainable solution. Stooping. Think of it as a treasure hunt. Instead of scuba diving in the Bahamas for lost loot in 17th century Spanish shipwrecks, you’re scouring the sidewalks for the perfect pieces for your home. You’re participating in a time honored New York tradition. If time is simply not of the essence, which during this pandemic, time has taken on a new meaning, then it is entirely possible to furnish and decorate your entire apartment with items that you have stooped. How do I start stooping, you ask? It simply involves stepping out your front door and going for a stroll. Among the trash bags and snow, it is entirely possible to find that perfect mid-century modern console table you’ve simply been dying to have, a lovely collection of miss matched dining room chairs and enough mirrors that you can turn that dreadfully dark and narrow entrance hall into something that rivals Versailles. Pro tip: if you cannot endure staring at your reflection for days on end, then DO NOT stoop that full-length mirror, no matter how tempting! In a matter of weeks you will realize full length mirrors on the streets are a dime a dozen. 

It is possible to stoop literally anything. Coffee tables, Sotheby’s auction catalogues, wine glasses, lamps, vases, picture frames and prints. However, somethings might want to be stooped with caution, particularly anything upholstered. Couches can be hit or miss.