Published 14 September 2015 ● Last Updated on 6 April 2021
#under50dollars is our creative twist to #SG50, to commemorate the 50th birth-year of Singapore. It is a challenge devised for our readers to appreciate the inherent value of things used and old. All you will need is a good eye, some minor touch up or upcycling… and $50 in your pocket!
The challenge: How it works?
– Spend SG$ 50 to buy preloved/secondhand home decor items.
– Just use the item as-is, or upcycle/recycle it to spruce up your home or a corner in the favourite part of your house!
– Send us pictures and your story at blog@secondsguru.com. Instagrammers can tag us @secondsguru and hashtag #under50dollars
– The best entries will be published on www.secondsguru.com all through 2015. Our favorite Instagrammers will get a mention!
– Don’t live in Singapore? That’s fine. Just convert SG$ 50 to the currency of your country and complete the challenge.
To ascertain if the #under50dollars theme will work in an expensive city like Singapore, Team Secondsguru headed to the quaint and quirky Junkie’s Corner. Located at #2 Turf Club road, Junkie’s corner is a find worth the effort, once you make it! The expanse of “junk”/used items in the store is unbelievable- rows after rows of dust gathered used furniture, lamps, LP vinyl records, home decor items and other such items greet you with a look of “Please take me from here, clean me up and place me in your home”.
The $50 budget is a tight one, but we found some classic pieces comfortably with that amount which could be used to do up a corner of one’s study or balcony.
1) LP vinyl records for $10 each (Some are priced higher): Pick up any one (or several!) of these timeless classics and create signature wall pieces with them:
– Turn the record into a Photo frame: Use acrylic paint in the house and turn the magic on!
–Make wall art with the record covers: Just take any old frame at home and place the record covers inside. Trim at the edges if you must. Voila!
2) Chairs for your balcony at $10 a piece: The bright yellow weather proofed canvas seats caught our fancy almost instantly! Buy two of these for $20.
3) Petromax for $ 20: It was a trip down memory lane when we saw this upcycled beauty handpainted with acrylic paint. Growing up in India in the 1980’s (erm…just hate to give away our age) where electricity is not necessarily an item you can take granted, most of our homes had a kerosene petromax per room to use at the time of unexpected power outages!
There were several more jewels but we do not want to give it all away here. Get creative, go explore the used goods space in your country. If you are in Singapore, you can start off with Guide for a Vintage Hunter in Singapore to find your favourite. Don’t forget to look at Gumtree, Carousell and other online websites while you are at it. You can even pick up old furniture/ home decor items already in your home and just upcycle them.
Do keep before and after pictures. Most importantly, do not forget to have fun!
-Team Secondsguru
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