A multicolored, patchwork couch takes over the living room in senior Katharine Mann’s house. The rest of the room mimics these prints with pink and light blue end tables, a teal mirror and a quirky pink picture of a bike.
The couch is a rarity and hasn’t been manufactured since 2012, but Mann was able to find it at Bella’s House, a consignment furniture store located at 236 E. Front St. in Burlington.
“I went and I found this Kelly Rae Roberts couch with bright prints, and that’s a one-of-a-kind couch,” she said. “That’s why Bella’s House is cool — because you can go and find these little treasures you can’t get
anywhere else.”
Mann first stumbled upon the consignment shop when she was looking for a dresser her sophomore year. There, she found a vintage, sea green one for around $100.
When she moved into her home her junior year, Mann went back to Bella’s House and continued to decorate it with mostly
secondhand furniture.
“I like new furniture, but I think there’s something really interesting about antique or old furniture,” Mann said. “Plus, you can get it at a lower price because a new dresser can go for hundreds of dollars.”
Bella’s House is filled with secondhand furniture and a few new accessories. But for those looking for something more antique, Main & Fifth Consignment store is right across the street, and The Treasure House and Consignment Connection located in downtown Burlington.
According to Bella’s House manager Emma Sullivan, the store currently has items they wouldn’t normally take because they know they would be reasonably priced for college students.
Additionally, the longer the item is in the store, the cheaper it becomes.
“We have markdowns in here and we have stuff at really good prices that fit what you all need at the time,” Sullivan said. “There are always desks and dressers and coffee tables and end tables, and you can find really great finds at good prices.”
With cheap coffee tables and more expensive vintage dressers, Sullivan believes Bella’s House has something for both men
and women. Students can even get crafty by painting the cheaper items and giving them a new life.
Mann painted a $30 side table bright pink to match the theme of her living room. Because it was cheap and used, she wasn’t worried about potentially ruining it, or any of the other older furniture, for that matter.
“As college students, we don’t take the best care of our furniture,” Mann said. “So it’s good to get reduced-priced furniture. You can do what you want with it and then pass it down to your friends.”
Many of the accessories and decor at Bella’s House have an eccentric charm to them, with vibrant colors or unique images.
Sullivan believes that students are drawn to the more interesting and quirky paintings, often leaving the store laughing about their
new purchase.
“The college students around here buy the most random pictures,” Sullivan said. “They’re just pictures that make them laugh, which I think is just perfect. Last year, this group of girls found this picture of these huntsmen dogs, and it just cracked them up.”
Though the interior of her home is basically finished, Mann will still browse through Bella’s House and buy something if it catches her eye.
“It’s all nice furniture,” she said. “Two weeks ago, I bought a desk. I go just to browse. It’s a problem that I’m a little too obsessed.”