Books & Stationery

Whoever said living in Mumbai is easy is definitely living under a rock. Let's face it- Living in Mumbai is definitely an expensive affair; high on rent and low on space. But, we found a solution to curb your expenses; why buy good {and overpriced} new furniture when there is better secondhand furniture at your disposal?

If you’re new to this city, this place should be on your bucket list. Oshiwara furniture market is a gift that keeps giving, and in this case, beautiful new and vintage furniture.

From tables, to cupboards, beds, cabinets and what not, this market is like a bottomless gold mine that we’d like to keep digging. The entire stretch of the market has shops lined up with the shopkeepers enticing you in with their antique teak pieces displayed nicely outside. You’ll find pretty much everything here. We managed a great bargain of a secondhand dressing table {including the wooden framed mirror} for approximately INR 1,200. They key to shopping here is – bargain, bargain and bargain incessantly. You can basically get anything between INR 500 to up to INR 10,000. They also make new furniture here so if you’re in the mood for something brand new you can get it done here.

Pro-Tip: They will paint up the furniture all nice and shiny, so we highly suggest that you make sure to bring that up while you’re deciding on the final price of your purchase.

As the name goes, Chor Bazaar literally translates to ‘thieve’s market’. Find old, new and ahem, borrowed stuff here for a real steal deal. Starting off from mutton street where there are more than 100 shops, it’s a fantastic place to get your house furniture sourced from.

This market has all sorts of antique, old colonial furniture, in addition to house decor items like gorgeous chandeliers, sofas, armchairs, and even outrageous big decor pieces like fountains or elephants. We have found wooden chairs {secondhand obviously} for INR 800 each to beds that cost approximately INR 1,200 a set. Make sure to speak to the shopkeeper in depth before going in for the purchase. Though most of them are quite honest about the quality of the pieces they sell, it’s good to bargain and make sure you’re getting your penny’s worth.

Pro-Tip: It’s open on all days except Fridays. We also recommend stepping out in the mornings on weekdays to avoid the massive weekend crowd.

The lane near the Bandra station {super easy to spot} has dozens of furniture shop in a line. Not just furniture, they have tons of shops lines up that sell frames for mirrors that you’d like to set up at your home.

From steel cupboards, to wooden furniture, beds, tables, you can pretty much get anything here. It’s not super cheap, but you can get some really nice cane pieces for INR 500 and upward.

Where: Near Bandra station, western side

Timings: Mondays to Sundays, 10am to 8pm