We often hear people complain that they're no good at thrift store shopping—they have an aversion to dirt, no patience, or just bad luck. The truth is that anyone can be a good thrifter if they keep an open mind. It's as simple as recognizing when an object needs a good cleaning, a coat of paint, or even just a new context. Here are a few common items to keep an eye out for the next time you're at the thrift store.
- Dishes: You can find mismatched dishes in a range of colors and patterns at any thrift shop. Use them to build a collection, hang a wall of plates, or make them into mirrors.
- Artwork: If you're thinking of hanging a wall of clustered artwork, thrift shops are a great place to build a cheap, out-of-the-ordinary collection.
- Shelves and Secretaries: Storage pieces are always useful around the house. Clean up shelves with paint or wallpaper. Although old-fashioned, secretaries are really useful pieces that can easily transform into a home office, bar, or linen closet.
- Sweaters and Blankets: Have these dry-cleaned, and then use them to add some coziness to your home by reupholstering a chair seat or covering a footstool.
- Trunks, Suitcases, and File Cabinets: Industrial trunks and storage pieces or vintage suitcases are easy to find at flea markets and thrift shops. Clean them up and use them as occasional tables.
- Dining Chairs: Whether you're looking for a whole set or a single side chair, dining chairs are always waiting to be scooped up at second-hand shops. If your chair needs a little love, try painting it, reupholstering a seat, or staining it.
- Dining Tables: Simple thrift store tables can be used for kitchens, dining rooms, or repurposed as a desk. If the table is scuffed or needs some DIY love, try restyling it with paint, fabric, or even just a tablecloth.
- Lamps: Sometimes all a lamp needs is a new shade and a good cleaning to make it brand new. If you find a broken lamp at a thrift store, you can always try rewiring it.
- Rocking Chairs: We can't tell you how many Thonet rocking chairs we've found at thrift shops around the $30 mark, usually in excellent condition. Rockers are great for a child's room, a porch, or even a corner that needs a big piece. If your chair is a little dull, try painting it.
- Fabric: If you've got basic sewing skills, thrift stores are the perfect place to look for fabric scraps to use for pillows, napkins, tablecloths, curtains, and any other project that could use a stash of mismatched prints. Just make sure to wash your fabrics before using them.
Posted originally from: AT:Chicago
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Comments (8)
Almost all of the art in our apartment is from thrift stores. My favorite piece is a huge abstract oil painting that I bought for $5 and get complimented on constantly! I buy pretty glass jars for storage containers, egg cups, tea pots, and other ceramic containers (the inside of a crock pot!) to use as planters, mismatched dishes for when we have guests over, all of our end tables are thirfted, and I often pick up pans or other kitchen supplies when I'm bringing them into the office. I love love love thrift shopping!
Renai - I love shopping for ceramics at thrift stores too! I buy pretty plates to put under clay plant pots - they really add a nice charm & are so affordable. Plant pots are typically a very good buy at thrift stores too - they can get pricey when purchased new. I also recently got into pretty vintage tea cups - I use them for storing beads & pens & displaying earrings (hang them on the rim). It's harder (& costlier) to find pretty ones with a matching plate, but even without them they make beautiful decor additions! See photos here: http://craftscafe.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/new-crafts-space/
Also, thrift store dining tables make great craft tables & suitcases make excellent storage! I have an old wooden suitcase I repainted on the inside & kept its vintage charm by keeping the outside intact. I store my craft supplies in it.
Love thrift/antique stores!
Most recently, I found all of my dishes at several stores in Monroe, LA's, Antique Alley (http://tri-stateantiques.com/blueheaven.html). I've picked up library-style chairs in various states of repair for my dining table and nabbed a table cloth to be made into kitchen curtains, an old toy chest is in the process of being made into a linen chest, and more. I also have a couple of cool side tables that need a love before I can bring them into the house.
I have 30 or so plastic crates that I use for storage along the hallway in my apartment. As I get rid of my old papers and odds and ends, I will put the crates out where someone else can use them. Also, if I wanted to move, those items would already be "packed"! Of course I put them in the shower and cleaned them (somewhat anyway) before I used them. The ones that hold my books, I lined with newspaper first.
There is so much fabric at thrift stores! It's normally the most expensive part of sewing, so getting guiltless fabric is a huge plus. It's also been washed, so shrinkage isn't a worry for whatever you create with it. A flat sheet makes a fantastically easy curtain (use the fold of the sheet as the pocket) or is enough fabric for a dress or two.
Clear glass vases in different shapes and sizes make excellent, inexpensive hurricanes for candles. I have a ton of them that I've bought for .25 to .50 cents each at thrift stores. I use them indoors and outside with votives. You could add sand or pebbles, too, or fill them with shells. They look great clustered together.
Great article, I've re-posted it at my new blog on where to shop if you've given up on Target. http://livebetterwithouttarget.blogspot.com/
Old large Vases are great to be used as lamps for babies, I bought a glass drill bit drilled a hole in the bottom added a small string of clear christmas lights some plastic teddy bears some plastic rattlers etc. put a small bow or two for baby girl, put a dollar store doilly over it tied some ribbon around it, and had a perfect gift to give.. Everyone there was amazed and wanted me to make one for them.