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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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.
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.
My favorite thing to find at thrift stores is yarn. I find tons of old odds and ends of yarn and I crochet gifts and things. I once found about 20 skeins of a vintage Christmas yarn and it was enough to make three afghans. I got it all for less than $10!
The thrift shops in L.A. suck. The lowest price tags seem to be $2.50, even for things you'd find new in a dollar store. They also use eBay to price anything unique... I realized this after checking eBay on my phone many times & the price is coincidentally what the stuff is selling for.