Recently, we were thinking about purchasing new curtains for our bedroom. We'd held onto our blackout curtains long enough and had decided to swap functionality for something more eye-pleasing. We thought we wanted traditional white curtains (a simple pair from IKEA). But instead of heading to the department stores first, we headed down to our local Salvation Army...

We find it interesting that when we're not looking for anything in particular is when we end up at a thrift store, or check out craigslist. If something catches our eye, we might buy because it's inexpensive or a steal. But when we actually have a shopping list or a piece of furniture in mind, we'll normally hit up a department store first. Our thought process is that the furniture store will have a choice of colors or styles (where craigslist and thrift stores might take more trips to nab what we've been looking for).

So it was a pleasant surprise recently when we hit up our local thrift store first. While a department store might have had the exact curtains we'd been craving, our need to save money was more important. What we found were not the traditional white drapes we had been thinking of but a sheer, 1960s style find that opens up our space dramatically. What we realized is that a thrift store gives your home decor the opportunity to be something other than what you had imagined (and saves you money at the same time). The next time we have a shopping list, we'll be headed to the thrift stores before setting foot in a name brand store.

How about you? Do you traditionally hit up department stores for something specific and then search craigslist when you can't find your wish list item? What are your steps to finding home decor?

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