When we wander into places like Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie we ignore the clothes and gravitate towards the cute/funky/colorful home stuff in the front of the store. But that cute home stuff is dangerous—it sits on a shelf for awhile and turns into trash later. That's why we're inspired by people who decorate their homes with thrifted finds.

We fell in love with Lisa Congdon's San Francisco kitchen the minute we saw it over at Dwell. The more we clicked through the slideshow, the more we admired how she had managed to find so many interesting, colorful, and unique things for her kitchen (mostly at flea markets).

The pieces are so vibrant and give the room such life. We especially love her collection of plates.

You can also see more of Lisa Congdon's home in her Apartment Therapy House Tour over at AT:San Francisco.

Are you cultivating any thrifted collections? We'd love to hear about them!

Image: Jen Siska/ Dwell