Welcome to an infrequent, but delightful series where I show you how I styled my latest thrift store finds.
It’s not always what you find, but how you use what you find that justifies bringing junk home. At least, that’s what I tell my husband.
Pull up a chair and take a sip of your coffee because this is going to be fun! In no particular order, here are my latest thrift store finds and how I styled them.
Wood Tray
If you look closely at the below photo, there’s a wood gardening tray sitting on the bench.
This isn’t technically a thrift store find. It was a free roadside find, which is even better.
It’s currently sitting on top of my refrigerator, but I don’t know what I will do with it long-term. This is not the question one asks when stumbling upon really good free stuff while on a walk. The only question is can I carry it home?
Wood Bowls
Most of the wood bowls you see on top of my pantry cabinet were found this year at thrift stores. One was even found on the side of the road.
I have probably spent $30 max on all of these bowls. I spent a lot more time and money on the sandpaper to take off the old finishes. That’s how it goes sometimes.
Basket Plant Stand
I stopped at a new-to-me church basement thrift store and found this basket plant stand for $3. It cost $6 when it was new. I know because the price tag was still on it.
I kid you not, these plant baskets are selling for between $35 and $88 on eBay and Etsy right now. If anyone wants to buy this one from me for $88, let me know.
It’s still the only time I’ve been to that thrift store, which is a shame because it was a huge boost to my self-esteem. The elderly married couple working there was so kind. They told me my hair was pretty. The way they lovingly bantered back and forth made me hope that Handy Husband and I will be like that after 50 years of marriage.
Flower Art and Landscape Paintings
The print on the top right and the painting on the bottom left of this photo are new additions to my living room gallery wall.
I’m smitten with the fact that the gallery wall has grown this year. I absolutely adore a floor-to-ceiling gallery wall. I’m not quite there yet, but everyone needs goals. This is one of mine.
The two medium-sized landscape paintings in the below photo are also new additions to my bedroom gallery wall.
Basically, there is not a nature-themed painting that I don’t love. I rarely pay more than $10 – $20 for a painting.
Milk Stool
Ah, the humble milk stool.
The BEST $6 I spent this year was on this milk stool. I intended to use it as a plant riser, but it came in clutch when I was repointing the Carriage House.
I sat my hiney on that tiny milk stool that was six inches off the ground for HOURS while fixing these stone walls. The ground was too wet and dirty to sit directly on and that milk stool saved my back from a literal backache. Those are the worst, aren’t they?
Now that I’m done with the Carriage House, the milk stool is raising a plant off the ground on my front porch. You can see its little legs peaking out in recent photos of our front porch.
Woven Basket
Baskets are almost a throwaway item at my favorite thrift store. There’s a dumpster-sized bin of them and they are all $1.
I don’t have a ton of storage in my kitchen, so this basket is now serving the very important role of hiding the baking supplies that are rarely used like sprinkles and food coloring.
Mini Painting
If I see mini paintings, which I define as paintings that are under 4 inches or so, I buy them.
You just never know when you are going to need a tiny piece of art to decorate the area where you hang your broom and dustpan. Ha!
Post Office Box Door
It’s not every day that you spot old post office box doors outside of a post office.
I paid $5 for one and turned it into a picture frame. You can read more about that here.
Pyrex Bowls With Lids
I’ll admit, this is not the sexiest purchase. Nor is this the sexiest picture. Or is it? Everyone appreciates a well-organized cabinet.
Anyway, now that I’ve made that awkward, we had some glass bowls with snap-on lids that were highly problematic. I won’t get into it but it involved mold on the gasket.
I got rid of those when I found 6 Pyrex bowls in varying sizes for $18 at my local thrift store. They weren’t THAT much cheaper than what you can get them for at Walmart, but maybe a couple of bucks per bowl cheaper.
That savings adds up and means I can buy more thrifted things. That’s thrifting math and we don’t argue with thrifting math.
Joking aside, I really do love all of my Pyrex bowls because I can put them in the oven to keep food warm.
Planters and Hammered Aluminum Tray
Months ago I bought 3 good-sized planters for dirt cheap. Pun intended.
They were $6 – $8 each and ceramic, not plastic. I’m guessing the reason they were that cheap was that it was the dead of winter and the store probably didn’t think there was high demand for them then. Lucky me.
The biggest one was 14.5 inches in diameter, so I found a serving tray to go under it to act as a drip tray. The tray was $5, which is a steal since hammered aluminum serving ware has gone up in price recently.
My rough estimate of what I spent on this haul is less than $150. Not too bad!
I didn’t always fill my home with thrifted items but now I enjoy how unique these items make my home look while giving it a bit of soul too.
Do you also enjoy finding thrifted treasures for your home? Let me know. You can always comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.
Happy Thrifting!
Hope you found some inspiration today or at least had a little bit of fun! Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy!
My Latest Thrift Store Finds Part 5