Let’s Go Thrifting
Looking to refresh your home for spring? Take a detour
from the big-box stores and head to the nearest flea market, junk shop
or yard sale instead. With creativity and some elbow grease, you can
furnish and decorate a home that looks uniquely yours, for not too much
cash. Here are 13 ideas to get you started.
Dip vintage bottles in white paint. So simple, but so pretty! Small glass bottles are plentiful in many vintage shops —
clear or blue glass would work well for this project. Pour a small
amount of white paint into each bottle (do this one at a time), and tilt
and swirl until you achieve a look you like. Allow to dry completely
before using. These are lovely as is, or fill them with cut or dried
flowers — just don’t drink out of them.
Embrace rusted chic in the backyard. Old, rusted twin bed frames, chaises and chairs can often be found for a song, and pieces too far gone to use indoors can work beautifully in the yard. Plump up old seats with new cushions and pretty textiles.
Craft unique lights from old fishing nets.
The lights shown here were created by a talented pro, but that doesn’t
mean you can’t try your own spin on the look if you’re feeling crafty.
Pick up a lighting kit at the hardware store and use wire to create a
form to attach your fishing net to. Just be sure to keep the frame well
away from the bulb for safety.
Update vintage furniture with painted legs or stripes. What
might look like a fussy old dark-wood-framed sofa in the thrift store
could be incredibly chic with its frame painted crisp white. Likewise,
if you spot a little table with a cute shape but an awful color or
finish, try to see beyond the surface — neatly painted stripes, like on the side table shown here, can completely transform a piece in a weekend.
How to Paint Stripes Right
How to Paint Stripes Right
Use a schoolroom map as flat-screen-TV cover.
Looking for a creative way to disguise the big black box when you’re
not watching TV? Try tracking down a vintage school map or chart (the
kind that’s meant to be mounted to the ceiling) and hang it an inch or
two in front of the TV. When you’re not watching, simply pull the cord
for instant wall art.
Reupholster vintage chairs with burlap sacks and blue jeans.
From the same creative Portland homeowner who hung the map in the last
photo, here is a great budget-friendly upholstery material: old blue
jeans and burlap coffee bean sacks. Start saving up your family’s old
jeans instead of tossing them (or pick some up cheap at a thrift store)
and ask your local coffeehouse for a few burlap bags.
See more of this home
See more of this home
Use discarded apartment building mailboxes as storage.
When hung on a wall instead of flush mounted, a row of old mailboxes
makes a unique little storage unit. Hang it in the kitchen and keep
spices in it, or put one in the entryway to sort incoming and outgoing
mail.
Put an old door to work. On its own, a wooden door in a fun color works as unique wall art; add
a row of hooks to the bottom to make it functional, too. You could even
string a grid of ribbon between the openings where glass once was and
use it as a message center.
Hang a cluster of mismatched vintage mirrors. Can’t
find just the right mirror to fit your space? Try collecting a bunch of
small rectangular vintage mirrors instead. Hung flush together, they’ll
look like they were meant to be together, even if they all have
different finishes.
Hang target practice paper as art. For
quirky and slightly subversive wall art on a budget, you can’t beat
target practice paper. Framed in a simple poster frame, it will take up
lots of room on a big wall and is sure to start conversations.
Rig up bar shelving with old crates.
Alternating between open side out and back side out makes this
arrangement of wooden crates especially appealing. Hung behind a bar or
kitchen counter, or above a bar cart, these shelves provide rustic
storage for your best bottles and an assortment of mason jar glasses.
Turn a gum ball machine into a lamp.
Using a lamp wiring kit from the hardware store and a store-bought
shade, you can transform a vintage gum ball machine into a unique lamp,
perfect for a kids’ room or fun living room. If you are not comfortable working with wiring, ask your electrician or handyperson to put it together for you.
