One of the best ways to bring personality and interest into your décor is to use elements that you would never find together in reality and DIY your own awesome mash-up.
I found this awesome primitive raw wood bowl at Homegoods this weekend for $30 (I might have squealed a little!) When you are decorating with something like this you have to make sure that it doesn’t get TOO primitive…like I wouldn’t put bones inside it.
The opposite of primitive in my mind is the world we live in today. Full of technology and industry. I love these old lightbulbs, they are HUGE and I love the odd shape.
One of the best secrets when it comes to adding character is to ask yourself if YOU find it interesting. If the answer is yes then there is a fabulous chance that someone else will find it interesting also.
I paired them with a stack of old books that I found at the thrift store for $1.00 each and a cute brass apple (that is actually a bell) that I found for $2.00.
What are your favorite opposite elements to put together?
I have wanted to incorporate a cuckoo clock into Ivie’s room for such a long time. For some reason they are practically impossible to find in St. George. I even went as far as working one up in my Silhouette program to make a pillow or a piece of art.
But as luck would have it (the thrifting gods were smiling at me that day!) I found one at the DI (Utah’s version of Goodwill). It was in not good shape, pieces were missing (like the ticker and the crown) BUT it was a Cuckoo Clock!!
This is a simple update that anyone can do.
Wipe your clock down with a damp rag to remove all the dust that you can out of those cute carvings.
Tape off the areas that you want paint free. (The little painted details of the people were just too cute to cover up!!)
I decided to paint it Sun Yellow by Krylon. When you are painting something with a bright color (like yellow or orange) instead of having to do 5 coats, give it a white basecoat and your color will be truer and brighter. I didn’t even use primer I just used white.
Because the clock was not functional I clipped the super long chains and put the pinecone weights on at the lengths I wanted. They are sort of rusty and I love them!
Such an easy project and huge statement rolled in to one fabulous package!
Did you know that there are some people that HATE decorating with Thrift Store items? (Its nuts, I know.)
They don’t hate that the stuff was used. They don’t hate that there might need to be a little work involved.
They hate that they lack this little thing called vision.
They look at crap and see crap, not the awesome piece that is hidden in the crap.
Today I am going to give you 5 tips to boost your thrifting vision!
Don’t become set on an exact item. Thrifting is sort of a roll with the punches type of decorating. While looking for chairs for my living room I knew I wanted something sort of Mid Century Modern-ish without being TOO MCM, I want my living room to feel modern but not ONLY modern, that’s why I love thrifting, because it sort of forces things to be eclectic. I love the hard angles in these chairs but I wanted something a little curvier and softer. None of these chairs cost less than $800. The thing that I kept going back to was the arm situation. It had to have some cool arms. And have both wood and fabric/leather/whatever.
Last night I was checking out KSL (online classifieds in Utah similar to Craigslist) and saw an ad for these chairs. They had great wooden arms and leather I think they will be great once they are a little updated. And the price was killer $35 each!
Be willing to hold out for something you REALLY want. My couch is a perfect example of this. I knew I wanted something tufted and a color. For months I searched the DI and Craigslist hoping to find something and came up short time and time again, until the heavens parted and I found this one:
Which brings me to point #3.
Be Patient. Decorating your house with Thrift Store items means that its not all going to be done at once. Its not like shopping at a regular store where you can walk in and walk out with a complete living room group (blech.) Its like a puzzle that comes together a little at a time.
Be Willing To Buy and Try. Lets say you find a pair of chairs one day that you *think you like. But you are not 100% sure. Have your store tag them (so no one can swoop in and grab them) and buy yourself some time to think. This post is all about questions you can ask yourself before you commit.
Come To Grips. Sometimes the item that you want just isn’t going to be at a thrift store. Find stores in your area that you can find other great home décor items. Homegoods is my favorite store because it has a bazaar/thrift store feel, meaning it is a new store EVERY time you go in and you never know what treasure you are going to find. I love the hunt. Are there places on the other side of town that you have only been in once or twice? How about consignment stores? There is one in St. George called Urban Renewal that is amazing! It can be expensive so I don’t buy there too often but I love getting ideas there and finding things that I just cant live without.
Now that you have a few guidelines don’t be afraid to try and change things up in your home a little!
If you want more thifting tips check out these other great Thrifting 101 posts:
We have all done it. Stood staring at an item at a thrift store and waged the buy or don’t buy battle in our minds. It can just be SO hard sometimes. So here are 8 simple questions you can ask yourself before you commit.
Is it a game changer?
Does the thought of them in your space make you re-imagine your room in a good way or a bad way? I love game changers, something as simple as this thrifted skirt turned into pillows was a game changer in my Master Bedroom. It gave me to opportunity to use any color I wanted without overwhelming the space.
Is it in your price range?
This can be a hard one. Ask an employee if they can go down on the price (sometimes they will!!) If its just out of the price range are you willing to spend a bit more for them?
Is it in good condition?
There are some things that can be repaired and some things that cant. For example if you are looking for something to glaze and 1/2 the decorative carvings are broken off its not really a great buy because you are probably not going to sit down with your Swiss Army Knife and learn to whittle so you can repair it.
What is it made out of?
You cant go wrong with solid wood. Even if it has laminate on the top you are probably good to go. When we were redoing Hailee’s Living Room we found a great end table, it was a great price and sturdy so we bought it. The problem was that it needed to be stripped and during the stripping process the product we used melted the plastic door fronts. So yea… it was not a good choice.
Just how much work is going to be involved to rehab it?
If the answer is none, you should head to Vegas cause you are one lucky sucker. If it is going to cost you thousands to reupholster a couch you might just want to buy it new.
Do you have somewhere to put it?
I frequently buy things that I don’t have a spot for if it meets most of the above criteria because a) I will find somewhere to use it or b) I know I can resell it at the Hoard Sale
When it comes to lamps or chairs: Is it part of a set?
Do you need 2 of them? If you do and there is only one the chances of it working are slimmer and the chances of finding another one are SUPER slim. I have passed up many a great chair because there was only one and I needed 2. Can you find somewhere to use the solo piece?
And the MOST IMPORTANT question. Do you love it??!
If you want MORE thrifting goodness you will want to check out these other Thrifting 101 posts:
If you live within the Studio 5 viewing area you MAY want to watch this…and if you don’t you still will want to watch it (there is a giveaway hint in there for you too!!)
I would LOVE to end up at a readers house so ENTER ENTER ENTER!!!
Sometimes I get so busy with the things I “have” to do, that I overlook the things that I love. So todays post is a photo dump of sorts with a theme.
Sometimes I look at my girls and wonder how such beautiful things are mine.
And then I remember they are just like me.
Sometimes I wonder why the scooter riding is going at a snails pace.
And then I realize its because she is so darn independent.
Sometimes when I look at the files in my computer and see that 90% of them are pictures of furniture and tutorials I feel like the worst mom in the world.
And then I realize that only I can change that.
Sometimes I wish that there was more time to hang out with this girl.
And then I realize the Wanda and Sylvia will be back together soon and taking a room by storm on some unsuspecting victim…
Lets just let that soak in for a second.
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Sometimes I find really cool crap at the thrift store.
And then I have to come to terms with the fact that I paid more than its actually worth. Oh well, its pretty fab.
Sometimes I go to the grocery store at midnight and secret smile inside when I buy a magazine that I have been featured in.
And then I remember that the life I have, though far from perfect, is pretty dang cool.
If you have ever been to St. George UT and not eaten at Durangos you are seriously missing out. It is the yummiest Mexican in town (Trust. We have eaten there 3x a week for the last 9 years and still arent sick of it!)
My Father In Law called yesterday to see if I could take some pictures for the new menus.
I just got a new camera and I was really excited to try it out and totally nervous at the same time. Food is SO different than rooms, so I called Heather from Whipperberry (because every single one of her pictures make me want to lick my computer) and she gave me some great advice.
So what do you think? Do you think I can be a foodie?
I had so much fun shooting them I might put a few of my favorite recipes up (by a few I mean like 2, cause I don’t cook much…I guess that means I cant be a foodie then, huh? Bummer.)
So if you ever find yourself in St. George let me know and I will meet you for lunch!! (I am TOTALLY serious about that!)
