You are hereHome » What We Do Lucky Finds Thrift ShopMy Colortopia — colorful living made easy Powered By Glidden Paint Thrift Shop Finds: 3 Questions To Answer Before You Buy What’s more exciting than unearthing buried treasure? Thrift shop finds are the ultimate decor junkie high! Decorating and furnishing your home with pieces you’ve discovered and brought back to life not only has the reward of being incredibly affordable and earth-friendly, but also is fabulously unique and personal. You can bet the sideboard you salvaged and painted the perfect accent shade for your dining room isn’t something the neighbors will have. With your one-of-a-kind piece, you can experiment with colors and finishes that you might have thought twice about otherwise. Provided you can find the right piece to start with, there really is no downside to outfitting your pad with thrift store finds. So let’s get hunting. The good news is that there are lots of places to find used furniture: garage sales, flea markets, used furniture warehouses, thrift stores, and maybe even a dumpster near you.

The bad news is that with such an abundance of choices, it can often be hard to determine what is worth dragging home and what is better left behind. Once you’ve scanned the goods and narrowed it down to one or two selections, answer the following questions honestly and you’ll be able to fill your home with quality pieces you’ll treasure for years. 1. The sniff test. I’m not speaking figuratively here—actually smell it! Some odors are normal for a piece with age, like a faint aroma of grandma’s perfume or the must of mothballs. Smells that are faint or aren’t particularly offensive won’t be a problem, especially if you plan to paint it, since a fresh coat can kill quite a number of smells. On the other hand, anything really foul is likely going to be unpleasant and/or difficult to remove. If it stinks, keep on walking. 2. Give it a test drive. Open and close the doors and drawers. Look under the base and behind the back. Try to wobble the piece and see how it holds up.

Run your hand over the finish to find any major dings or damage. All this will give you a sense of whether the piece is well made and if it needs any major repairs. A fresh coat of paint can cure a number of ills, but it won’t get a warped door to close or poor construction to get stronger. Sure, you could invest lots of time in fixing it, but I find that anything more than the most simple fix (like replacing the hardware or patching a hole) is not worth the investment. You will find something in better condition if you keep looking. 3. See it in black and white. This is where it gets tricky. A really hideous finish can sometimes be hard to see past, but these types of pieces are where you’ll find the best deals. Look at the shape and proportion. Mentally “try it on” in different colors and in different spots in your home. If you don’t love the shape or if it’s too big/small, keep looking. On the other hand, if you can imagine it fitting right in, open your wallet and bring it home.

On your way home, stop to pick up some paint samples and get to work transforming your thrift shop finds from looking tired to looking terrific. I have been sponsored by the Glidden® brand paint for PPG to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.Boy have we got some fun for you today! It’s that time of year, when my girl Charlotte from Ciburbanity hosts her annual Swap It Like Its Hot series! Let me tell you, it is a hoot!home decor accessories in dubai 40 bloggers swapping thrifted finds to makeover…well it could be DIY magic, or an epic disaster. christmas tree rental irelandI mean, look at the kind of things you can find in my local thrift shop.wholesale personalized christmas ornaments uk

See what I mean? These are the finds I spied while deciding what to send to fellow thrift swapper, Jaime from That’s My Letter. It could be crazy awesome, crazy huge, or just plain crazy. No worries, I couldn’t be so cruel as to send her that weird miss Piggy…besides, I found a few fun items that I’d love to see what a great builder like Jaime could do with. My thrift swap sender, Jessica from Decor Adventures was super sweet not to send me anything completely coo-coo (like a weird miss Piggy figurine). christmas tree rental in singaporeI had one item I could not figure out for the life of me. best rated stucco paintBut I’ll tell you more about that later. home decor magazines dubai

Here’s what Jessica sent me: Very cool items right? I knew what I wanted to do the moment I saw them! To the bat cave!…er workshop! Oh man, I LOVE picture card holders! I’m totally assuming that’s what these are…wouldn’t it be weird if that’s not what they are at all? Anyway, it’s all I see when I look at them (that or car lights for a fun toy car for kids). A few of my favorite Krylon spray paint colors, and now my daughter has a fantastic way to keepsake postcards and letters from her pen pal (which is her Grandma and Grandpa, isn’t that sweet?). They make for such a pretty collection don’t you think? Plus they match perfectly with the DIY canvas art I made! Ok, they say great minds think alike…sometimes crazy minds do too… but anyway, Jessica sent me a tray that looks almost exactly like the one I picked up for myself from the thrift store several months ago! Awesome, now I have a pair. I originally wanted to stain it different hues to highlight the awesome woven design, but after sanding a little edge of it, I realized that this bamboo wasn’t going to stain so easily, so I ditched that idea and chose to spray paint it in a color blocking style.

With two trays (mine was a little beat up), I decided it would be fun to use it as wall art instead of actual trays! A couple 3M Command strips, and they look great up on the wall together! Updated, more contemporary…actually they would be really cool either as art OR for actual tray use. Last, but not least, a simple glass vase. I love glass, and I love gold, and boy aren’t they just a match made in heaven? I decided to bring out a few other glass jars and vases I had lying around and make another little collection. I started by taping off and spray painting the bottom portion of each of my glass jars. Use the Krylon metallic gold Maxx…it is the perfect color match to the next step. When you want a super reflective shimmer to your gold, use the Martha Stewart gold liquid gilding! You’ll paint that on with a soft bristle brush right on top of the spray painted area. This will ensure that you don’t have to use more than one coat of that valuable liquid gold, and that it doesn’t appear too streaky.

It is just SO pretty! I feel like Midas, but without the negative side affects. 😀 Hmmm, what else can I goldify? I had such a great time giving these items my own personal style and twist. But there was one item Jessica sent that stumped me. Not because I don’t know what to do with sued material, but rather because I’m really weirded out by thrifted materials I can’t wash or scrub down. You guys are crazy creative…so I want to know, what would YOU make with this guy? Hm, and how could you clean them before use (they aren’t washable)? L Be sure to pop over to Jaime from That’s My Letter and see what fun trinkets I sent her, and to Jessica of Decor Adventures to see what she made as well! Tune in all week to see the crazy items this talented group of bloggers has been making over! Search the hashtag #swapitlikeitshot on social media to follow along with all the fun or check out our Pinterest Board. That’s My Letter / DIY On the Cheap / Run To Radiance / The Gathered Home