My love of thrift stores and vintage shops is akin to trying to solve the age-old chicken and egg riddle. I’ve always been a single girl and have never experienced the joy of a dual income. So it’s difficult to determine if I learned to love thrift stores because of my need to be frugal, or if it was my love of thrift stores that provided a natural solution to my relatively meager income. The bottom line is that the love exists. And it’s real. And if loving thrift stores is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.
But decorating in the garage sale and thrift store style doesn’t mean settling for folding chairs and a cable spool as your living room set. That’s a little too “bachelor grunge” for my tastes. So, to prove that “thrift store style” is not synonymous with “tacky” I’ve included pictures of some of my favorite thrift store pictures here.
This old wardrobe traveling trunk I purchased at a thrift store for $25. (It was originally $50, but I was there on a half-off sale day.) Trying to get that puppy home in my tiny little convertible was quite the feat – but I’m a determined thrifter, and where there’s a will there’s a way. When you open the trunk, it still has all the drawers and hangers indicative of a bygone era when people dressed up to travel. I now use it as my end-of-bed seating area to put on shoes, stockings, etc. Oh, and the antique four-poster bed that’s somewhat visible behind it? Also purchased at a thrift store for $100.
This old library card catalog I purchased at a thrift store for $25. I put legs on the bottom and now use it as an occasional table. I took the metal rods out of the drawers (you know, the ones the library cards used to attach to), so now the drawers are fully functional for holding taper candles, extension cords, napkin rings – anything that needs a small out-of-the-way place to live. And all the decorations on top? Also purchased from thrift stores.
I love this 1940s era radio console. When I acquired this piece, all the original radio guts had been removed and replaced with a 1970s era turntable. So I had no remorse when I ripped out the non-working turntable to make room for 21st century components.
Oh, by the way, the cover photo is also an example of thrift store goodies. The hat racks are tall candle holders purchased for about $2 each. They are the perfect solution for hard-to-store hats. And the horse model, purchased at a vintage shop, has been a favorite treasure for years.
The beauty of thrifting is that every piece is unique, and your treasured finds will reflect your own interests and personality. Best of all, it doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, half the fun is finding an incredible bargain that will inspire your friends to exclaim, “I can’t believe you got such a fabulous deal!” So there you have it. Go forth and be fabulous.
