Top 5 Thrifty Decor Tips

Want to know a little secret? I love thrifty decor. Oh, that's not a secret, is it? Well, guess what? {I have inadvertently inserted lots of questions in the first 2 lines of this post.} I not only love thrifty decor, but I love sharing how I use thrifty materials/items and turn them into decor for our home. I get a lot of people who ask me how I did this or that, or where I purchased something. It's often hard to answer because most times I got it at a thrift store, or I used a variety of items to make it myself. I thought that I would share my top 5 tips for scoring + using thrifty decor in your home.

My most asked about rooms are the dining room, living room, bedrooms, and entryway {does that count as a room?}, so I'm going to focus on decor mostly from those rooms, while incorporating a little from other rooms as well.

Tip 1: Use greenery, fresh or faux. In my opinion, it adds such a nice pop of color in the most natural way possible. Plus it brings a little of the outdoors in. This could include flowers, a sprig off of a tree in your yard or your neighbors -haha- {see below}, plants, a single flower, etc. I shared this on Instagram yesterday. I often check thrift stores for wreaths + greenery. Usually you won't find cute little faux plants there, but often times thrift stores will have an entire little section for faux flowers + wreaths. I ALWAYS look here for anything I can use greenery-wise. This lavender that I've bunched together in this vase {see 2nd picture below} was on a VERY ugly wreath that I found buried beneath some faux flowers. I didn't use anything on the wreath, except for this lavender. {The entire wreath was $1, so totally worth it}. Sometimes, you have to be a little unconventional in your thinking. You can't always take things at face value, sometimes it takes a little imagination. So the next time you see an ugly wreath, see if any parts of the wreath could be used elsewhere by itself. You never know the hidden beauty!

 I get asked all the time about my storage ottomans in my living room. They used to look like this originally. They were purchased at either Walmart or Target while I was in college for like $15 each. I used a shower curtain that I had on hand {not in use} to recover them both. This was the easiest DIY and it totally changed the look of the ottomans + it brought some color into our neutral living room. 

Tip 2: When looking to recover furniture such as a seat cushion like I showed you here, or if you're wanting to hang curtains, or recover a pillow or an ottoman {the list is endless}, before buying fabric from the fabric store, search for shower curtains, regular curtains, napkins, tablecloths, blankets, drop cloths, etc to see if there's a pattern you like. The linens section at thrift stores scares a lot of people....DON'T LET IT. I have found some of the BEST "fabric" there. All it needs is a good wash + it's good as new, and usually for under $5. You can't beat that. But aside from the thrift store, search your regularly priced stores for patterns or textures that could work. It may not always be "cheaper", but you may be able to find a cool "fabric" in the form of a shower curtain {like I did} that you may not be able to find at a generic fabric store.

Tip 3: Picture frames are a hot commodity, and they can also be an expensive one! This is probably one of my favorite tips. Go to the thrift store + search their frames. They don't have to be cute or matching when you buy them. All you need is a can of spray paint to create the exact look you want. This entire gallery wall was created using thrifted frames. Most of them were natural wood when I bought them + I just spray painted all of them black so that it unified them. Literally, frames at thrift stores are SO cheap. You honestly cannot afford to pass this tip up. Also, a lot of the artwork filling these frames came from the internet and I printed it at home.

Below is another example of a gallery wall in our bedroom. The frames are all $1 wooden frames from Michael's, aside from the $10 window frame, and all the other little items were thrifted or from the $1 bins at Michaels/Target.

Tip 4: Vases, canisters, and bowls are huge in the decor world. They hold plants, jewelry, coins, keys, and an endless number of other items. Stores like TJ MAXX, Ross, Hobby Lobby, and Marshalls all have pretty good prices on these items, but again, thrift stores have some terrific hidden gems. I'm realizing this post is turning into a thrifting-heavy suggestion box, whoops! All of these were found hidden in the shelves at various thrift stores and most were under $2.  I typically look for ones with texture just to add some flair to the space in which it will be housed. I also have several faux plants around our home that are housed in texture candle holders that I repurposed, or in canisters that you would typically find in the kitchen. Be creative!

Tip 5: Furniture shopping is exhausting to me. I have no problem finding what I love, but the actual purchasing is the issue. I just can't justify spending the kind of money that most things cost, when I know that if I'm patient, I can probably hunt it down cheaper {not always the case, but a lot of times it is}. So, my tip when hunting for furniture is to scour Craigslist. Again, Craigslist scares some people, and obviously you should use precaution {like make sure you meet in a crowded place, or always have someone with you when meeting up for a purchase, don't allow people to your home unless you absolutely have to, etc}, but generally speaking, I've had terrific luck with Craigslist. We live in a military-heavy area, so there's tons of turnover. It sucks for the people that have to sell all of their stuff to move cross-country quickly, but it's great for people like me! The following items were all Craigslist purchases, many of which have undergone paint transformation:

Lazy Boy Recliner $400 in excellent condition {new costs upwards of $1200}

Glider $75 {I spray painted it white}

Hall Tree Bench $10 {I painted it white + black}

Ikea Ektorp Arm Chairs $25 each 

{I bought white slipcovers for $29/chair; these chairs new cost $350+ each}

Microfiber Sectional Couch $400 {like new}, Side table/hutch $10 

{I painted it dark green}, + antique fan $10.

2 White dining chairs $5 

{I gave them a fresh coat of paint + recovered the seats}

So my tip is to search antique shops, thrift stores, Craigslist, yardsales, curbs {haha, but seriously}, and estate sales. You can find some real gems if you have the patience. Some pieces might require a little TLC, but in the end, you have all that gratification that you not only made something your own, but you saved lots of money in the process.

There you have it, my top 5 tips for thrifty decor. I realize I leaned a lot on thrifting, which isn't everyone's thing, but let me encourage you to at least TRY IT before you dismiss it. I really, really believe that people don't know what they're missing. Oh, and just a little friendly reminder, take hand sanitizer for after you've shopped.  Hope this helps y'all! XO!