My Thrifted Home
Today’s blog post is going to lean into “A picture is worth more than a thousand words.” Specifically photos from my thrifted/curb picked/buy nothing home.
I thrifted the framed silkscreen, which is from the same artist (Elizabeth Harris) as the framed poster at the stair landing. The upper frame was a curb find and the poster was a wedding gift from the artist herself.
Here’s a photo of the silkcreen. I love the richness of the colors and the rug.
This corner of my dining room features a vintage enamel clock from the Goodwill bins, a thrifted painting of the Columbia Gorge and my propagated prayer plant.
My $12.99 midcentury Danish teak desk sits in my living room with my handmade Marimekko lampshade and $5 orange Steelcase office chair.
I recently picked up this cotton blend German blanket to resell and realized it might work well in youngest’s childhood bedroom in place of the soccer scarves that are no longer on display. The dresser is Buy Nothing, the basket was a curb find.
Please enjoy that these books are either written by or edited by my parents.
The other side of this room still has the stripes I painted at least ten years ago. The bedding is all thrifted, (as are the stool, lamp and wastebasket) and the bed frame is from Buy Nothing.
The mattress itself was new.
My daughter’s childhood bedroom is also filled with free and almost free furnishings.
We already had the bed, the bedside table and bookshelf were Buy Nothing, and the wool rug was from an after garage sale free pile.
From the opposite view.
Lastly, this is my bedside table. This alabaster lamp was from my great grandparents’ house and all the doo dads, (including the clock) were either thrifted or curb picked. The wall hooks and metal tray were also thrifted.
Thanks for coming along for my home tour. See you tomorrow for five frugal things!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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Thank you for sharing your home! I would choose many of those items in similar circumstances. I like the family book group!
I belong to the “things you like match with each other” school of decorating. It has been a while since I looked at my rooms and thought about where things came from. Many would have been from similar sources to yours.
That is so true!
I really enjoyed the tour of your home and seeing the decor. I especially loved seeing your daughter’s room with the slanted walls. The house I grew up in and my grandmother’s house both had these. I always felt cozy in rooms that had slanted walls.
All of the upstairs rooms have slanted walls.
It looks nice! My favorite bit is the corner with the prayer plant.
A surprising percentage of my home is thrifted or curb picked. It’s more challenging to make everything cohesive when you don’t just go to a store and plunk down some money, but once you get everything put together, the end result is more interesting. People would be hard pressed to duplicate what you have in your home, and that’s a good thing!
I acknowledge that some people want a boring beige home, and that’s ok! It’s just not for me.
Plants literally bring “life” to any room!
Thank you for the tour of your cozy home curated with lovely things that are meaningful to you and your family.
I spy the Lucite table. Your home is so cozy and so PNW!
I brought in my house plants that were living on the back porch Bakers rack.
I damp mopped the wood floors and unfurled the wool runners, happy fall!
Removed the outdoor window shades from the south and west facing windows, stored them away.
Covered the outdoor chairs, not quite ready to put away just yet.
I have a big batch of caramelized onion jam slow cooking in the crock pot, will can tonight. Holiday baskets are filling up!
Thank you for the tour, your home is so inviting.
The neighbor kids are coming for tea and a craft. Today we are making corn husk dolls. We died the corn husks last week and they are dried and ready to play. Cheers!
Yes, the lucite table found a home in my daughter’s old bedroom!
I admire your home, not just the thrifted furnishings but also the rich wall colors. I would like to do similar colors, but my condo, in the bottom of the “U” is a bit dark.
You’ve inspired me to share my thrifted decor! Though I can’t share pictures, I can describe.
In my living room, I have a low blanket chest I bought at Goodwill about fifteen years ago. Above that are displayed six photographs of birds, taken by my grandson. He won an award for one of them! They are in a variety of thrifted frames. Under the window is an alley-picked step stool, which I painted black. On the far wall is a solid wood Ethan Allan printer stand. It just looks like a pretty cabinet and that’s how I use it. In a corner stands a black file cabinet which I inherited from my son when he moved away, and it is topped with an ornamental birdcage, thrifted, of course. Beside the file cabinet is a solid wood desk and chair, bought at a garage sale about ten years ago. Three more wall hangings — a watercolor bunny, with Oriental characters in the corner — a watercolor painting of a Galena barn, painted by a Chicago artist — and a black and white photograph of a winter scene. The latter two I inherited from a great uncle, and the bunny I got at a church rummage sale about 40 years ago!
Dining room — a 1960’s-era cherry table, chairs and hutch I bought from my SIL’s parents. My aquarium sits on a painted stand I got at an estate sale. The Prairie-style floor lamp was abandoned by a former building tenant.
My bedroom — my main dresser is a handmade rustic chest of drawers which was built by my ex’s grandfather. (Ex didn’t want it). A smaller chest of drawers I bought at a garage sale. My great aunt’s rattan rocker sits by the bed, as well as her elegant side table, circa 1920’s. Above my bed (which I bought new) is an Oriental floral painting I bought at an antique store.
I also display a couple of samplers — one inherited, one from a garage sale — and a charming Cassatt print of a little girl in a straw hat — that one I picked up from a park bench. And also displayed is a painting of roses done by my great-grandmother. And it’s very good — she was a skilled artist.
In the front hall, there is a wooden bookcase from my childhood home, and in the kitchen, a shabby chic chest of drawers I bought at a garage sale, and where I store containers, washcloths, and utensils.
Thanks for letting me describe my thrifted and inherited treasures! Until I did this exercise, I didn’t realize quite how many I had! Hope you haven’t minded.
Beth, I can picture your place and it sounds eclectic, lovely and homey!
Thanks, MB!
Beth W, I am intrigued by the artwork in your home, the paintings and the images by your grandson. As a retired curator of fine arts, my eyes (imagination, in this case), always goes there first. Your home sounds delightfully colorful and cozy overall, too. You have an eye for this clearly, as does Katy.
You make me wish it was possible to share photos on the blog!
I like the white textured base of the Marimekko lamp. The texture is interesting & the bright lampshade plays off the white base. I also noticed that the wool blanket you used as a wall hanging coordinates nicely w/ the green wall color. My home is also furnished w/ Craigslist free items, curb picked treasures, and inherited furniture. I am currently spray painting a set of chairs. They were originally bar stools. My husband cut off the legs to make them dining room chair height. He removed the seats. I touched up the brown seats w/ Old English scratch cover. I spray painted the chairs w/ semi-gloss white paint. Once the seats are screwed back down I’ll be in business. The chairs will match the white Ikea dining table I got free off Nextdoor Neighbor. I curb picked curtain rods. My BFF gave me curtains her daughter had tired of. I love my thrifted decor!
Your chairs sound amazing!
Your home is so lovely and warm! Love how you made everything work together. How cool to have a collection of books by your parents! Thanks for sharing- always love to see how you put things together. My home is similar- found or thrifted. I had company recently and she said ‘it doesn’t go together but somehow it all works together’
What a fun home!! Mine is very similar except 99% of mine is inherited and hand me downs from family that has passed away. What I love about it is every single thing has a memory. Many years ago a friend and her son came over for a visit. On the way home he told her that my house was like a museum! I took that as a compliment!! Thank you for sharing with us.
Now I’m curious about your house!
I love that!
Lovely. That silk screen is amazing.
I agree. I initially gave it as a gift to my father as she lived this artist’s work, but my step-mother had him give it back as she didn’t like that there was a “fat woman” in the art.
Love that big zebra plant! Ditto, all your plants and rooms! Would like to know how you got that zebra plant to grow so big.
Very few items in my house are brand new. I kept all the furniture inherited from my parents and grandparents. My mother joked that her furniture was “early matrimony,” but it is now post WW2 and mid-century antique. Her mahogany dining room set has a breakfront cabinet and I found and bought its twin at an antique store when I moved into this house. Curio shelves come from my grandmother, and display her china teacup collection.The huge ornate cedar chest my dad built as a high school student (class of 1937) matches the wood tone and is also in the huge LR-DR. On it sits a flower arrangement made from my mother’s old Royal manual typewriter, with artificial flowers coming out the top. I have their mid-century bedroom suite in the guest room and my grandmother’s birdseye maple bedroom suite in my bedroom. Although I replaced the rickety bed with an Ikea king sized one, bought off Craigslist from someone who was moving away. Purchased antiques include a chest that matches the birdseye maple; a maple rocking chair from an estate sale’s half-off day; a rolltop desk; a carved library table that a woman artist supposedly hand carved; and a French provincial sofa for the LR-DR. I have repurposed several items including some old microwave oven carts ca. 1980s, when microwaves were ginormous; they are now used as bedside tables. The cabinet part of an old wooden bathroom space saver is now, minus its legs, a wall cabinet in our smallest half-bath. Artwork includes framed posters from the London Transport Museum, advertising signs, photos and misc. items displayed on gallery walls. I suppose the only new items I have are Aldi shelves for my many books and the new TV which is on the birdseye maple chest. Most lamps are hand-me-downs or trash picked or thrifted and often their shades come from other sources. I once told a visitor “point to anything in my house and I’ll tell you the story that is attached to it.” I cannot ever downsize because everything has sentimental value that makes it priceless to me.
Love the tour of your home and the descriptions of what came from where. I especially like the art. I often find myself wandering around the house and pointing out (to myself) “This, that, and the other thing are from the Buy Nothing group,” “We curb picked those stools or _____ (fill in the blank),” “Hand-me-down from Mom and Dad, grandparent, aunt, mother-in-law, friend,” “Thrift store,” and so on. Of course we’ve bought new things, but it’s amazing how much you can get for free or next-to-nothing. I once did a gratitude post in our BN group about all the things we’d been gifted. There were multiple items in every room, the porch and patio as well. And I try *really hard* to gift way more than we request.