There are many reasons one might choose to thrift furniture and decor for their home. It’s a lot more affordable and a lot more sustainable. Those were my two main reasons for creating a thrifted home. But I also love the character that it brings to a space. It’s not all mass-produced, matching furniture that isn’t that great of quality anyway.
Each piece of furniture and decor has a story, and character and took time to find. So whether you’re moving out on your own for the first time or just looking to finally create the home of your dreams, I hope this guide will help.
How to Create a Thrifted Home
1. Create a Pinterest board
Scrolling Facebook marketplace, visiting thrift stores and pursuing estate sales is all fine and dandy but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you may end up with a lot of mismatched pieces or pieces that don’t complement each other. I’m not saying you need one certain decor aesthetic but knowing what kinds of materials, colours, textures, and patterns you like and will compliment your space will save you a lot of time and buyer’s remorse.
2. Don’t be afraid of imperfect items
A lot of the time people sell things or donate things because they have imperfections or “cosmetic” problems. They usually don’t impact the use of the item at all! My antique table definitely needs a new finish but it’s structurally solid, the perfect size and I’m obsessed with it. Learning how to sand, paint, re-upholster and otherwise “fix” an item will open the door to so many possibilities when furnishing your thrifted home.
3. Learn how to DIY
DIY can go much further than just fixing up an imperfect item. It can be thinking outside of the box and changing an item from what it was intended to something new. Below is a cabinet that I fixed up that used to be an over-the-toilet storage solution. I took the legs off, painted it and turned it into an on-the-floor storage solution.
4. Scope out online/estate sales/etc
To furnish your entire home you may need to explore further than your local thrift store. Checking out online secondhand places like eBay, Kijiji (if you’re Canadian), Craigslist, Facebook marketplace and of course, searching for local estate sales and auctions. It can be a really fun past time as well and you’re more likely to find more pieces you love.
5. Have patience!
I cannot stress this enough. If you want to fill your home with thrifted pieces, it won’t happen overnight. We lived without a table for over a year after moving in and then with no chairs for another 6 months. This is why it’s often tempting to hit up a fast furniture store and buy everything you need in one go. And while there’s nothing wrong with having items from chain furniture stores (we need a bed the day we moved and I have no shame in saying we got it from Ikea!) for those pieces you can live without for a little while, it’s totally worth it.
Related reading:
12 things to always look for at the thrift store
Thank you so much for reading! I hope this guide to creating a thrifted home serves you well and that you’re able to create the second hand home of your dreams. Please don’t forget to share this post and follow me on Instagram for daily thrifting inspiration.
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