I love a good garage sale. And I can haggle with the best of em! I am also a fan of decorating my house with vintage decor. People often ask me where I found these little treasures and nine times out of ten it was a garage sale or estate sale. Antique stores usually know what they have and price things higher so I tend to focus more on the garage sales of older folks.
The secret is knowing what to look for. When I'm looking for vintage decor I always have anthropology style in my head. I came up with a list of seven types of items that are commonly found at garage or estate sales and help create a vintage feel.
1. Glassware
In particular pretty colored glassware. It's quite common and if you are not buying some of the name brand glassware of the 50's then you can find it quite reasonably. It makes any table look pretty!
I use this little snifter on a stack of books in a wooden tray and many people have commented on it. It's such a unique piece.
2. Knick-Knacks
The candy dish and the jewelry boxes both purchased from an estate sale for under $2 each. I have used the candy dish on my coffee table over a stack of magazines or as decor on a bookshelf. The jewelry boxes and mirror are so delicate in a light filled bathroom. West Elm sells them for a $32 each. I bought mine for a quarter a piece. These types of knick-knacks make any space pop!
3. Linens
So I actually got the towels from grandma......but the others are from garage sales. I love finding linens and reusing them for table cloths and curtains. The styles from the 60's and 70's are very in right now and can be found in pretty good condition. They are perfectly faded....a quality some stores charge a lot for.
Are these not the cutest sheets?
4. Bowls
I use miscellaneous bowls for decoration all over my house filling them with pretty books or fruit. I also use the wooden bowls for that space above my cabinets in the kitchen. They make for an interesting salad bowl as well! The wire baskets are quite expensive at antique stores right now and cost $30-100 at Pottery Barn. I have purchased a few at estate sales for next to nothing and they are both functional and appealing.
5. Small Vintage Appliances
I see typewriters, clocks, lamps and more at garage and estate sales quite often. If you go to an antique store they can be quite expensive and often they are worth it because they add so much to a room. I actually use this fan in my bedroom so it's functional as well as unique. Look for pieces that can serve as accents on top of an armor, nestled in a bookshelf or on a desk. You will be surprised how much style they add to a room.
6. Art
Garage sales are a great place to find framed art. And often a change of frame is all they need to improve an old piece of artwork. I find birds and flowers quite often and they are often faded to perfection. These two birds pictures (they are actually painted on fabric) I found and reframed in empty frames (that almost match) found at a different garage sale. I think they are sweet!
7. Books
One of my favorite things to decorate with is vintage books. You can find unique colors and sizes. Use them flat as a stand for a trinket or spaced in an interesting way on a book shelf. I have almost no room for books anymore because I love to stack them in cute little stacks instead of efficiently lining them up. The two phonebooks are favorites of mine. Unusual books are the best!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you will now garage sale for your home with confidence!
Follow me on social media by clicking the links and, as always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.
No comments:
Post a Comment