Welcome to the my creative days podcast where we will talk about all things DIY home decor, decorating tips, and creating a beautiful home on a budget. I am hoping our time together will spark a creative idea help you plan your next DIY or inspire you to finally tackle that project to keep putting off, grab your favorite cup of motivation. And let's chat.
Hello, and welcome back to the podcast. Today I'm going to talk about so it's yard sale season. So I'm getting excited for that I feel like estate sales are popping up more, it's just kind of that season when everything's starting again. And thrift stores are still you know, obviously open. And now's the time when people are cleaning out their homes spring cleaning. And so they're dropping things off at the thrift store. So all of it all of it is an exciting time, if you're somebody that wants to decorate your home, but doesn't want to spend a lot of money doing it. And I'm telling you decorating your home with thrifted finds. And by thrifted I mean estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores, you know, antique shops, whatever auctions, we're just gonna, we're kind of talking about all of that today, you can find the best stuff for your home. So your home doesn't look like it, you know, you went into a furniture store and bought the whole display if that makes sense, right? A curated homes, you know, a home that's, you know, just kind of got a mix of this and that and just has, it just adds so much character and charm. And it's it's an easy way to decorate your home with to fit your exact style on on a dime, like on a budget not spending a lot of money to do it. But I get a lot of questions from people saying, I would have never thought of picking that up. Oh my gosh, now that I see that on your wall or on that shelf, now I get how you use those things, or why you pick those things up. So what I have started to do is on my website, my creative days.com I have started doing my thrift hauls, and sharing those on my blog, because I want to kind of give, I share a lot of my thrift hauls on my YouTube channel to in video form. But I'm doing it now on my website as well because I'm sharing the item I picked up and why I picked that item up and how I can use it in our home or how I would decorate with it in our home, if that makes sense. I learned by seeing and so I know that you know talking about it and is one thing but actually seeing it in person or like seeing how it's actually done or it's super helpful. So I've started that series on the blog, you can check it out if you go to my creative days.com And then in the search bar, just search thrift haul, and you'll see those start coming up. And so it's photos of the things that I've picked up and why I pick them up and how I use them. Um, so make sure to check that out. But today, I thought I would talk about just thrifted ideas to decorate your home. So different things that you can do to I think a lot of people are intimidated to, you know, go into a thrift store, you see a lot of people, you know, if it's on social media or whatever they're they they'll show their homes and you know, some of the items are from a thrift store, they got it at a yard sale or whatever. And I think people that are used to shopping that way, are intimidated by it. And I want to get rid of that I wish there was an easy way for me to get rid of that intimidation, because it's really, if you really embrace it, and like really just have fun with it, I just I just want more people to see how much fun it can be. Because you can find some amazing things for your home that nobody else is going to have. And then the story of how you found it or who you were with or how little you paid for whatever it is there's always some kind of story to go with it. It just adds that like character, that conversation, you know, conversational piece to your home or to a space or to the room. So I really want to the only way that I can get rid of that intimidation or like push people I say I want to push people more in the thrift stores in the yard sales just just don't go when I want to go so then you can't get all the good stuff for No, but seriously, I just the only way I can do that is by sharing more you know on the website, sharing more ideas and what to pick up and just kind of hear on the podcast on my videos just kind of sharing more and more of it. And the more you see it I think the better and like the it'll be easier for you to walk into a thrift store and maybe be able to pick out those things. And then you'll get to a point when you walk into a thrift store and you don't need to kind of you'll get inspiration everywhere right? Like you can just look through a magazine or on Pinterest, and you'll find tons of inspiration that you could take to a thrift store with you. But you'll get to the point where you walk into thrift store and you'll be like, yep, getting that. Yep, that'll work there. Yes, that's the perfect color, you know, yes, that's the perfect size. That's the piece I need, that'll finish the living room, you know, whatever it is, it just the more you do it, just like anything, the easier it gets, but I just want to get rid of that initial intimidation, and just get you inside the stores. So thrifted decor for your home does not mean your home has to look like your grandma's home. You know, but I'm going to be completely honest, there are so many things that my grandma had that I wish I had right now in my home, what goes around comes around. And what is now vintage was it's all the things that we saw in our grandma's house or our parents homes. It is so funny to me. But there are so many things that I will see in the thrift store that it's like, oh my gosh, my grandma had that my mom had that. And it's things that, you know, a lot of times I am picking those things up again, now, because they're classic, they're like just those decor pieces that are gonna go with so many styles. And I change my mind, often when I'm decorating our home, I just, I get bored, and it's just a creative outlet for me. And so those are kind of those pieces that are just staples, and that will always work so. So thrifting for your home is going to look different for everybody. It just depends on your personal style and your overall aesthetic for your space and what you're looking for. But some popular art options, no matter what your style is, is you know vintage furniture, unique artwork, one of a kind textiles, you know, one of a kind, like just a core pieces, retro pieces, Mid Century Modern. And you know, like vintage, Mid Century Modern, like those kinds of things. Those are, those are really popular. And those are the things that are always like walking out the door. As I'm walking into the thrift store. I just shared today I was in a thrift store and I was sharing on Instagram. I was at one end of the aisle. And there was a lady at the other hand, and she picked up two vintage plaid throws. And oh my gosh, it was like slow motion. And I'm like no. So anyway, so let's get back to I need to do a podcast just about like thrift stories. When I'm in the the the thrift store and the different things that happen because there's some funny things that always happen. I feel like it seems like to me so. So incorporating vintage and antique piece pieces into your decor think of like old maps. And it's not like you have to have an old map, you don't have to hang it up in your in your, in your, you know, on a wall. But there are some cool ways I had one hung up in our living room forever. And everybody asked me about that where I got it. And it was just a couple of pieces of wood trim on the top and the bottom. And then I staple gunned on old map between the two and then hung it by like twine. So think of like a scroll. But it was actually made so made of two wood top and bottom pieces of old trim. And then the the vintage map in the middle. And then you know just hung by a piece of twine. So can you kind of picture that like a scroll. So you definitely could you know add character with old maps like that. You can cover books with old maps, you can put I have like Modge podged old maps into pieces of furniture like into the drawers like there's there's a lot of ways that you can incorporate it, incorporate it, it that something like that into your home. So when you think of incorporating those kinds of things into your home don't don't think of it in the literal sense like an old map am I going to just tape it to my wall no think outs if you can think outside of the bucks. Or when you're at a thrift store and you like you see a you know, a bag or a box of old maps and you think they look really cool. That's always my cue when I'm like oh my gosh, that I really love vintage and antique pieces. And just like things that have been worn and just you know, used over years and years and they're still good, if that makes sense. And so when I see anything with that patina or I see anything with that kind of look or vibe, and I'm like okay, what, this is a box of old maps, I don't know what I don't know, you can always pull out your phone and just pinch get on Pinterest and say, you know, vintage maps decor or something and it'll just kind of give you a few ideas. If it's cheap enough, buy it. The items when I'm like at a thrift store yard sale or whatever when I'm like oh I've never seen this or oh my gosh, that wood is so pretty or you know, those vintage maps, they're like, they look like they've been tasting but they're not they're like authentically you know staying just from pick those items up and take them home. Now. If you've heard any of my podcasts, you know that I am somebody that does not like to hold anything and I'm also I'm almost like way on the other side where I get rid of too much. So I'm not telling you to hoard a bunch of things. Definitely not that but when you're at a thrift store looking for hopefully you're there through store yard sale. Like I said, we're, we're in that season, so wherever you are hunting, but if you're trying to finish a space, or you want to decorate a space, that's what these items should be used for. It's
not just, Oh, I see old maps, I'm just gonna, you know, put those in a tote somewhere in the garage. I'm not saying that, right, I'm talking about decorating your home. And when you find those items that you know, you haven't seen, or you know, they're inexpensive enough, grab them, and then you know, you can come home and kind of Pinterest them. But you can do that quick in the store too. It doesn't take a lot of time. Same with like paintings and artwork and prints and, and those kinds of things. Like it just those things add so much character and history to your home. And they can usually be found for great prices at your thrift stores. Yard sales, estate sales, I need to it's just thrifted wherever you are at. So one idea for people that are like, Okay, I don't know how to go into the thrift store and get stuff for my home, like I just don't get it. One thing to do is maybe think about one area, or one vignette, or one shelf or one wall. And so one way, I'm just going to go over like just this idea, one way to do that is let's just pick a gallery wall, you have a wall up the stairs, you want to do you have an entry wall you have whatever it is a wall in the living room, whatever it is, pick that wall and create a gallery wall with it. And do it with thrifted finds. So you can find so many you know mix and match things. A gallery wall does not need to be everything the same lined up in the same line, you know, all have a gallery wall does not have to be family photos, I'm here to tell you, I'm here to break it to you, a gallery wall does not have to be eight by 10 family photos, you know, you know three rows of three, it doesn't have to be that way. Mix and match frames mix and match styles mix and match what is hung on the wall. So maybe it is you know, some pictures, but it's also like found objects like a vintage plate. An old map, like I said, old postcards that you maybe have framed old record covers like those things are just going to add a bunch of different just a ton of character to your to your gallery wall. And, you know, choose things from different eras, it just adds like a unique touch to your gallery wall. And the whole space, you know, in the whole wall doesn't have to be thrifted just by adding you know, vintage mirrors, sconces, things like that. Can and then you can add some new things in there too as well. But just think of it in areas if that helps you kind of compartmentalize when you're in the thrift store. Okay, I'm just doing this gallery wall this month. Okay, I'm just doing the mantel this month, right? And it kind of number one, it's going to make sure that you're not bringing in a whole bunch of excess. But it's just going to in number two, it's just going to keep it not such a What don't we want to say like it's going to keep your blinders on when you're in the thrift store. It's just the mantel. It's just the mantel you know and so you're not looking at things that you know furniture and things like that, right. So if it it helps to break it down into smaller areas, definitely do that. But going along with the whole gallery wall doesn't have to be thrifted neither does your, your entire space. So when I say you know, decorate your home on a dime with thrifted finds, I'm not saying like everything, but I'm going to be completely honest here. Not everything in the room or the home has to be thrifted but I'm going to be completely honest when I say I would love to challenge myself to do that. I would love to get a flip house where the flip houses we have done we have not had to stage they've sold before that but I would love to get a thrift towel or oh my gosh a flip house or we've talked about an Airbnb and have everything in there thrifted meaning Facebook marketplace, you know, you know thrift stores estate sales or whatever. I think that would be so much fun. Like that would be like a dream side gig for me. I would love to like up to that. I would love to just take that challenge. I think I could do it. I think I could really do it but anyway, so your entire space does not have to be thrifted right? Just by you know adding you know like like I said like thrifted chandelier or like a piece of vintage furniture. Or you know like your coffee table is vintage or is thrift Did and, but your sofa is from like your, wherever you're, you know, gonna get by your sofa. But you know your rug is from the store or online, but you know, the every every, like side table is thrifted like it doesn't have to be everything but because to be completely honest, breaking things up and mixing the old and new is just the it's just the best way to just kind of make your space and your home unique and personalized and just have that touch of something. Do you know what I mean? Like it's just a little bit of something else. It's just got it's not like you just walked into the you know furniture row you know front room and picked up all the artwork, all the I can just see it in my mind right now like the furniture store displays, you know what I'm talking about. It's just It's got your decorating with thrifted finds your it's gonna have more depth in your home. So here's a like kind of I just did like a bullet list of just some other thrifted ideas to decorate your your home. add texture and color with with unique thrifted finds. And so like I was talking about, like that is the thing when I'm like, Well, I've never seen one of these. When I when I think that and I when I I've never seen this before this looks so old. I've never seen this before. You know, I could do something with this. Like that's what I'm talking about those unique finds that you don't find all the time. Those are the kinds of things that like to pick up, pick up. Vintage quilts, blankets and throws they add tons of warmth and character to your living space with no work at all right like Not at all. Repurpose vintage items. So there are a ton of vintage items I find that can't be used for what they were for or what you know are or you don't have a use for them anymore. Things like old suitcases like we aren't going to be trucking through the airport with the old clunky huge suitcases but I'm telling you when I find them, I picked them up because they're the best storage under beds. I have a couple in Landon's room that they just look so good. But they actually store a bunch of his stuff as well. So you know like old trunks we're not going to be traveling with old trunks right but again, they can be coffee tables they can be in the entry. Like they can be really cool hat boxes. Same thing. Obviously if you wear a lot of hats, you could use them for that but again, you could put them on a vanity or on a dresser and then they have you know their storage but you have to just look good you know sitting on the on the dresser so think about repurposing vintage items that may not work anymore, we may not have a use for them anymore, but yet can be used in a different way. Incorporate vintage lighting. So this is one of my favorite things. And it's actually one of my favorite things in our home. So in our back porch, in my office and in our kitchen. We have incorporated or made vintage or lighting from vintage items if that makes sense. So you know think lamps, chandeliers, sconces, those kinds of things restore our local restore really has some good chandeliers every now and then. Pendant Lights, lanterns anything like that like old vintage lighting options are always a good thing or repurpose things. vintage items to add lighting to a space just to kind of add some unique lighting. Add vintage accents to different spaces in your home vases, candleholders and other decorative items. Just to add like I said that touch of history and that little bit of something else right and like those are small items. You don't if you you know you don't have to have the entire room be that but that just those little touches here and there. Just add a little bit of something extra vintage furniture now I could talk about furniture and vintage furniture and old furniture furniture for days but they're just great if you can find them. There's just so many great pieces out there and I to be completely honest, they do not make furniture like they used to at all. I've shared it another podcast like we have. We're kind of going through some changes with like in Gabrielle's room, we did something and then we're thinking about her our area and it's like oh my gosh. You just cannot buy furniture like they used to make it so if you can find some vintage good all wood furniture, have those in your spaces wherever you can. Mix vintage and modern. I kind of talked about that. You know pair of vintage mirror with a contemporary painting. Or like a vintage you know chandelier vintage light fixtures, you know above a modern sofa. It just brings the space together. And lastly I put on here incorporate Vintage Wallpaper. Now I know we actually wallpaper Gabrielle's room and I absolutely love it. I don't know If I would do it again, in, I met my talk about that, I guess I shouldn't say that I will never say never. And it depends on the house or whatever. But, but like Vintage Wallpaper,
if you can find it, we have had flip houses where I have had to remove, you know, old wallpaper. And sometimes it's been a few layers of wallpaper. It's like some of it, it's like if I could just pull this off to where I could roll it up and use it in something else, or, because it's just so good. And a lot of times, you can't find Vintage Wallpaper in like a big massive amount, right. But again, it's kind of like the maps that I talked about, you could find some Vintage Wallpaper. You could put Vintage Wallpaper on like the when the sides of drawers like of a dresser so that when you open it, you have that pop of just that that unexpected pop of color, whatever the wallpaper is, you could put it like in the back of a hunch, like, there's a lot of ways that you could do it, and use it. But it's just kind of that I say whimsical. That's, that's probably the wrong word. But I just remember, I can remember when I got my own room growing up and the wallpaper in my room. Oh my gosh, and I had candy stripe. Like that really thin carpet upstairs. Oh my gosh. Anyway, so if you can find some Vintage Wallpaper, sometimes it's really, really good. And if you can't find enough, there's just other ways that you can add it to your spaces just to add, again, a fun touch to wherever you put it. So So anyway, those are just some ideas for just some thrifted ideas to decorate your home. Easily just some things to look for just some different, you know, it's not a it's not a set of rules, that's always going to be the same, which that's what I love about it having a creative mind. And I you know, I like to think outside of the box, I'd like to be you know, rules. And I'd like to color outside of the lines, if you know what I mean, like I I like decorating like this because I have so many options. And knowing that I'm not spending an arm and a leg on it means I can change it up when I don't like it or you know what I mean? So it's just, it's just a fun way. And I want to encourage you to get into a thrift store this weekend, over your lunch break, after work some time and just see what you can find go in there with no expectations. If it's your first time, or it's your first time in a long time. Go in there with no expectations. put a timer on if you want to, you know give yourself 10 minutes just to breeze through the aisles and just keep an open mind. Go in with no expectations. Go in with I'm not redecorating. I'm not I'm not looking for anything specific. Like literally just walk in, go through the aisles and walk back out. Sometimes I think when people are reaching out to me, I think they're so like, Oh, I gotta get this and I gotta find this. And if you know, you may not find anything. There are many times when I walked through a thrift store and I find nothing, which it's just part of that, right. And there's many times when I walk into a thrift store, and I don't, I'm just walking through. Because it is fun. For me, the thrill of the hunt is the fun part for me. So I'm always I'm always going to look you know, at a yard sale and an estate sale, even though I don't have something to redecorate, or something to buy for or the thrill of the hunt will keep me coming back all the time. But I just don't. Don't give yourself any rules the first time, just don't do it because then you're not going to be let down. And I want you to keep going. And so just kind of walk through the aisles. Notice what you notice, see where they put things inside your thrift store, where the baskets are, where the artwork is where the you know, greenery is where the dishes are that kind of stuff. And then and then report back to me. I'd love to hear from you. always email me Lindsay at migraine days.com Reach out to me on Instagram at my creative days.
I love hearing from the podcast listeners. It gives me more ideas to talk about here on the podcast
and what you're what you're seeing what you want to see more of what you need help with just your funny stories. Those are great too. So always, always, always reach out to me and go to your thrift store. And I want to hear all about your next thrift store. Stop telling me all about it. Okay, you guys have a great day and I will talk to you very soon. Hello friends. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. I am grateful that you tune in every week and that you share the show with your family and friends. I love having creative chit chats with you and my hope is that this podcast will inspire you to try a new project started DIY that you've been putting off and decorate your home exactly how you want it. There were a few ways you can help us with the podcast. Follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode. And if you could take a few minutes to leave the podcast a review that would help us so so much. Again, thank you for being here and I Look forward to our chat next week bye bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
