Above is my thrift store haul from about two weeks ago. The picture below shows additional items from that same shop. People ask me all the time how I find great items at the thrift store. Mostly it’s because I look…a lot. I also keep lists of items I’m searching for and lists of manufacturers whose products I like and are timeless investments. It helps to leaf through lots of magazines and Pinterest sites to get an idea of what styles you like and what will work in your home. This way, when you start thrifting, you have a really good idea of what will work for you.
Keeping all that in mind I’ll show you what I found in this haul and then how I used some of it around the house.
The picture above shows two table cloths I found. The first is a round one that you’ll see later in my Morning Room and the second I’m planing to use in a Winter Wonderland table setting.
One of the finds that day….. these beautiful Kate Spade by Lenox plates. Can’t you just envision them on the table in a Christmas setting? There were 6 dinner plates and four dessert/salad plates. I bought all 10 plates for a total of $3. I couldn’t believe my luck. These plates were in a little independent thrift store that supports battered women.
The next find that day was a set of 6 place settings with additional serving pieces of Noritake’s Golden Ball. I love this china pattern. it has been around a long time and is a bit delicate as the gilding is 24 Karat gold and can come off, if not handled carefully….no dishwasher for this china pattern. However, it is really spectacular on the table and I will be using it during the holidays in multiple settings. These dishes came from a Hospice thrift store that was running a 50% off for Christmas items. the china is a Christmas pattern so it was included in the sale. The Thrift Store price pus 50% off made these a really good buy. Plus they are really beautiful so how could I resist.
It’s always a good idea to pick up candles when you see them. The pillar candles in the first picture on the upper left are brand new and a great sparkly addition to your Christmas decor. Next picture shows some blown glass ornaments that I’ll use on the front room Christmas tree. (See Christmas tree blog). The next two pictures show an Advent Calendar. The Advent Calendar has 24 blown glass ornaments that you can place on a table top tree to count down until Christmas. The last ornament is a star for the top of the tree. The middle picture is a Fitz and Floyd plate and a cream and sugar by Fitz and Floyd. I always pick-up Fitz and Floyd when I find it. I love the beautiful and intricate carving in their porcelain pieces. To the right of the Fitz and Floyd is a beautiful crystal, scalloped vase. It’s made from lead crystal (you can tell by the beautiful carving and the sheer weight of the piece. I don’t buy a lot of crystal but this was really pretty. I picked up an additional crystal piece in the Lenox angel in the next picture. Lenox is another brand I often look for. Behind the angel is some ivy garland that I’m going to use in my mantle decoration. Finally, some Spode Christmas Tree mittens that will go in a tablescape later on in the season. Many of the above pieces were found at a Humane Society thrift store that had a 70% off sale. It made everything really affordable. The rest of the pieces came from the Hospice thrift store. In the first picture at the beginning of the blog you can also see a set of brass candlesticks. I used these later for the mantle decorations. Although they weren’t 50% off I had a 50% off coupon for that thrift store which I used on the candlesticks.
So how did I incorporate the items in my Christmas decor?
This tablescape used the round tablecloth, Kate Spade dinner plates, Noritake Christmas Ball plates and some thrift store finds found a different day.
One of the blown glass ornaments on the front room tree.
This picture shows the ivy I added to the mantle garland.
The brass candlesticks are placed on the mantle with thrifted Santa and colonial red candles. Ivy was woven down the length of the garland to add to its fullness. Even the ribbon was thrifted.
It’s always fun to thrift store shop but it’s better if you can use the items in your home decor. Christmas is an especially fun time to incorporate those thrift store finds.
Last, but not least, I set up this Advent Calendar station. It has the Advent Calendar, a classic Thomas Pacconi, that sits on a thrifted Santa Table next to a thrifted table top Christmas tree. When you open the door of the Advent Calendar you are presented with 24 wooden doors. Each door has a picture of the glass ornament found within. You can see the first two ornaments displayed on the tree. Number three gets added today. The entire station: Advent Calendar, Santa Table and tree came to under $10.00. Christmas countdown has begun.