Thrifting Tips: Unearthing Hidden Gems

Welcome to the Blog today, Friends. It’s always a pleasure to have you visit, and today I have some fun thrifted treasures to share with you!

If you’ve been around here for a while, you probably already know that things are always changing around our house. Furniture gets moved from one room to another, artwork finds a new home on a different wall, and seasonal decor gets packed away and brought out again as the year goes along. I’m always looking at a room and thinking, “What would happen if I moved that over there?” LOL!

I love giving my home a fresh look without spending a fortune, and that is probably one of the biggest reasons I enjoy thrifting so much. There is something very satisfying about walking into a thrift store with no particular plan, wandering through the aisles, and suddenly spotting something that makes you stop in your tracks. You may not have been looking for it at all, but somehow you know exactly where it will go once you get it home.

And the best part? You don’t have to spend a lot to make a big difference. A pretty piece of artwork, an interesting tray, a small table, or even a decorative accessory can completely change the feeling of a room. Sometimes all it takes is one little treasure to get me started on a whole new decorating idea.

That’s what I love about thrifting. It gives us permission to experiment. We can try something new, move things around, change our minds, and have a little fun with our homes without feeling as though we’ve made some enormous investment. If I find something wonderful for a few dollars and it doesn’t quite work where I first imagined it, well…there’s always another spot to try!

So today, I’m going to show you some of my recent finds and how they have made their way into our home. Some were things I was specifically looking for, and others were those delightful “I wasn’t looking for you, but I’m so glad I found you!” treasures.

Let’s take a look and see what followed me home from my latest thrifting adventures!

I had been looking for living room chairs for quite some time, but I just couldn’t seem to find anything I loved that was also within my budget. You know how it is sometimes—you get an image in your head, and once that picture is there, nothing else quite seems to measure up. I was determined to wait for the chairs that felt right rather than settling for something simply because it was available.

I had a pretty specific wish list. The chairs needed to be comfortable, with good-quality fabric and nice, plump cushions that practically begged you to sit down and stay awhile. I wanted a neutral color that would work easily with the room, beautiful wood, and some interesting detailing to give the chairs a little personality. And, if I was going to invest in living room chairs, I wanted them to come from a good furniture maker and have the quality of construction that would stand the test of time.

Then, a few weeks ago, I walked into my local thrift store and there they were!

The chairs pictured above checked every single box on my list. Sometimes thrifting really does reward patience. You can search and search, come up empty-handed, and then suddenly find exactly what you’ve been hoping for sitting right there in a thrift store. It’s one of my favorite things about thrifting!

I immediately loved the deep cushions on these chairs. They have that wonderfully inviting look that makes you want to curl up with a good book and get comfortable. The cushions are down-filled and beautifully made, so they have both the softness and fullness that I was looking for.

One of the details I especially appreciate is the way the striped pattern on the cushions lines up perfectly with the stripes on the chair itself. The pattern flows continuously across the piece rather than looking interrupted, and that little bit of extra attention to detail makes such a difference. It is one of those things you might not notice right away, but once you see it, you realize how beautifully the chair was made.

There is also a row of hammered nail trim along the bottom of the chair, adding another lovely layer of detail. I always enjoy those small touches that give a piece a little more character without making it feel fussy.

The front feet of the chairs are on wheels, which I absolutely love. There is something about wheeled furniture that gives a chair an old-world feel, and it also makes the chairs wonderfully practical when you want to shift things around a bit. And goodness knows, I’m always moving something around in this house! LOL.

The back cushions line up beautifully with the seat cushions, and the fabric itself is lovely—soft, neutral, and easy to live with. There is a gentle curve to the back cushion that makes the chair look especially comfortable, along with some pretty detailing where the arm rises into the back of the chair.

When you put all of these little details together—the beautiful fabric, the plump down-filled cushions, the carefully matched stripes, the nail trim, the lovely wood, and those charming wheeled feet—you can really see the quality of these chairs. They aren’t simply chairs to fill a space. They are beautifully made pieces of furniture with the kind of craftsmanship I had been hoping to find.

And the best part? I found them while thrifting!

While I was inspecting the chairs, I decided to lift the seat cushion and have a look underneath. And what a happy surprise I found there! Tucked underneath was the original furniture slip from the company, complete with a swatch of the fabric and information about the manufacturer and the original seller. I love finding little bits of history like this when I’m thrifting. It feels almost like being a furniture detective!

The chairs were made by the Sherrill Furniture Company, and having that information gave me the opportunity to do a little research on the company and on these particular chairs. The original slip provided details that helped me learn more about their construction and original pricing. It’s always fun to discover that a piece you’ve found at a thrift store has a little more history behind it than you realized when you first spotted it.

And, as you can see, the pretty detailing didn’t stop at the front of the chair. It continued around the back as well. I always appreciate furniture that looks good from every angle, especially when a chair is going to be sitting in the middle of a room where you can see the back. Those extra details are a good indication that some thought went into the entire piece rather than just the part everyone sees first.

When you’re purchasing furniture from a thrift store, estate sale, or consignment shop, it’s always a good idea to find out who made the piece if you can. The maker can tell you quite a bit about the quality and construction, and sometimes you can even find information about the original piece. But don’t let a familiar name do all the talking! A good inspection is just as important.

Take your time and look closely at the fabric for stains, tears, fading, or other damage. Check the frame to make sure it feels solid and sturdy. I also like to turn furniture over and inspect the underside. Look at the legs, joints, springs, and anything else you can see. You never know what you might discover down there—and in my case, I found the original furniture ticket!

It was very clear that these chairs had never really been used. The cushions were in beautiful condition, the fabric looked fresh, and everything about them suggested that they had spent their lives waiting rather than being enjoyed. They may have been floor samples, or perhaps they were stored away in a warehouse and simply never sold. Of course, I’ll never know their entire story, but I do know they were waiting for me!

Finding the original ticket was the icing on the cake. Not only did I find two beautifully made chairs that checked every box on my wish list, but I also found a little piece of their history tucked underneath one of the cushions. That’s one of the things I love most about thrifting—you never quite know what story is going to come home with you!

The chairs are now happily situated in our Great Room, and I have to say, they fit in beautifully with the rest of the furniture. It’s always a little exciting when you bring something home from a thrift store and discover that it looks even better in your home than you imagined it would. These chairs seem as though they were meant to be here all along.

And now for the part everyone wants to know…how much did I pay?

Our research showed that these chairs originally sold for approximately $3,000 each. On the secondary market, similar chairs can sell for somewhere between $1,500 and $2,500 each, depending on their condition. So imagine my delight when I tell you that the thrift store price was $72 per chair!

Yes…you read that correctly. Seventy-two dollars each!

I did my happy dance all the way home. LOL! There are some thrifting finds that make you smile, and then there are the finds that make you wonder how on earth you managed to get so lucky. These chairs definitely fall into the second category. I love knowing that I was able to bring home beautifully made furniture with all those lovely details without spending anything close to the original price.

So, how do you recognize a great find like this when you’re standing in the middle of a thrift store surrounded by a sea of furniture?

Well, there isn’t a magic formula, but you can definitely develop what I like to call a “good eye.” And the good news is that it comes with experience—and a whole lot of looking. The more furniture you examine, the more you begin to recognize quality construction, good fabrics, interesting details, solid wood, and those little clues that tell you a piece may be something special.

You also need a little bit of luck…and sometimes you need to move quickly!

That last part is important. If you spot something wonderful and spend too much time debating whether you should buy it, there is a very good chance that someone else will make the decision for you. You can always go back and find an excuse not to buy something, but you can’t always go back and find the treasure you were considering. If it’s gone, it’s gone—and someone else is probably doing their happy dance!

When you’re shopping for furniture, there is a little trick that can give you some breathing room while you make up your mind. If the thrift store has a ticket attached to the piece, you can take the ticket with you and carry it around the store while you think about the purchase. That way, you’ve essentially claimed your spot in line while you decide. You can wander around, think about where the piece might go, measure things in your head—or even pull out your phone and check dimensions if you need to.

And if you decide it isn’t right for you, simply take the ticket back and put it where you found it.

I have found this little trick to be especially helpful with furniture. Sometimes you need a few minutes to picture a piece in your home before you can make a decision. But if you find something that checks all the boxes—good quality, beautiful construction, the right size, the right color, and a price that makes you smile—don’t spend too much time talking yourself out of it.

Because the next person walking through the door may have a very good eye, too!

The other finds I want to share with you today are some beautiful watercolor paintings. In the pictures above, you can see details from several paintings I found just this week. I have to admit that I have a real weakness for watercolor artwork. There is something about the softness of the colors, the loose brushwork, and the way the artist can capture a scene with just a few strokes that always catches my eye.

And artwork is one of my favorite things to look for when I’m thrifting. Changing out a painting or two is such an easy way to give a room a completely different look without changing the furniture or spending a lot of money. Sometimes all a room needs is a new piece of artwork to make everything feel fresh again.

When you’re looking at artwork in a thrift store, however, you sometimes have to be willing to look past what you see at first glance. A painting may be covered in dust, the glass may be cloudy, and the frame may have seen better days. Don’t be too quick to dismiss it! Try to look beyond the dirt and imagine what might be hiding underneath.

That’s exactly what happened with these paintings. They are all by regional artists, which makes them especially fun to have in our home. I love the idea of bringing artwork into our rooms that was created by someone from the surrounding area. It gives the pieces a little connection to where we live and makes them feel even more personal.

One thing I always check carefully when I’m considering a thrifted painting is the condition of the frame and mat. If you don’t want to spend the money to have a piece reframed, you want to make sure those elements are in reasonably good condition. Look for water damage, stains, cracks, loose corners, or anything else that might require more work than you want to take on.

Fortunately, the frames and mats on these pieces were all in good condition. They simply needed a little TLC. Once I brought them home, I cleaned the glass and carefully wiped down the frames, and what a difference that made!

Suddenly those lovely watercolor colors seemed to come alive. The vibrant shades were much easier to see, and all the little details in the paintings that had been hiding behind that layer of thrift-store dust were revealed. It’s amazing what a little cleaning can do. Sometimes you don’t have to change the artwork at all—you just have to uncover it!

That’s another little thrill of thrifting for me. You aren’t always buying something that looks perfect sitting on the shelf. Sometimes you’re buying the potential of what it can become once you bring it home, give it a little attention, and find just the right place for it in your home.

This painting is a lovely view of a seaside town that looks as though it could be tucked away somewhere along the coast of the northeastern states. It has that peaceful, almost nostalgic feeling of a little harbor town where the pace of life seems to slow down just a bit. Looking at it makes me want to pack a small suitcase, find a charming inn, and spend a few days wandering around town!

It is a good-sized piece, so it needed a little space to breathe in our Great Room. I placed it on the wall beside the large windows, where it has plenty of room to make a statement. The painting replaced three smaller pieces that had previously been hanging there, and I really like the change.

Of course, those three smaller paintings didn’t go into storage. They are now free to be used in smaller vignettes around the house, which is one of the things I enjoy about changing artwork. Moving one piece can create several new decorating possibilities somewhere else. It’s almost like getting new artwork without actually having to go shopping!

I love the colorful scene in this painting and the way it brings a little bit of the seaside indoors. There is something so tranquil about the view that I find myself lingering over it. Every time I look at it, I can imagine a quiet afternoon in that little coastal town—perhaps a walk along the water, a gentle breeze coming off the harbor, and a stop somewhere for a cup of tea before heading back to the inn.

Not a bad thing to find for a little thrifting adventure!

I was immediately drawn to the second painting because it is just so fabulously colorful! There is a woman sitting and cutting what looks like a melon or perhaps a squash, and the bright yellows and oranges seem to spring right out of the frame. You couldn’t help but notice this painting sitting among everything else in the thrift store. It has that wonderful quality of grabbing your attention from across the room and saying, “Come over here and take a look at me!”

I love a gorgeous splash of color, especially when it can completely change the feeling of a space. This painting adds such a cheerful bit of energy to the room while still feeling warm and inviting. Sometimes one colorful piece of artwork is all it takes to wake up a room and give it a fresh new personality.

Fortunately, this painting was the same size as the one it replaced, so changing things out was wonderfully easy. No measuring, no new holes in the wall, and no wrestling with a picture that is determined not to hang straight! LOL. The other painting will have its turn in another room for a while. I love being able to move artwork around the house and see how a familiar piece looks in a completely different setting.

In the picture above, you can also get a side view of the gallery wall in our hallway. Over the years, we have found that having a gallery wall is such an easy and practical way to display artwork—and, perhaps more importantly, to change it out. Instead of making multiple holes in the walls every time I find a new painting, I can simply swap one piece for another.

It’s an efficient way to rotate artwork and keep things looking fresh. And if you’re someone who enjoys thrifting for paintings, prints, and other wall art, a gallery wall gives you plenty of opportunities to bring those treasures home and actually use them. You don’t have to find a permanent home for every piece the moment you walk through the door. Sometimes it’s fun to let the artwork move around and see where it looks best.

That’s really one of the joys of decorating with thrifted finds. Your home doesn’t have to stay exactly the same. A painting can move from one room to another, a chair can find a new corner, and a little treasure that you bought on a whim can suddenly become the inspiration for an entirely new vignette.

Thank you so much for joining me here today and sharing in my latest thrifted finds. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing how a few new pieces of artwork can give our home a fresh look without spending a fortune.

You never really know what is going to turn up when you head out on a thrifting adventure. You might walk in looking for one thing and come home with something completely different—or you might, if you’re very lucky, find exactly what you’ve been searching for.

And that, my friends, is what keeps me going back!