Yes This Room is Entirely Thrift!!!

The reason that I decided to start blogging is that I am a complete thrift addict. I began my treasure hunting experiences many years ago when my economic situation forced me to tweek my expensive taste into what I could afford in order to decorate my home, buy new clothes and furnish my kitchen with new stuff. I still love my surroundings to be beautiful and to reflect my personal style and I am proud to say that it is all "previously loved" items that I have pulled together and made my own. Come and join me on my wonderous adventure in thrifting. I will show you things that I have in my home, room by room, tell you where to find deals and how to refinish and repurpose items that have built their own character over the years. To me, there is no "trash"...only treasure.

This is our family room. From the leather sofa that we got for FREE on craigslist to the little topiaries that I found at several different thrift stores in town, to the $14 ficus tree in the corner, this room reflects our relaxed lifestyle. We have five kids ages 13-26 and between all of us there are also 5 dogs and a cat that have fun in this room when we are all together, so we have to be laid back and it has to be easy to clean.

I got the 2 rush seat stools from craiglist for $10 each. The sofa table was $40 on craigslist. I got the antique gathering basket for $7 at an antique store. The frame, candle holders and basket were all godwill finds.

These vintage window frames were both from Goodwill...cost $35 fort both. The topiaries were found at various thrift stores...none of them were over $4.99. The bird I got at 50% off from Hobby Lobby and the books were all from the used bookstore. Post note...I was trying to cover up the ugly brick...hahaha! We can't quite afford to re-do just yet.

The gorgeous rug I had been coveting from Target for about a year before I found this one at Goodwill! No kidding...it was like new! MSRP at Target is $399 and I got it for $70! The table is old and I have to admit, I paid retail but....it was from American Furniture Warehouse and we only paid $180 for it about 10 years ago and I painted it, so technically it is thrift because it is reused rather than purchase new. The chair I got at a thrift store for $10! I bought clearance fabric from Hobby Lobby for a total of $22 and used staples and fabric glue to re-upholster it. It's not hard and in future blogs I will show you how!

This little lamp I grabbed from Goodwill for $6

This candle centerpiece is on a glass cake stand I got for $2 at ARC. The candle was still in the wrapper for $3.99 and the little bird nest wreath was $2.99 at ARC.

Pillows were purchased separately from thrift stores. $1.99 each. I found two of each of them!

Anyone can pull a room together with thrift store finds. The sofa was the starting point for me. It is a solid leather sectional with aged brass grommets. I looked up the brand and it retails for over $2800! Here's the story. It was on craigslist for $350 because it had some cat damage on the back. There are visible scratches on both back corners. I was communicating with the previous owner via email and since he was in Wyoming and I am in Colorado, I wanted some pretty detailed photos before I traveled 45 miles for pickup. He traveled for business so he was frustrated by not being able to get me more photos and offered it to me for free if we would just come and get it. We picked it up within two hours of my receiving the email. I found two matching throws at two different thrift stores and I throw them over the cat damage. No one can see it and it doesn't bother me that it is there. I did do a little trimming on the extra threads and a furniture marker did wonders as well just to mask it. But a little elbow grease and an hour and it is ours ... did I mention it was FREE?

I hope I have inspired you to do some thrifting of your own. Some days it all looks like junk and some days there is so much treasure that even at thrift store prices I have to stay within my budget and put things back. Go ahead...jump down the rabbit hole of thrift and find a magical world! XOXO...the thrift addict.