Thank you to a girl named Erica…

A Fun Hunt...

I really love kid art. Kids paint about the good things in life. They are free-spirited, innocent, simplistic and creative. Displaying kids art is a great way to decorate any room in your home. I was inspired to share this article with you based on one of my goodwill finds. If you have children who are busy at art and are looking for ways to organize and display their creativity, then here are some ideas.

Source: MakeandTakes

 Pictures hung on rings with clips can be easily changed (weekly, monthly, etc) and the child can easily hang their own art work. It can also add a contemporary look and feel to the room.

 

Source: Blissfully Domestic

Another way to display kid art work is to use simple black frames and group them as a collection. You can save time and don’t have to worry about picking out a mat for the frame.

Source: Elaine Prouty

If you have white walls and want to add some color, then display colorful artwork on the wall and pick out a colorful, patterned fabric curtain to add some texture to the walls.

On to my next goodwill find. I came across two pictures in a frame, a crab and an octopus. They are so adorable!  Check them out:

Bargain – $8.00/piece

Although, these were 8 bucks a piece, I thought it was a good bargain considering the pictures were professionally framed and matted. My twins absolutely love these pictures. They constantly point at the picture and says “crab”. The pictures are now displayed in their nursery.

I wonder who originally owned this piece of artwork and how was I lucky enough to find them. The pictures were signed by “Erica”. Thank You Erica for sharing these with me. I have found a home for them.

 

Something borrowed…Something blue

The Blue Chair

I am so happy to reveal my next Goodwill find. While thrift lunching, I eyed over items in the goodwill center and nothing caught my eye. As I was leaving the store, the back door opened and I heard some workers putting out more items on the floor. When I turned I saw the lady who worked there placing this blue chair on the floor. I immediately turned to her and asked if this was for sale and how much. Lo and behold, she came back with the price – $55.00. I must have shouted “I’ll take it!”. When I returned home, I unloaded the chair in my garage, inspected its condition, and sanitized it.

I removed the seat to check for soils and found the warranty seal along with the model number and brand. This chair was in top condition.  I did some research on how much this chair was worth. The chair is a Klaussner Louise, a custom upholstered chair with dainty, rolled arms, rolled back, box seat and tapered wood legs.

HIGH PRICE – Starting at $599.00

klaussner Louise

Once again, thrifting has not failed me. This was a great purchase and it now sits in my master bedroom. Now, I would love to find a cute table to place next to this chair. And the search continues….

 

How Interesting…Vintage Glass Pitcher

Friday was a good day! I made a stop to the Goodwill store during my lunch break and came across this unique glass pitcher. It is a corning ware glass pitcher and holds hot beverages. This is a vintage find. I love the curve of the handle and the detail. Take a look:

MY GOODWILL FIND … It only cost me $3.00

I found a similar one listed on Etsy (very cool). This was listed for $30 incl the 6 glasses.

 

In Light of others Perspectives

Good Will Trip #2. Well, after my first Good Will find, I was eager to go back to see what other treasures I would stumble upon. This was so exciting to me that I often made 2-3 trips a week to the Goodwill store. My inspiration on this day was to find a brass lamp. I was watching the Nate Berkus episode with Goodwill Hunting and in their room makeover, they updated an old lamp using some paint and updated the shade by adding texture and color. 

Nate Berkus, Goodwill Hunting

I was able to find a nice brass candalebra table lamp by Alsy with the ugliest green shade. The price of the find was $8 so I am encouraged to take this lonely lamp home and transform it into something special.

BEFORE PIC: THE $8 FIND

Well, first I need an inspiration, during my research I came across this lamp from Sears, which resembles the lamp I purchased. Note the price of the lamp.

Sears, $235.78

I actually like brass so I have no plans to apply any paint to this piece.  A good cleaning is what it needs. I gently took apart the fabric covering on the lamp shade (the ugly green) which was in bad condition. I am now on the search to find a new lamp shade and I would like to rewire this lamp.

 

Natural Wood Coffee Table

Hello! This is my first post to reveal my first item that I purchased from a nearby Goodwill store. When I arrived at my local Goodwill store, I was amazed to see how neat and organized the sections were. This made my trip even more exciting and less overwhelming. There were so many glassware and dinnerware items that I didn’t even know where to start, Luckily, my desire that day was to find a furniture piece, an end table or a desk. I ventured to the back of the store where the furniture pieces were located. I contemplated on whether I could transform a couple of old coffee tables, but opted not to. They were quite bulky and would take up a lot of space. My eyes wandered and I came across a natural wood bench or coffee table. The table did not look that eye pleasing in the store, but I saw great potential in it. The price tag revealed that this table was $10. It was a solid wood table with iron nails and the wood had aged a bit but that made it even more organic and pleasing to my eye.

I went home and I cleaned it up a bit. I even thought about stripping the glossy coating of it and painting it a bright touquoise blue color. After sitting down and looking at how great it looked in my sunroom I accepted the table as it was. After the table was cleaned up, it looked amazing. When I find an item from the thrift store or goodwill, I like to evaluate how much I would have saved if I had purchased a new manufactured product from a contemporary store. Well, here’s the results.

HIGH END PRICE

West Elm, $499

MY BARGAIN TREASURE – $10 only!

I found a perfect place for it in my sun room.

 

Diamond in the Rough: From Thrifty to Trendy

Welcome to my blog! I love decorating and I recently acquired a new hobby as a thrift store adventurer. What does that mean? Well, I am a huge Nate Berkus fan and one of my favorite co-hosts on the show is Goodwill Hunting. I was inspired to find thrift stores in my area and challenged myself to find some items that I could use to decorate my home at a low price. I really love to repurpose furniture, especially solid wood furniture with a lot of detail and character. My decor style is traditional cozy. I like earth tones, fabrics, prints, and occasional colors on the walls to brighten up a space. Well, I have been thrift shopping for the last couple of months and I have come across some very nice items that were in great condition and fits well in my home. I would like to share these items with you and would like for you to follow me through the experience as I transform these second hand items into my style of decor.