It’s time to share this month’s Styling Thrifted Decorations!

This post is number five in our Styling Thrifted Decorations series! You’ve been enjoying them so much we’re planning to continue doing them as the first post each month!

If you’ve missed the other posts in the series, here’s a recap:

• Tips for Styling Thrifted Decor
• Styling Your Thrifted Finds, Part 2
• Styling Thrifted Decorations, Part 3
• Styling Thrifted Decorations, Part 4

At the end of this post I’ll share my favorite past post resources with even more of my thrifting tips and tricks! These will be especially helpful if you’re just starting out with thrifting!

One of my favorite resources is my Thrifting Checklist! In it I share my favorite things to look for, pricing help, and tips for finding good deals! Grab your copy today!

And that gets you call caught up to today, the first thrifting haul of 2021!

This Month’s Treasures:

Looking at all the items I found in a pile before I started styling them, I realized that they were really subtle, monochromatic, simple and quiet! And honestly, they felt like the perfect “January” items.

I love Christmas and the entire season, but with it being such a show-stopper when it comes to decorating, sometimes by the beginning of January, I’m absolutely ready for the peace and calm of more subtle decor!

What about you, do you like to extend your Christmas season and decor, or do you like to put it away pretty quickly after the day is over?

My Thrifting Process:

If you remember, I search for items each trip that fall mainly into these categories:

• Fabric & Linens
• Small Furniture
• Vintage Books
• Seasonal & Holiday Decor
• Containers
• Art
• Antique or Architectural Pieces

I rarely ever get an item for every single category during each shopping trip! Sometimes I’ll really get lucky in a specific area, with nothing special in another, or sometimes I’ll find a few great finds spread out among the list!

I’ll use this list as a reference again this month, but I’ll let you know ahead of time, I found mostly dishes, books and fabric this time, with one special antique piece I’m really excited about.

Can you spot which one I’m talking about?

*This post contains affiliate links to products I know &/or love.

Styling my Thrifted Decorations:

Fabric & Linens |

I think I had some of the best luck during this trip with the linens and fabric!

First I found these really cute, brand new, monogrammed cloth napkins which I folded into quarters and stacked in our bathroom.

We use these in place of hand towels!

These three tiered trays (which I already owned) are some of my favorite most versatile decorating items! I love that they can go from super functional (i.e. serving food at a party) to beautiful, like here in our powder room bathroom. You’ll see another tiered tray pop up later in this post as well.

In addition to these cute napkins, I also found this roll of fabric that was a little bit gloomy at first glance. Upon further inspection, I could tell it was actually a pretty lovely texture, that there was quite a bit on the roll, and that it might just need a good cleaning!

I took my chance on it, and after cleaning it, I measured NINE yards! That equals out to about $0.70 per yard, and it’s a nice quality decorating fabric!

I am not sure yet what I will end up doing with the fabric itself, but in the mean time, I’ve rolled it back up and stacked it in a wicker basket along with an older rug of ours (that’s seen better days and has lived past its useful life as a rug.)

They’re working together to create a kind of “backdrop” near my closet office for when I’m filming!

I love that it adds a more full look and gives the space behind me even more visual interest!

Small Furniture |

Didn’t find any small furniture pieces this time around!

Vintage Books |

Ah. Vintage books! You know how much I love them, and how excited I am when I find new ones for my collection!

This time around I found quite a few that I really liked! (The horizontal stack below.) I especially love the three on top that are a bit smaller than the others. They’re just the most darling size!

I added them to my desk to go along with my backdrop idea.

Here are some of the things I look for when purchasing vintage books:

• Linen covers
• Beautiful Spines
• Pretty details on the front cover (sometimes I luck out with this, often the covers are pretty plain)
• Vintage Fonts on the titles
• And the coloring on the pages

It’s not an “all or nothing” kind of search with books. I’d say any pleasant combination of those characteristics can create the perfect book to use as a filler in your decorations.

Seasonal & Holiday Decor

Didn’t find anything new in the seasonal category this month!

Containers |

I include dishes in the “container” category, and boy, did I find some good finds this time!

Our current dish set was previously thrifted, but was originally from Pier One. I figure they’ll probably start being harder to find since they went out of business, so when I saw 4 dinner plates, a salad plate and a small bowl in our same design, I knew I needed to snatch them up!

I also found quite a few cute mugs:

• 2 really cute white mugs a fun petite shape with lovely texture and detailing on the outside.
• 1 plain white Starbucks mug, which I always love to grab. They’re a great staple piece.
• 1 really beautiful black and white delicate tea cup
• 1 cute lidded cat mug.

The cat mug I thought was especially cute because our cat LOVEs drinking out of our mason jar drinking glasses. No cup of water is safe around her. I think she might think she’s one of us.

So the fact that this little mug shows a cat dipping their paw into someone’s cup of water just felt right for our house.

I also do love that it has a lid (no paws inside!) and a tiny strainer cup for making freshly brewed tea.

And here’s the 2nd tiered tray I mentioned for anyone keeping track!

I also have a thing for drink dispensers, and this cute hob-nail one was so pretty!

I knew immediately once I saw it that it would look so lovely with orange juice inside of it!

The white mixing bowl next to it with muffins was another one of my thrifted finds! I love the simplicity of the white, with the fun beadwork detailing!

I also found this lovely gold beverage holder, which is Threshold brand from Target- yes, please!

I went ahead and put together a cute little brunch station for my family to style all these pieces together!

The cute wall print is one I made a few years back, which you can easily make yourself! Here’s how to make a DIY Vintage Wall Hanging.

Art |

Didn’t find any new art this time around.

Antique or Architectural Pieces |

And last but not least, one of my favorite pieces, a black vintage rotary phone!

I don’t know if it works or not, but I never planned on using it! And it actually won’t be on display. I got it for my currently non-existent grandchildren!

I’ve actually got a little collection of sweet children’s toys that I’ve started adding to in preparation for the day when I get to have a fun Grandma’s house playroom!

I’ve collected pieces like these little realistic animals, and the blocks while thrifting.

And the glass and wood abacus was another thrifted treasure, actually from my first post in the Styling Thrifted Decorations series!

The original use I had planned for it fell through, so now it’s added to my some-day Grandma pile.

I actually remember distinctly the moment where my thoughts changed from “saving this for the next child” into “I’d like this for a grandchild some day”. It was a little set of wooden puzzles that are also part of this collection, but are put away a little better and didn’t make it into the picture.

And while I’m on the topic of future play rooms, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite inspiration pictures for a space I’d eventually like to have for my grand-children to play in!

This one is from Miss Mustard Seed.

This one is from Hydrangea Treehouse.

And this one from Candlewood Cottage.

Aren’t they all so dreamy?

More Vintage Inspiration:

If you like those playroom pictures, you can find all sorts of lovely vintage inspiration over on my Pinterest boards!

I have them sorted with 1 board for each room in the house (kitchen, living room, laundry, etc…) and then boards for each season!

I’d love it if you came and pinned with me!

Thrifting Related Posts:

In addition to the other posts in this same series, here are some other thrifting posts I’ve done over the years!

• How to Clothes Shop at Thrift Stores
• 4 Tips for Finding Decor at Thrift Stores
• Antique Mall Sales & Shopping Tips
• 10 Tips for Negotiating at Yard Sales
• How to Yard Sale with Children
• What to Pack when Shopping Yard Sales
• 5 Secrets to Shopping Yard Sales

And don’t forget to pick up your copy of my Thrifting Checklist!

Pin This For Later:

Until next time,