3 Tips For Thrifting Like a Designer
People always ask me: “How do you always find such good stuff at the thrift store?”. Now, while I do like to think of myself as the king of thrifting (Goodwill, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace), thrifting is a skill that I fully believe can be learned! In person thrifting is all about taking mental inventory of your space and design/decor needs, being intentional, and looking beyond the lack of merchandising. Online thrifting is more about refining the scope of what you are looking for, and being precise and targeted with your search keywords.
The ‘wood/wicker’ section of a Goodwill. Never sleep on this section, it always has so many good finds, once you look past the lack of merchandising.
This hanging metal basket/vessel was on the shelf backwards, and I almost passed it up. When I reached for it and turned it around, I noticed this cute vintage looking rooster on the back! This would look great styled on a patio in the summer with some cascading flowers planted in it.
Thrift stores are mostly broken up into several different sections upon entering: wood/wicker, metals/glass, ceramic/vases, frames and mirrors, furniture, and clothing. I am going to focus on the first fou sections. The wood/wicker section is usually where a lot of great decor pieces can be found. You really have to kind of ‘dig’, which sounds funny - but it goes back to the lack of merchandising. The Goodwill employees are just putting things on shelves, and then people are coming in and totally messing everything up - so to find what you are looking for, you are going to have to sift through it all. When I am looking on the shelves, I keep in mind what I am looking for. My home is a kind of modern farmhouse vibe, so I tend to look for things that fit that bill, but if you have a modern industrial home, you may be looking for different items, potentially in the glass/metal section. Another thing I do when I’m sifting through the shelves is make sure to turn things around! Something may not look that exciting from the back, but when looked at in its entirety may be exactly what you are looking for.
3 Tips For Thrifting Like a Designer
Have a plan, know the general idea of what you are looking for before going thrifting
See past the lack of merchandising. Goodwill and other thrift stores are often not laid out like a Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, with full time merchandisers who do research to figure out the best ways to lay out the stores to get us to spend money.
Pick things up and get a closer look! Sometimes things are on the shelves backwards, and can look much different from the front.
I did a series of ‘thrift with me’ stories on my Instagram a few weeks ago, and these are some of the images from that trip. I found a bunch of awesome stuff at a Goodwill in the Twin Cities.
When you’ve exhausted the shelves, picked things up and found those perfect items for your space, you get to do the fun part — styling! When it comes to styling items in your space, try to mix up items of different heights and textures, and mix up items from your thrift finds with some newer pieces or newer shelving. The beauty of thrifted items is that they have already been well-loved. We all aim to have things in our spaces that look like they are broken in and well loved - heck, some big box stores even manufacture items to look this way. When you thrift, you’re finding items with built in character, and also helping keep unnecessary things out of dumps and landfills. It’s really a win all around. Mixing these character-heavy items with newer, more polished pieces makes for a visually appealing display. Following these few tips and you are sure to bring tons of interest to your space to enrich your home and possibly even start some conversations!
