3 Best Spots to Thrift for Vintage Decor (and my recent finds)

Wonder where you can find cool, vintage stuff? here are my favorite places to shop for vintage home decor. And a few of my recent finds.

Often I hear people say, “you find such cool stuff”…”I never find those kinds of things where I live”. Today I’m going to share some vintage treasure hunting hacks. I want to help you develop a good nose for the junk hunt. Here are 3 Best Spots to Thrift for Vintage Decor (and my recent finds).

3 Best Spots to Thrift for Vintage Decor (and my recent finds)

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Vintage Home Decor Shopping at Church Rummage Sales

If you’ve never experienced a good church rummage sale, you’re missing out. Yes, they can be hard to find out about, but when you do, you can get on their list. Search Craig’s List, Facebook, or local papers. Look in the garage sale listings and use the word “church”. They usually hold them every year around the same time to support their ministries.

I like to go to church sales in older neighborhoods, where I know there will be plenty of vintage finds. You can’t beat the prices and friendly help. Learn more about church sales in my post, “Church Sales 101”.

What to Shop for at Church Rummage Sales

Church rummage sales have a little bit of everything. I love to shop for smaller household decorative items, but have also found great deals on used furniture.

Bring in a reusable shopping bag or find a cardboard box; you’re sure to find more than your arms can hold.

Church rummage sale shopping ideas:

• old books
• dishes
• baskets
• frames and framed art
• seasonal faux foliage
• home decor items
• linens

I have several church rummage sales I like to attend in the Spring-usually April. Here are some of the vintage treasures I found this year. I’ve started finding goodies for the adult kiddos, too;)

This old hutch was only $25! We’ll be working to revive it for Happy Girl’s apartment this summer. I’m thinking white beadboard on the back, and she wants us to re-do the shelf at the bottom. Stay tuned.

This gorgeous vintage mountains framed pic is for Big Boy’s room. I sent him a pic while I was shopping and he said, “I love it.” It reminds him of his first after college stint in the Colorado mountains. Can’t go wrong with $20 art!

Vintage afghans are a great find at church sales for mere dollars. I love swapping them up for the seasons for a bolt of seasonal color. Lamps that may need a little TLC are a cheap find. And you can never have enough little stools for adding levels when you’re styling.

Give me all the baskets this year! I love adding their texture to my decor in the summer, especially. I’ve been drawn to the ones that have a little colorway in them-you’ll be seeing them in my Fourth of July decor. You saw the wooden bowl set in “7 Ways to Add Wood Accents to Your Kitchen for Organic Decor Style”. Yes, the whole set was $3. You can’t beat church sale prices!

A few other recent church sale finds:

Thrift for Vintage Decor at Estate Sales

Estate sales are another treasure trove of vintage finds. You can search for company-run sales online at estatesales.net. They will have pictures of everything in the sale, so you can choose which sale to go to that has what you like. You won’t know the prices until you get there, but it’s great to be able to pre-shop so you can go right to that area of the house for the item you want. (Actually getting to go inside old houses is another treat;)

For insider estate sale tips, I put together a helpful list, “Estate Sales 101”. You can find it in my free Insider’s Resource Library. Simply sign up HERE to get access to all my decorative and helpful resources!

I scored these treasures at a recent estate sale. Years ago I sold a big shipping crate like this, and always regretted it. Now I’ve got one for myself! I’ll be scrubbing these beauties up, sanding and reviving them. Find my favorite vintage reviver’s products HERE.

Find Vintage Decor at Back Road Shops

Whenever we travel, I love to find back road secondhand shops. Getting off the interstate and taking the scenic, slow roads is so much more interesting! Chatting with the shop owners always entertains; hearing their stories of where they found their treasures fills my junk-picking soul!

Last weekend we drove back from a Chicago-area wedding and took the back roads home. We found quite a few resale shops and came home with some great vintage treasures. One of the shop owners let me dig through his back storage area-can’t get more fun than that!

Recent Vintage Decor Finds

Here’s what came home and what I’ll be scrubbing up and repurposing. I’m always happy to add another old fan to my collection. And you know I love old wheels, too. Colorful soda crates are a fun decor accent in the summer. Like I said before, I can always add to my stool collection (read “9 Ways to Enjoy Vintage Stools in Your Home”.)

I got 45 cheese box side panels with old graphics that have never been used. I’ve got an idea for those;) And vintage metal ceiling tin is one of my favorite textures to add to furniture and frames. (see “Great Ways to Repurpose Vintage Ceiling Tin”). Finding several squares of it in different patterns was exciting! The old rusty metal sign has great colors, and it’s my first old sign!

Now you know where I’ve been shopping for vintage finds this Spring and early Summer! I’m always on the hunt for unique home decor items. I hope these 3 places give you some new ideas of where you can treasure hunt, too!

A few friends are joining me today that also love thrifting and decorating their homes and gardens with secondhand finds. Be sure to see what they’ve been up to this month!

Thanks for reading 2 Best Spots to Thrift for Vintage Decor (and my recent finds). If you enjoyed your visit, be sure to sign up to Become an Insider so I can send the creative ideas right to you! Sign up HERE.

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More Thrifty Inspiration from My Friends

Stacy at Bricks n’ Blooms has been thrifting for fun finds, too! See what she found at an outdoor flea market in Vermont recently. It’s so fun to see what’s available in different places.

Jennifer, from Cottage on Bunker Hill has been personalizing her beautiful garden with secondhand finds. See how to make the cutest DIY scarecrow with thrifted finds.

Kim, from Shiplap and Shells, has been cruising her home-town Puget Sound area via boat and found inspiring vintage shops. What fun vintage summer decor inspiration!

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