THRIFT STORES! Show Us, Tell Us About Your Finds!

[NewEnglandLady]

This thread made me locate a few local flea markets...I'm definitely going this weekend!

DH and I just picked up an old wooden road sign marked down at antique store this weekend. Since we bought an antique house, I've been scouring antique stores and estate sales and have found a few great things. I didn't realize how much I enjoy pre-owned items--I love the idea of a piece of furniture having a history and it fits in really well with the house. We've even decided that when it's time to put together the nursery, we're going with antiques.

 

[iLander]

This thread made me locate a few local flea markets...I'm definitely going this weekend!

DH and I just picked up an old wooden road sign marked down at antique store this weekend. Since we bought an antique house, I've been scouring antique stores and estate sales and have found a few great things. I didn't realize how much I enjoy pre-owned items--I love the idea of a piece of furniture having a history and it fits in really well with the house. We've even decided that when it's time to put together the nursery, we're going with antiques.

I love the idea of antiques in your antique home, lovely!

I don't recommend antiques for nurseries, though. The older furniture tends to be painted in lead paint. Definitely stay away from older cribs, because they don't have the safety features that are in new cribs. Plus, the babies tend to chew on anything, so you might want to put a coat of fresh paint (low emission or at least acrylic) on the nursery walls and trim.

I agree, it's nice to have pieces that have some history behind them!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

You make a good point, iLander. My husband brought up the same thing about lead paint and the crib. I agreed, though I still think we can find an antique dresser that's been stripped and repainted. We saw a dresser we loved at our favorite antique store when picking up the road sign this weekend and asked her about the paint and she'd stripped it and repainted it. For the crib we're definitely going to get something new that has an antique look to it. Then probably put vintage prints and decor on the wall. We'll see.

Here's a picture of our cheap road sign--3 South is a highway near our house that obviously heads south Plymouth, MA, so it's a local sign.

 

[Ara Ann]

We have a new, fantastic and HUGE Salvation Army store near us that is very well organized and very well stocked with everything you can imagine...it is set up like a department store and has cool art on the walls, etc. and it helps that the areas nearby are upscale too, the 'goods' are good.

I love shopping there (I call it "Sal Armani" - code for Salvation Army, LOL) and usually come home with great clothing bargains, these are good, name brand items and lots of times new with tags on... I had mentioned this store so many times, my friend came over to go shopping with me (she lives an hour away) and I have converted her to loving this particular store too...she even brought her mother along last time! My friend lucked out and got a fantastic Ann Taylor dress, new with tags on, for $7.99...and 2 huge bags full of great stuff for less than $50.00.

I find it's a hit or miss kind of a thing, which makes the 'hunt' even more fun...sometimes I find good clothes, or cool house ware pieces, etc., but it's always fun. (wish they had decent jewelry though!)

We also love to peruse antique malls, my favorite kind of shopping, I love eclectic finds and not run of the mill stuff that can be bought anywhere!

 

[princesss]

Oooh, this thread has inspired me! I have a few things I need to get for my apartment, and I think I'll hit our local antique/thrift mall this weekend and see what I can find...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Oooh, this thread has inspired me! I have a few things I need to get for my apartment, and I think I'll hit our local antique/thrift mall this weekend and see what I can find...

This thread also has inspired me. If you gals/guys go to yelp.com, you can find reviews for all the thrift stores around your area. I looked up the ones in affluent areas to see what people have found in the past... some have found designer goods... no diamonds yet, though.