Decorating with thrift store Plates

I like to decorate with plates. Some I hang on the walls and some I display on counters. These are some of my finds. All of these I purchased at different times from my favorite goodwill store. The first 3 cost .50 cents each and the set of 12 cost me $2.50 all together! I do use this set when we have company. These are my colors!

Vintage is Unique

Another reason I love decorating with vintage treasures is the character and uniqueness about it! There simply is not an ounce of a packaged, sterile look about it. Each item is unique and shouts character! It's like welcoming folks into your own little museum.

Vintage is frugal

One of the best things about decorating vintage style is the cost! All of my treasures whether they are genuinely an antique or just have the vintage style appearance were purchased for next to nothing! The treasures that fill my house were mostly bought from the Goodwill, St. Vincent De Paul stores, or the like. Most items I buy cost less than $4.00 - with many of them only costing $1! Money goes along way with me! Many people tell me they have no luck at thrift stores. I think what is more often the case is they have no patience! You must have time and a love of the hunt to find the treasures. You also have to have an eye for it. You have to be able to see the beauty in something that someone else wouldn't give a second glance to. You need a little creativity, a little vision! That is probably why I love it all. I have an artist mind and thrift store shopping is like finding the right colors for a painting and putting the masterpiece together in my mind piece by piece!

an old desk w/ a new purpose

This desk was my husband's as a child. I love it - rat chewed legs and all! It's been sitting in our home for a good long time, given to us by his parents. I was recently inspired by a collage of old things my mother has sitting on an old desk to open the top of this desk and make it an area to display special photos and treasures. I am so pleased with it. I love the desk in itself but now it has even more purpose. Another bonus ~ all the items I set inside were elsewhere in my home so now I have room to put new treasures where those were!