Secondhand Sunday

One of my favorite ways to add interest to a space

is by using items that have been previously “Loved” by someone else.

To me it is a way to get a unique look that you are not going to see every time you open a home magazine or a design blog that shows the same “Trendy” interiors that seem to be everywhere you turn.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like (and have designed) some of the brand new, clean lined, perfectly symmetrical with graphic patterns on every surface rooms.

I just feel that the market is a little saturated right now with

More of the Same.

To me design is something that should be “Timeless”

and what a better way than by incorporating pieces that have been around for some “Time”

Of course I believe everyone has things they tire of. But for me, I like to re arrange and add a few new (sometimes yet, Vintage) items every few months rather than completely have to re decorate a room.

Here are some Tips for Shopping Secondhand

1-Go often~ You never know what treasures will be there the next day.

I am currently finishing up a teen room using both new and old pieces.

She wanted a vanity and we looked and looked and finally found this one~ that suited her

(actually her sister found it in NW Arkansas) in a local antique store and snagged it up before it was gone.

2- If you love it (and it’s in your price range) BUY IT RIGHT THEN.

Even if you don’t have a place for it right now.

This is something that most secondhand junkies have learned the hard way.

Just like in #1- you never know what Won’t be there the next day. Even if it has been there for 3 years!

I found this table( Unexpectedly) for a room I was designing. I had them hold it, got it approved and purchased it. It was perfect for the collection of antique snuff boxes they had collected over the years.

3-NEVER go with an expectation of finding a particular item.

This one can be tough when on a tight schedule, but if you go out specifically looking for a chair with stretchers and barley twist legs ,then you might miss some of the most unique finds.
Like the Barley twist leg (that was not attached to a chair) – that I turned into a towel bar. (pictured below)

I love to re purpose!!!

4- Be open mined when shopping. Items don’t have to be used in the manner in which they were intended.

The Copper Pot (pictured above) was an Estate Sale find (I planned to sell it, but love it too much)- I have used it for multiple things. During the fall it was a Mum pot on my porch and it is currently on my hearth holding wood for fires.

Here is a round up of pinterest pics from today that I LOVE!