Some of my Thrifty Finds in Action

For this post, I am going to show some of my thrifty finds in action. Most of the time, I just use my thrifty finds as-is. So far, I haven't needed to do anything in the way of spray painting or re-purposing my finds as I tend to shop for things that can fit my decor just as they are. Although, the vintage valet stand (which you see below) was purchased with the intention of painting it antique white and distressing it, and then using it either to hold some of my really long necklaces  or perhaps to display a vintage quilt. However, after much uproar from my roommate, my friends, my mom, and my personal trainer, I have decided against painting it. I am going to leave it as is, and sell it to someone who likes it in its ugly "wood colored" glory.

So here we go...

Firstly:

This is a picture showing various items that are currently on the hearth of my fireplace, including the vintage valet stand. I am not a fan of that dark old fashioned kind of wood, but evidently I am in the definite minority as I have had several people tell me if I painted it, they'd kill me. You can also see a fabulous wire basket on top of the small faux fireplace. That was another thrift store find (the basket; not the faux fireplace) and I love it! Right now it is basically not being used but I have a fabulous idea for some cool balls to put in there. The famous shutters are also visible on either side, as are two really cool candle sticks. I didn't have to do anything to them either, as they were already cream colored with some awesome distressing going on.

Next:

This focuses on the mantel portion of my fireplace. Most of the items up there were thrifted. The awesome cherub lamp on the end was 10.00. I had been eyeballing it for two weeks, but finally gave in because it actually works and was just what I had been looking for. Then beside it are three various brass candle sticks of varying height and styles. I think they give it a nice eclectic look. Beside the candle sticks is an awesome mantel clock. It isn't really a mantel clock, but really just a plastic reproduction, but from a distance, you can't even tell! Then there's the large resin candle stick, whose mate is in another corner of the room at the moment. I thought it would be too big for the mantel, but it really helps to add height up there. The mirror in the awesome gold frame was part of my latest thrifty excursion, and was only 6.00! Then the plate beside it was a buck or two. It is resting on a plate stand from Home Goods (not thrifted obviously, but replaced an awesome wine themed one in the dining room that was thrifted, so it sort of fits). Beside that is a stack of thrifted vintage books with a really cool (at least I think so) cheruby, fountainy thing that I put some vines in to add a splash of green. And finally, an awesome silver (I think it's real) tea pot for 4.00 that had just exactly the right amount of tarnish on it.

If you look to the left of the mantel, you'll see a vintage mirror. Here's a close up of it:

It's not my favorite thing (and man does this picture show that it needs to be cleaned a little better!) but it sort of "matches" (more coordinates with really) the other vintage mirror to the other side of the door, shown here:

They are approximately the same size and both have gold toned frames, so I thought they played nicely off each other.

Next we have a couple pics showing a few various knick knacks and the like:

This one is kind of hard to see, but the milk glass bowl/vase thingee is thrifted, as is the turquoise candy dish/bauble holder dish thingee. I don't collect the old timey colored glass (at least not yet), so it's kind out of place in my living room,  but it reminded me of some of the things my Mammaw used to have, so it's kind of an homage to her.

Then below you can see a couple more pieces of milk glass as well as a really cool wash basin/pitcher set (between my two Renn Faire mugs). The basin set reminds me of my days growing up in a Primitive Baptist church where we actually had "foot warshin" once a year. We used much bigger basins for that, but they looked just like this set otherwise. This is my one piece that came from an antique store. I later found another set at the Salvation Army thrift store in Annendale VA that was actually more than this set, so I think I got a pretty good deal.

Finally, here is a pic of an adorable silver (not sure if it's real) tea set:

Those are 5x7 photos in the background, so you can see it's not very big. But neither is it a "Mineature", so I'm not sure why it's at that specific scale. I think it was probably intended to be used during "high tea" and needed to be small to fit on the larger tea tray, but someone who knows more about those kinds of things would have to confirm.

So that pretty much wraps up the thrifty items in my living room. I have several thrifted items in my dining room, but will save those for another post. I just wanted to show some of the things that I have collected on recent lunch-time and weekend excursions to the fabulous thrift stores in Leesburg VA!