Some of the best home decor treasures can be found tucked away in a little antique shop or at your local thrift store! I love bringing items into our home that have character and tell a story! Since starting our new build, I have quite a long list of second-hand items I’m on the lookout for in hopes that adding vintage items will make our new build feel much more lived in and welcoming. Here are ten home decor items I love to thrift!

Fine China

I love setting a beautiful tablescapes and hosting dinner parties. Over the years, China has become one of my favorite things to thrift! I have found some of the most incredibly beautiful china patterns in thrift and on fb marketplace. Even if you’re not in the market for a full china set, collecting plates for displaying on the wall is a great way to use beautiful china patterns in your space!

One of my sisters collects tea cups and no two cups are alike. The array of patterns and colors are what makes her collection so special. It’s also very useful because it makes it easy to know what cup was yours if we ever set our cup down, we can easily find our cup again.

A few years ago I fell in love with a particular china pattern and purchased the full set of 8 from Facebook Marketplace . A few months later I found a set of 10 and then another set of 12 of the same pattern. I’ve been slowly adding to this set ever since and now have over 60 large dinner plates (as well as the rest of the pieces) so I can easily host my entire family for the holidays!

While I know most people don’t want to store that much china, it’s worth it to me! I’m planning on hosting for years and years to come and I love the idea of having a beautiful set of china for anytime I’m entertaining! Honestly, once we move into our new home, I’m sure we’ll use it all the time! I don’t really believe in setting aside your “good” things for a special occasion! Why not enjoy it year round!?

Vintage Silver and Silverware Sets

Now that you know how much China I’ve collected, you won’t be surprised to hear I’ve been collecting vintage silverware sets as well! I can’t help it! If you hosted as often as I do, you may catch yourself doing the same thing!

So far I’ve collected one complete set of 8 and one complete set of 12 antique silver sets, each with their original cases. I purchase the set of 8 for only $40 and the set of 12 for $50. I’m pretty sure you’d pay close to that if not more for a new set of stainless steel flatware.

These two sets are so beautiful and haven’t been hard to keep clean. They just need a polish now and again. If I ever find another full set that I love for a great price, I’ll add it to my collections. You can never have enough silverware (when you have an extended family as large as mine is).

I love using them so much, that I have a plan to build out a special silver drawer in our new kitchen that’s lined with tarnish resistant cloth. I currently store them in their original boxes, underneath our sofa because thats the only spot they’ll fit in our tiny cottage!

Picture Frames and Original Art

I am on the lookout for ornate and unique frames every single time I step into a thrift shop or antique market. If Aaron and I ever get separated in a thrift store, he knows he’ll probably find me looking at picture frames (or in the book section).

If a painting or print isn’t my style, I still check out the frames. Sometimes the art is great and the frame isn’t…but I always look just in case. Old wooden picture frames are just so beautiful! They don’t make them like they use to and I love finding frames that are a unique size and shape.

I’ve lost count of how many frames I have honestly, I’m collecting them for a massive gallery wall I’d like to create down our staircase in the new home. The ceilings are 14 ft tall upstairs and 9.5 ft tall in the lower level. The wall is 20 ft wide so thats a LOT of space to cover and I’m going to need a ton of art!

Antique Books and Coffee Table Books

I really love decorating with vintage books. The covers and bindings are always so much more gorgeous than new books. They have patina and come in all sizes! I use them to decorate shelves and sometimes stack them on their side to give height to another piece of decor.

One of our very favorite thrift finds, was an 1800s secretary with leather desktop and full upper shelves with glass doors. I can’t wait to fill it with the books we’ve collected over the past two decades.

Lamps

Lighting is one of the most important, but often overlooked things in our homes. Adding floor lamps or table lamps on a side table or on the kitchen counter tuckeed in a corner makes a room feel warm and cozy!

I’m always on the lookout for pretty lamps when I’m thrifting. We’ve thrifted some really unique table lamps and Aaron has found most of the lamps we’ve brought home. These are two of my favorites!

This brass lamp is adjustable and perfect for any small side table. Even though I did some research on it and it’s not super old, I loved the brass and how dainty it was. I transformed the lampshade with a simple pleated lampshade DIY project and I love how it turned out!

This other lamp is a Fredrick Cooper Lamp out of Chicago. They were first made in the early 1900s are are found places like 1stDibs. This one is very heavy and is very tall and thin. It was another great find priced at only $40!

We both loved how masculine it was and plan to use it either in our sons bedroom or maybe the library space.

Brass and Silver Candlesticks and Platters

Candlesticks and platters are something that we use a lot. I keep more candlesticks out for the winter holidays and only keep a few out for the spring and summer…but I love to have at least a few out year round!

Silver platters and trays are so helpful for carrying things out to the backyard for a picnic, to the bonfire for s’mores and all kinds of things. I find incredible ornate silver platters at antique shops all the time. The trays are priced much lower that you’d pay for one brand new that’s just a basic tray made from stainless steel.

Sure, these things need polishing, but they’re just so pretty that I think they’re worth the little bit of maintenance. When I need to polish brass, sometimes I use a mixture of baking soda and lemon juice or with just a soft cloth. To shine my silver I use Weiman Silver Cleaner and Polish about once or twice a year.

Wall Coat Hooks

This thrift find obsession is one that just came out of no where! We were wandering around an antique market and found two matching brass coat hooks. I’d never looked for something as simple as a coat hook before, but right then I realized how boring every single wall hook or coat hook was in every home we’d lived in.

Since that day, I’ve collected quite a few more for the new house. These sturdy hooks will not only function great for our heavy winter coats, backpacks or purses, but they’re really pretty too! I love it when function and beauty meet!

Table Linens

When I got married, at twenty years old, I was gifted an entire set of white tablecloths and napkins that were my husbands grandmother (a wedding gift to her). At the time I wondered if I’d ever used them, but they’ve been used more times that I can count. Even though Grandma Eleanore passed away years ago, wedding linens are still being used and cherished. She is thought of warmly every single time I get them out.

After I realized just how often I was using those linens, I stated looking for more at thrift shops that had color and pattern for the times I didn’t want to use these very special white ones.

Little Trays or Trinket Wood Boxes

Have you ever thought about how much better everyday ordinary things look when their setting in a little tray or box? Things like the mail, dish scrubbers, or the tv remote don’t look very nice just sitting on a shelf or kitchen counter. It’s really easy to dress them up a little with a pretty tray made of marble or silver.

It’s fun to come across hand carved wood boxes or little trays that are just the right size to hold something ordinary like a tv remote while thrifting for home decor.

I found this wood box with a lid at a thrift shop and have used it for pens and remotes. It caught my eye because it had my maiden name on it! Turns out its a chocolate gift box! So cool!

Another thrifted find is this little dish below. I picked up this brass soap dish on our trip to France thinking I’d use it in our powder bath in the new home. Until then, I’ll keep using it to set my jewelry in when I take it off at the end of the day.

Brass or Silver Items

I’m not really big into knickknacks for the most part, but I do love having a few different brass or silver decorative items on display seasonally.

I set out these little quails in the fall and winter and I have a pair of brass bunny bookends I like to set out for decor in the springtime.

Things Currently on my thrifting wish list

I am still looking for quite a few vintage rugs for the new home we’re building. I would also love to find a pair of large ornate crystal chandeliers for the dining room and living room. I’ve been on the lookout for a few years now and I’m starting to realize I may not find exactly what I’m looking for locally!

No worries though, I still have lots of time before move in day! Maybe I’ll plan a trip to Round Top Antiques Fair would help me find what I’m looking for! A girl can dream right?!