-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thrifty Living: Vintage Customisations For Your Home
Thrifting isn’t just about vintage clothes and funky fashion – there’s a multitude of ways that you can bring thrifting into your life, and your home.
Always a fan of saving some money and the idea of knowing that something has been saved from landfill, the conscientious thriftier knows how to see potential in the gems hidden away at the back of each store. It isn’t always about what you find, you see – sometimes it’s about what you can help your find to become.
Beginning with clothing – unlike the high street your options for sizing are limited in a thrift store, but that’s ok. You don’t need it to fit off the rail – you just need the skills and know how to whip it into shape yourself.
What can Thrifting do for Your Home?
Even without super skills in the sewing department, some basic nip and tuck skills are worth their weight in gold – nipping in waists, turning a shirt into a skirt, dropping a hem – these simple skills are thrifting magic and will ensure that you have unique, spectacular style, for your wardrobe - and your furnishings.
A little utilised aspect of thrift stores, which are rummaged through in the most part for their clothes and accessories, is the fabrics and home furnishings.
You could find yourself the owner of some beautiful drapes or throws for your furniture at a fraction of their retail cost, and if you’re lucky they won’t need any alterations to make your home look as wonderful as that outfit you’re rocking.
Thrifting Projects for the Uninitiated.
Some soft furnishings - bedding, scatter cushions, blankets, rugs – can be discovered in thrift stores and if you’re a regular enough visitor you might even get the pick of the crop from your trusted store keep; there are ways, however, to make the best of the potential you see in the items others might have overlooked.
You could use some of the fabulous fabrics you spot, but collect with no real idea of how to use, to tap into the historical – and recently fashionable again – art of quilting. A quilt can be as simple or as complex as you wish, and if you can use a machine to sew a short, straight line then you can create a quilt.
Creating your own Furniture from Thrifted Items.
Another skill worth learning is re-upholstering furniture – you can get treasure for your home when you find someone’s tired, dated dining set. With a staple gun and some hot glue you can transform those tired seat covers and make your dining room magnificent. A little sanding and some varnish or paint and it’s better than new.
Some projects will be bigger than others but you can find dining chairs with a cushioned base that pops right out and can be transformed very easily. Simply stretch your new fabric across the cushioned base and, using a staple gun, staple the centre of each edge. Pulling evenly across each edge to ensure it isn’t misshapen and that the design of your fabric is straight, keep stapling at regular intervals and then pleat and trim the fabric in the corners so that you can staple it into place neatly. Once that’s done you could use a hot glue gun to trim the seat with some contrasting coloured braiding or fringing and make it truly individual – or you could leave it simple and use a bold fabric as the statement.
The same can be done, with a little trial and error, for an easy chair or even a couch. Reclining furniture can be more tricky, so it might be best to begin with a simpler project like an easy chair or dining chair.
Secrets from the Thrifting Insiders.
Another great, and oft unappreciated (and thus untapped) thrifting resource is buttons. Aside from the tactile delight of burying your hand wrist deep in a box of buttons there are a thousand and one craft projects you can use buttons for.
You could opt for the straightforward with buttons – replacing the plain buttons on your sweater or blouse, adding some vintage buttons to a modern dress or coat to make it something different. Or you could use those buttons to create a unique piece of jewellery or art for your home. The only limit is your imagination. You don’t need a huge amount of skill to transform your home through thrift, just a keen eye and some enthusiasm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks sista friend! Hope you guys enjoyed. If anyone is interested in guest posting, shoot me an e-mail! we can work something out I'm sure :)
