How to Make Your Thrift Store Finds Match

Paint is your best friend when it comes to making your thrift store finds match. If you are in the market for something in particular like office organizers or kitchen décor, there will pretty much always be a good selection at a thrift store but chances are they aren’t going to match. A very easy solution is to paint! Let’s use the example of these boring old vases.

When you walk into our local Salvation Army thrift store the first thing you are sure to spot are vases, vases, and more vases! There is literally an entire row dedicated to glass vases and table settings. Sometimes, the selection even leeks over into a second row! My guess is that this is not unique to our particular local thrift store.

I have been to a “few” thrift stores in my day and it is pretty much a 100% guarantee that you will be able to find a nice selection of vases. You can also find them at the dollar store but at a thrift store you will have a lot more of a selection when it comes to the style.

How to Make Your Thrift Store Finds Match

1. The first step to gathering a cute collection is so find a few vases that do not match. Yep, that is what I meant to say. The first thing you want to do when matching your thrift store finds is to find mismatched styles. (We will get them looking good later)

When searching, you want to pay attention to the heights and textures of the vases. Don’t get to matchy. Look for pieces that have different heights and widths. Finding pieces with fun textures will make your collection really stand out once you get some paint on it!

2. Pick your paint color. I am slowly starting to become a paint hoarder and I am proud of that! I love walking into my corner of the garage and seeing all the pretty colors of paint I am slowly collecting. It makes last minute projects a lot less time consuming.

Spray paint is a great option for small projects. If you are making over a large piece of furniture it is hard to get the spray paint to coat evenly and your finger is going to hurt by the end of the project. But on little projects like this one spray paint is the ideal option. If you go to a store like Lowes they have a lot of really fun color options. So choose whichever one catches your eye!

3. Clean up your vases. Take a damp cloth or paper towel and wipe down the vases to get all of the dirt off. You could even put them through a load in the dishwasher if you want. Just make sure to let them completely dry.

4. Get to painting. Find a very well ventilated area on a warm day and start painting! I find it’s easiest to start with my vases upside down. Do one coat of paint trying to cover as much of the surface as possible. Then once that has dried I turn it over and cover up any spots that might have been missed by the first coat of paint. Let completely dry. That’s it!

Aren’t these so fun! They are going to add so much color to my table and entryway. They will also be a great addition to the décor at the next party I am getting together!

I did a quick Google search for sets of colored vases and the prices that came back were anywhere between $20 and $200. Isn’t that crazy! I bought these thrift store finds for a total of $2.50 plus a can of spray paint for $4. But I barely used half a bottle so lets call the total cost of this project about $4.50. That is a number my wallet can handle!

What do you think?
What is your favorite thing you have ever found at a thrift store? What did you do to it to make it your own? Let me know in the comments bellow. I would love to chat!

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