Today is a special edition of Thrift Score Thursday – our first “Dear TST” post, where each Thrift Score Thursday host features #dearTST submissions and shares ideas for making them over!
Have you ever found something at the thrift store but needed a little advice for how to repurpose it or give it a new look? Enter #dearTST, an awesome new way to crowdsource makeover ideas for your thrift finds!
Tag your #thriftscorethursday finds with #dearTST to let the Thrift Score Thursday hosts know you’re looking for input – we’ll chime in with our suggestions on Instagram and ocasionally, we’ll be featuring #dearTST submissions on our blogs, so you’ll end up with a bunch of new ideas!
If you don’t have Instagram, or your Instagram account is private (private users won’t show up in the hashtag feed for us to see), feel free to send in a submission to one of the hosts via email instead.
#DearTST submissions:
Dena from Hearts and Sharts sent in this china cabinet she scored for thirty dollars looking for some ideas to give it a makeover. I’ll admit, I’m not usually a fan of this chunky-ornate-70’s style, but this dresser makeover on Apartment Therapy I spotted just yesterday made me reconsider – I absolutely love that particular transformation!
So I’ll cast my vote for no distressing or glazing of the details – personally, I would go for a darker, more saturated paint color in a soft, satin finish, and I love the idea of gilding the door hardware (using either Rub ‘n Buff or gold spray paint).
Dena mentioned that she’s planning on selling the piece and people tend to prefer smaller pieces, so I would stage this a few ways to show how it could be used – once as a china cabinet with a few (thrifted, of course) china pieces on the shelves, once as a bookshelf (I love the look of books behind glass – it feels so special!), and finally, once without the top hutch showing the bottom piece as a credenza or sideboard.
Tiffany (myeclecticnest) shared these adorable wicker tables on Instagram. The circle detailing is fantastic! The general consensus on Instagram was that a bold, glossy color would be perfect – I cast my vote for coral, sunflower yellow, or royal blue, all available in glossy spray paint options at your local hardware store (which would you pick?). I can’t wait to see what Tiffany decides!
This is just small part of the collection of coffee bags Tanya (danslelakehouse) has – they have such great textures and graphics! She asked us what we would do with them…
So I thought I would collect a few of my favorite coffee sack ideas I found on Pinterest. Tanya hinted that she already had one project up her sleeve, so I’m excited to see what she does with them!
1) The graphics look wonderful simply framed – let them speak for themselves.
2) I love the glossy red frames of these coffee-sack-upholstered chairs!
3) This headboard is fantastic!
4) A coffee sack purse Dior knockoff
5) Such a great idea to use coffee sacks to cover these fabric bins!
Sarah (vagopsarah) scored a big collection of fabric sample books at the thrift store and is looking for ideas. While she could simply pick a few favorites to slap in a frame for instant art, I think it would be so fun to use these samples to create a piece of geometric/patchwork style artwork. I would look at quilt patterns online and pick one to piece together on top of a blank canvas!
My Find:
You guys, I have a #dearTST submission of my own this week!
I just found this vintage china cabinet on Craigslist for $20 the other day and couldn’t resist it at that price, despite a pretty glaring flaw that I need some creative ideas for overcoming…
It doesn’t look too bad, right? But check out the left side…
The particle board underneath the veneer is totally splitting and warped, likely due to some water damage in the past. At the point, I don’t know exactly what to do to salvage that side of the base cabinet, beside some extensive wood filler, sanding and painting.
I love the door details on the bottom piece, so I was thinking of attempting some sort of two-tone paint+wood treatment, but I’m stumped as to what color and to what extent I should add paint. So I’m asking for your input – what would YOU do with this china cabinet?
Like Dena, I have plans to sell it when I’m done, so I’m trying to make choices that will appeal to future buyers. Can’t wait to hear your ideas!
CoCo from The Crowned Goat is joining us again this week as our guest host!
Her treasure hunting adventures are always so fun to follow, and you have to check out this gorgeous weatherwood cabinet she built to house some her finds!
Be sure to check out the finds and features from Cassie, Corinna & Trisha!
P.S. Are you a blogger who also love thrifty finds? We’d love to have you join us for a week of Thrift Score Thursday! If you’re interested, send me a message!
oh i love your find!!!!! can’t wait to see it get some love.
It has promise, right? For $20, I just couldn’t resist!
Nice find with that credenza! Since it’s for sale, maybe go with a simple white paint and wood two tone. I’m sure it’ll sell quick. Though I have no idea how to fix the water damage
I do love the white + wood look! Yes, that damage is stumping me just a little, but I’ll be sure to share any solutions I find along the way!
Looooooove your find! It didn’t even occur to me to style that piece a couple different ways, thank you!!!
Awesome! I’m so glad my suggestion was actually helpful! I can’t wait to see what you do with it, Dena!
You got a great bargain on that china cabinet. Can’t wait to see the end result of the makeover.
I’d seen it on Craigslist for several weeks and when the seller finally dropped the price to $20, I knew it was a risk I had to take! I can’t wait to share the makeover!
My vote on Tanya’s coffee sack is something with glossy red even if it doesn’t happen to be paired with chairs! That red reminds me of that perfect shade of red lipstick (I never manage to pull off) and makes those coffee sacks go va-va-voom!
Hmm for your piece- if the side panels are veneer, perhaps peeling that back and either replacing it with new veneer or painting over it? Perhaps doing a little surgery and replacing that side with a new piece of plywood? I’m definitely pro-two-toned look. To sell quickly I agree with Corinna a neutral color.
Yes – the red with the coffee sack graphics is just an amazing combo!
Thanks for your suggestions, girl! I might just need to replace the side panel, or at least use a thin sheet of wood/veneer to doctor it up! We’ll see!
Such pretty stuff, and amazing makeover advice! As for yours, I love the idea of two-toned color and wood…..I always love Robin’s Egg Blue, Jadeite Green, or Coral with wood, but a creamy white with gold accents/hardware might appeal to more buyers. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to fix the damage to the particle board, but the wood filler and sanding you already thought of is probably the best way to go about it.
Now I’m dying to do a two-tone Jadeite Green and wood piece – maybe for myself sometime! I love the idea of bringing in some more gold accents too, to mirror the gold on the glass doors!
That’s fantastic! Can’t wait to see what you do with it! And the price is ridiculous!
Thanks Crystal! I just couldn’t pass it up! Now I just need to make sure I don’t procrastinate this project and let it sit in my garage for months 😉
I love your find – awesome lines. Are you planning on painting it? If so, I wonder if you could just replace that entire piece of wood? Maybe too involved… but that’s my only idea!
Yes, I think I will end up painting at least some of the china cabinet. I still need to decide how much & what color(s) to use! I might need to replace that side piece – whatever I do, I’ll be sure to share!