Decorating with Thrift Store Silver

Hi guys!

It’s me again, Julie, from redheadcandecorate.com…stopping by to say hello and to share some easy and affordable decorating tips with you today!

We have 2 sweet daughters who are now in their teen years and one of the ways I love to connect with them, is by going to the thrift store. This would also be something fun grandparents could do with grandchildren, too.

We are fortunate to have 2 very nice stores (Good Will & Salvation Army) close to us, and we usually stop there after I pick the girls up from school. Sometimes I’ll even get a text in the middle of the school day from my oldest asking, “Can we stop at the thrift store today?”

How could I resist, right? Not only do I get to have some fun with my girls, but I think it’s important to teach them how to save money, and how to be creative using thrift store items. It’s a win-win situation.

So, today I’m going to sharing a few of the ways I like to incorporate thrift store silver into my home decor. I choose silver because there is usually a ton of it when I go to the thrift store. I know brass and gold is all the rage, and I’m actually sharing my “Gold Portable Office” on my blog now, but silver is still my all time favorite. It’s classic, chic, and the patinas are just beautiful.

Check out this stack of silver platters…

I collected them slowly for this fun idea I had for our foyer…a “Thrift Store Platter Wall”.

What do you think of it? Is it a bit of an over-load for you, or is it something you would be willing to try?

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Just in case you do want to try it in your own home, I used these hanging strips to hang them, and it was so incredibly easy. I fool you not, my friend. I would never say it’s easy if it wasn’t. I used 1 strip (there are 2 parts to each strip) on each plate, started in the middle of the wall with that really big & heavy one, and worked my way out & up to the top of our ceiling. I was sure to space them evenly with my eye only because I am too impatient to measure. Then I filled in the holes with other silver objects I found around the house. If you look closely I used a Ball jar lid and a vintage star cookie cutter for fill-ins. It might sound crazy, but it worked. {Oh wait-I just realized I was using the star cookie cutter for Christmas cookies when this photo was taken, but I’m sure you can spot the hole near the top.}

My next thrift store silver idea is simple-simple-simple!

If you happen to spot a silver coffee/tea pot, grab it. Then swing over to the tea cups, and pick out the prettiest ones you can find with saucers. Mine matched but they certainly don’t have to.

Then purchase some roses or carnations at the grocery store (I found these pink roses at Kroger). Poof…instant beautiful floral arrangement for any special occasion. Especially a tea party, wedding/baby shower, or a lunch date. Some folks asked if I glued my tea cup to the saucer, but I did not.

Here’s another tea pot I found for $10! The patina is stunning up against the purple tulips & white paint.

Here’s a unique idea using a silver tiered tray. I forget how much I paid for this one, but it wasn’t much. I then simply cleaned it off with a damp cloth, and decorated it with my jewelry. It is sitting on our dresser right now!

Can you tell that I like sparkly jewels?

Here’s another idea for the holidays…I was really lucky one day when I came across this gigantic silver tureen. It has a small dent on the one side, but that was okay with me.

Around Halloween time, I filled it with the apples we just picked at the orchard and set it in our spooky foyer. Pretty cool. The kids were laughing at me, but I’m used to that!

I decided to keep it out for Christmas and lit it up with Christmas lights and pretty bulbs.

If you have any more ideas for my tureen, please let me know. How about for Easter, or Spring?

One last tip I have left, is to use a random silver platter in a vignette or shelf. I stuck that really big one in the photo for our “Rustic Fall Hutch” last year. It adds a bit of glam to the rustic country setting.

I hope I inspired you to try some of my ideas for using thrift store silver. It’s so versatile and it can be used with all decorating styles. The more tarnished, the better.

Well, I better get going. I’ll see you next month, but until then I hope you can visit me at Redhead Can Decorate where I recently finished our “Romantic Bathroom Date” with my “DIY Bath Tub Tray”. You may even find more silver in that article! ~ Julie

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