Thrift Store Decor – Minimalist DIY Furniture Upcycle

Thrift Store Decor

Thrift stores are amazing for secondhand clothes, but I also absolutely love finding furniture at thrift stores. My favorite thrift store decor “wins” have been a $3 drum lamp shade, my old upcycled dresser that I have since sold, Greyson’s dresser and mirror and other items in his nursery design, and my real wood living room side table and coffee table. And then there’s nothing quite like finding vintage decor, furniture, and accessories. You know they’ll be one of a kind amongst your inner circle of folks, and they’ll generate a lot of buzz when you post them on Instagram.

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Minimalist Upcycle

I’m somewhat of a purist when it comes to updating my vintage furniture finds. I want to leave them as original as possible. I love wood tones and wood stain, and about 90% of the time, I’d rather that over chalk paint and weird, bold colors. I’m sure I’m the only HGTV and Fixer Upper loving person that despises chalk paint. I’m so over seeing it everywhere LOL!

Kintsugi – “Golden Joinery”

If you don’t know this about me, I majored & minored in architecture, interior design, and sustainability in college. My goal was to become an architect who specialized in historic preservation. Life happened, and grad school fell through, so I’m not. But, historic preservation is one of my top loves, still. I don’t remember how I first learned about the Japanese practice of “kintsugi,” or “golden joinery,” but I sort of became obsessed with it and though of ways I could update old furniture by incorporating my modern-day spin on the ancient practice. I finally got to do just that with this unique piece of furniture! It had several unnecessary holes in it that served purely as decoration where unusable drawer knobs used to be. When I found the piece, it only had one knob in it, as if someone had taken all the others off with the same idea of getting rid of the unnecessary knobs. As soon as I saw the piece, I knew I had to do my own version of “golden joinery” on it to fill the holes in a beautiful way.

Before –

+ After

DIY Tutorial

Watch the video for how I turned this regular vintage thrift store find into something beautiful and special. It is totally functional for my 2 year old son, and it will make a beautiful piece for something else in the future.

What have been your favorite mini-makeovers for your thrift store finds? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo dolls & dudes,

Addie Fisher