Yard sale finds like these baskets and glassware make the best decorations.

It’s been an incredible week around here.

There are hopes and dreams and plans and laughter spilling out of the farmhouse this week.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Every.  Last.  Detail.

But for today lets talk spring and yard sales and the people whose heart beats a little faster when you see a hand-lettered multi-family yard sale sign.  I’m sure it’s spring home tour sharing day somewhere and today I wanted to take a walk through mine.

Except.

Except I wanted to do things a little differently (this is the part where you nod your head and tell me you are not surprised).

If you were to stop by for a tour, I tell you how happy I am that we are friends and I would get you some sweet tea (or water if you preferred) and I would take you through the rooms and give you the yard sale tour.  You know, the one where I tell you where everything came from and how I made it or got it at a yard sale and what I would buy at a yard sale season if I only had $5.00 and that yard sale season is starting again and we should go some Saturday.

Hold on.

Let me get you a glass of tea.

Now let’s go.

Yard sales are a great for finding affordable yet expensive looking pieces to decorate your dining room.

These stained wooden chairs are an old find that add character to this dining room.

Here’s the dining room decked out for spring:

1.  The table was $10 at an auction.  I repaired it and painted it white and waited 10 minutes and painted it black.

2.  I found that old fabric holder at a local antique mall and filled it with milk glass I bought at every yard sale from here to Texas.

3.  The chairs on the end are from my mother’s house.  I grew up eating every Sunday dinner with these chairs.

4.  The piece on the wall came from the scratch and dent section of a local store.

5.  I stained the wood floor with different colors of stain.

These grocery bough flowers look fresh as if from your personal garden.

6.  The bookcase in the background came from a junk store.

7.  The books on the book case are from a thrift store.  I cover them with craft paper and add labels to make them match a room.

No judging.  I really like it when my books match.

8.  The flowers are from the grocery store.

This lovely entryway is chic decorated with re-purposed wall accents found on the side of the road.

This vintage tool box from a junk store adds a farmhouse vibe to the room.

9.  This toolbox from the dining room came from a junk store.

I took out the insides and use them for display in the laundry room.

10,  The pieces on the wall in the hallway (just out of sight in the picture) came from the side of the road.

They don’t like to discuss their roots, now that they’re art.
This elegant living room was decorated with several pieces from junk stores and antique shops.

This round coffee table is a dining table transformed into something else.

11.  The chair on the right in the front of the picture came from the curb.

I got it for free and re-upholstered it.

12.  The table used to be a dining table and we made it into a coffee table.

13.  The boxes on the wall used to be a crate from a yard sale and I made them into wall organizers.

The square organizers on the wall in the living room are from a big box that was re-purposed.

This wooden greenery decor piece was made using moss.

14.  The F A R M letters on the wall were made by my brother.

15.  The chandelier in the living room came from the thrift store.

16.  The barn door on the mantel came from the junk store.

This antique chandelier was purchased from a thrift store.

This DIY tray was made using handles from the ottoman.

17.  I got the chair on the right from our church when they were about to throw it away.

18.  The chair on the left came from a yard sale for $10.

19.  We made the tray with the handles on the ottoman.

20.  The light fixture came from a yard sale for $10.  It had a weird clock thing in the middle that I removed.

This light fixture in the laundry room was purchased for cheap from a garage sale.

This wooden plank is great for towels and detergent.

21.  The large piece of furniture on the right came from a junk store.  It had this weird mirror thing in the front that we took out and added ship lap to.

Now it has a basket on it that holds paper towels and I store all the gift wrap supplies and extra blankets in the bottom.

22.  The armoire that’s striped came from a yard sale for $5.00.

Every dish decoration in this room was purchased from a yard sale.

23.  The dishes all over the room came from yard sales.

24.  The table between the chairs was $2.00 at an auction.

25.  The sign over the fireplace came from a junk store.

Junk stores and thrift shops are great places to find cute decor pieces like these.

The decorating lesson in all of this?

The take away on this beautiful, sunshiny, full of joy Monday morning?

The side of the road and junk stores and thrift stores and yard sales….

….they’re where it’s at. 🙂

Want to know how to decorate your home for free?
Click here to get my FIVE BEST secrets.

Comments

  1. Image for Nancy @ Slightly Coastal Nancy @ Slightly Coastal

    I love yard sale and thrift store shopping! It's the best! I'm showing off my painted secretary desk today and I found it at a second hand shop. I think if you have a discerning eye you can really create a beautiful home with stuff other people wanted to get rid of. You have to be very choosy though or you end up with a house that looks like a thrift store. You, my friend, have the gift of a good eye. Love everything you pictured today. P.S. I'm thinking of using that wood bead chandelier in my dining room. It looks so lovely in your home. Nancy

  2. Image for Pamela Pamela

    I love yard sales and thrift stores. You have created some of the most beautiful pieces out of your finds. They look so great in your home.

  3. Image for Cecilia Cecilia

    You've taken a lot of discarded pieces and woven them together into a beautiful story of home. Love it all! Then there's just the thrill of finding something and knowing it's going to be fabulous once you're done with it! It's a good thing you distracted me with all the eye candy....your lead in has me very curious! Have a beautiful day! :-) Cecilia

  4. Image for Marisa Franca @ All Our Way Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

    Happy Spring to you too! I love what you've done and the tour was fantastic. What you can do with genius and imagination. I didn't get that gene -- I got the cooking, stubborn, and nosey gene. *sigh* I guess I have to be happy with what I've got. But, KariAnne, tell me where your REAL laundry room is? It can't be that gorgeous room with no dirty clothes or lint bunnies. (I peeked). Clean as a pin!! Thank you for the tour!! I hope we can go garage sailing some day. ?

  5. Image for Barbara Barbara

    Beautiful clean fresh house!! Love how you decorate and re-purpose things. Your photography skills are awesome too:)!!

  6. Image for Cindy Richter Cindy Richter

    Everything is so unique when the pieces come from yard sales, junk stores and the side of the road! Beautiful home, beautifully you. Love your talent for putting things together and seeing what things "can" be.

  7. Image for Kristi Kristi

    I understand the whole heart beating faster when you see a yard sale sign! Thats me!!! Absolutely love yard sales & thrift stores, So much so that my hubby puts me on a time limit some weekends!! You've done amazing things with all of your finds! Thanks for sharing, you inspire me to do more with my finds!! Your neighbor Kentucky Girl, Kristi :)

  8. Image for Heidi @cloverlycottage Heidi @cloverlycottage

    What an inspiring home tour!! I think the most welcoming & interesting homes are the ones filled with treasures that have a past. I like to decorate our home using salvaged, vintage, thrifted and free finds too!!

  9. Image for Rosanna Rosanna

    I couldn't agree more!! Love to do the same thing with all my finds...and I have found some real "doozies"!! A friend once introduced me to someone as:"she finds beauty in almost anything that you and I can't even see"...it was a very sweet compliment! !

  10. Image for Nan, Odessa, DE Nan, Odessa, DE

    Thanks for having me over! Now you better give me some hints on auctions. Add a blog on this topic, please. I am afraid of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Details, for a beginner. I might spend 300 when I could spend 30. My favorite is estate sales. The price is marked, I know what the seller expects, and IF I want the item, I know what to pay.

    1. Image for Jenifer Jenifer

      I'm with Nan!! Never even been to an auction because I'm too scared of what I might come home with for way too much money!!!

  11. Image for Carol Weiler Carol Weiler

    This why your home is so inviting! You can feel the love and work that went into your finds to make them yours. So much better than a roomful of expensive showroom furniture! Love that you shared your great finds!

  12. Image for Marty Oravetz Marty Oravetz

    Everything is absolutely gorgeous. You do yard sales better than most. Love how you redo and then put it all together.

  13. Image for Michelle Michelle

    You are so creative and craftsy and I'm glad we're friends too! I especially like the '7 Things I Would Buy At a Yard Sale If I Only Had $5.00.' Now, if I could only get another weekend off!

  14. Image for Tracie Tracie

    I have the same rug you have in your entry. I love it. It is in my small apartment living room. My mom gave it to me as a gift. I am a thrift store devotee, and I can't believe some of the things I found that I couldn't afford unless it was a thrift store price. I should try yard sales, too. :) Your home is very pretty! People are reluctant about thrift stores and yard sales because they are afraid of it looking junky or cheap, or used being a synonym for broken. But I am so happy with the things I found! Original value of my coffee table: $600. Thrift store price (incl tax): $33. Original value of my loveseat: $500. My price: free! Original price of my ladder bookcase: $898. Thrift store price (incl tax): $212. Original price of my oversized armchair: At least $500. Thrift store price: $46 plus wrestling it halfway into the back of my Yaris then tying it down and praying. You have done so beautifully with your yard sale finds and other decor! Gorgeous!

  15. Image for Kris Kris

    Love your test-tube tulips! So simple and springlike! I don't have your gift for yard sales but I am great at finding clearance clothing items! I guess we all have our talents. ;) Happy Tuesday to you.

  16. Image for Janet Janet

    I love your house and that so many pieces have such a remarkable past. That love, creativity and energy are what make your house HOME. Well done!

  17. Image for Leticia Leticia

    Way to go! I know you love your home and it really shows...Thank you for sharing your lovely place..very inspiring! Leticia

  18. Image for MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!)

    Just love your home, KariAnne! It's just so beautiful! I love how you have found all these antique items and given them a second chance! You do a wonderful job of everything! Have a blessed day!

  19. Image for Theda Theda

    Great inspiration! I'm beginning to think I can give life to a $20.00 Duncan Phyfe style table that's been sitting on the back porch for 5+ years. I'll give it a go!!

  20. Image for Kimberly Kimberly

    Kari, I always find myself feeling at home when I look at your rooms so (since I do not have your knack) I have been looking at your pictures and asking myself what it is that makes me feel so cozy (hyggeligt ;)). This has been helping me to decide what I want to do in some of my rooms. I bought my latest home a year ago and I am trying to work toward stamping more of what make me happy on it. THANKS! for being such an inspiration. Question: on the original post about the crate wall organizers it says to nail them directly to the wall. Is this achieved by nailing through the top brace in the back at an angle? I know the hammer won't fir down into the box, so I am figuring it has to be toe-nailed. Thanks.

  21. Image for Lisa Montgomery Lisa Montgomery

    My favorite post ever! I wish I had your talent for seeing a diamond in the rough and creatively changing to something so beautiful.

  22. Image for Kerry Messenger Kerry Messenger

    Absolutely gorgeous! Your house is lovely and shows just what a bit of effort can do!!! Love the all white look - surprisingly warm and cosy looking!!! Thanks for the tour!!

  23. Image for Barbara Moore Barbara Moore

    Clearly I should go with you the next time you venture out to a yard sale..... or just ride in your car so I can find things on the side of the road. Wow. Talk about lemonade out of lemons. You're a rock star.

  24. Image for LanitaAnderson LanitaAnderson

    WOW! Loved seeing the home tour and hearing about all of your great finds and bargains, not to mention seeing how you upcycled them and how you used/decorated with them in your home!! That's half the fun of finding the treasure - being able to "brag" to everyone else! :) Thank you for "bragging" - you made my day!

  25. Image for Holly Holly

    I LOVE this! There is definitely something about the feeling you get when you give a piece of furniture new life! You really have a talent though to spot these things! Thank you for sharing.

  26. Image for Linda Linda

    Fun post! But I can beat your table price...$5 at auction. The hardware to put it back together was more. We don't go to auctions or yards sales much any more. Our home is blessed to be filled. In fact, we are the attic storage for free to our "don't live here, just there stuff" kids. But I do buy paint and use it! On the 4th color for our table. Enjoy this early spring day!

  27. Image for Domenic Domenic

    Great post. One person's trash is another's treasure! Re-purposing old furniture is a great way to bring a unique flair to a home.

  28. Image for Julie B. Julie B.

    I'm thinkin' that trash-treasures are much easier (and more affordable) to come by in your neck-of-the-woods than in So Cal. But, I'm also thinkin' that the Lord has placed it on my heart to make it work here, and for me to share it... eventually... soon?... on a blog??? Praying about my niche, for there are several. And, waiting to be sure that the prodding I continue to feel really is from Him. >.< SCAAAARYYY! ;-)

  29. Image for Heather Heather

    Do you have a tutorial on the Farm letters, or does your brother sell them? I live on a farm and I don't have much wall space...but I would find a space for that!

  30. Image for Charlotte Lindsay Charlotte Lindsay

    You have found so many amazing pieces at thrift stores of junk stores! I always hope to find things but just do not have the right mind set to see their potential. I enjoy how you decorated your home for spring, nothing too crazy but still feels light and airy. I always use flora and greenery for my spring home decor!

  31. Image for Kelly Rainwater Kelly Rainwater

    The club chairs in front of the window, with the nailhead details (I think they are the same chairs in the bedroom?) Where did you find them/buy them? I'm in love with nailhead details! I have two La-Z-Boy recliners that don't look like recliners. They have low, square backs, are very tailored, and have nailhead trim on the outside sides (if that makes sense), rather than in the front, like yours. The arms are very square, rather than rolled. The legs are like yours. I suppose if you have to pinpoint the style, I would say it's transitional: traditional, with a modern upgrade. I love that no one knows they are recliners by looking at them, but the other thing is their size: they are compact and fit in our space perfectly. When they were worn, we opted to have them professionally reupholstered (because my idea of reupholstering a square pillow back cushion involved a curtain from Target, some fusing fabric tape, if that's what it's called, two safety pins and a hair elastic!) ALL OF THAT IS TO SAY that I love your chairs with the rolled arms and think they would fit perfectly in my space (when I'm ready to move mine into another room. So, source, please? They are gorgeous! Oh! LOVE the dining table, the wood backed chair at the table and the curtains in the windows!

  32. Image for lynn lynn

    Trying to "break the code" of how your rooms appear to be so restful. It's using a neutral color as the base! LOVE all your rooms and you totally pulled all together! Thank you for sharing. BTW: do you use linen blends for your furniture?

  33. Image for prince snow farm prince snow farm

    Boy do I love what you do with junk, has beens, and tossed asides! You have a vision! And you are clever! If we lived nearby, I'd invite you over for a fix it all up session,and I'd trade you bouquets of fresh flowers and arms full of veggies all summer. Wish I had half of your marvelous inclination! EVERY photo has me sighing at the beauty!

  34. Image for April April

    Wow! Beautiful. Everything, and you are on a different plane from the rest of us with the books matching thing. I'm just happy when people put my books back on the shelf. I never thought about their colors.

  35. Image for Doreen @ Hymns and Verses Doreen @ Hymns and Verses

    It's been a while since I've been here and oh how I've missed you and your beautiful home full of treasures! This is my kind of decorating!!! What was lost - now has found a new purpose in life! Thank you for sharing your creativity and always inspiring! xoxo

  36. Image for Jillynn Jillynn

    This is the definition of my farmhouse!!! I have an old chicken crate hanging on my wall from the barn, shelves made out of wood I found in the corncrib, an old ladder covered in pigeon poo in my living room ( I sealed it;-) I find the things I love the most in my home are the things that have a story!

  37. Image for Angelina Angelina

    Everything is gorgeous and I believe that many of ht best things in one's house is vintage or antique! Thanks for sharing with Thursday Favorite Things!!

  38. Image for Kristen Kristen

    Love this! Thanks for sharing all your finds with us :) That is exactly how I decorate my home! I can walk around and say I got this from a flea market, from goodwill, an auction or the side of the road! Nice!

  39. Image for Maisy Maisy

    Wow, your home looks like it's straight out of a magazine! So bright and tidy! I love that you use yard sale finds to decorate, and the outcome is really nice :) Have a lovely day, Maisy

  40. Image for Mary Booth Mary Booth

    Kari- Can I go to YOUR junk stores and garage sales, and side of the road??? Here in Ohio we truly HAVE sink- not like that!!! Lol!!! I love all your blog's and designs! I love white milk glass and farmhouse designs and tan and jute accent pieces just like you!

Comments are closed.