Happy Monday.
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.
Here’s the dining room decked out for spring:
1. The table was $10 at an auction. I repaired it and painted it white.
2. I bought the hutch at a yard sale. It was originally yellow with kind of swirled shelves and didn’t have doors.
3. The chairs on the end are from my mother’s house. I grew up eating every Sunday dinner with these chairs.
4. The chairs on the side came from an auction for $5 and they originally were broken with broken cane. I had them reupholstered.
5. The dishes all came from yard sales.
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 yard.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 🙂
PS Happy Spring. 🙂
Awesome!!!!!
Beautiful tour-thank you! Loving the shots with your new camera/lens:) Everything looks so fresh, clean and spring!!
As always, love your posts! It is the first thing I look for in my emails. I ordered the same type of rugs that you have. Question--how do you keep the material edging so clean? I am finding that mine soil rather quickly. I did scrub mine with some Dawn and water and they did clean up but am wondering if you do something different. Thanks!
Can you please tell me where you got the beautiful sisal rugs? They really look great in your rooms. Maryann_nolan10@comcast.net
I so love your amazing finds! But every time I see them Can't take my eyes off those blue and white curtains!!!! ️Loving my Mom's blue Willow as I finally start trying to decorate new home always looking for blue and white! Hope week is kind!
I love the tour of your lovely home. Everything is so white and bright and your rooms are so big. You will laugh at this. Your white table with the corners cut off, I got mine at auction for only 50 cents. What fun!
Your home is lovely, and I enjoy viewing it as I look forward to being inspired. Dear friend, you are just too creative that it is sinful. Have a delightful week.
Great post Karianne!
I ❤️ Junkin!
From one yard sale aficionado to another, I see no reason to shop at the retail stores when all the REALLY cool stuff comes from yard sales and thrift stores :)
To have the vision to see the possibilities in the "treasures" on the side of the road is a gift. More important it is the satisfaction you get when you finish your task. I am sure when you put the last period on today's newsletter you sat back and smiles realizing how happy the results made you feel..and rightly so. I'll bet " Twinkling Browneye's " smiled also thinking about the money your vision saved for the college funds. Your home is lovely. Jere
If my friends only knew...
FANTASTIC TOUR!!! Have you ever totaled up the entire cost that you have in your home decor at this time. I would be curious to know.......what a BARGAIN SHOPPER and CREATIVE SOUL you are! God bless.
Everything is stunning and beautiful. Love your striped walls, too.
Thanks friend! You can see the before and after here: https://thistlewoodfarms.com/before-and-after-front-entry/ Happy Monday! karianne
KariAnne - You are a treasure as well as your fabulous finds! More importantly you have a vision to re-purpose and see items waaay beyond their original mission in life and that is truly a gift. Thank you for the tour, you are truly an inspiration. I would like to have a glass of sweet tea and a nice long sit down with my newest BFF, please and thank you!
I am available any Saturday- just tell me what side of the road to meet you on!
Absolutely beautiful!! I love the way you see possibility in all these "unloved" things that someone discarded and gave them new life and a place of prominence in your family. It's truly a gift...Gary says- if we ever went to the Nashville Flea market together AND if we got out of there..!!!...we might have to have a stint in "flea market rehab"!!! ;-) Happy Monday, dear friend!
Karianne...your decorating ability is amazing!! I have no vision :( I would like to paint an armoire and maybe my kitchen cabinets white. Can you recommend a paint? Thanks!
I hope you're writing a book!!
I agree with Yvonne! You certainly have the creative mind and gift of story telling/writing!
Do you know what? I love you! You are precious. Your house looks like it could be in any of those fabulous decorating magazine, but yet you are so down to earth that we can all dare to have a home that looks as nice as yours. Thank you for being you!!!
Thank you for the beautiful home tour, oh and thank you also for the sweet tea. (I imagined it served in a mason jar.) I absolutely love your farmhouse and how fresh and light and pretty everything looks! For waaaaayyy too many months now I've been driving by yard sales and garage sales and World Market and flea markets and this sale and that sale and...the energy it takes to keep on driving is exhausting!! I keep telling myself, only two more months before I move. I can do this...
Love your home and need to shop at your thrift stores and the side of your roads.
I've got my purse and cash...I'm ready! Let's go to some yard sales and stop to pick up any strays along the road!
BRAVO!! Who wants to decorate with items that are mass produced and sold at chain stores?!? Certainly not me! Love, love!! : )
So much fun.....love cutting legs off tables and old signs......I grab every tool box I can find....Makes me want to go Dumpster Diving right now!!!
I have learned at least for my style that my house has more charm and character by shopping thrift stores and even the curb instead of big box furniture stores. You have a beautiful home.
You, my friend, are clearly way better at yard sales than I am. Want to come to Franklin and do some picking with me? I could benefit from your eye. Love this post. xoxo
We would definitely be friends........
Beautiful! I love a bargain and the idea of reusing and repurposing, I decorate in much the same way. Have a great day.
Just love your home and its space!! You are obviously a fun gal to go flea marketing with!! Hope your Easter was wonderful! Keep on shopping it all looks beautiful!
Love all your finds!! I just love getting a good deal and making it awesome like the lilac piece for 5.00. I can't wait to work on it and I will soon. Right now I am busy with other things like knitting a purple shawl for her birthday and doing demos at antique shows which I shop as well LOL!! That is next on my list to work on that piece. Just love good deals and I love all what you have done with yours.
You saw the Magic in the Yard Sale Finds and the By the Side of the Road Trash...when no one else did...Genius! Thanks for the inspiration.
Knock, Knock........I wish we were neighbors, diet Coke please ( if its afternoon) I would have too much to give you. My residence now is more formal....and ten years ago I never thought " country " decorating was "in". Nowadays you call it farmhouse. My heart still skips a beat for this style and I love every inch of your home. Your creativity and imagination is remarkable as well as your writing style. Thanks for the tour.
This is all the kind of stuff i love!! Thrift shops, and yard sales, estate sales!! My kind of decorating too!! Your home is AWESOME!!!! Kathy
I loved this --- because it's exactly the kind of tour I give at my house! And I live in a small town in Alaska so junk is even harder to find! The joy at finding and reinventing is so much fun!
Your home is fresh as a Spring Day! But thing I've been hoping you would do another post on is your brother's adoption....did they get their new little child? Would love an update!
Yes!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooooo sorry! I was going to post about it....but he wanted to share so I just linked to his blog instead. :) Here's the updates from when they were in China: https://sonofwhale.com/ Happy day! karianne
Hands down "Best Home Tour" EVER!!!!! I love your style & approach to home decor. A home is so much more interesting when it combines a mix of items!!!! Thanks for showing us how to create a beautiful, welcoming home without breaking the bank!!!!
Being a garage sale kind of girl...I LOVE everything about this post! Your home is beautiful and done on a budget!
Truly amazing. Now today I am going to go in a different direction. I am going to mention the importance of assimilation. Yes that is an important political term but it is also an important concept. Take for instance your furniture and adorable items. They all came from different backgrounds, had different histories BUT in the end they all came together to make the whole -- your farmhouse-- beautiful and unified. One room didn't demand more attention. Nope the rooms knew that to make a strong impression they all had to work together for the better good. Okay!! That is my theory for politics and houses!! You are a true rock star!! Your house is fantastic.
Now that's my kind of home tour! Loved that you shared your fun finds and how you transformed them!!!
Kari Ann, your ability to turn someone's "trash" into treasures, is simply AMAZING! Loved your home tour and thank you for the "tea"... ; )
Beautiful! Now one question; Where on earth did you get your smocked drapes in the dining room? I NEED them.
Woohoo! Yes, pickin', thriftin' and junkin' is where it's at! Can I get an Amen?
After reading this list of your awesome bargain treasures, I want to rent a uhaul, drive across a few states, and come to visit your area! Then, after days of wandering and collecting strays to haul home and care for (as I call all my home finds, not just my pets, who are also strays), I want to stop by your beautiful home, enjoy a glass of sweet tea with you, and hash out repurpose ideas for all of it. Now that's a great vacation! Ahh, a girl can dream. Kindred Spirits indeed. For the record, on my list, I consider You and your blog a beautiful treasure found.
It all looks gorgeous, girl! So much fun when everything has a story to tell!
I can think of so many people who need to read this. How many times have I heard, "Well, if I had money, my house could look like that too!" It's not about money, it's about hard-work and imagination. You have done a wonderful job of decorating your home on a budget. It's inviting, creative, beautiful and looks like you spent a fortune!
Funny article- I had to laugh. I recall driving with my dear friend, Susan, and I spotted a chair on the sidewalk ready for garbage pick up. I quickly turned the car around and we both jumped out to look at it. It was COVERED with cat hair and cat pee stains (but had great lines). We both looked to the right and the left, and hauled it into the back of my car. We were hysterically laughing. I had my upholsterer recover it for free (they had already done alot for me) with a piece of fabric I found laying around. We sold it at our barn sale for $175.00. The FUN was in the FINDING!!!! I can relate!
Happy Spring to you too and thank you for this Monday Morning yard sale house tour! It was delightful and I too have a yard sale kind of house....pre-loved treasures are always fun to find and repurpose....Your home is awesome.
I, like you, have more in our home that came from yard sales than stores. Love it! ~~Makes me squeal!~~
I love your house, Ms. Thistle:) Everything just flows beautifully together. Thanks for the awesome tour! Cheers to junkin' :)
You knocked it out of the park again ! Wish I could envision the beauty in someones cast offs. Love the rug under your dining table. You didn't get that at a thrift shop did you ?
I rarely ever comment on any blog. I usually just enjoy the goodness and eye candy BUT I just want you to know you ROCK! I love your home, your love of home and family, your honesty, your decorating style, your sense of humor and your wonderful home! Happy Day!!! Kathy
I love pieces that have a story to tell! You have a good eye for rescuimg salvage and giving it a new life. And what fun to see everything fit in perfectly! I love junking too. A good yard sale is even better than the dollar spot at Target!
Awesome, awesome, awesome! I have always enjoyed your posts, but you outdid yourself on this one. All the "spring tours" were getting rather boring ~ thanks so much for shaking it up. I take just as much pride in all the found and discovered treasures I make over as anything else in my home (maybe even more if I'm truthful), and we can certainly see you do as well. Thanks for a beautiful "tour" of your home.
I'm wondering if ANYTHING came from regular stores... I do my share of thrifting (just got a like new chair for $7.50) and curbside pick up (living room ottoman, recovered and kid's shelves, repainted), and garage sales (playroom kids table repainted white) plus a bunch of family stuff, but baby, you are out of my league. We're not even on the same continent! And it all looks cohesive and planned and meant to be together. Love it.
I so enjoy your posts!!! Thank you for this tour and PLEASE, please share the paint color and company name on your walls. I am getting up the courage to paint all downstairs walls different shades of gray!!!
You are very talented to bring this all together. You have a good eye for sure!
I've been following your blog for sometime and I have appreciated and been impressed by two things - your writing style AND your keen sense of renewed lives for the castaways you come across. You are one multi-talented young lady and I must confess, I silently, through cyber space, stalk you with the hope of learning all of your decorating secrets. Your home is beautiful and a true inspiration for even the newest bride dreaming of creating a beautiful home for the love of her life, or the bride of many years that knows that creating a place of refuge for her family is an ongoing expression of her love. You may have posted this previously and I overlooked it, but would you please share the names and suppliers of the rugs in your dining room and the sitting room described in #s 17 - 20? I have been searching for some time now for dining room rugs and either of the two you have would be a great fit for my style. Keep the inspiration coming!
I want to be your neighbor and friend!!!!!!! It would be so much fun!!! Thank you for a great Monday blog read!!
Your kind of shopping is what I call my favorite sport! Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend
Well how fun was that?! It would be so awesome to have a glass of sweet tea with you and then hit some yard sales! We could have some sort of competition... who can buy the most with $5!! Tania
Just stunning, as usual! The dining room table is amazing, and so is the tablescape. And your laundry room is just incredible!!
Come to NKY and lets drive the 400 mile/Rt 68 sale....love to yardsale the highways and byways of Kentucky with you. While not officially a part of the Rt 68 sale, I'll take you to Augusta to George Clooneys mamas shop....she's almost always working behind the counter and delightful. I've got a mini van to fill!!
I love how you find such creative ways to use found treasures! We all need to do this more here in Canada...its crazy how much ends up in the landfill here!
The "thrill" of the hunt! I don't find anything on the side of the road in my area but I do scour local and not so local.."have car and will travel anywhere" thrift stores and Goodwill stores. My latest find was a Brighton - state of Georgia -charm bracelet for $3.93 + tax and later that day I saw it on ebay for $75.19! Even with that I believe you still beat me at "finds". :)
It's all just beautiful! I'm ready to go thrifting/junking now!
Wow!! Proof you don't have to spend a ton of money to have a stunning home. Gorgeous!!
I love your house. You have such a great sense of style.
KariAnne, I have a estate sale, thrift store, hand me down house too! I love finding treasures and bringing them into my home! My parents sold their house and are downsizing. I've been lucky to "inherit" some awesome things - the big thing I'm working on in integrating them into my home without reupholstering!~
Urgh - "is"
Wow, KariAnne! First of all, you have a really beautiful home and the rooms explode with light, and bright space. I'm so impressed that you're able to take such ordinary and inexpensive "tossed" pieces and transform them into lovely furniture accents and focal points... that work so well together. I'm going to have to start looking at yard sales with fresh, new eyes. Lovely tour and always a pleasure to pop in. Such inspiration. Have a great day. Lisa
KariAnne, That has to be my MOST FAVORITEST HOUSE TOUR EVER! Although I've told you before when I look at your sweet farm house my " heart goes pitter pat" my home is full of finds from garage sales, junk stores & curbs- my kids used to start crying if a slowed down near junk on curb!!! They were terrified their friends might see me! LOL Wen
Simply beautiful, KariAnne! I love all the white! Thank you for sharing all the details of your fun furnishings. I have to say that I adore the F A R M on the wall, too! Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight). ~ Megin of VMG206
We are kindred spirits! When I remake something from a yard sale or find something cool at a thrift store, it brings me pride (in a good way) and I want to tell folks from where stuff came!
Definitely my favorite spring tour !
I could drool over your home all day! You bring new meaning to the words thrifting and yard sale!
You have a beautiful home, Kari Anne! I love that the items you found were either hand-me downs or thrifted. This is just proof that you can make anything beautiful and suited for your own home and style. Thank you for sharing this with us on #shinebloghop!
Can I live in your house? Or stop by and go yard sale shopping? In return, I'll take you to my favorite HomeGoods stores - there are some really good deals to be found there as well - especially when things get marked down.
Kari Anne, your home is so fresh and welcoming. Thankyou so much for the tour! Thanks for sharing at Five Star Frou-Frou this week too. Hope to see you again on Friday! Love, Mimi xxx
KariAnne, you can make a skunk skin look beautiful! We are so happy that you join us at Thoughts of Home on Thursday. This party is important to us and we are thrilled to have you. :)
Wow! I am so impressed. I love going to yard sales. I am going to try and see items from more of a creative eye after seeing your gorgeous home.