I asked over on Instagram stories this past weekend what the people wanted to see:  a thrift store flip or a styling session with a few items that we found at the Springfield Flea Market.  There were an overwhelming amount of people wanting to see a thrift store flip.  So that’s what I did on Sunday.  Here is my latest thrift store flip using crackle medium.

Different Places I Find Inexpensive Home Decor

Let me back up.  A few months ago, I received a message asking if I would share tips on decorating on a budget.  And, honestly, I thought that sounded fun.  I can remember when I was young and my girls were babies, we had very little extra money. I was able to spend a few dollars here and there, but not much.  Flea markets and garage sales were my favorite places to find things to decorate our home.  A lot of times, these items that I picked up weren’t exactly what I wanted, but they would do if I had an open spot in my decor.  Most of the items I bought needed makeovers.  And, a lot of the items were temporary pieces until I found something else. 

Auctions were also a wonderful place to bring home a haul of goodies.  Back in the day, you could pick up a box of items for $1-2.  Even though you weren’t supposed to do this, a lot of people would take what they wanted out of the box they bought and leave.  When I saw people doing that, I would ask if I could go through their boxes and of course, they would tell me to take it all.  

As you know, spray paint is one way that you can easily and inexpensively give something a makeover.  And, you can spray paint almost everything.  That was always my go to.  OK onto my thrift store flip.

My Latest Thrift Store Flip using Crackle Medium

I found this piece at the thrift store a few weeks back and thought it would be perfect to flip.  Because what I saw wasn’t all of the color, but the shape.  Do you remember our upstairs landing at the old house?  We had really cool architectural pieces on the banister which I loved.  This piece reminded of those.  And that is exactly what I wanted to create with this piece…. an architectural piece that can be tucked into a cabinet which would make a pretty big statement.

I wanted this to be chippy.  And, I remembered how we used to crackle things back in the day.  And, how that would work perfectly for this.  We had all of these supplies on hand, including the crackle medium, from previous projects. 

I started giving this “architectural piece” a makeover by spray painting the entire thing a chocolate brown color.  Once that was dry, I added the crackle medium and let that dry.  I used the white paint we used on our trim simply because it was already open.  Ha!  Once that dried, it crackled just perfectly.

So… when out thrifting, don’t forget to pay attention to the shape of items.  And, that spray paint is an inexpensive way to transform anything.

I think this thrift store flip looks exactly like an old architectural piece that has been around for years. What do you think?