I took this picture tonight because the sunset shadows were really speaking to me. But then, as I looked at the picture, I realized every single item in this photo is secondhand. Not thrifted because I am a firm believer that you shouldn’t say something is “thrifted” unless you bought it at a thrift shop. 🤓 Read on for purchase details, if that kind of thing excites you:

Green hutch: free—local buy nothing group

Piano: free—local buy nothing group (but you have to bribe at least five men anytime it needs to be moved)

Marble pedestal: $75—Facebook marketplace (crazy story for another day)

Stacks upon stacks of art books: mostly $2 each—obsessively sought out at yard sales, estate sales, and book sales.

George Washington bust: $20—local consignment shop

Vintage Turkish vase: $75—local flea market

Antique gilded frame: free—trade with a local antique shop

Black framed original painting of geraniums (hard to see in this light but one of my favorite finds, ever): $25—flea market in upstate New York

Gallery light: free—gifted by deceased neighbor’s family member, as it remained after his estate sale

Blue antique plate: $2—local flea market

Thomas Jefferson bust: $4—local thrift shop

Decorating secondhand and on a budget is possible, fun, and makes your home soooo layered and cozy and interesting!