How I Used Thrifted Vintage Treasures in My Master Bedroom Refresh

Last Updated on February 20, 2024 by Stacy Averette

Thrifted vintage treasures make my heart skip a beat. I’d rather go thrifting for vintage treasure than eat or sleep! Thrifting for vintage treasure is my idea of the perfect day! If you haven’t figured it out already . . . okay, you’ve figured it out!

I love thrifting!

Friends often tell me they never find anything good at the thrift store and that I must have all the good thrift stores near me. First, I can’t imagine NEVER finding anything good at the thrift store. I always find something good but I don’t always buy it. I often walk out of a thrift store empty-handed! Sometimes it’s priced too high or it’s a good find but not my style. Second, I do have some great thrift stores near me but many of my best finds have been “outside the perimeter” as we like to call it. Both of the inspiration pieces for our bedroom refresh were found when we stopped at a thrift store in another town!

Most of the time when I go thrifting I’m not looking for anything in particular. I just browse and let the junk speak! And I only buy what speaks to me! Eric used to ask, “Whatcha gonna do with that?” or “Where’s that gonna go?” He’s learned that the answer to the first question is usually, “I don’t know.” and the second is “Probably in the garage until I figure it out.” We haven’t parked a car in our garage since never!” He doesn’t fuss or complain about what I buy and usually encourages me to buy something I love if he sees me hesitate. He loves the home we’ve created together and he’s always ready to rearrange furniture, hang a vintage chandelier, or just sit and listen to a wild idea and my big imagination.

The Evolution of Style

As a young girl my favorite colors were blue and green. When we married, most of our decor was thrifted or gifted, AKA hand-me-downs. But even then I gravitated toward the old and odd vintage stuff that others cast off. I filled our home with the things that spoke to me never considering that there was a right or wrong way to decorate.

When we welcomed our first baby into our little home we had some visitors who noticed that I was using old, handmade quilts as endtable “skirts” to cover those wobbly three-legged round tables. (Anyone remember those?)

“Oh, honey. One day you’ll make more money and be able to buy new, pretty things for your home.”

I just smiled and said, “Yes, ma’am,” but I loved those old quilts and the way they looked in our living room. (I still have those old quilts!) Eventually, we did start making more money which only meant I was now able to buy more old stuff! Our new town had no shortage of antique malls and I roamed the aisles every chance I got. On one of our trips I found an old wooden mantel with beautiful, original green-chippy paint. That mantel is around our fire place today but sadly it is no longer chippy green. With the discovery of HGTV and home decor magazines also came the discovery that my style was out of style. Who knew?! The colorful, hodge-podge, eclectic style I’d been drawn to all of my life gave way to a sea of neutrals and farmhouse style. My home was pretty and everyone loved it but everytime I went shopping I was drawn to color and quirky style and odd pieces. I’d buy a few colorful things here and there and told myself that my neutral home was a great backdrop for little pops of color, reminding myself what the Expert Home Decor lady on TV said.

And then one day I lost my mind (and found myself) when I a bought a couch I didn’t really need and had no place to store it. My garage was already overflowing. I’d like to  blame it on Melinda and Sharon and the guy at the thrift store that priced it so low I couldn’t leave without it. He said, “The guys in the back said it was ugly and no one would buy it. They wanted to throw it in the dumpster! Gasp!! But I’m gonna own this one and say that I bought the couch because her curvy tuftedness spoke to me. Her name is Blue Bertha and we were made for each other!

Little by little I ditched the neutral colors and went back to my roots. I decorate by heart now, the way I used to before I let all the medias and marketers convince me I was doing it all wrong.

So here’s the thing, dear reader. You may love neutrals and farmhouse style or bold, Hollywood glamor style, or mid-century modern and that’s okay. Don’t let anyone boss you around about what you buy and bring into your home. If you love it, go for it! Your home should be a reflection of who you are and what you love!

Master Bedroom Refresh

Our master bedroom was the last remaining neutral space in our home. I loved it for a long time but it was time for a breakup. Our master bedroom needed a fresh start.

Calling our bedroom the “master” is funny because it’s probably the smallest bedroom in our house. I guess it’s technically the master bedroom because it has a small walk-in closet and its own bathroom. Being small isn’t its only issue though. There’s the door to the bedroom, the door to the closet, and the door to the bathroom plus two windows and a poorly placed floor vent which all adds up to “where the heck am I supposed to put a bed and some furniture? “Y’all, it’s crazy. You’ll see when I show you the pictures!

Recently, I wrote a post about “learning to be with is” — it’s about being content with life as it is. (If you missed it you can click here to read it.) Strange as it may sound, I really love our cozy little bedroom, old carpet and popcorn ceilings included. Years ago I learned to embrace an imperfect and quirky house and make it a home. And my thrifted vintage treasures make the imperfect and quirky even more beautiful!

It’s not the house I love, but the life that’s lived in it.

Here are the “before” pictures of our bedroom.

The Inspiration

Several months ago we drove to Nashville to visit some dear friends. We always leave out early to give us plenty of time to stop at some of our favorite thrift stores along the way. By the time we arrived at our friend’s house, our Toyota Highlander was packed with lots of good treasures. One of my favorite finds was this framed print.

It’s called “Moonlight over Capri” and it spoke to me as soon as I saw it sitting on the floor of the thrift store. Eric loves being near the water, especially the ocean, and I love the moody blues and greens of the sea and night sky. At the time I didn’t think about putting it in our bedroom—that idea came later. All I knew was that I loved it, he would love it, and we’d find a place for it eventually.

A few weeks later we were on our way to Chattanooga for our anniversary trip (you can click here to read about that fun trip) and I found the blue velvet tufted headboard! The headboard wouldn’t fit in our car so we made another trip the next weekend to a fun flea market in the same area and picked up the headboard on our way home.

I stored these thrifted vintage treasures with all the other thrifted vintage treasures waiting to find a home. One night, as I sorted through my stash, I discovered a theme—the sea. I hadn’t intentionally bought maritime themed pieces but as I pulled together the various framed and unframed pieces of art, the bedroom refresh began  to take shape in my imagination.

We discussed painting the walls a warmer color and even went to Lowes and thumbed through paint chips. In the end, we decided to leave the painting for another day.

The bedroom refresh has been finished for weeks (or as “finished” as any project ever gets around here!) I took a few photos one afternoon but the photos were dark and didn’t do justice to the room in my opinion. So I decided to wait until I could take some photos when the morning light was bright. That day finally came but the room was a mess so I waited a while longer, and longer. And now I’m sharing the original dimly lit photos that I tried to edit and brighten up a bit because I’m learning to embrace imperfection and move on.

Here are the after photos:

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post. I want to close by reminding you that your life is a beautiful story written by God. In every chapter, He is unfolding and revealing His plans and purposes for your life and sharing the hope we have in Christ by the way you live. So buy what you love, decorate by heart, and create a home that tells your story and His!