Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[Kimberly]

I LOVE getting things for a bargain and I know all of you here do too. What are some of the things you have found at a yard sale, estate sale, thrift shop, etc that you know you got for a bargain when compared to antique shops and online auctions places?

I do very well at thrifts and it's kind of iffy at yard sales (many times the yard sales don't have vintage things and that's what I look for).

Anyhow, here are a few of mine.

I just picked this up today. It's an electric fan that still works. I am guessing it's from the 40's or 50's and was very inexpensive.

My Westinghouse Roaster I got a couple of years ago at a yard sale. The thing still works but is an electricity hog.

I got this payphone, well half a pay phone for free. The guy said he just wanted to get rid of it.

I have a ton more, but would love to see some of the things all of your loungers have discovered.

 

[Liz]

Flea markets and garage/estate sales are probably my favorite places to shop. For some reason, I have terrible thrift store luck and never find vintage clothing -- the only things I buy at thrift stores are trashy movie star biographies and Dolly Parton LPs. One of my all-time favorite flea market finds is a lucite purse by Rialto that I bought a couple years ago.

I've also found loads of great records at flea markets and garage sales over the past several years.

 

[Kimberly]

Liz, I love that pocket book!! I have always wanted one, but they go for big bucks on eBay. That one is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Kimberly great thread!! I am always collecting from yard sales, thrift stores, and estate sales! Here's one of my favorite finds from a yard sale. My boyfriend saw it as we drove by. I wasn't paying any attention!!:eusa_doh: So we turned around and bought the table and six chairs for 75 bucks! :eusa_clap I had to reupholster the chairs but we bought the set from the original owners who got it in the 1950's. I have since learned to pay better attention when going places! hahaha

 

[Kimberly]

Mary, you have fabulous taste!

That set is so nice and it looks fantastic in the yellow kitchen. Is that black and white tile underneath the set or is is some kind of rug?

 

[MaryDeluxe]

It's self adhesive black and white tile. I used them to do kind of a rug effect just under the table.

 

[Kimberly]

It's self adhesive black and white tile. I used them to do kind of a rug effect just under the table.

Thanks! I was thinking of doing that myself for the entire kitchen floor. My kitchen is black and white w/ red accents and I hate the beige linoleum that is currently on it. I have been thinking of sticking the new b&w tile linoleum right over the beige but am hesitant. I would hate to rip the old stuff up though because it's not in tiles but in one big roll and would be a pain to do.

 

[MaryDeluxe]

I think you would be okay. There is a special cleaning product you should use to clean your current floor...you can find it all at Lowes!

 

[Kimberly]

Thanks Mary, I am going to attempt it over the summer. I just don't have the mental energy to deal with any kind of home improvement projects until it's nice out for one solid week.

Seeing your floor has reinspired me though. Did you get the tile at Lowes too?

Thanks

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Yes! I love Lowes! I could do a commerical for Lowes. I use them for all my home improvement projects. I just retiled my bathroom tub surround last weekend and bought all my tile from lowes. It took me 4 days and cost me only 600 dollars. This summer I'm going to retile my bathroom floor too. Lowes has those black/white hex tiles!

You will have no problem using those self adhesive back tiles. Just peel and stick. Very simple!

 

[ShooShooBaby]

kimberly, thanks for starting this thread! i'm sure i'll be posting to it frequently in the future, like tomorrow

great finds, everyone! and i really like the tile-under-table idea.

 

[Pink Dahlia]

My couches and coffee tables circa 1950.

The tables are in great condition but the couch is waiting for a re-upholstery (we have the fabric).

The whole shebang $40! They even threw in a modern table that ironically I use to display all my vintage family photos!

 

[green papaya]

flea market finds

I often go to flea markets searching for old militaria

1. Brazilian model 1908 mauser bayonet & scabbard

2. German or French brass fireman's helmet circa 1890 - early 1900's

3. old US army post card dating back to around 1900 - 1905 era

 

[cookie]

That Sofa

My couches and coffee tables circa 1950.

The tables are in great condition but the couch is waiting for a re-upholstery (we have the fabric).

The whole shebang $40! They even threw in a modern table that ironically I use to display all my vintage family photos!

Looking at your sofa I see so many of the present Italian style sofas around the shops. Tout ca change.....

 

[SpitfireXIV]

i've only found a WWII peacoat lately and a few books from the era in resale shops. not quite nice enough for garage sales here in the midwest yet.

 

[Sweet Leilani]

I seem to do pretty well at yard sales; not so great at thrifts. I think all the thrifts around here sell the good stuff on ebay and put the junk out on the floor!

Anyway, I got this chair for free- someone had put it out by the curb. It's woven houndstooth.

The lamp with the green shade on the table behind it is one of my best thrift-store finds- $2.

This is probably my best-ever yard sale find. It's a Motorola TV from 1950. I paid $15 for it and the guy threw in the UHF tuner (what looks like a radio on top) for $1.

And like Mary, I got an awesome 50s table cheap too: $100 including the chairs.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

i love the pattern on your tabletop leilani!

i have a very similar chair, but in a much less comfy fabric - mine is textured nhagahyde. it's huge, and great for sitting crosslegged in!

 

[green papaya]

does the 1950 TV still work? or is it just a display piece?

 

[BegintheBeguine]

That house is cool! I reckoned the television set worked because there seems to be a wire going into a plug?

 

[Sweet Leilani]

Thanks! I don't know if the TV works; I'm kinda afraid to plug it in. The wire you see is the cord for the TV lamp on top. Everything is intact inside, though- so theoretically it could work. I often joke that next time I have to have a cable guy come out, I am going to tell him that's the TV with the problem and see the look on his face! lol