The Thrift Shopping Trick To Remember For A Cohesive Kitchen Design

Thrift stores have always been a treasure trove for those on the hunt for inexpensive and interesting decor items. From thrifting gorgeous vintage dressers to use as kitchen storage to snatching up durable Pyrex or Corningware, these second-chance retailers allow those with a limited budget to create homes that feel cozy and unique. This is especially true in kitchens, where kitchenware you thrifted for a fraction of the original price can easily become a showpiece with a nostalgic memory attached.

Of course, thrifting has its downsides — particularly when it comes to figuring out how to mix and match disparate pieces. Since thrift stores get their items from public donations and consignment, there's rarely any uniformity among their merchandise, meaning you might find things you like that are vastly different materials and styles. To help keep your decor both cohesive and interesting, it's best to keep an eye out for things within a previously chosen color palette.

For instance, if you're looking for a vintage bar cart to complement your coffee bar or hold your indoor plants, having a few solid color options helps you narrow down your choices and practically guarantees your new acquisition will look great in your space. Following through with this example, if your kitchen is mainly black and white art deco, you can, of course, look for a black or white bar cart. However, a pop of color in bright red, seafoam green, or vintage gold would also look great and blend with the theme.

When using this shopping trick successfully, it's important to choose a realistic color palette. Logically, you're far more likely to find items in black and white, various wood tones, metallic finishes, and the bright candy-colored palettes popular throughout our grandparents' lifetimes. Before your first trip, look around your kitchen and make a list of the most prominent colors and notate the general decor style. If you're redecorating, use things like paint samples and fabric swatches to make this list.

Next, think about the colors of the items you're most likely to find. Those leaning mid-century modern may have the easiest time finding great items, but that doesn't mean cottagecore and chrome-loving folks have to compromise. If you're trying to create a hyper-modern futuristic feel with lots of shiny metallic surfaces, it might be best to create a contrasting palette that will pop against the background. Cobalt blue has a retro-futuristic feel, as does cherry red and saturated pumpkin orange.

If you're attempting to create a cottagecore Hobbit hole, it might be a good idea to look for things in gold, ivory, and darker wood tones. You should still have a wide variety of items to peruse without leaning too far away from cozy and chic and into messy and haphazard territory. In this case, you can also choose a secondary palette for accent colors that may be on your carefully thrifted China or baking dishes, like French blue or sun yellow.