Garage sale goodies for the guest room.

The guest room is my favourite room in the whole house which is ironic as it is the room I spend the least amount of time in. It is my little room of thrifted finds where every single item in the room (excluding things inside the wardrobes) was not purchased  by me from a store. Some of it was gifts but the majority of it was garage sale finds. 

It is almost complete! This weekends garage sales helped me feel one step closer.

Let's start from the beginning shall we... 

The guest room used to look like this but one day I woke up and decided purple really wasn't my colour and the whole room needed a new colour scheme. The purple wall changed into a grey and white chevron wall and suddenly I felt inspired to really make the room something else. Everything is pretty much how I want it except for some very large spaces on two of the walls that really need some special artwork to complete the space.

I've been searching for a towel rack for ages as we have quite a small bathroom and it would be nice for guests to have somewhere to hang their towel. Today I found a little beauty for the lovely price of $2. Perfect! It's sturdy, in good condition and fits nicely into the room.

Once my thrifty challenge is complete I might consider buying some prettier towels to make the room even more inviting for guests.

I've also been on the lookout for some more cute quirky items for the room to give it even more character and found a few little fun pieces I couldn't walk past. I think these horse bookends are fabulous. I love the detailed carving and just how much more exciting bookends are when they're animal shapes. I've been eyeing off dog bookends at a shop in Adelaide for the past few months but for $1 compared to the $70 price tag on the doggy beauties, I'm pretty pleased with my horses!

I also can't walk past a cute bowl and this shell shaped beauty is great for storing soaps, mini shampoos and other useful items for guests to use.

I am aware that I am particularly blessed with finding lots of great items for cheap and often people ask how I find so much. I've done a post before on how to shop at garage sales which is where I find most things. However I think a lot of my success comes down to the fact I live in a little country town where people still have lots of stuff but not that many people go to garage sales. Of the people that go to garage sales, most have different taste to me. I follow some vintage shops facebook pages in Adelaide and they always post great vintage items for decent prices but I have seen almost all the items at one stage or another for about 1/8th of the price. I'll keep enjoying my little country 'shopping' while I can :)

 Have you found any exciting items lately while thrifting ?

Lisa x

How to shop at garage sales.

If you're a regular visitor to my blog you would know I'm a bit of a garage sale addict. I just love the thrill of finding something amazing super cheap or finding a new project. I thought I'd share a few tips for how to shop successfully at a garage sale. Sometimes it just comes down to being the right place at the right time but a few things have helped me to be a bit more successful.

Firstly be prepared. 
Make a list of things you’re on the lookout for.
Here is an example of what my list looks like today: 
 - vintage bike  
- rug
 -small desk
-scrabble game
-wooden crates 
- dining table +chairs
-pretty frames
-clothes (dresses,skirts or summer tops)
-kitchen table +chairs
-tea cups
-hooks and handles.
-globe

Know the starting times.

It is best to turn up at a garage sale when it first starts, so this can sometimes mean a bit of an early saturday morning. Most start about 8 or 830. I try to get there when it starts or just a little bit before to ensure I don't miss out on some quality gear. However sometimes there are a few that start at the same time so I usually go to the one that's furthest away and work my way back home. Living in a country town means that all garage sales are within a 10 minute radius of my home and it's pretty easy to map out a route to take that is dependent on starting times.

 Bring a friend.

Isn't everything more fun to do with a friend? They can offer advice on whether the thing you love is actually awesome and well priced. They can also help ensure you don't come home with useless junk. But be warned although friends are fantastic they may have similar taste to you and end up buying something you wished you found first.

Take your time.

It is really important to not just take in everything at first glance. Look through the bags and boxes and you never know what treasures you’ll discover. There's no need to rush but if you do see something you love, pick it up and hold it before someone else grabs it.

And then of course there’s the items that aren’t quite perfect yet but you can see immense potential in. I try to limit the number of projects I have going at once (though my shed is currently a sea of bermuda blue projects for the kitchen) but sometimes there are amazing pieces of furniture for ridiculously cheap prices and these are impossible to pass by.

These are my tips for not coming home with too much junk and enjoying my saturday morning garage sale experiences. 
Then once it's over there's nothing like a big breakfast with a friend and a coffee to start the day off swell.

Happy thrifting!

Lisa x