A Love Letter to Charity Shops - Dressing-up the House of Horrors

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Once I had paid for the most urgent repairs to my House of Horrors and done as much DIY as I could to sort out the walls and flooring, I had nothing left to spend on making it look homely and comfortable. I found being in the almost empty house incredibly depressing. Everything felt cold and dark. I really wanted it to reflect my personality and I dreamt of a boho, arty, eclectic and colourful haven. 

DECORATING ON A BUDGET

And so I turned to charity shops, markets, Facebook Marketplace and recycling apps like Freegle to try to furnish my home and improve the look of my garden on a small budget.


Recycled red cabinet


I found that many charity shops sell furniture as well as clothing and objects. For example, I got a huge armchair and a beautiful recycled red cabinet from Emmaus Dover, a social enterprise that supports local homeless people and help them develop new work skills. 

I also found chairs and plant pots in skips that people were only too happy to give away. I got lampshades, lamps, tables, rugs, cushions, vases, quirky objects and artwork from various local charity shops.


I travelled to nearby town like Margate and Ramsgate to get cheap furniture that I could up-cycle from second hand stores including Arch 16 Antique, vintage and retro junk on the seafront. 



Buying things from charity shops or taking on items that people are giving away really fits into my sustainable lifestyle and love of vintage. It reduces waste and means that I can use my creative skills to customise items to create my very own decor. From there I also developed my skills in sewing and embroidery, so I could make curtains, cushions and other pieces to further decorate the house. 


Leather sofa

I learned that I could give my 14 year old leather sofa a new lease of life by simply using leather paint (I got mine from The Scratch Doctor) to cover up signs of damage (including over-enthusiastic cat clawing…). 

I even painted my Emmaus armchair a completely different colour to match my existing sofa. 







Tiles plant pots

I used tiles that a neighbour was giving away to make garden plant pots. 

I made my own potpourris to give to give the house a lovely fragrance.

I created my own collage art work using vintage fashion magazines I found in a charity shop. 


These days I rarely buy anything from mainstream shops. I will share individual, low-cost decoration ideas in further posts. 



MY FAVOURITE QUIRKY CHARITY SHOP FINDS (the weirder, the better)



  
       

 





















Location: England, UK

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