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20 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas

By A Cultivated Nest Team

20 Beautiful Thrift Store DIY Projects.

The saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” couldn’t be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! You can find a lot of great furniture and decor items that are ready for use as soon as you get them home! Others may need some work to update them to fit into your decor. But for the amount you save by doing a simple DIY, it’s worth it! Check out these 20 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas to help you figure out what to do with your great thrift store finds!

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

20 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and/or Etsy, which means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in this post. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

I get so excited when I head to a thrift store and find all sorts of goodies to bring home and work on. There are so many possibilities and all you need is some time and a little bit of imagination to make your new treasures. Let’s take a look at some tips to consider before getting started:

  • Look at all sorts of items. I know many of us gravitate towards pieces of furniture, however, you can do a lot with lamps, mirrors, photo frames, old dishes, and other things too. Look at all of it and imagine what you can do to make it beautiful again.
  • Clean items properly. Be sure to clean everything before you get started. Wipe your purchase down with a soft cloth and don’t use cleaners that would harm it. Making sure you have a clean surface is important to ensure paint and other things adhere to the surface well.
  • Don’t forget about yard sales and consignment stores too. They aren’t technically thrift stores, but in many cases, they offer the same type of items. You will be amazed at what you can find for super cheap.

1. French Vanity Thrift Store Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover DIYs- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

What a great makeover! The vanity and bench look amazing with the new fabric and paint! Cedar Hill Farmhouse explains how she turned a brown thrift store vanity into a beautiful French vanity!

2. Thrift Store Picnic Basket Planter Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover DIY Projects- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

This is so pretty! And it’s made from a Goodwill picnic basket that cost less than $4! Confessions of a Plate Addict explains how she made this repurposed picnic basket planter!

3. Outdoor Dining Set Thrift Store Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Furniture DIY Projects- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

Don’t these chairs look amazing! Just a little bit of work and they look brand new! The Happy Housie explains how to turn old thrift store chairs into a beautiful outdoor dining set!

4. Goodwill Lamp Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Furniture DIYs- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

There are always dozens of lamps at Goodwill, but not many that probably fit your home’s decor. Luckily, all it takes is a little paint to make a thrift store lamp perfect! Follow I Should Be Mopping the Floor’s tutorial on how to turn a brass lamp into a pretty red lamp!

5. Chalkboard from Old Thrift Store Print

14 DIY Thrift Store Makeovers- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

Thrift stores are full of old art prints. Some are beautiful, and some . . . not so much. Luckily, these artworks, regardless of beauty, tend to be inside awesome frames! Artsy Chicks Rule shows how to take an old framed art print and make a chalkboard out of it! And don’t worry art lovers, the art print is still preserved.

6. Thrift Store Cabinet Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas - These Inspiring Thrift Store Makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous. Add them to your home or office. #ACultivatedNest

Isn’t this an amazing makeover! The before and after pictures look like night and day! And the cabinet was only $10 at Goodwill! Follow Centsational Girl’s tutorial on how to completely makeover an old cabinet!

7. Stylish Thrift Store Octagon Tray Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Decor Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

It’s amazing what just some paint can do! It can completely change the feel and style of an item! Follow Making Home Base’s tutorial on how to makeover an old wood tray into a pretty geometric stenciled octagon tray!

8. Goodwill Candlestick Turned Bird Bath

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Decor Projects- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

Now this is creative, using two thrift store items to make a pretty new one! My Repurposed Life shows how she took a Goodwill candlestick and pot lid and combined them to make a pretty bird bath!

9. Thrifted DIY Headboard

14 Inspiring Thrift Store DIY Decor Projects- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

Have you seen the prices on the headboards in the mattress stores? They’ can be pretty high, and sometimes look rather plain. Save yourself money and get a beautiful headboard by making over one you find in a thrift store! Thrift Diving shows how she took a thrift store headboard and made it into a beautiful damask headboard!

10. Thrift Store Desk Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Furniture Decor Projects- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

This came out beautiful! While They Snooze explains how she took an old thrift store desk and made it into a pretty white sewing desk!

11. Faux Bamboo Mirror Makeover

14 Inspiring Thrift Store DIYs- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

Home I Create found a super cheap mirror and gave it a makeover. This gorgeous faux bamboo mirror makeover was simple and turned out beautiful.

12. Jewelry Box Into A Writing Box

14 Inspiring Thrift Store DIY Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

I love the way this repurposed jewelry box turned out! Artsy Chicks Rule did a fabulous job making a bright-colored writing box with it. So creative and easy to replicate.

13. Perpetual Calendar Message Board

14 Inspiring Thrift Store DIY Project Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

Refresh Restyle found an inexpensive Lang calendar holder and with some paint and a little bit of work was able to transform it into a perpetual calendar message board. It’s so gorgeous and would go with all sorts of styles and decor.

14. Painted and Upholstered Stool Idea

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Decor Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

The sophisticated look and style of this painted and upholstered stool is breathtaking. I love how My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia took a plain stool and transformed it into something gorgeous.

15. Farmhouse Style Entry Way Table

entry table horizontal

Create, Craft, Love converted an old desk into this stunning Farmhouse Style Entry Way Table with some hard work and chalky paint.

16. Beautiful DIY Succulent Wall Art

Who would ever guess this Beautiful DIY Succulent Wall Art by Lovely Etc., was once just a plastic frame? You never know the treasures to be found at a yard sale, so keep your eyes open.

17. Pearl Embellished Box Clutch

Embellished Clutch

Who doesn’t love a good embellishment project? Mad In Crafts found this clutch at a thrift store and restyled it into a gorgeous Pearl Embellished Box Clutch.

18. Thrift Store Candlestick Makeover

Try this easy update for your thrift store candlestick makeover. SUch a simple idea to update an old candlestick instead of tossing it for simple and classic DIY home decor. #diyhomedecor #thriftedmakeover #tassel

Salvaged Living created a charming Thrift Store Candlestick Makeover when they snagged this one. I have so many candles in my home and would love to find an old candlestick to recreate this one!

19. Paint Brush Organizer from the Thrift Store

Paint brush organizer -- revamp a letter organizer to house your paint brushes with this super simple idea.

It seems as though we are always looking for new ways to organize and The Country Chic Cottage found an adorable way to Organize Paint Brushes from the thrift store. 

20. Chalkboard Pin Board Combo

Chalkboard Pinboard

Chalkboard Pin Board Combo from Lia Griffith is one of the easiest remakes from an old picture frame and has the possibilities for numerous uses.

Have you ever made over a thrift store item?

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas- These beautiful thrift store makeover ideas are a wonderful way to update your home's decor on a budget! | #thriftStoreDIY #furnitureDIY #DIY #diyProject #ACultivatedNest

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas- These DIY thrift store makeovers will give you plenty to work on and are truly gorgeous! Add them to your home or office's decor! | #thriftStoreMakeover #DIY #furnitureDIY #decor #ACultivatedNest

14 Inspiring Thrift Store Makeover Ideas- The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to thrift store finds! Get inspired with these grogeous thrift store makeover ideas! | #diyProject #DIY #furnitureMakeover #thriftStore #ACultivatedNest

You might also be interested in: 20 Fantastic Thrift Store Decor Makeovers

20 Fantastic Thrift Store Decor Makeovers

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Filed Under: Budget Decorating, Thrifting Tagged With: decorating with thrift store finds, DIY, diy project, DIY projects, furniture, Thrift Store Makeovers

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Comments

  1. ana says

    July 24, 2015 at 3:15 pm

    I love the basket planter makeover, who knew that a picnic basket could look so beautiful ?

  2. Jaclyn says

    July 25, 2015 at 6:53 pm

    Ohhhh my gosh, these are stunning makeovers! The lamp is my favorite, I should totally repaint some antique lamps! 😀

  3. Roxanne says

    July 25, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    Wow! Some really beautiful finds and fantastic make overs!!

  4. Pam says

    July 26, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    I love seeing thrifted items turned into something gorgeous! I can’t wait until we have enough room for me to complete similar projects! Our place is too small right now but I’m looking forward to eventually changing up our décor and making things “ours.”

    On a side note: I do have a kids train table that my dad turned into an awesome shadow box coffee table for me. I came up with the idea, but I owe the handiwork to him! It’s my favorite piece of furniture in the apartment.

  5. alexandria waning says

    July 26, 2015 at 8:07 pm

    I love this post. This is what I do. I like mixing old and re purposed with the new.

  6. Debra Hawkins says

    July 27, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Oh man. I love this! We are moving soon and I want to redo every room!

  7. Lena Blair says

    July 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    I need to do that to my dining chairs, only keep them inside rather than outside! My microfiber wanna be seats are nasty after my kids use them! Now that they are older and don’t spill as much, I want pretty chairs!

  8. Bonnie @ Living a Fit and Full Life says

    July 27, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    Wow, I’m impressed! This stuff all looks great!

  9. Rebecca Payne says

    August 8, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    Thank you for sharing. Some great ideas.

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A Cultivated Nest makes no claims of “expert status” and the owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the use of the information found on this website. Posts may contain affiliate links. A Cultivated Nest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. A Cultivated Nest is also a participant in the Etsy affiliate program via Awin. This means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in my posts. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

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