Nobody’s home should look like it came straight off a showroom floor — and yet half the houses I visit feel exactly like that. Everything matches, everything coordinates, and somehow the whole place feels like nobody actually lives there. The homes that stop you in your tracks, the ones you photograph and save to Pinterest immediately, almost always have one thing in common: they mix thrifted finds with intentional DIY touches that you simply cannot buy anywhere.
I’ve been thrifting and DIY-ing my home spaces for years, and I’m convinced it’s the most rewarding way to decorate. Here are 18 thrifted home decor DIY ideas that will make your space genuinely yours.
1. Repaint Thrifted Frames for a Gallery Wall
Thrift stores are basically overflowing with frames in every size imaginable — ornate, plain, wooden, plastic, gold, brown. Most people walk right past them. Grab eight to twelve mismatched frames, spray paint them all the same color, and you have a custom gallery wall that looks completely intentional.
Flat black, warm gold, and crisp white are the three finishes that photograph best. The paint unifies everything so the collection reads as curated rather than random. Fill the frames with free printable art, black-and-white family photos, or pages torn from vintage books.
What You Need
- 8–12 thrifted frames in various sizes
- Spray paint in your chosen finish
- Free printable art or personal photos
- Painter’s tape to protect glass during painting
DIY Gallery Wall 🖼️
2. Turn Thrifted Vases Into a Styled Cluster
Walk past the vase section at any thrift store and you’ll see shelves stacked with ceramic and glass vases that nobody wants. Those people are leaving money — well, beauty — on the table. Grab three to five in varying heights, stick to one color family, and cluster them together on a shelf or console table.
You don’t need to do a single thing to them if the colors already work together. Or give them a coat of spray paint in terracotta, matte white, or warm cream for a completely cohesive look. The result looks like a $200 styled moment that cost you $8.
Vase Cluster Starter 🌿
3. Reupholster a Thrifted Chair Seat
Thrift stores regularly have solid wooden chairs with dated or worn seat cushions. The chair itself is often beautiful — it’s just the fabric that’s the problem. Reupholstering a chair seat takes about 30 minutes, costs $15–$25 in fabric, and completely transforms the piece.
Remove the seat, pull the old fabric off with a flathead screwdriver, cut your new fabric, and staple it tight. That’s genuinely the whole process. I’ve done this with a $7 thrift store chair and a $12 yard of boucle fabric — and the result looked like something from an interior design studio.
Best Fabrics for Chair Reupholstery
| Fabric Type | Look | Durability |
|---|---|---|
| Boucle | Modern, textured | Medium |
| Velvet | Luxurious, rich | Medium |
| Linen | Clean, casual | High |
| Outdoor fabric | Practical, varied | Very High |
Reupholstery Essentials 🪑
4. DIY Abstract Art Over Thrifted Canvas
Original art is outrageously expensive. But here’s the thing — thrift stores sell original paintings on canvas for $5–$20, and those canvases already have texture and depth that a blank canvas doesn’t. Paint directly over a thrifted painting with abstract shapes, color blocks, or gestural brushstrokes.
You keep the dimensional texture of the original work while creating something completely new and personal. Neutral palettes — cream, warm white, sage, terracotta — tend to produce the most sophisticated results. This is genuinely one of my favorite DIYs because every single piece turns out completely unique 🙂
Abstract Painting Techniques That Work
- Color blocking — tape off geometric sections, fill with flat color
- Gestural brushstrokes with a wide palette knife
- Layered washes of diluted paint for a watercolor effect
- Neutral palette with one accent color — never fails
Canvas Art DIY 🎨
5. Transform a Thrifted Mirror With Paint
A large mirror on a wall does something almost magical — it opens up the space, bounces light, and makes any room feel more designed. New statement mirrors cost $200–$600. Thrifted mirrors with ugly frames? Usually $8–$25. Two coats of spray paint later and you have a designer piece.
Gold, matte black, and warm bronze are the three finishes that photograph best and look most elevated on a wall. Lean it against the wall rather than hanging it — that single styling choice makes it look more intentional every time.
Mirror Makeover 🪞
6. Create a Macramé Plant Hanger From Scratch
Macramé plant hangers look gorgeous, feel very current, and require zero prior crafting experience. A single skein of macramé cord, a wooden dowel, and about two hours of your time produces a hanging planter that would sell for $45–$80 in a boutique store.
The basic square knot is literally the only knot you need to know. Hang a trailing pothos, string of pearls, or small fern in your finished hanger and place it near a window. The combination of natural cord, a living plant, and the movement it creates in the room is genuinely beautiful.
Basic Macramé Supply List
- 5mm macramé cotton cord — 100 meters handles most basic hangers
- Wooden dowel or copper ring for the top
- Scissors and a measuring tape
- A plant pot that fits inside — test sizing before you knot
Macramé Starter Kit 🌱
7. Make a DIY Terrarium From a Thrifted Vessel
Glass bowls, fish tanks, apothecary jars, cloche domes — thrift stores have all of these in abundance, and every single one of them makes a beautiful terrarium. Layer pebbles, activated charcoal, potting soil, and small plants inside any glass vessel for a living decoration that requires almost zero maintenance.
Succulents and air plants work best for closed or partially open terrariums. Moss, small ferns, and peperomia thrive in more humid closed environments. The result is something that looks architectural, living, and completely one-of-a-kind.
Terrarium Essentials 🌿
8. DIY Linen-Wrapped Thrifted Vases
This is one of the simplest and most effective DIY transformations I know. Wrap a plain thrifted vase in natural linen fabric or jute rope and secure it with craft glue — the transformation from ordinary ceramic to textured, organic vessel takes about 15 minutes.
The result looks like something you’d find in a high-end home store for $60+. Use linen for a soft, refined look or jute rope for a more rustic, organic feel. Both work beautifully grouped together on a shelf or console.
Wrapping Techniques
- Linen wrap — cut fabric to height, glue in sections, fold raw edges under
- Jute rope wrap — start at the base, glue as you coil upward
- Mixed materials — wrap the bottom half in jute, leave the top bare
- Twine and cotton cord also work beautifully
Vase Wrapping Supplies 🏺
9. Build a Floating Shelf From Thrifted Wood
Floating shelves from home stores cost $30–$80 each. A thrifted wooden board, a few shelf brackets, and some sandpaper costs about $10 total. Sand the board smooth, stain or paint it in your desired finish, mount the brackets, and you have a custom floating shelf that fits your exact wall space.
Reclaimed wood boards from thrift stores and architectural salvage shops have natural imperfections — knots, grain variations, slight weathering — that give the finished shelf far more character than anything you’d buy new. That imperfection is exactly what makes it beautiful.
Shelf Building Basics 🔧
10. DIY Decorative Tray Makeover
Thrift stores always have wooden and wicker trays in abundance — most with finishes that scream 1997. A quick coat of paint or stain, new hardware if applicable, and a lined interior with contact paper completely reinvents a thrifted tray into a styled home accessory.
A tray transforms any surface — a coffee table, an ottoman, a dresser top — from a collection of random objects into a curated vignette. Style yours with a candle, a small plant, a stack of books, and one decorative object. Four items max — restraint is the real design skill.
Tray Makeover Supplies 🕯️
11. Create a Pressed Botanical Wall Art Piece
Pressed botanical art looks elegant, costs almost nothing, and connects your home to something natural and timeless. Press leaves, flowers, and ferns between heavy books for two weeks, then arrange them in a thrifted frame for a piece of wall art that looks genuinely sophisticated.
Ferns, eucalyptus, dried lavender, and wildflowers all press beautifully and hold their color for years. Arrange your botanicals on cream or kraft paper, place them in a clean frame, and hang them in a grouping of three for maximum impact. FYI, this is one of the most saved DIY home decor ideas on Pinterest — and it costs about $3 to make.
Botanical Art Supplies 🌸
12. Stencil a DIY Feature Wall
Wallpaper costs a fortune and commitment you might not be ready to make. A stenciled feature wall using a geometric or botanical stencil and a contrasting paint color achieves the same visual impact for about $25 total.
Choose a repeating pattern — herringbone, arched tiles, abstract leaves — and apply it with a foam roller over a dried base coat. The key is loading the roller lightly and working in sections. The result is something completely custom that nobody else’s home will have.
Stenciling Tips That Save Time
- Load your roller lightly — less paint, fewer bleeds
- Work in small sections and reposition carefully
- Use a level and pencil marks to keep rows even
- Practice on cardboard before touching the wall
13. DIY Concrete Planters From Thrifted Molds
Concrete planters look architectural, expensive, and incredibly modern — and they’re genuinely simple to make yourself. Use thrifted bowls, containers, or cardboard boxes as molds, mix concrete, pour, and remove the mold once set. The whole process takes a weekend.
Sand the finished planter smooth, seal it with a concrete sealer, and plant a succulent or snake plant inside. The weight and texture of concrete makes every planter feel substantial and permanent — exactly like something you’d find in a design store for $80.
Concrete Planter Supplies 🪴
14. Upcycle Old Books Into Decorative Risers
A stack of large, beautiful hardcover books makes the most versatile styling tool in any home — use them as risers under plants, lamps, sculptures, or on coffee tables. Thrifted hardcover books in neutral or linen-colored spines look the most sophisticated and photograph beautifully.
If the spines are too colorful or busy, wrap them in brown kraft paper or white paper for a clean, uniform look. Stack three at different angles with one object placed on top — a small candle, a sculptural piece, or a small plant — and the whole arrangement comes alive.
Book Stack Styling 📚
15. DIY Woven Wall Hanging
A woven wall hanging brings texture, warmth, and handcrafted personality to any wall — and you can make one from scratch with a simple cardboard loom. Cut notches into the top and bottom of a piece of sturdy cardboard, warp it with cotton string, and weave in yarn, fabric strips, and natural fibers in whatever pattern feels right.
The beauty of a woven wall hanging is that imperfection is part of the aesthetic. Uneven rows and organic variation give it that handmade quality that machine-made pieces simply cannot replicate. Hang it on a wooden dowel for a finished, polished look.
Weaving Starter Kit 🧶
16. Reglaze or Paint Thrifted Ceramic Pieces
Thrift stores have ceramic vases, bowls, and decorative pieces in abundance — most in colors or finishes that feel dated. Ceramic spray paint and specialty glaze products let you completely transform the color and finish of any ceramic piece without a kiln or any professional equipment.
Matte finishes in sage, terracotta, cream, and warm grey consistently produce the most elegant results. A grouping of three repainted ceramics in the same finish but different shapes looks like a curated set worth hundreds of dollars.
17. Build a DIY Wooden Crate Bookshelf
Wooden crates stacked and secured together make one of the most functional and visually interesting DIY shelving solutions available. Sand, stain or paint each crate in a consistent finish, then stack and screw them together in a configuration that fits your wall. The result is a completely custom bookshelf with built-in storage compartments.
Use a mix of vertical and horizontal orientations for visual interest. Each compartment naturally houses books, plants, baskets, and decorative objects. IMO, this is one of the highest-impact DIY furniture projects you can complete in a single weekend.
Crate Shelf Supplies 🔨
18. Create a DIY Linen Curtain Panel
Store-bought curtains rarely come in exactly the right length, width, or fabric weight. A simple linen curtain panel requires only basic sewing or iron-on hem tape and transforms any window with that soft, airy, designer quality that makes rooms feel expensive.
Buy linen fabric by the yard, cut it to your exact measurements, and finish the edges with iron-on hem tape — no sewing machine required. Hang them high, extend the rod well past the window frame on both sides, and let them just graze the floor. That single hanging decision does more for a room than almost any other styling choice.
Curtain DIY Essentials 🪟
Your Quick DIY Difficulty Guide
| Project | Difficulty | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frame gallery wall | Easy | $10–$20 | 2 hours |
| Chair reupholstery | Medium | $15–$30 | 1–2 hours |
| Abstract canvas art | Easy | $8–$15 | 1 hour |
| Concrete planters | Medium | $10–$20 | 1 weekend |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where’s the best place to find thrift store home decor pieces? Goodwill, Salvation Army, estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, and local charity shops. Estate sales consistently have the best quality pieces at the lowest prices.
Q: What thrift store items are most worth buying for DIY projects? Frames, mirrors, wooden furniture, ceramic vases, and solid wood boards. These all transform dramatically with minimal effort and cost.
Q: Do I need crafting experience to try these DIY ideas? Most of these projects require zero prior experience. The frame gallery wall, vase clusters, and book stacks need no tools or skills at all — just an eye for arrangement.
Q: How do I make thrifted DIY decor look intentional rather than random? Stick to a consistent color palette across all your pieces. Cohesion is what separates a styled home from a cluttered one — color does most of that work automatically.
Q: What’s the highest-impact DIY project for a beginner? The abstract art over thrifted canvas. It’s fast, low-cost, genuinely unique, and produces a result that looks like something you’d find in a boutique art gallery.
Start With One Thing
You don’t need to transform your entire home this weekend. Start with one thrifted frame and a can of spray paint. Or one old vase and a skein of jute rope. The magic of thrifted DIY home decor isn’t in the grand gesture — it’s in the accumulation of small, intentional decisions that slowly turn a house into a home that tells your story.
Every piece you make, every imperfect brushstroke, every slightly wonky woven row — it all adds up to something no interior designer could replicate, because it’s entirely yours. Now go find yourself something beautiful at a thrift store and make it even better.
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