Scavenger Chic

5 Mini Thrift Store Makeovers

• By Joan
• June 5, 2024
• 3 Comments

I usually visit my local thrift store about once a week.  Most of the time I have no idea what I’m looking for, but I’ll know it if I see it.  An item that just needs a little TLC is more likely to come home with me.  Sometimes those could be large projects, the ones I’m about to show you were not.   All of these just needed a little tweaking.

5 Mini Thrift Store Makeovers

Wrought Iron Lamp

First in line for a mini makeover is this rusty, white, wrought iron lamp.   The lamp works fine but right now is not really all that pleasant to look at.

Quick fix…spray paint. Tape off any parts of the lamp you would like to protect from overspray.  I used black spray paint in a satin finish to cover up the rust and the white.

Quick and easy fix that probably took less than 5 minutes.

Shouldn’t wrought iron always be black?  Or is that just me?

Vintage Hunt Scene Lamp

Next up I have another lamp which I’m not sure is a fail or not, You tell me.

When I purchased this lamp I had every intention of covering up the hunt scene in the center with a textured wallpaper.  It didn’t really matter that the price stickers that the thrift store had attached had ripped off part of the design in two places.

Before I defaced my lamp I used Google Lens to see what I was dealing with.  The closest thing to come up was this Frederick Cooper Equestrian Tea Canister table lamp that sold for $400.  Pretty sure mine is not a Frederick Cooper… but this lamp just makes me feel bad for even thinking of covering up my little scene.

I used a mustard yellow to cover up all the tears in the paper and finished with a clear wax with just a hint of the vintage wax. It’s close, not perfect.

This was the other side.  Like I said, I don’t know if I hurt or helped this poor little lamp.  For now his original finish has been saved.

Green Bottle Vase Candle Holder

Thrift stores have tons of vases.  I particularly like the colored glass vases and this one is no exception.

Pick up wood candle holders in the wood section at your favorite craft store. Stain or paint as desired.

Use an all purpose clear adhesive glue such as E6000 to attach the candle holder to the center of your vase.

I used a candle inserted into the candle cup to center the holder in the bottom of the vase then held the candle in place as the adhesive dried.

 

Enjoy your candle.

Spray Painted Black Tin

Have you ever passed up an item because it was a little beat up?

Just like the first project, a little satin finish black spray paint and this tin box is as good as new.  I always have a can handy.

Sinkless Kid’s Play Kitchen

This KidKraft Kid’s play kitchen  which I used in the playhouse  back in January came without a sink.  Since it was only $10, the sinkless part of the kitchen was only a minor setback.

Amazon currently has the kitchen on sale for $113  (regularly $165).   Yes indeedy, I can deal with replacing a sink.

My first replacement sink was this small cake pan.  From my measurements, it should have been absolutely perfect.  Just look how close those edges are.

If I could trust my jigsaw skills I would have just cut the opening a quarter inch larger but I decided to just use the cake pan as part of the play dishes and go back to the drawing board.

The second kitchen sink I found was this small cat bowl.  I could work with this one.

I just needed to cut out a rim on which the bowl could sit.  Trace the bowl onto a thin sheet of mdf.  Cut a hole a 1/4 inch inside the circle you just traced and a second cut about 1/4″ outside the traced circle.

Paint the cut circle a color similar to your play kitchen.  I used the satin finish exterior paint acrylics.  Once again, use a clear all purpose glue such as E6000 to adhere the bowl to the circle.

Lay the sink in place.  I also used the same paint to touchup the paint nicks on the remainder of the kitchen.

Hope you enjoyed these mini makeovers.

Right now I have 336 pins on my  Thrift Store Upcycling Pinterest board if you’re looking for more makeover ideas.

As always, stay inspired.

You may also like some of my past thrift store mini flips.