I have used a great deal of salvage and thrift store items in remodeling my house. Have a gorgeous 10 x 14' wool carpet in one bedroom. The main bathroom vanity is graced with a very rare and expensive marble top which cost $54 at a salvage yard. The kitchen cabinets are plywood box, dovetailed joints in drawers, solid ash raised fronts and include many expensive add-ons such as trash can pullouts. They were a fraction of original cost and didn't take 6 months to arrive. The ground between my large garden shed and the back of my house was always rutted and muddy. I had my contractor make a sort of patio between the wall and the shed by turning over my old granite countertop pieces and cementing them in place. It's really great--no more mud and the mower rolls out easily. No problem in hauling away the old granite and zero cost to solve a problem. I just scored a marble table top yesterday for a small plant table I got at Goodwill--$15. And last week I got a beautiful lateral file made of real oak, a perfect base on which to place an aquarium (after covering top with salvage plexiglass).
Thrift store and salvage purchases made my remodeling possible. I love finding cool things and repurposing them.
That’s awesome! Those are great finds, and I love the repurposing! I think the thing is to find quality items at bargain prices. Sometimes we see beyond what something looks like on the surface. If it’s good stuff underneath, it can be cleaned up and given new life.
I have a beautiful mahogany carved antique bed that I have in my guest room that I found at a flea market, paid $65 for it. It was dusty and full of cobwebs and spider nests. I cleaned that all up, and it’s gorgeous. We had to strengthen the side pieces up, but once we did that, it should last easily for another 100 years. It’s only a full size bed, but perfectly comfortable and so beautiful. Nobody carves wood these days like they used to. So elaborate.