Home Decor Trends for Less: A Small Business Owner’s Thrift and DIY Tips for Style on a Budget
We spoke with Taylor Kerr, owner of the Instagram thrift boutique @YourWeeklyThrift, about her tips for scoring trendy home decor items without spending hundreds at department stores. Head over to our Pinterest for inspiration and get thrifting! ✨
WHEN DID YOU FIRST START THRIFTING? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START YOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT, @YOURWEEKLYTHRIFT?
I started thrifting when my husband and I were newly married to get basic necessities for our home at an affordable price. It wasn’t until about a year ago when I started doing a lot of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects and scouting out thrift stores for trendy home decor to put in my house.
As you can imagine, thrifting home decor every weekend will fill up a home quickly! I started running out of room to fit my thrift finds, so I thought, why not put all of this cute stuff in other people’s homes? I put a group of cute things for sale on my personal Instagram page one weekend, and I sold out that night. That’s when I learned that I could actually be successful doing this!
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS TO THRIFTING HOME DECOR, INSTEAD OF BUYING FROM A DEPARTMENT STORE OR ONLINE?
Thrifting is not only good for your wallet, but it benefits the environment massively. I once read that nine million tons of home decor waste ends up in landfills every year. My favorite part of thrifting home decor is that your pieces will actually be one-of-a-kind and have a history behind them.
HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FIND SO MANY ON-TREND DECOR PIECES FOR LESS? WHERE DO YOU TEND TO FIND THEM?
I travel over 50 miles a week to thrift stores like Goodwill and Savers, and visit yard sales in order to find on-trend home decor items! I’ll spend up to 5 hours a day thrifting and end up with only 30 items a week that actually get listed. It requires a lot of patience and time, but I have a blast doing it!
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME ESSENTIAL ITEMS WHEN IT COMES TO THRIFTED DECOR FOR THE HOME?
Essential items for my home are:
- storage (baskets, hampers, bins)
- vases and planters
- frames
- kitchen accessories
These are all items that are very inexpensive at thrift stores and are very expensive at regular department stores. I have found plenty of thrifted items that are from places like West Elm, Anthropologie, and IKEA for a third of the cost.
WHAT EASY-TO-FIND PIECES CAN BE THRIFTED OR DIY’ED TO ADD FLAIR TO EVERYDAY HOME DECOR?
You can DIY any planter or vase to fit your style. Any thrift store will have shelves full of options to choose from. All you need is some paint, a good Pinterest board for inspiration (like our “DIY” project inspiration board!) , and thrifted planters/vases. Planters and vases are an incredible way to fill those empty little spaces in your home and create the vibe you want to create.
Do you have any tips for those who have never gone thrift shopping for home decor before?
- Patience! Don’t be discouraged if you go to the goodwill across the street one day and don’t find anything. If you don’t want to drive far, try going to the goodwill by your house a few times a week and you are guaranteed to find something amazing. Goodwills are always stocking new items!
- Take your time! To find those gems you’re looking for, you will lots of the time need to dig for them! Look under and behind items on the shelves to see what you could be missing. Go aisle by aisle slowly until something catches your eye
- Be open minded! If you go to a thrift store thinking, “I need to find a trendy vase” you probably won’t find one. Go in and let the thrifted items speak to you!
Follow Taylor on Instagram to see and buy her thrift finds! @yourweeklythrift
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