Nothing adds personality to a space like a good piece of art, but nothing dampens our art-collecting or decorating schemes faster than a tight budget. If you’re feeling adventurous, it’s time to head to the thrift store and take a tired, dusty piece to a much happier place. From color dipped paintings to song-lyric art (and even a few ceramic decor pieces), these thrift store finds can offer a wealth of possibilities to save all those unloved goods.
1. Color Dipped: This isn’t a tutorial, but we think the look is pretty self explanatory. Mask off half the painting — frame and all — and go crazy with bright shades of spray paint for a very fun, modern piece of wall art. (via Inside Closet)
2. Watercolor Dishes: Add a pop of color to plain white dishes with this fun DIY watercolor technique. If you want to eat off them, make sure the paint you use is food-safe, or you could just mount on them on the wall and admire them. (via Sugar and Charm)
3. Gold Foil Monogram: You could salvage the worst painting in the thrift store with some sneaky gold foil. Go with a letter or just an abstract geometric design. The look is edgy, modern and a little boho. (via Vintage Revivals)
4. Face Vase: Depending on the vase you pick up at the thrift store, and how much spray paint you have on hand, you could make this stylish Jonathan Adler lookalike for under $5. Have fun with the face part of the design — owl face or emoji, anybody? (via At Home in Love)
5. Hexagon Hello: Make some rad typography art with just some paint and a piece of wood. Obviously you can use any word you want, but this DIY comes with a handy “hello” stencil if you want to make a pretty greeting. (via Sisters What)
6. Kid’s Art: The best thing about thrift store art is that you can pick up an enormous canvas for cheap, paint the whole thing white and let the kids create their own masterpieces with pastels and chalk. (via Meri Cherry)
7. Paint by Numbers: You know those big acrylic paintings that are always tucked away in a forlorn pile in the back of the store? Perk them up with a brand new style. The key here is to simplify, simplify, simplify and pick just a couple colors as you paint over the original painting. (via Honestly WTF)
8. Painted Bowls: The only thing better than wall art is art you can use on the daily. Most thrift stores have a whole section of homely wooden pieces like bowls and trays. And with some bright colors, you can make a whole set of dishware ready for the summer season. (via Design Improvised)
9. Neon Pops: You don’t have to paint over the whole painting to bring life back to a thrifted find. Add some neon blossoms, draw some geometric patterns or add some humor with a couple sneaky cartoon animals lurking in the landscape. (via East Coast Creative)
10. Song Lyric Art: If you can’t pass up a decent painting, use stencils of a favorite song lyric and let just a little bit of the original painting shine through. It’ll turn a run-of-the-mill landscape painting into something that has a lot of personal meaning for you. (via A Beautiful Mess)
11. Sunset Gallery: Grab a handful of cheap mini canvases and practice your spray-painting skills to create a gallery wall of ombre sunsets. Tropical cocktail, anyone? (via Kipi)
12. Painted Catch-All Dishes: What started out as rather ugly wooden leaf bowls were transformed into very pretty gold and pastel feather jewelry storage. These little bowls totally double as dresser art. (via Jennifer Rizzo)
What’s the coolest update you’ve done with thrifted art? Share your projects with us in the comments below!
