Decorating with Thrifted Art

As a vintage seller on Etsy, I spend a lot of my time combing thrift stores, attending estate sales, and perusing antique malls in search of great pieces for my shop.  Although most of the treasures I unearth are offered for sale in my shop, there is one item that I admit I tend to hoard for myself – thrifted art!

I have a passion for art and when I became a vintage retailer I was genuinely surprised at how easy it was to find great art (many times framed and matted) at the local thrift store. The hunt for thrifted art is a very different experience from walking into a chain store and picking a print to match your newest throw pillow; art thrifting is more about digging through dusty stacks and finding something that speaks to you. It’s an opportunity to find and buy something unique, and perhaps valuable, at a bargain price. It IS a real-life treasure hunt!

If the idea of art thrifting intrigues you, here are a few pointers I have learned over the years:

Your Thrifted Art Doesn’t Have to Match the Color of Your Couch

Hey, if you want it to match, go for it…but don’t feel like your art needs to be matchy, matchy. You’ll come up with a much more layered and interesting look if you buy and display pieces that have similar styles, lines and themes, rather than something strictly because it matches your couch. Think about the composition of the paintings and prints you display. Sometimes pieces that seem to be complete opposites can work together if you have them framed with similar style frames or use similar color mats.

Both of the pieces of art above are different. One is an abstract acrylic painting and the other is a stylized Japanese ink brush painting. Even though the sizes are quite different, the general shape and composition are similar and the tones are fairly neutral. These similarities help to tie the pieces together

Consider the Mat and Frame

Speaking of mats and frames…artwork can be very expensive to have professionally framed. I have been known to pay under $10.00 for a piece of art, and then spend over ten times that to have it framed and matted. Consider the frame and matting when looking at art in the thrift shop.  If you are getting a great deal on the art, and you love the piece, then spending the extra money to have it framed will be well worth the investment. If you are on the fence about the art and know it needs to be reframed, it might be best to walk away.  Of course the ultimate is when you find art that you love, and you can live with the frame that comes with it.

Look for Value

If the value is something important to you, look for pieces that are artist signed. It can be hard to evaluate a piece of art behind glass. I have been fooled more than once by what looks to be an original painting, only to get home, take it apart, and find a reproduction print on fairly cheap paper. The more you shop the better you will get, but be prepared to be disappointed every now and then.

Numbered prints usually hold some monetary value, especially by a known artist. Look for an indication that the artwork is from a limited print run. Some artwork will have a Certificate of Authenticity attached to the back.

Smartphones make on-the-spot research much easier. If you can decipher the artist’s signature, you can always do a quick search on your phone to find out information about the artist before you buy it. Searching similar pieces by that artist may give you an idea of the monetary value of their work, but remember the asking price on an online site is not always indicative of what the art is worth. A subscription to Worthpoint or Artnet can be worthwhile if you are interested in collecting art by known artists that may be investment-worthy.

Display Your Art

When I first starting collecting thrift store art, I found myself frozen when it came to making decisions on hanging and displaying. Consequently, we quickly had stacks of art in the attic and leaning art in the closets. I’m here to tell you, you’ll enjoy your art so much more if it is out where you can see it.

Don’t have stacks of artwork in the attic. Overcome your fear of hanging and get your thrifted art finds on display!

There are endless ways to display your new thrifted art finds. One look that is popular today is the gallery wall. Gallery walls are a great way to infuse color, texture, and pattern into a space. Start by looking through what you have and find a number of things you think might look nice together. I have seen successful gallery walls that focus on a theme or collection, such as a whole wall of vintage paint-by-numbers. This can be a fun look, or you can go for grouping items that are completely different, even adding mirrors, sculpture or objects to the mix. Look to websites like Pinterest and Youtube for display ideas and tutorials for creating gallery walls and art vignettes. Remember, the worst thing that can happen is you don’t like the results and then a little spackle and touch-up paint will quickly correct your mistake.

Artwork can also look great leaning on a shelf, mantle, table, or even on the floor. This technique couldn’t be easier and is totally risk-free. It requires no tools and you can always move pieces around until you find a place that works.  I put up small glass shelves in my bathrooms. The shelves give me a great place to display art and I can easily switch up the artwork and other pieces when I tire of the vignette. The added bonus is displaying art in a rather unexpected place.

The Most Important Thing Is That You Love It

The final tip is to remember that there are no hard fast rules. Buy what you love. Some of my favorite pieces are by unknown artists. I can be just as happy with a framed embroidery piece or a mass-produced print, as with a signed and numbered print from a well-known artist. We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The important thing is to surround yourself with art that makes you happy!

Guest author Pam Hein is an avid vintage collector and seller from Rockford, Illinois. Her curated vintage shop 1006Osage can be found on Etsy. Find her on Instagram @1006Osage where she inspires with her true love of vintage and life and hosts #ThriftedArtThursday

Finds from 1006Osage