ORC Fall 2019 Week 5: Mixing Thrifted + New for a Collected Look

Happy Halloween and welcome to Week FIVE of the One Room Challenge! It is officially my favorite holiday and I have some serious costume plans for tomorrow, so thankfully our guest bath redesign is in the final stages!

As all of the existing decor in our guest bath is staying, this week I wanted to highlight the stories and past of said pieces, as well as showing how a mixed look can actually be quite cohesive. Continue reading for a quick, budget-friendly tutorial on mixing thrifted, DIY, hand-me-down AND new for a collected, timeless look.

I have always been a lover of all things old. Old books, old homes, old cars… and I rarely stray far from this sentiment when it comes to design. I also believe we tell the story of our lives by what we choose to surround ourselves with.

Not everyone enjoys thrifting, or relics at all like some of us do, and some of us rarely buy new; but with a resurgence of a love for the past (thanks HGTV!), many of us are once again flocking to vintage and antique stores for the ultimate score.

I inherited my love of thrifting from my parents. My mother was once a talented yet rarely frugal antiquer (she has calmed down quite a bit over the years) and my father was an avid yet extremely frugal garage-saler. Most of the decor in our home consists of antiques that belonged to both sets of grandparents, vintage pieces my mother has parted with over the years, and my dad’s epic garage sale finds. Sprinkled into the mix are pieces from my years of thrifting, and I would personally like to thank places such as The Other Side Vintage back home in Tallahassee, Room Service Vintage in Austin (my favorite when I lived there) and the Antique Tobacco Barn here in Asheville for continuing my lifelong obsession. And I cannot forget about Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace- they too are both deserving of much credit for some seriously awesome finds over the years.

However, even the most avid thrifter doesn’t always have the budget, time, or much-needed patience it takes to find this week’s thrifting equivalent of the Holy Grail. In this case, there are many places where you can find something that may not have the history nor the price tag of something vintage, but still has the look. My personal preference is to have a healthy mix of both, without sacrificing any vintage style. You may not want an antique soap dispenser, ya know?

The Design Board

Compared to the Spring ORC, this time I didn’t have as much pictorial inspiration per se, and more of just an organic “vision” if you will. The existing Van Gogh “Almond Blossoms” print (oh, the irony!) was more of my inspiration. Next I envisioned the wall color, and then the rug, and it just began unfolding from there, with touches of matte black, copper and amber glass to follow.

The Before

The Transformation So Far

A quick recap: Week 1 consisted of tackling the paint first, which I am loving more and more everyday. Week 2 saw our new modern light fixture, and after switching from the yellow Edison bulbs I originally bought to these white ones, it has really brightened up the space and lets the real color of the paint shine through. Week 3 welcomed the transformation of the vanity including new paint, knobs, vinyl tile backsplash and hand-stained “legs.” Week 4 was all in the details- from the copper switch plates that were installed to the last-minute modern faucet addition. In Week 5, the decor is temporarily back in and re-styled for a look at the smaller yet just-as-crucial design elements.

The afore-mentioned faucet was a bold, modern choice- but somehow still evokes a sense of timelessness to me. The waterfall spout reminds me of one of those old spickets on a farm where you’d bring over the pail to fill the water for the horses. (Anyone else? 😂) I paired that with a vintage-inspired glass and copper soap dispenser from TJ Maxx, and bohemian peel and stick vinyl tiles from Bleucoin.

Also new to both the world and myself, these vintage-inspired apothecary bottles were picked up at Hobby Lobby last week for a whopping $6- for both! The amber glass vase matches the pump bottles I purchased to house toiletries for guests in the shower, and I love the way both contrast with the Moroccan tile.

Also in the shower is this candlestick I thrifted from Goodwill for $1, which I then painted with black chalkboard paint. The teal taper candle is also from Hobby Lobby, which I thought matched the walls perfectly. Practical Magic vibes all day up in here!

One of my favorite pieces in this space is the wicker basket that belonged to my parents circa the mid-seventies when they got married up until my mother passed it down to me a few years ago. It holds rolled towels perfectly and gives the bath more of a spa-like feel, especially next to the vintage-inspired Loloi rug. On the vanity, my mother also gave me this beautiful wooden box for my birthday this year, and the charcoal farmhouse towel I also scored at Hobby Lobby for about $2 if I’m remembering correctly. Once again, though both new, these pieces seem reminiscent of another place in time.

Lastly, the framed artwork in the space, aside from the large Van Gogh print, are either thrifted or DIY’d. The smaller Big Ben sketch was another Goodwill find, and the vintage-inspired botanical prints are an amazing free resource from the Crazy Craft Lady! I somehow found four matching frames at the Dollar Tree and voila! I think they pair just lovely with the antique-inspired bird votive holder from my sister, which has hung in many bathrooms of mine for almost ten years now.

Nothing in this space was a bank-breaker and most of the pieces are new, yet in my opinion, all have a classic yet vintage feel. Creating a well-traveled, collected look for a space takes years, patience and sometimes a little “thrifting fate” as I like to call it- but what it doesn’t have to cost however, is a fortune. Happy hunting!