Rain or shine, driveway deals happen everywhere. Weekends turn neighborhoods into flea markets.
Designers go there. Not for thrifting their own clothes necessarily, but to find accents. Unique touches for themselves and their clients’ fancy apartments. We talked to three pros. Here is what they are hunting for.
Frames That Carry Soul
A nice frame elevates cheap art. Or any art really.
Danielle Chiprut, who runs Danielle Rose Design Co., hunts for them specifically. She wants character on a budget. Gilded edges. Carved wood.
“They add instant character and soul,” Chiprut says.
You don’t even need to hang a print. An empty frame works as sculpture. It’s the easiest trick in the book to mix old and new. Just look around.
The Right Piece of Art
Go with your gut. Noel Gatts from beam & bloom thinks the same thing. Art is personal. The value is subjective anyway.
Does it speak to you? Fine. Does it scream from a dusty table? Fine.
Classy works. Cute works. Even kitsch works if you place it right on a shelf or wall. Whatever makes you smile pays off. Gatts warns though—keep your eyes open for signatures. Sometimes you stumble on high-end pieces. Accidents happen. If the frame is ugly, swap the mat later. Easy fix.
Ceramic Personality
Toss those plastic flower-shop vases. You want warmth.
Chiprut digs through bins for pottery and bud vases. She doesn’t just hold flowers with them. They live on bookshelves. They act as catchalls for keys and pens. They bring patina that factory-made decor simply cannot fake.
Mass production lacks the history you get from a used bowl.
Find the vessel with a chip that tells a story. Display it proudly.
Glass You Can See Through
Gatts likes the clear stuff. Depression glass. Milk glass. Crystal.
She styles them inside cabinets or stacks them on consoles. But she isn’t just looking for decoration. Sometimes she wants dessert plates. Maybe some teacups for Saturday morning. Or mixing bowls that actually work.
Why buy new? Old glass often has better thickness. Better weight. Just check for cracks.
Books for Color, Not Content
You might not read them. That is okay.
Gatts recommends grabbing older volumes just for the spine. Look at the palette. Do those red spines match your rug? Stack them on the dining table. Fill an empty shelf. It adds texture and height without the clutter of current bestsellers.
There is a catch. Older paper smells musty sometimes.
Check before you pay. Bring it home with mold or mildew and you have a headache, not a design feature. Smell first. Think later.
