Let's Go Antique Shopping! Come Thrift With Me for Vintage Decor
Living Pretty Ep50 // Let's Go Antique Shopping! Come Thrift With Me for Vintage Decor
Want some antique shopping inspiration? Come thrift with me for vintage decor in a huge, 30,000 sq ft antique mall in Seattle!
Maybe you’d like some vintage decorating ideas or you’re going for a maximalist decor style that incorporates antiques in your small apartment. Or maybe you just love thrifting home decor!
Either way, if you love thrift store shopping and vintage boho decor, and want some thrifting tips for creating an eclectic apartment, stick around as I take you through this truly epic antique store!
Video Transcript ↓
I’ve made some slight edits in the transcript below so that everything makes more sense in text form. But overall, this is almost a word-for-word dictation of what I say in the video. I’m a much better writer than this, I swear, haha.
A couple weeks ago, I had one of the most enchanting and over-stimulating experiences of my life at the Pacific Galleries Antique Mall here in Seattle.
It’s 30,000 sq ft of antique splendor, and a couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I walked through the whole place.
And of course, I filmed pretty much everything I encountered!
So in this video, you’re going to see this incredible place and all its treasures through my eyes, and I’m hoping that you’ll feel like you were there with me.
And buckle your seatbelts because you’re about to see a lot of antique decor. Your eyes are about to have a feast, so I hope they’re hungry.
And if you’re new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I’m the creator of the interior style blog Moda Misfit as well as the online course Small Apartment Styling School.
And you’re watching Living Pretty, the place for apartment styling tips. Just because you rent your space doesn’t mean you can’t own your style!
So if you want to get inspired with me every week, be sure to subscribe!
And I wanted to let you know that I have a brand new free guide that you can download today called the Apartment Styling Handbook!
It's a bite-sized roadmap for decorating your apartment so that you can create a space you love - without feeling like you're stumbling alone in the dark. Because sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to do to decorate your apartment, right? So download the FREE Apartment Styling Handbook for some extra help!
Here are my antique shopping tips from the video...
1. What you need when antique shopping
Based on my experience in an overwhelming place like this huge antique mall (and yes, I was very overwhelmed in here. Gleefully overwhelmed, but overwhelmed nonetheless), I think there are 3 things you need in order to have an enjoyable antique mall experience…
You need patience. Just enjoy the ride and take it all in - no need to rush, no need to frantically try to find something to buy.
You also need self control. In a place like this, you’re in a state of literal shiny object syndrome. It’s very easy to want to buy every pretty thing you see.
And you also need to take deep breaths. Like, very deep breaths. I actually started to feel wonderfully dizzy in this place, like some kind of thrift store high. So when you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated, just take a deep breath and forge ahead.
2. A tip for beginners
Here’s a tip for the beginner antique shopper: start small. There are all kinds of small ways you can incorporate antiques in your space, and especially if you have a small apartment, this is a good place to begin.
Start with coffee mugs, or little ornate boxes, or old books. These are easy ways to bring an antique vibe into your space without committing to something big. You can always work your way up from there!
3. Don’t forget your vision
Don’t forget your specific space. Just because an item is super cool or really pretty, doesn’t mean it’ll suit your unique style in your specific apartment. Don’t lose sight of yourself.
Think about the holistic picture of your apartment, what you need from it, and how you want it to make you feel. Don’t buy an antique just for the sake of buying an antique - really ask yourself if it aligns with you and your interior styling vision.
4. Treat antique shopping like an art gallery at first
Ultimately, one way you can enjoy an antique mall or thrift store without getting overwhelmed is to simply treat it like an art gallery.
On your first trip in, you don’t have to buy anything. That’s how my boyfriend and I treated this experience - we were spectators, not buyers. There’s less pressure that way and it’s more about appreciating the experience rather than walking away with new stuff.
If you do end up buying something, then that’s just the cherry on top, a fun little bonus.
5. How to integrate an antique with your current decor
When you do purchase an antique and bring it home, you may wonder, “Okay how do I integrate this into my small apartment? How do I make this work? How do I balance this new antique piece with my current, non-antique stuff?”
Of course, there isn’t a one-and-done answer here. It depends on your apartment, your style vision, your personality, your specific needs as a person… but all in all, there are a few things that ring true no matter what!
First, you want to have a spirit of play. Simply play around with the placement of your antique! Try it in one spot, see how it feels. Try it in that sparse corner of yours over there, or on that shelf that needs some love.
Keep playing until it feels right. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t look amazing in the first spot you try!
Also, once you’ve placed it somewhere, think about the overall picture you’re creating. How does it interact with the pieces around it? How can you tweak the arrangement of those pieces to better integrate with the antique piece?
Don’t just think about the antique alone - think about the visual story you’re telling around it.
6. Have fun!
And finally, just have fun. There’s a certain whimsy and otherworldliness to antiques - embrace that!
It’s not about perfection, it’s not about being strict with yourself. It’s about allowing antiques to transport you to another time and place and even to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this walkthrough of this incredible antique mall here in Seattle! And I'm hoping that you feel inspired to go out and support your local antique shops, thrift shops, antique malls... all of it. You can find some really amazing treasures in places like this!
For daily glimpses into my studio apartment life, you can follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit!
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