For The Union-Tribune
There was a time when going antiquing was all the rage. Back in the ’80s when I was furnishing my first apartment in L.A., I headed to The Pine Mine on Melrose Ave. to buy an antique pine trunk. I already had a beautiful cherry wood dresser I had bought for $80 at an antique store on upper Broadway for my Manhattan apartment — and I still have it for storing table linens and serving pieces. When I moved down to San Diego, I went to an antique store in La Mesa and found a large, heavy dark wood side table that had lots of storage — perfect for my living room. I also found a framed painting for $35 that I still treasure even if it didn’t turn out to be a valuable discovery.
“Antiquing” today seems to have transitioned to “thrifting” — a seemingly less expensive way to furnish a home. But “thrifting” isn’t necessarily limited to shopping at thrift stores. It can include shopping estate sales, flea markets or consignment shops — or even picking up something left on the curb.
The National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops estimates that there are more than 25,000 resale, consignment and nonprofit resale shops in the U.S. And Chain Store Age reported that a survey of consumers showed that price hikes from new tariffs will pump an already booming secondhand economy. Half of the respondents said they are more likely to consider pre-owned goods, with the total rising to 59% for millennials, according to the survey.
This carved wood camel, a cheery fellow dubbed “Joe,” is a centerpiece in the Point Loma client’s living room — and is designer Diana Clark’s favorite thrifted item of all time. She encourages those in the hunt to always carry essentials, including a measuring tape, tote bag and cash, and be open to serendipity. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Carlsbad decorator Diana Clark is an expert thrifter and she shops all of the above. One of the first things she explained to me while I was visiting a client’s home with her was the “why” — why even do it? After all, there are plenty of furniture stores and plenty of shops that sell everything from dishware and silverware to art, candlesticks and vases.
“It means that everything has meaning to you,” she explained. “If you just go to Jerome’s and buy a room, there’s no meaning at all. I call this a story-rich house because everything has a story. There’s nothing more fun for me than going into a dark corner in a dirty, grimy store where there’s a jumble of crap and I move things around and I find something. It’s like you found a treasure. And that’s way more fun than if it’s sitting out in the center of the room with a light on it.”
In this midcentury home that her client has lived in since the 1970s in Point Loma’s Sunset Cliffs area, the focal point of the living room is a smooth carved wood camel, complete with halter — not full size, but quite large and handsome. His name is, of course, Joe (Remember Joe Camel from the cigarette company ads?) and he’s Clark’s favorite thrifted item of all time. Joe stands beside a small sectional sofa that Clark came across downtown in a moving sale while she was going on a walk. She swiftly offered the owner cash and dashed home to get it and transportation to drive it down to Point Loma.
A pre-owned dining room table at the client’s home is the type of timeless, well-made treasure that Clark suggests can be found while thrift shopping. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The client’s house is filled with unique thrifted finds — a sweet modern glass-and-wood dining table, a small needlepoint-topped stool/ottoman for which Clark found new legs that the handy homeowner secured, a huge butcherblock “cutting board” from a small local grocery store that was closing that Clark had installed into the kitchen cabinetry, a more formal dining room table, the dining room cabinet, a pair of ceramic elephant candleholders on a square wood stool next to the cabinet. The list goes on and on — everything from furniture and lighting to paintings and tchotchkes. Some are purely decorative, others are functional, like the elegant old boxes that hold remote controls. There’s even an elegant woven cat tree that’s proved impossible for the owner’s cats to destroy.
How does she do this and make it work? Because, really, it would be easy enough to think you’re buying something cool only to realize later it’s just junk.
First, Clark said, it takes patience.
“It’s slow decorating,” she said. “I worked on this house for five or six years. When you’re relying on thrifting, you can’t just go out and find what you want. You have to wait for it to find you.
A Polynesian oar at the Point Loma home was a unique find. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Another thing I’ve learned is if you’re going to go to estate sales or yard sales to be choosy about the neighborhood. I try to pick a neighborhood where the quality of the stuff is going to be nice.”
Interior designer Kendall Guertin of South Harlow Interiors is also into thrifting for clients.
“I think it takes time. You have to go a lot. You have to search through a lot. And you have to train your eye,” she said. “If you’re looking for a certain thing, focus on only looking for those items and don’t let yourself get distracted by all the other things. And that’s hard. I still find myself getting lost looking at everything else.
A butcher block from a small shop closing nearby became a sturdy, well-loved cutting board in the client’s kitchen. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Also,” she added, “look at things you find up close in detail for damage and workmanship. If it’s a vintage piece, it comes as secondhand love and that’s part of it as well. They’ll never be perfect, but that’s kind of what we love about those pieces.”
How do you go about identifying good thrift shops? Clark has Googled some near her since she doesn’t drive and over the years has found places she loves, like the Rancho Coastal Humane Society Thrift Shop in Cardiff.
“I like that place because they don’t have a huge selection, but they often have really unusual high-end objects.”
In a client’s Point Loma home, Clark’s “slow decorating” when thrifting yielded furnishings that tell a story. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
So, again, neighborhood is important. But, added Clark, there’s no such thing as a bad thrift shop, because even if it doesn’t have anything interesting for you on one day, it might have fabulous stuff another.
Which brings us to shopping frequently. When Clark has a client project, she shops daily in different parts of town, even when traveling, bringing an empty suitcase with her. If you’re seriously hunting, she says, you have to go to places you’ve discovered over and over.
You also need to keep your eyes open even if you’re not officially thrifting that day. On your way to the market and see a garage sale? Pull over. Someone’s moving? Pull over and ask if that cool lamp is for sale. Driving by a thrift shop that looks intriguing on your way home from lunch? Yep, pull over. You just never know. And if you find a thrift shop you like, get to know the staff and give them your contact info If they get in something they know you’re on the hunt for; they could get in touch.
An antique-style fan mounted to a large tripod is a statement piece with patina that brings unexpected industrial chic to the client’s home. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Strategy for a treasure hunt
Need more tips? Here are some that should help you shop smarter and more successfully:
• Timing is important. Try to shop in the morning, right after the shop opens, and during the first couple of days of the week, Clark advised. A lot of people make donations over the weekend. If you really want to shop deals, though, ask the manager which days of the week they give discounts and on what. Maybe there’s a sign, but if not, ask. Then keep a running list for the future. Other shops may give you a little frequent purchase card, punching the card with each purchase that yields you a discount after a certain number.
A compact, artistically woven cat tree, also thrifted, was a practical discovery: Its surface won’t be easily shredded by felines. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Give every shop, even those that don’t seem promising, a chance. It’s a game of finding the hidden treasure, Clark said, joking. You have to look — and not just at what’s displayed at eye level. Look up, crouch down. Move items around (carefully).
• Always carry the essentials. Be sure to take with you photos and measurements of your rooms and specific areas you’re looking to find items for, a measuring tape, cash, tote bags and, if you don’t have a car with you or you’re wandering through a large flea market, a foldable shopping cart with wheels.
• Don’t set yourself up for thrifter’s remorse. If something stops you dead in your tracks — and you can’t imagine living happily ever after unless you take it home — then you will always be able to find a place for it, and you will always be filled with regret if you don’t buy it, said Clark. Thrifter’s remorse also works the other way. Don’t buy something you don’t love because it’s cheap and therefore good enough. Be discriminating.
• Try a flea market. Some folks love a great flea market. Clark isn’t usually a big fan, but she does love the Long Beach flea market. It may be worth the drive up.
• Shop with intentionality. Take photos of rooms you’re shopping for, and have color swatches and measurements. On the other hand, be open to serendipity. If you’re shopping for a lamp but see a gorgeous area rug that would work for another room and it’s the right price, don’t just walk past it.
• Take advantage of Google Lens. This tool allows you to identify items and their potential value. Take a picture and do a reverse image search to get matches.
• Recognize that you aren’t likely to find perfection. Maybe that beautiful Mission style lamp needs rewiring. Or the woven wool area rug in your perfect blue is frayed in one spot. Or you love the tabletop but hate the legs. Or love the frame but it has some paint scratched off. Consider whether you’re willing to pay someone else to repair something or if you’re willing to tackle it yourself. Clark said she’s acquired a lot of skills like paint touch-ups, sanding and staining, or making molds. But she also has experts who can do repairs affordably. Her OB client is hugely handy, so she was able to pick up some beautiful objects that needed help, knowing he could do the work.
• Consider how you could display imperfect items. You can also cheat a bit with displaying less-than-perfect items. Clark has become a master at layering area rugs she loves but have flaws that need covering up. A damaged item may also result in you getting the price lowered.
Chinese roof ornaments are the type of unusual objects that might be found in flea markets or estate sales. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Learn when to negotiate price. Speaking of which, can/should you try to negotiate price? If you’re at a flea market, yard sale or consignment shop, absolutely. But, said Clark, it’s not appropriate at a thrift store. Many of them are trying to raise money for a nonprofit organization.
• Finally, remember that you’re thrifting to decorate, not just acquire stuff on the cheap.
“Successful thrifting for home decor requires some flexibility,” said Clark. “You need to be willing to accept imperfections, which, by the way, I view as the patina of age and proof that someone before me loved the item as much as I do now.
“It also takes patience,” she added. “My own rug pile has been more than 20 years in the making. Sure, buying the first thing you see because it’ll fill the bill and it’s cheap is thrifting, but it isn’t decorating.”
Joe the camel and a pre-owned couch, both thrifted, make a striking pair in the main living area. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)