Thrift Store Kitchen Makeover

Yes, you read that correctly. I did a kitchen makeover using items found at my local thrift stores!

I love the thrift store. There are so many cool, antique-y things that are unique and fun there... for super cheap! I love super cheap. In fact, I love super cheap so much that I frequent my local thrift stores (there are three of them near me, and... WOOHOO!... I hear they are putting in a fourth!) about every 3-4 days. I only buy things that I need, for instance, I go in with a mission. Very rarely do I ever buy something that's not on my "I need this" list.

Let me show you how I have used the thrift store to make my kitchen adorable... at an affordable price. If you have patience, persistence, and a pinch of creativity, you too can enjoy similar success!

First of all, I would like to introduce you to my kitchen, so you can see what I have to work with. Kitchen, meet Reader. Reader, meet Kitchen:

It has seen many changes since this picture was taken (when I first moved in). I now have replaced my mismatched dishes with red stoneware, and there are many more pots and pans hanging above the sink. Also, you remember from my previous blog the soap dispenser made from a mason jar.


My kitchen was built for functionality at it's finest. However, it wasn't built for the finest looks. So, it has great functionality, and everything has a special place, but it's not a very pretty sight. It kind of reminds me of a man's toolshed or garage. My kitchen cabinets do not have doors, so they are shelves. Everything is rough around the edges, and is rather "manly".

Here are two problem areas that I found:

 This is that little shelf under the sink/dish cupboard. Ugliest shelf ever; holds cleaning supplies and general tools.

This is the food cupboard, just above the stove. Very ugly as well.

Here are my thrift store solutions!

 This curtain was put in the fabric section at my thrift store. I bought it, thinking it was fabric and dreading the fact that I would have to sew it into a curtain, seeing as I am no seamstress. But, to my surprise, when I unrolled it, it was already sewn into a curtain! It was doubled over on both the top and bottom, so I just cut it apart and turned it into two curtains, one for this nasty under-the-sink cupboard, and one for the cupboard over the stove. They match, too, so it adds a cuteness factor to the red kitchen. :)

Also, as you can see, I have added mason jars to the cabinet. I left the top and bottom shelves open, because I like the look of glass (as I mentioned before). It ties everything together with the soap dispenser and makes for a really cute rustic cabin kitchen.

Also, I couldn't help myself when I saw these guys at the thrift store. The first day I saw them, I passed them up because they were blue, and all my glass is clear. However, I just HAD to run back the day after to see if they were still there, because I fell in love with them. To my surprise, they were still on the shelf! I found a white lid that fit on the bigger one, cleaned it out and put my baking sugar in it. The smaller one holds my kitchen knives, since I do not have a knife block.

Also, the final thing I did was put a shelf underneath the microwave stand. That is where I keep my "beverage station". I'm big into coffee, tea, and cappuccinos, and I have a french press, a cappuccino machine and many boxes of tea. I used baskets and this perfect size shelf to hold everything in an organized fashion:

Now, I happily cook in my newly made-over kitchen!! The whole makeover (minus the shelf... I bought it from Target) cost under $25!! Now THAT is super cheap - and super awesome!