How to Decorate Your Home with Flea Market Finds
As you browse the rows of vendors at the Shipshewana Flea Market or the unique items at one of our weekly antique and misc. auctions, you can envision upcycling your favorite flea market finds to decorate your home.
Shopping for Unique Finds at Shipshewana Trading Place
Though many of our vendors offer new and/or handmade items, many others offer a variety of antique and unique pieces that are seeking a new home. Depending on what catches your eye as you shop, you might go home with a piece of furniture that needs to be refurbished, a wooden or metal utility piece that can be repurposed into modern décor, vintage photo frames that can be turned into a unique gallery wall, or glassware that can be used in a variety of ways.
Maybe you’ve seen the popular HGTV show Flea Market Flip, or the book “Flea Market Chic” by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell. Resources like these can be great inspiration for ideas of what you can create for your home from unique items found at Shipshewana Trading Place.
Refurbishing and Upcycling Furniture
If you are in the market for a new-to-you furniture piece, you can shop from a variety of antique dressers, tables, chairs, and more. Depending on your style, these can be stripped and refinished or painted to give them new life.
In some cases, you can even find an old piece that can be upcycled into something completely different. A few examples include: a vintage TV stand turned into a pet bed, an old upright chest of drawers turned into an armoire, or a tired kitchen chair turned into a colorful garden planter.
Upcycling Old Windows and Doors
Lots of flea market shoppers have fun looking for antique windows or doors at Shipshewana Trading Place. A single-pane window can be hung on your wall with a nature scene or inspirational saying painted on it, while a multi-pane window can make a fun collage painting. Think about different flowers painted on a 6-pane window hanging in your bathroom or different animals painted on one for a child’s room.
Old wooden doors can also be used for a variety of upcycling furniture projects. You can use them to make a headboard, garden bench, tabletop, or hanging coat rack. A glass-paned door can also be painted with a pretty scene or design if the glass is intact, or as a display shelf against a wall in your home if the glass is no longer in place.
Creative Uses for Other Wood Items
As you are shopping, you may also see other vintage wood items like ladders, boxes, and old dresser drawers. Ladders can be refinished and decorated to become blanket or towel holders. Boxes and crates that were used to transport produce, soda, cheese, and other household goods can find new purpose in a variety of fun home décor ideas. Large boxes can be used to display books or can be mounted together to create a display or bookshelf.
Smaller boxes can be used to create fun centerpiece displays. For example, you could find a few pretty vintage drinking glasses that fit inside the box and then use them to display artificial greenery or succulents, or even fresh cut flowers.
A creative use for old drawers is for countertop organization. Picture one sitting beside your stove to hold bottles of cooking oil or vinegar, or one in your guest bathroom to store essential items. They can also be painted a fun color and hung on the wall as a display shelf. If you opt for this use of an old drawer, you can also have fun shopping for some small items to place on your new wall shelf.
Creating a Gallery Wall
If a few new pieces to hang on your wall is what you are seeking, old picture frames and mirrors can add a lot of character to a gallery wall or other space in your home. You can paint them however you would like to have them better match your home’s style. Some people buy different types of frames but paint them all the same color for a cohesive and traditional look, while others purchase frames in different shapes and sizes to paint in different colors to create a funky collage.
If you are looking for ideas of what to put in the frames, new photos printed in black and white or sepia finish can give them a vintage feel. You could also shop for old art prints or vintage magazine covers here at the flea market that could be framed in your new finds.
Old frames can also be turned into chalkboards to be used in the kitchen as a to-do list, or in a child’s room with inspirational words or reminders. And, vintage aluminum muffin tins can also become magnetic photo displays when hung on the wall.
Have fun as you think about creating a gallery wall consisting of a variety of finds. Mixing colors, textures, and styles can turn a plain wall in your home into a really interesting conversation piece.
Decorating with Vintage Glassware and Kitchenware
As you are shopping at the flea market or antique auction, you can also keep an eye out for vintage mason jars, antique vases, and old jugs or bottles. All of these items can become flower vases for an artificial bouquet or cut flowers. Old mason jars can also be cleaned up and used for dry storage in your pantry or displayed on an open kitchen shelf with dried herbs in them.
Vintage crocks and bowls are also fun finds that can add a bit of extra character to a display shelf or open kitchen cabinet. And, old platters or cake stands can be turned into unique table centerpieces.
Feeling Inspired? Start Shopping!
As you can see, there are so many options for decorating your home with flea market finds, and you can have so much fun while looking!
At Shipshewana Trading Place, the seasonal outdoor flea market is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday from May through September, plus some special holidays and dates. The weekly antique auction is held year-round on Wednesdays starting at 9:00 a.m.
Shipshewana Trading Place is the Midwest’s largest flea market and is located at 345 S Van Buren Street (SR 5) in Shipshewana, Indiana.
We hope you will come to shop with us soon for a vintage treasure hunt!
Learn more about planning your visit to Shipshewana Flea Market with our FREE Flea Market Trip Planner!
