Decorating Your Halloween Table on a Budget!

I’m obsessed with Halloween. I legitimately cannot get enough.

And I’m especially obsessed with decorating my dining room table for the holidays! (Did you know I decorate for others too?) While generally I show how I decorate my home with Goodwill finds, I couldn’t help but share some bargain hunting I did at Target to get the items you see here today. It may not be secondhand, but it’s all $5 or below and I just wanted to show off the goods ;-)

There are some thrifted items on the table - the white dinner plates for example, the small Halloween bowls, the candleabra (one of my favorite finds ever!) and a few of the black skulls. But for the most part everything else is clearance at Target or in their Dollar Bins. The runner was also on clearance this past summer for $2.38 and I found the black lace at Goodwill which I cut up and put as sections over the runner - perfect!

Whenever I see seasonal items on sale, like the black chargers, I make sure to pick them up if I can use them for a different season’s decor. I knew the black would be perfect for Halloween - and they were Hearth and Hand marked down to only $.88 a piece! The same was true for the small dinner plates and the napkins, they were all seasonal clearance at one point and I started accumulating the items with a vision for Halloween. So while it may not be thrifted it’s still repurposed so that counts ;-)

Each of the pumpkins were in the dollar bin area and I scattered them throughout on the runner. Less can be more and while I kept things in a similar color scheme here it only took me a minute of playing around with the table to come up with this creation.

A few simple finds and voila, I have a fun black/white themed Halloween table! Perfect for a ghoulish and spooktacular meal!

Part of my services through Second Look are also home decorating - check it out, no matter your needs! Seasonal, just because, moving, nurseries…I’ll help find you the best of the best items at a price point you’re comfortable with and come in and decorate your space! Can’t wait!

Happy Haunting!

Sarah

Making White Shoes White Again!

One of the things people forget about sustainable fashion is that it’s not just about buying used but it’s also about finding ways to “clean up” items that you may think about getting rid of due to excessive wear, damage, etc.

I had a pair of Converse that had seen better days and were no longer white again. But with a few tricks we were able to get these babies looking brand spanking new again. Based on the response on social when I shared this, I figured I’d put the tips here as well to help!

Here was the finished product:

Steps:

1. Remove the shoe laces, and clean off any surface dirt and grime from the shoes with a scrub brush.

2. For safe whitening and stain removal on most light colored clothing/bedding, my go-to is always oxi-clean white revive powder. Prepare a cleaning solution in a bucket, made up of a high concentration of oxi-clean and hot water, (think a full scoop in a small half-filled bucket of water).

3. Throw the laces in the solution, and then use the scrub brush to gently scrub cleaning solution into the canvas material of the cons, including the tongue. Save the rest of the solution.

4. Wait a couple hours, then throw the shoes into the bucket of solution and add more hot water until it completely covers the shoes. Wait another couple hours with it soaking in.

5. Remove the laces, and rinse those out by hand. Remove the shoes, and place them in a washer load with light colored and non-delicate items such as towels. Depending on how worried you are about any odors transferring, you can even skip this step and hand scrub and rinse the cleaning solution out of the shoes. Expect to put it through 2+ rinses.

6. Let shoes air dry, thread up the laces. If spots remain on the canvas, repeat the process with a stain stick spot treatment, and then the oxiclean again.

Amazing how they look brand new! Here are the two products recommended above for this process:

Typical gentle Scrub Brush | Oxi-Clean Used

And that’s it! If you use the process be sure to send your before and after pics - would love to see how it comes out! Clean rather than throwing out, buy used rather than new!

Mimicking Magazine Products with Secondhand

Some time ago I was flipping through a magazine and kept seeing images of items that were beautiful and desirable - for your home, your closet, etc. What I noticed about most of them is that the price tags were NOT desirable - and that I had seen similar in thrift store hunting, or even in my own shop!

So I got to thinking - why not show that, no matter what your wallet situation may look like (and if it’s like mine it’s empty 99% of the time haha!), you CAN have your dream closet/home/event straight out of a magazine without breaking the bank? AND it would be sustainable, AND it would be unique to you? That to me isn’t only a thrift win - it’s a no brainer!

I’ll be showing different magazine flips throughout the upcoming articles but let’s start with some home decor. If you’re like me, you like decorative pillows for your bed, couch displays, filling corners and more. But those pillows can run for a pretty penny - so why not find something secondhand, give it a solid wash, and display it proudly?

Here’s a few examples of pillows I found at thrift stores that I used for corner styling. Sometimes in those small empty spaces it’s helpful to place a pillow as decor to quickly add some style without having ot spend a lot on new furniture. Each of those pillows cost me no more than $2 a piece, and the one on the right is from Pottery Barn! The two pillows with the candle is right on the landing of my bedroom - and it adds a cozy feel to the entrance. The right pillow I placed on a stool I scored for 99 cents and next to a lantern also from Goodwill. Just enough to polish off the corner of my dining room and not be obstructive (and the whole thing cost me less than $8!)

As far as the magazine goes, here is the image I came across - each of the pillows in the picture are all over $15 a piece (one of them is $40!)

Looking at those pillows, I realized I had very close replicas already in my home from previous thrift trips - it truly is amazing what you can find (or I can find for you) at your local secondhand!

Crazy, right?! Again they’re not exact - but the point is to show you can find similar items of decent quality to magazine featured styles without the magazine price point. Which is your favorite? (Fun story - I actually went to the store three times and kept passing on the pin tucked tassle, bottom right. It was only $1 and I kept passing it by - until I finally grabbed it!)

Think of those items you’re desiring for your space, from the stores that you wish you could style from - and then great creative with a secondhand mindset. No matter your price point, even if you can afford the likes of an Ethan Allen or West Elm, you can still find beautiful pieces and no one - read that again - NO ONE - will know where you bought them….unless you’re like me and you get pride of out saying “thanks it’s from Goodwill!” ;-)

Looking to restyle your space? Need help finding holiday decor, certain pieces, or just someone to come in and assess your space and give you some style ideas? Let’s work together - shoot a message to Second Look at secondlookroc@gmali.com or check out the Services tab and let’s get styling!

Have a look for your home from thrift store finds? Shoot me a message, I’d love to feature you on my channels!

Happy Homing!

Sarah