8 Things You Should Always Buy Secondhand If You Love English Country Style

English country style is welcoming and cozy, and it comes together best with a mix of old and new. Here’s my list of things you should always buy secondhand if you love the English Country aesthetic.

English country style is layered, welcoming, thoughtful, collected, and always full of personality. One thing it isn’t is brand new. You’ll never find a home that follows English country design principles that isn’t full of secondhand treasures, inherited pieces, and special antique finds to bring character and charm to its spaces. Some may call this look “rich” and “expensive” because of all the beautiful pieces that make up this style, from gorgeous patterned fabrics like stripes, gingham, and chintz, to rich wood furnishings, and beautiful pieces of wall art, but the truth is that this style doesn’t have to cost a lot to pull together. The best, most interesting English Country Style pieces are usually found secondhand in thrift shops, consignment stores, and antique markets, and are therefore really not as costly as they might look. This style is beautiful, cost-effective, sustainable, and best of all, truly timeless. If you love a traditional English country look as much as I do, here are the pieces to look for when you’re out at your favorite local antique dealers and flea markets.

More home decor inspiration for your home: 7 Things Every Traditional Room Needs to Feel Complete

Wood Furniture

The beauty, durability, and timeless style of antique wood furniture just cannot be matched by anything new. Wood furniture will never go out of style, and you can trust that it will last for years and years to come, because it already has. 🙂 Wood furniture is really a keystone of all traditional styles, and despite its beauty, functionality, and enduring appeal, stunning pieces that will last you a lifetime can be found relatively easily and inexpensively.

Decorative ideas for your next room makeover: Styling Tricks Spotted at Antique Markets to Steal for Your Home

Brass Decor

The patina and depth that you find on aged brass pieces, from bookends to candlesticks to paperweights, cannot be replicated in new finds. There’s something about the weight and authenticity of a real antique brass piece that just brings so much soul to a home. These pieces are popular and becoming harder to find, but once you find them, you’ll never want to let them go.

Picture Frames

I always use vintage brass picture frames with black and white family photos around our house. To me, displaying photos like this just feels like home, and it brings a sense of comfort and permanence that cheap newer frames just can’t reproduce. My favorite brass frames can be found at thrift stores quite easily for about $2 each, and they look absolutely beautiful when they’re all grouped together. You’ll often see desks and dressers littered with family photos in English country homes, and this is a decorating idea that can be easily duplicated and should be used more often. Everyone should have a few photos of family and friends to keep them company around the house.

DIY decorating ideas that won’t break the bank: Top 10 Thrift Store Home Decor Finds You Should Never Pass Up

Baskets

Baskets come in many different materials like rattan, seagrass, and water hyacinth, but the best ones for achieving an English country look are traditional willow wicker baskets. These are very sturdy baskets and have a charming, vintage appeal, whether you buy them new or thrifted. New wicker baskets can be quite costly, and for that reason, I build most of my basket collection by visiting antiques shops and secondhand stores. Not only are these baskets available very inexpensively, but they often have extra character built in, with an aged, worn-in look, and interesting shapes and sizes that you won’t find in your everyday big box store.

Dishes and Decorative Ceramics

Pottery, china, and ceramics like vintage plates, patterned vases, rustic vessels, and painted bowls are meant to bring a personal, whimsical charm to your space, and the best ones are collected one by one on secondhand shopping adventures. Instead of aiming to outfit your home with the right ceramics all at once, aim to pick them up slowly over time, as you come across special finds that really speak to you. Create a beautiful display by grouping a collection of similar plates and bowls together, or use your favorite single pieces in different ways around your home. You can always find somewhere to use one more pretty plate.

Lamps and Lampshades

I think new, modern lamps have a place in every home, and lamp lighting is a wonderful addition to any room, whether it’s new or old. I also, however, think that every traditional home that follows an English country or a cottage-core decorating style should have at least one thrifted lamp to add an unexpected element to the story of a room. Don’t overlook the lampshade section of the thrift store, either. Beautiful lampshades can be expensive, but you can often find an older shade in a very similar style to the ones selling for hundreds of dollars right now for just a few dollars at the thrift shop. These shades can be painted or recovered with fabric to get exactly the look you’re going for.

Read next: How to Successfully Paint a Lampshade

Books

Every self-respecting English country home has at least a modest library to turn to on rainy days and quiet evenings. The books on your bookshelves should come from a variety of sources, and a collection of old and new books covering a broad range of topics that interest you always makes for the best home library. I don’t think all your books need to be purchased pre-owned, but some definitely should be. Not only does buying used books allow you to come across titles that you won’t see on the current bestsellers list, but they’re also much less expensive than new volumes, allowing you to fill your shelves with as many as you would like. Look for classic literature titles, coffee-table books, and vintage books about gardening and decorating the next time you’re out thrifting.

Decorative Objects

Pictured Above: Chandelier | Lamp | Similar Bottle Vase | Affordable Horse Print

One of the reasons we’re all so drawn to the rooms of a cozy English cottage is that they always feel so unique, personally curated, and lived-in. These are personal spaces meant to reflect the people who live there, so why would you want to add things to your home that are the same as what everyone else has? Anyone can run to their local home decor big box store and find pieces that look “correct” for current trends and are nearly identical to what everyone else has in their homes. It takes a special eye and a special kind of magic to search for just the right piece and to know it when you see it. These are the pieces that really make our homes interesting and worth settling into to enjoy.

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