Garage and estate sales, second-hand and thrift stores are great places to find cheap pieces of furniture and accent pieces.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my Target; I wouldn’t be a Minnesotan if I didn’t, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it.  I’m here to show some of my favorite used finds. 

This bench  floats my boat with its dark wood and small size.  This is actually the first piece of furniture Ben and I bought together while browsing a local used furniture shop.  It wasn’t necessarily a fantastic deal, but it was love at first sight, so $60.00 didn’t seem too bad. 

Recently, I started collecting globes.  I love the way they make a room feel.  I found this big guy at a local thrift store for $10.00. 

When I lived in Minnesota, I worked as a real estate agent in Minneapolis selling condominiums.  A couple that lived at my building put three of these Duncan Phyfe chairs by the road for FREE!  I snatched them up right away and we have used them for many larger gatherings.

My aunt has a cast iron match holder similar to this one that I have loved for quite some time.  When I stumbled across this guy at shop in town, I didn’t hesitate buying it.  It’s adorable and useful in its home on our wood chute, right by the fireplace. 

Last summer, my great-aunt gave us some of her old serving dishes, including this footed bowl.  It looks so cute holding our fruit on our kitchen countertops.

I think this mirror is by far the best garage sale deal we’ve ever gotten.  It was kelly green, but we spray painted it black and now it looks almost identical to this mirror that retails for $599.00!

I also bought a slew of large, medium and small glasses from a Minnesota thrift store to use as vases for our June 2006 outdoor wedding.  We had three different vases per table, each with a different type of flower.  It was much more affordable to create three smaller arrangements, rather than one large arrangement.  I’m not very good at arranging several types of flowers in one arrangement, so this was our solution. 

I’ve shared my favorite cheap finds, what are yours?  Any places you swear by if looking for a particular item, say lamps?  Do any have a special meaning or make you think of a certain someone?