What they are also very good at in Denmark, and what was not mentioned at all in my previous blog, are thrift stores. Locally better known as, among other things, 'Loppemarked' and 'Genbrugsbutik'. The latter is a real store, and the former can be anything. Sometimes a small shop, sometimes in someone's garage or a shed on the property where you can browse around.
I myself love these kinds of places! Not only to hunt for treasures, I also sometimes find it almost like a museum. Where you get a glimpse into someone's life.
Since it's almost Easter and I have quite a few thrift store treasures, I thought it would be nice to list five ideas for an Easter table full of thrift store happiness.
Tablecloths and other textiles
How nice it is to literally dress up your Easter table beautifully with a nice tablecloth. At the thrift store, you can often find many, but there's also a good chance they have stains that won't come out. The solution? How about nice white crocheted doilies? Perfect for concealing stains and small holes. That makes me very happy. Of course, you can complete it with beautiful fabric napkins, with a lace edge. And if you can't find a tablecloth, a beautiful piece of vintage fabric also works perfectly as a cloth.
Fine crockery
I would love to have our china cabinet filled with various floral plates, supplemented with all sorts of white plates and colored glass pieces that are all slightly different. My husband isn't a fan, but for Easter (and, okay, Christmas too), he turns a blind eye, and I get to set the table with my mishmash of plates and bowls. And for Easter, that's naturally supplemented with egg cups :)
Flower vases
For years, I've had a weakness for small colored glass vases. They look beautiful on their own with a bent hyacinth from the garden or a single rose left over from a faded bouquet. But if you place about six of these vases next to each other on the table, filled with fresh, exuberantly colored flowers, you can turn those small vases into a florist-worthy floral arrangement with a wow factor. Ideal for Easter, because then you can just leave them scattered across the table between the eggs and matzos.
Decoration
Above our dining table hangs a lamp with a black frame where you can hang lovely Easter branches. And you can then decorate that Easter branch nicely. This can be done with a ready-made set of wooden eggs from Hema, but it can also be done with a collection of second-hand, gifted, and bought eggs, bunnies, and birds, made of wood, fabric, and glass. That, in my opinion, makes it wonderfully playful and unique. The Easter branch is not the only Easter decoration; chickens and other spring items are everywhere in the house.
DIY tiered stand from glass plates
One place I rarely skip in the thrift store is the cabinet with glassware. Often, especially here in the Netherlands, you'll find run-of-the-mill glasses there. But sometimes there's a gem among them, with a colored glass base or a beautifully decorated rim. Combine that with two beautifully cut glass plates and a little glass glue, and you have a stunning, unique tiered stand to display your homemade scones.
With a few more days to go until Easter, you can still go on a treasure hunt to the thrift store. Happy hunting and Happy Easter!