Cheap home decor hack that looks like a million dollars

There’s a reason I’m always advocating that people check every section of their local thrift store. Try this cheap home decor hack that will elevate your home decor so it looks like a million dollars.

Most of us go to the local big box stores to find throw pillows for our sofas and beds, and there’s a reason for that. They have the cutest on-trend pillows that fit inside our ever-shrinking budgets.

For years I’ve been using this quick trick to make my inexpensive throw pillows feel like they came from a high-end store.

Before I share this little trick with you if you haven’t yet checked out my YouTube video on creating your own applique pillows without sewing click this link!

Expensive Home Decor Cheap Hack!

Part of my job is shopping at the thrift store for cheap home decor to resell. I’m not going to lie it’s kind of a dream job for me. My whole life I’ve loved browsing the stacks of glassware and other castoffs looking for treasures. That’s how I look at it, as a treasure hunt.

I’m an advocate of not missing any part of the thrift store because you never know what you’re going to find. For years I’ve done something that I did realize other people didn’t do. I check the throw pillow section.

No, I’m usually not looking for new pillows for my sofa. Most of the pillows I find are dated and not in a good way. My pillow browsing only takes a few seconds.

I’m not even looking at the covers on the pillow, which are usually dirty with a capital D. I’m looking for feather pillow inserts.

I started doing this when I became a vintage reseller because I would find adorable little mid-century, or hand embroidered pillows with batting wadded up in the corners of them. If I was going to sell them they would need new inserts.  Pillow inserts, even the inexpensive ones, can cost a small fortune. Instead of paying $10 or more for inserts, which would eat all my profit margin, I buy pillows at the thrift store for a couple of bucks each.  Pillows that have nice, high-dollar feather inserts in them.

When I realized that doing this meant people were willing to pay more for the pillow, I became hooked on squeezing every throw pillow in the thrift store.  At this point, I’ve amassed quite a collection of inserts to replace the cheap pillows.  Everything from rectangle, to round and sizes from 8″x8″ to 20″x20″ so I can accommodate any pillow cover I might find.

Of course, I started replacing all the pillows in my own home with feather inserts. It makes my pillow feel luxurious when I lean back on them.

As long as no one in your family is allergic to feathers you can use this trick to elevate your throw pillows too. You might not find the correct size for your inserts on your first trip to the thrift store but if you’re patient you will find them.  

Finding them only takes a quick squeeze for each pillow. If you find pillows that are obviously from the same sofa you can just squeeze one because they will all be the same.  I’ve found some surprisingly nice inserts in some of the ugliest pillows but when I’m only paying 2.99 for an insert that would cost me $20 I’m not going to complain about having to dispose of ugly pillow covers.

For me finding these inserts is about more profit on my resale home decor but this tip can help when you want to look boujee on a budget!

Before you go do me a favor and share this post on your social media for me. It helps me out a lot and I’m always grateful!

Love you!