One Woman Found Her Holy Grail Kitchen Thrift Find And Gave It A Much-Needed Makeover

If you have a passion for thrifting, you probably have an item you'd consider a holy grail find. It's likely something you've been dreaming of coming across one day, whether it be an authentic Tiffany lamp, a designer purse, a massive painting of The Beatles signed by the band members. Or perhaps a valuable tray trinket you should never pass up if you find it at a thrift store. A holy grail is a secondhand treasure that makes you happy; it's something you might even wrestle from the hands of other customers if needed.

Jamie MacDonald, the crafty Instagramer willowbrookfarmlife, discovered her own holy grail while perusing a thrift store in Texas. It was an old salt cellar, which is not a kitchen essential you can always find at your local thrift store. She's been searching for treasure for five years. MacDonald was excited — especially since her find was priced at only $5.29.

Salt cellars have been used since ancient Roman times. Once a luxurious item, it would be filled with salt and set on the dinner table in affluent households. Although shakers are more common nowadays, a cellar allows you to season your food with just the right amount of salt. What's special about this particular salt cellar is that it's Delftware, a type of highly collectible blue-and-white pottery that originated in the Netherlands. This particular find features a landscape with a windmill and sailboats. But instead of just washing and using it, MacDonald decided it needed a colorful upgrade.

Passionate thrifter Jamie MacDonald started by cleaning the salt cellar. Then, she got out a set of acrylic paint markers. Slowly, she used the markers to trace over the blue illustrations on the outside of the vessel, bringing the details to life. She added yellow stripes to one of the sails and green to the trees. She adorned the windmill in different shades of brown. She updated the bottom rim with a checkerboard pattern. By the time MacDonald was finished, it looked completely different from the original blue-and-white design. She proudly hung it in her kitchen near the window, a place where it could be admired.

After sharing the Delft salt cellar transformation online, many people gave Jamie compliments on how well it turned out and matched her existing kitchen aesthetic. Some commenters, however, disapproved of altering such a potentially valuable and collectible find. "Ah, this kills me as someone always looking for a blue and white and rarely finding it," one follower wrote. Other commenters defended MacDonald's decision, with one viewer writing: "It doesn't matter if you preferred the original, she likes it better this way." It's unclear whether this particular salt cellar is an antique piece or a modern reproduction — and there's a huge price difference between the two. But to her, it didn't matter. She was thrilled with the score and the results of the makeover. The next time you're hunting for a deal at the thrift store, hopefully, you discover your holy grail, too.