Decorate For Fall With A Vintage Item You Can Usually Find In The Thrift Stores

With fall comes chilly weather, and with chilly weather comes an unstoppable urge to maximize your home's cozy factor. Some people bring out the fluffiest blanket in their arsenal to wrap themselves in, a cup of hot tea and a new book in hand. Others start the fireplace as soon as possible and put on their comfort film with the flames crackling in the background (bonus points on the cozy scale if it's set in fall). But one of the most popular activities to usher in the cold season is to redecorate with fall colors, which, paradoxically, just so happen to be the warmest reds, oranges, and yellows on the spectrum, instantly washing your interiors with a cocooning glow. 

The thrift store is one of the best places for sourcing seasonal decor, providing an affordable and sustainable way to collect accessories that you only plan on displaying for a few months. One of the vintage fall decor items that is always in demand is copper kitchenalia. The reddish-brown, metallic, and often patinaed appearance of copper is a perfect fit for the season, matching the various hues of fallen leaves, pumpkins, and early sunsets. On the days where the sun is a no-show, copper accessories will bring warmth to your kitchen and beyond.

Thrifting copperware for fall decor purposes is a slightly less complex process than if you were thinking of using it for cooking, but you should still know how to get the best bang for your buck. Most thrift stores will include a few copper pieces in their kitchen section, and, while condition doesn't necessarily matter in this scenario, you still want the pieces to look nice in your kitchen. Plus, there is a kind of vintage kitchen cookware that could be worth serious money that you'll want to look out for. 

Some of the factors to consider when assessing the value of copperware is the thickness (the thicker, the pricier) and the type of lining (tin and stainless steel are common, but rare sterling silver line pans are out there). It's also helpful to look for maker's marks from the likes of the American Brass Company, the British Benham & Froud, and the French Trottier. Thrift store staff may come across a silver-lined copper pan or skillet and mistake it for tin, which could make for a very lucky shopper. Tests involving vinegar, bleach, and silver cleaner can help you tell one from the other after you bring your copperware home.

Classic ways to decorate with copper include a pan or peg rack over the kitchen island or on the wall above the stove, but this once-popular vintage kitchen item that's making a stylish comeback fits just as nicely in other rooms around the home. Use a copper pan as an unexpected fruit bowl with seasonal apples, squash, and pomegranates on your coffee or dining table. Turn a copper pitcher into a vase for fall greenery on your bathroom vanity. Hang copper tart pans and molds in a gallery wall fashion above the fireplace. Copper pairs particularly well with whites, silvers, and blue-greens that match its beloved patina.