Give Thrifted Decor A Luxe, Velvety Finish With One Unexpected Pantry Staple

It's one thing to love thrifting, and it's quite another to actually get affordable items with a luxe character. The good thing is there's an unexpected pantry staple that can help you achieve that opulent look for the thrifted decor you just bought. It'll give the ordinary-looking piece a beautiful matte, velvety finish. Yes, we're talking about baking soda. Grab that tub from your kitchen pantry, then get some acrylic paint, two soft paint brushes, and your thrifted piece (say, a picture frame), and you're ready for this simple DIY hack.

The craft of using baking soda with paint to add texture or create visual interest to ordinary home decor is not entirely new. There are other similar DIY decor hacks that use this ingredient, such as the baking soda painting technique to create a textured-matte look. The only difference in this case is that the powder creates visual texture instead of literal texture. Basically, you'll paint the frame and sprinkle it with baking soda, then dust it off with a brush to give a faux but opulent velvet look. It's that simple.

Once you've gathered the necessary materials, wipe away dust or wash any grime on your picture frame (or whichever thrifted decor piece you're working on). Leave it to dry. Then spread old newspaper over your work area to catch all the stray paint or baking soda dust. Next, paint your picture frame. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the painted surface with a generous amount of baking soda. After about 10 minutes of drying, use a clean soft-bristle paintbrush and dust away the excess baking soda to reveal a matte, velvety finish. Leave it to dry completely, and it's done. It's literally one of those simple DIY thrift flips you can start and finish in one weekend.

You can give a wide range of home decor pieces this plush and sophisticated look, from mason jars and glass pitchers or vases, to holiday decor baubles and figurines. One thing to keep in mind is that using a darker paint color often makes the velvety finish much more obvious than lighter colors. Feel free to experiment with different designs so you can vary your decor pieces. For example, you can use painters tape or masking tape to make swirl curves on your decor piece. This will probably work best on curved items like a vase or baubles. After that apply acrylic paint over the vase and follow it up with the baking soda then peel out the tape once the paint has dried. Now you have mastered one more creative way to style common thrift items for unique decor at home.