Everyone Owned It In The '80s — Now It's The Table Decor We'd Be Thrilled To Find At The Thrift Store

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Smoked glass was all the rage in the 1980s, adding a moody touch to sophisticated rooms filled with leather and chrome. The design was used to make vases in all shapes and sizes — sometimes they were long and thin, like the Kjell Engman vase, and other times they were wide with ruffled mouths, like the Murano Handkerchief vase. They ranged from a deep amber color to a smoky gray and adorned everything from side tables to large open bookshelves. But now that the trend has come and gone, you can find these gorgeous vases donated to the thrift store, just waiting for you to snap them up and bring the retro '80s aesthetic into your own home. And Sarah Stafford Turner, House Digest's resident architecture and design historian, gave us an exclusive scoop on the must-grab.

When treasure hunting for these at the thrift store, there are a few key things to look for. The first is to differentiate between the 1970s and 1980s versions of the vases. "Smoked glass has been around for centuries, but it became popular in the '70s because it fit perfectly into the color aesthetic of the day — lots of earth tones mixed with moody, dramatic hues," Turner shared. Once the '80s rolled around, the glass changed slightly in design. "The main difference between smoked glass in the 1970s and '80s is not the colors but the textures and ways it was used. The 1980s was when maximalism really began to take an upswing following the dominant modern movement," she noted. You can find these dynamic pieces when perusing the glass aisle in the thrift store. After all, this is one of those '80s trends that are begging for a comeback.

For the '80s-era version specifically, look for interesting pressed texture in the glass. Sarah Stafford Turner explained this period embraced the Victorian style, "so, you'll find a lot of smokey glass from the 1980s that's pressed or molded in wonderful textures." Many of these vases won't have a year stamped on the bottom, so you'll need to be familiar with some popular styles in order to be confident you found one from the decade of excess. Search for textured glass like hobnail and honeycomb, and sculpted vases with twisted edges and curves.

In addition to texture, look out for certain brands that were popular in the 1980s. "As always, the dominant makers of fine art glass worldwide, the artisans of Murano, Italy, made a wide range of fabulous smoked glass in the '80s," Turner exclusively told House Digest. "To identify these pieces, you'll have to search for the labels of individual firms, like Venini (acquired by Gardini and Ferruzzi in the 1980s) — which often simply say 'Made in Italy.'" Murano is the vintage glass that could set off a new aesthetic trend, so it's worth hunting for specifically. She also recommended looking for FTDA (the Florists' Transworld Delivery Association), Libbey, and Anchor Hocking. 

Turner also noted that there are just as many unmarked pieces as marked, so if you found smoked glass and aren't sure which era it's from, take a photo and see if you can reverse image search it on Google or, better yet, eBay. You might be able to find more information about it that way, and accurately brag about the glass as it catches guests' eyes.