Decorating Styles & Decor Secondhand Decorating 21 Unique Ways to Turn Flea Market Finds into Vintage-Style Wall Art By Jessica Bennett Jessica Bennett Instagram Jessica Bennett is an editor, writer, and former digital assistant home editor at BHG. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on August 23, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Many flea market finds can easily be repurposed as one-of-a-kind wall art. Next time you're browsing, look for pieces with good-looking profiles, punchy color palettes, or memorable motifs that are worthy of display in your home. Then, try one of these clever ideas to create vintage-style wall art using your flea market treasures. 01 of 21 Flea Market Art Gallery Wall Richard Leo Johnson When shopping for art at flea markets and antique stores, look for designs that repeat a similar theme. Mismatched frames and diverse color schemes can still create an attractive arrangement if the pieces are all connected with a unifying motif, like botanicals or birds. Here, an array of silhouette portraits is made even more interesting thanks to the varying sizes, shapes, and styles of their frames. 02 of 21 Vintage Basket Wall Paul Costello Gather an assortment of woven baskets and mount them for boho-style wall decor. Flea markets and thrift stores are great for finding baskets with interesting patterns or colors on the inside. To hang the baskets with the bottom side to the wall, hammer a thin nail through an opening in the weave. 03 of 21 Personalized Vintage Artwork Adam Albright Put your own twist on a piece of vintage artwork with a little embroidery work. After removing flea market art from its frame, stitch your desired pattern onto the piece using embroidery floss (this works best if your chosen piece is painted onto something pliable, like canvas). Add a pattern of geometric shapes across the image, or highlight certain areas with an accent color, paint-by-numbers style. 04 of 21 Flea Market Stairway Decor Edmund Barr Liven up a blank staircase wall with a gallery composition of flea market art. Collect items in various sizes and orientations that fit around a particular theme, like these that boast a rustic cabin look. Salvaged wooden signs, metal letters, and antique wall decor can all add texture and interest to an otherwise empty space. 05 of 21 Color-Blocked Flea Market Art Adam Albright Give framed flea market art a quick, colorful update with paint. Create a playful color-blocked design by painting only a section or two of the frame and piece. To avoid damaging the actual painting, use painters tape to divide the sections, then remove it carefully once the paint is dry. 06 of 21 Antique Mirror Display Edmund Barr When displayed en masse, antique framed mirrors in various sizes and shapes can become a dazzling ensemble. To create a beautifully grouping like this, trace your mirrors or frames onto sheets of paper first to create a template. Cut out the shapes and tape them to the wall, rearranging them until you create a design you like. From there, you can hang the real deal worry-free! 07 of 21 Vintage Sports Decor Kevin Miyazaki Varsity letters and athletic patches create sporty flea market wall decor. Arrange a variety of sizes and shapes to create a more dynamic display. Look for letters, emblems, and other memorabilia in family attics and at flea market vendors specializing in vintage sports or academic gear. 08 of 21 Antique Letter Signs Anthony Masterson Slotted signs let you personalize walls with a customizable message in a quirky and vintage way. In this entryway, alphabet tiles on a Sunday school sign spell out a warm welcome. The letters can also be switched to call out a holiday greeting or compose a phrase marking a special occasion. 09 of 21 Farmhouse-Style Flea Market Art John Bessler Move a farmstand sign from roadside to your mantel for a charming accent in a farmhouse-style living room. This sign's black and white message underscores the room's country appeal and ties into the neutral color scheme. Sculptural branches and vessels displaying mossy filler bring a natural touch to the mantel decor. 10 of 21 Camping Memorabilia Kevin Miyazaki Search flea markets and vintage shops for summer camp references to bring a whimsical, outdoorsy feel to a bedroom or living space. Here, vintage graphics, forest imagery, and adventure-related gear form a camping-themed gallery wall. To create a cohesive look with dissimilar objects, group forms by function, assemble items by theme, or combine pieces from the same place into one arrangement. 11 of 21 Target Wall Art Reed Davis Purposely designed to stand out, shooting targets boast powerful patterns that are worthy of framing. Here, a simple black frame and a light-color matte board turn this paper target into a focal point on a bedroom wall. Simple furnishings and muted colors keep the focus on the wall art. 12 of 21 Antique Headboard Wall Decor Jay Wilde Headboards salvaged from cribs, daybeds, and kid-size beds can be repurposed as large-scale art. When mounted on the wall, a headboard's shapely outlines, vintage details, and faded finish can generate plenty of visual interest. Look for options with chipped paint or a distressed finish to play into the antique look. 13 of 21 Industrial-Style Wall Decor Richard Leo Johnson Reclaimed machine parts—like the large gear hung prominently on this wood-clad wall—beautifully complement decorating styles from contemporary to rustic. Showcase larger pieces by themselves so their hardworking forms can be appreciated. For smaller industrial parts, group them together to produce a salvaged "gallery wall" display. 14 of 21 Antique Clock Display Kim Cornelison When you're shopping a flea market or tag sale, take the time to rummage through every box of miscellaneous stuff. You might discover inspiration for flea market art, like this trio of mismatched metal clock faces. An ornately carved frame and pretty ribbons amplify the grouping's importance and convert the diverse objects into an eye-catching composition. 15 of 21 Flea Market Paintings Laurie Black Sort through piles of flea market and thrift store paintings to find inexpensive canvasses that speak to your personal aesthetic. The pieces of artworks seen here satisfy a homeowner's love of the great outdoors and garden-fresh hues and forms. United by green and golden yellow brushstrokes, two still lifes and a landscape become an enchanting exhibit that adds cheer to a simple workstation. 16 of 21 Framed Flea Market Art Anthony Masterson Vintage frames with gilded, distressed, or painted finishes look lovely when displayed by themselves, but you can also use them to highlight a smaller painting or photograph to create a multilayered composition. This vignette works well because the frame and artwork share green and brown tones. The frame's rough patina and the painting's softer brushstrokes create an interesting juxtaposition of textures. 17 of 21 Sentimental Flea Market Display Quentin Bacon Showcase found objects that evoke memories of family vacations and favorite places. This graphic resort sign directs the imagination lakeside but stays in step with the room's contemporary furnishings thanks to a shared color palette. A sleek black frame also helps elevate the salvaged sign to art status. 18 of 21 Bathroom Flea Market Art John Bessler Gather multiples of one type of small object to create an interesting wall display. Vintage faucets mounted on a board, for example, can function as industrial-style bathroom artwork. Borrow this concept using antique doorknobs, ornate hinges, brass doorbells, skeleton keys, or other small relics to create statement-making art pieces. 19 of 21 Vintage Chart Display Michael Partenio Academic charts, mathematical diagrams, and world maps evoke different periods, places, and learning experiences. In this country French kitchen, a Flemish fractions chart partners with farm animal prints to underscore the room's Euro-farmhouse roots and further the collected style. Choose items in a similar color palette or re-frame them in a cohesive style to achieve a united look. 20 of 21 Vintage Portrait Art Ed Gohlich Modern technology allows treasure hunters to customize vintage acquisitions to suit their needs. This photographic portrait, which was found wrinkled and rolled up at a German sale, originally measured a mere 12x8 inches. After buying it for $12, the homeowner had it enlarged at a graphics production company to amplify its impact. 21 of 21 Vintage Poster Art Ed Gohlich Illustrated charts and posters harvested from classrooms and laboratories can serve as bold wall art. This oversize chart depicts the inner workings of a bivalve in colorful and graphic detail. Ragged edges and yellowing paper enhance the scientific rendering's timeworn appeal. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit