Feelin’ Thrifty: What Would Jesus Do?

We know a lot of our fellow Richmonders are always trolling for sweet thrift store finds, so we thought we’d dedicate a few posts to profiling our go-to spots for gently (or not so gently) used home furnishings and accessories here in the river city. Richmond has its fair share of Goodwill and Salvation Army stores but personally we’ve only actually purchased furniture or home accessories from other independent thrift stores in the area. So we’re here to share the goods. And bear with us all you non-locals, there are a few ideas that you can apply to your area. And hopefully this thrift store tour will inspire you to ask your friends about their favorite thrifting places- or even dedicate a weekend to hitting up a bunch of thrift stores that you find on google to suss out your very own favorite haunts. Happy hunting…

We’ve gotta dedicate this first thrift store profile to our absolute favorite: . Can I get a “hallelujah”?

The Love of Jesus has , but so far we’ve only visited the one on the Southside. It’s got a smorgasbord of everything – clothes, accessories, electronics, toys, sporting goods and (our personal fav) furniture and home accessories. My sister introduced us to Love of Jesus a few months ago after she snagged a chair for her new house (it’s the second chair in this post) and we’ve been hooked ever since. We even brought our camera on a recent trip so we could show you some of the cool pieces you’re likely to discover there. But of course it bears mentioning that not everything is a treasure. Sometimes one man’s trash is another man’s trash too. So be prepared to dig around a little. Consider it a home decor scavenger hunt of sorts.

As you can see, they’ve got an abundance of upholstered furniture, but we think they excel most in the wooden furniture department. Check out this beauty of a coffee table. It’s extremely solid and extra long, so it could be the perfect anchor in a spacious living room – especially if you’ve got an oversized couch. And of course it could always be primed and painted (glossy black? crisp white? emerald green? soft greige?) to work better with any existing decor.

You’ll have to forgive us for not writing down more prices as we went, but rest assured that everything’s very reasonable (they are “thrift”, not “antique” prices). Like this sweet console table with a woven brass shelf for a touch of old school style going for $15. Oh and if you do happen to fall for something that seems a bit pricey, we’ve had extremely good luck haggling for a better deal here (as in, they’ve never said no). If you’re like Sherry, you’ll haggle even if something’s already a steal. She once got a $7 bench down to $5… that’s my girl. Oh and remember that price isn’t the only issue, figuring out where something will go in your home is another good idea before you get to the checkout to purchase yet another chair that you have no place for.

They also carried a few retro finds in the lighting section with these poppy lamp bases that were just begging for a home (and a crisp new shade). It’s important to get thrift store lights checked out by a local electrician or lighting specialist to ensure that they’re safe so the whole house doesn’t go up in flames. But at $10 a pop, these schoolbus yellow and midnight blue lamp bases both leave room in the budget for some new wiring if it comes to that. Which one would you go for, the punchy yellow or the moody blue?

But if you’re looking for something less curvacious and more architectural, this massive, geometric glass chandelier would certainly do the trick.

And while we typically only swing through the home decor and accessory section, we’ll admit that we occasionally find other little treasures that catch our eye. Like this riveting novella based on the hit ’90s series Saved By The Bell. Fifty cent copies are clearly selling like hot cakes, so hurry in.

Sadly, we didn’t splurge on a copy of “Kelly’s Hero” this time. In fact, we didn’t take anything home on this particular pilgrimage. But not to worry, we can always rely on The Love of Jesus’ #1 fan (my sister) to show us how a piece of recently thrifted furniture can look right at home in her modern loft-like casa. Here’s a buffet she recently snagged for a mere $75 (with delivery included, no less) that perfectly divides her living and dining areas. Jealous? We are. We’ve seen other vintage modern pieces just like it for hundreds more. Go sis.

So that’s our quick profile of The Love of Jesus Thrift Store, one of favorite thrifting hot spots here in Richmond. Stay tuned for more thrift store profiles in the coming weeks. And we’d love to hear what you guys think about LOJ Thrift. Have any of you guys been? Found anything especially wonderful? Do tell.