Flea Market Junk For Your Coffee Table Decor

I love shopping flea markets and I usually go for the junk!  For some reason, rusted and old pieces of unique items inspire me in decorating.  Maybe it’s the unexpected that I find to be so intriguing!   I do know that I  get such a warm and fuzzy feeling from seeing an old seemingly useless piece of junk used in a new decorative way.

I spotted this metal basket which my husband informed me was an industrial parts washer basket.  It was covered in more rust than what is shown when I bought it but I thought it had such possibilities!

I cleaned it up and use it to hold books on my distressed trunk coffee table for now.  I also thought about filling it with some pillar candles or some sort of florals for a nice contrast.  Since I haven’t ever seen a basket quite like this for sale in a regular home decor shop, I am quite happy with my junk basket purchase.  The metal finish works great with the metal pieces on my trunk table as well!

Here is a bigger picture:

Another item that I picked up recently was an antique muffin tin.  This was also a little bit rusted and I liked the overall design.  At first I thought about simply hanging it on the wall in the kitchen but then I had another idea.  I thought it would be great for holding tea lights and a little bit of sparkle for some contrast:

I used clear faux rocks to surround the cream tea lights for a fun shabby chic style.  When the candles are lit, the old muffin tin looks especially elegant in it’s new role!

Have you re-purposed any unique flea market finds into some decorative home decor?  I would love to have you share your ideas here!

Happy Decorating!

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Tip Junkie