Tacky Thrifted Christmas Houses: Upcycled Pottery Barn Style

Who knew $2 thrift store finds could become Pottery Barn-inspired masterpieces? I recently stumbled upon a treasure trove of tacky Christmas houses and saw an opportunity to create something truly special. From drab to fab, I’ll show you how to transform these humble finds into elegant, modern Christmas house decor ideas. You’ll be amazed as I reveal how easy it is to upcycle these thrifted treasures.

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Thrift Christmas Houses Village

When I first saw the Christmas houses village, I passed right by. I went home without buying a thing. Then I was scrolling Pottery Barn and saw these cute houses, and an idea was sparked. I could upcycle these tacky Christmas houses into a modern Pottery Barn style. I was waiting for the shop to open the following day and grabbed several of the little tea light houses. And here’s how I made the transformation.

1. Spray Paint The Houses

The first step is to spray paint the houses a solid color. I used a Chalky Cashew spray paint that I had on hand. You could use white or creme. They already look so much better.

2. Add Glue

To enhance the houses, begin with some Elmer’s glue and paint the areas you want to add glitter. I used a small paint brush and painted all the roofs, snowy areas, trees, etc. I then used a Q-tip to add a heavy application of glue around the windows and doors.

3. Add Glitter

Once the areas are covered with glue, sprinkle with glitter. I used crystal glitter for the roofs, windows, etc. Shake off any excess glitter onto wax paper. You can then pour the excess back into the jar.

Allow the glue to dry before moving them so that the glitter adheres.

Some houses include wreaths, Christmas trees, and other enhancements that I wanted to emphasize. So, I let the glue with the crystal glitter dry and then added more glue to those areas. Then, I used some gold glitter to enhance the wreaths and trees. You can see the gold glitter in the images below.

Optional Old Book Page Christmas House Decor Ideas

I decided to add an old book page roof to one of the houses. You can see what the Pottery Barn house looked like below. So, I made the roof with the same technique used on my Old Book Page Christmas Ornaments.

I cut several finger-shaped pieces from the old book pages to make the roof shingles. Then, I used hot glue to attach them to the roof. Trim any areas to work around the curved edges. Once the roof was covered, I added glue over the top and sprinkled with glitter.

One of the houses wasn’t a house but a bakery. Since I only wanted houses, I covered the bakery sign with a piece of the old book page that said One Hundred. I cut it out to fit over the bakery sign and used hot glue to attach it. Then used the above techniques to add glitter.

Upcycled Christmas Houses Village With Tea Lights

I love the look of the upcycled Christmas houses grouped like a village. I added battery-operated tea light candles to each home and grouped them with my architectural salvage Christmas trees.

They look adorable on a shelf with winter prints and the birch bark angel candle holder.

There are many options for upcycling old tea light houses. You could add the old book page roofs to all the houses or paint them a different color. I used Pottery Barn as my inspiration and I even thought about making them look like gingerbread houses. I have a couple left over that may get that update before Christmas is over.

Add Christmas Houses To Dining Table

Another Christmas house decor idea is to add them to a dining table. You can use them on the individual dinner plates, and they would make a great take-home gift for your guests.

Or fill the center of the table with the Christmas houses village to create a sparkly centerpiece. You can even add glass cloches to enhance the centerpiece more.

Adding a glass cloche will instantly elevate your tiny Christmas houses into elegant holiday decor.

Resources

• Crystal Glitter
• Gold Glitter
• Elmer’s Glue
• Battery Operated Tea Lights
• See more of my favorite craft supplies here.

Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to sharing my next adventure with you.