Interview with Tina Smith

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Home Decor Interview:

Tina Smith

If you ever donate that old lamp to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army, don't be surprised if you see it in Tina Smith's house one day. And when you do see it, it will look brand new.

Tina Smith is someone who prides herself on finding hidden treasures at antique shops and yard sales, and then turning them into beautiful pieces of home decor. How does she do it?

For starters, check out her handy blog, Cherry Hill Cottage. Tina started her blog to, in her words, "Share my ideas with others that have a love for decorating, collecting, antiquing, cooking, and flower gardening."

And that's exactly what you'll get at Cherry Hill Cottage. We thought Tina's scavenger skills might help some of you, so we asked her to sit down with us and answer a few questions. Enjoy!

1. Tina, thank you for sharing your time with us today for this interview. Please take this opportunity to introduce yourself to our readers and talk about any websites or services you'd like to promote.

Giorgina, thank you for your invitation. I'm so happy to be a part of your new site! I am Tina Smith form beautiful East Texas. I'm happily married to Milton my husband of 22 years. We have one child, a daughter, Mika who just got married this summer. Now, I am proud to say we have a wonderful son-in-law.

I'm a happy homemaker that loves every part of being domestic. I love to clean, bake, decorate and shop! I wanted to share all my loves and for me, blogging was the way. In January ' 07, I remember it well, I created my blog, Cherry Hill Cottage. And from that day on I fell hopelessly in love with blogging. I share my home, photography, family and my music playlist.

And from time to time I sell from my blog~ I have a little on-line shop~ The Market at Cherry Hill Cottage. This little blog of mine fills me with joy!

2. You have a unique talent for hunting down low cost decorative items and presenting them as pieces that look expensive, classy, and vintage.

For readers who are thinking of doing the same, what are some places you'd recommend they visit to find good bargains on great decor?

I shop garage sales, flea markets, Goodwill shops, estates sales and junk stores. I also LOVE eBay. I'll shop for hours on the computer for just the right "something" at the right price, and that includes shipping.

If you live in Texas or plan to visit~ I highly recommend Canton Trade Days~ First Monday flea market in Canton, Texas. It's the place for finding bargains on great home decor. And while you are visiting Canton, Texas, you must stop by LaurieAnna's Vintage Home. A beautiful home decor shop. LaurieAnna's shop is styled to perfection~ giving the buyer tons of ideas for decorating their home.

It always tickles me, I don't won't to fib about it. I want to SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!

5. You're a fan of sites like eBay, which offers a plethora of bargains. How would you rate your overall experience with eBay?

Have there been times you've encountered dishonest sellers or received damaged items in the mail?

My experience with eBay has been wonderful. I've encountered a hand full of dishonest/hateful sellers. They will try to over-charge in the shipping fees~ my advise is to know what your bidding on and to know shipping fees.

Also, I've received damaged items in the mail. I strongly recommend buying insurance on glass items.

6. In the old days, garage sales were excellent places to shop for decor. What was junk to some was treasure to others. These days, Craigslist has made garage sales almost a thing of the past. In your area, do garage sales still exist, or have they dried up? And how have your experiences been with garage sales?

Garage sales are still perking here in our area. Now that the weather has gotten cooler, everyone will be out and about, going from one garage sale to the next. It's fun!

7. An accessory you bought on eBay for dirt cheap has just arrived in the mail. You open it and it looks just like the picture, so you're happy. After you've been a good citizen and left positive feedback for the seller, you work your magic on the accessory and make it look brand new and expensive. Generally speaking, what are some of your secrets for making over and revamping used decorative items?

The perfect example of this would be my vintage tablecloth collage~ I bought vintage tablecloths on eBay, each one at a great prices...I took artist canvases laid the cloths on them, stapled all around the back of the canvas to secure the cloths. I added a sawtooth hanger to hang the "vintage art"...now I have a collage of vintage tablecloths. It's a great inexpensive way to have beautiful vintage wall art.

8. Tina, thanks again for sitting down with us and answering some questions. For our last question, please tell us about what it was that first drew you to home decor and sparked your passion. When did this happen, and what do you do to help fuel your passion and keep you interested in buying things for your home?

I've always enjoyed keeping house, from the time I became a wife I wanted a beautiful special home for my daughter and husband.

My sister, Kathy Long, helps to fuel my passion. We both love the cottage look. We have fun shopping, talking, and planning the next project for our homes. We would rather buy an accessory for our home than buy something for ourselves. I love being domestic~ and when you love your home, fun changes happen everyday.

Let's thank Tina for sharing some of her tips with us and inspiring us to visit our local garage sales this weekend. Someone else's trash could be your treasure, so get out there and start hunting!

But before you do, be sure to check out Tina's blog, Cherry Hill Cottage. Tina, thanks again and happy hunting.

Return to Interviews

Return home to Decor Medley

Need Home Decor Catalogs?

We've partnered with Catalogs.com to help bring you home decor catalogs from some of the best merchants in the world. If you're interested in receiving these in your mailbox, please click on the banner below.