I think it is time for you (and me) to think again! Look at how my dad and my step-mom decorated their condo in Mexico. This is their vacation/weekend home and they wanted to love it, but they didn't want to spend a ton of money on it. Over the past two years, my step-mom has been on a mission to make it feel "just so" and I think she's accomplished her goal. They made it look like this using ONLY stuff from thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales, and estate sales. I mean it. Every stick of furniture, every accessory, every thing you see is "new to them" rather than "new". What struck me when I saw these pictures was how beautifully everything fits in their Mexican Casa theme. This doesn't scream "garage sale", either. Instead, it says, "Bienvenidos!" which is exactly what they wanted it to say.
I need to be really honest here. I am very, very new to shopping this way. While I've always loved hand-me-downs, I've never gone out of my way to head to thrift stores, etc., to find the things I want. 
Over the past few years, however, I've used eBay and Craig's List and gotten some clothes for my kids at thrift stores. While I don't need or want anything in the way of furniture, when I do, I'm definitely going to start haunting thrift stores, consignment shops, and the like to find what I want. The way I think of it, I know that I donate awesome, awesome stuff that I just don't need anymore, so why wouldn't I think other people would do the same thing! 
Unfortunately, it seems I have only one problem...since they live 1300 miles from me, it is not going to easy to get my step-mom to help me in this process!
