Road Trippin For Inspiration

by Bob Zimmerman and Jami Zimmerman, Cheap Thrills Décor

Head out on the highway looking for adventure…or whatever comes our way! I love to play that on my ipod as I cruise the open road looking for cool treasures.  You never know what you’ll find, where you’ll find it or who you’ll meet.  That meets all my criteria for a road warrior design adventure of gargantuan proportions.

My mom and I started this road-trippin tradition out of pure necessity.  I moved in to my new Southlake dream McMansion about the same time as 911 and the Tech Wreck.  You know what that means??  I had a gorgeous new home with no furniture and my budget suddenly shriveled from a grape to a raisin.  What’s a girl to do? Get creative.  This is E! true Hollywood Story of how my company, Cheap Thrills Décor, was born.  We started by dipping our toes in the flea market pond at the now defunked Southlake flea market. I never knew what I would find on an early Tuesday morning and it really got my adrenaline rushing.  I found so many cool things that just needed a little lovin to bring them back to life.

Once we had the bug, we strapped the kids in the car seats and went global (well, we stayed in the DFW area, but it felt global).  We hit flea markets in McKinney, Weatherford, Round Top and of course Canton.  My house started filling up at record speed at a fraction of what I had originally planned to spend.  The best part was that every item had a story and was uniquely amazing. We made so many friends too.  We would drive home talking about Harold and Clauda, Dave from Minnesota, John from Nebraska and the pretty lady discount.  (This is the discount a toothless vendor offered me and of course I took being flushed by the compliment until I realized that everyone was getting the pretty lady discount).

The car packing stories are also legend around here.  We have held things out the window the whole 2 hour drive back from Canton because we couldn’t fit another item in the car. We have ridden for hours with items in our laps and piled between us.  We drove 5 hours home with me curled into a ball in the back seat – not safe but you do what you gotta do to bring home the loot!

This shopping/road-trip obsession has taken me to small towns across Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Tennesee and Florida.  There is a deal to be made in every town and salt of the earth people to meet. My new friends may be rough around the edges, but people with warm hearts and soft smiles, who have made my experience truly worthwhile. Many of them call us to let us know what amazing new haunts they’ve found and save the best stuff just for us now. They have great stories of how they find their pieces.  One guy had 30 minutes in a condemned school in Missouri to take out as much stuff as he could. Can you imagine him hauling out 10 sets of lockers on his back just so they could find a new home in a kid’s room in Southlake?

How to have become a design free-spirit?

Hit the open road with an open mind
You never know where you’ll hit pay dirt. There are really good deals on the side of the road if you keep your eyes peeled and your imagination humming.  My husband and I hit the jackpot once while we were “getting lost” (code for just driving wherever the road takes us). We found a misfit chair missing a leg, a dresser and a headboard.  We fixed it all up and those were the items worth fighting for at our next sale.  People can spot character. I love a good trash to treasure story. 

Think about Outside the Box
Just because it’s a headboard today doesn’t mean it can’t be an end-table tomorrow.  A door off an old house makes a perfect coat rack, headboard or desk.  Old ceiling tins can be magnet boards and typewriters picture holders.  The possibilities are endless if you look at items with fresh perspective. It is the best feeling to be WOWed by an object used in a way that you never could have imagined.

Take the Road less Traveled
When planning your trip, don’t just stick to the highway.  The small back roads of America are filled with fun stops, cool restaurants and objects waiting to be found. Be a road trippin risk-taker and get inspired by the places you see and the many tattered treasures you will find. The soulful thrills of the road have inspired generations of artists and designers willing to escape the norm for a chance to walk on the wild side. Stepping out a routine is always good for perspective.

So

Throw your pin-striped suit, your soccer mom attitude, and your college thesis out the window. All you'll need here is a cool pair of sunglasses, a road warrior spirit  and a tube of rebel red lipstick.
Conquer the magnificent backroads of America, delight  in the characters along the way, and let the wind blow your golden locks!

And don't forget to send us a postcard

Home Style article for Southlake Style Magazine by Cheap Thrills Décor, Bob & Jami Zimmerman.
© 2010 Cheap Thrills Decor. All Rights Reserved.

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