Bargain hunter's tips to style your home second-hand

A keen eye and dedication is the key to cosying up the castle on a tight budget, thrifter and op-shopping expert Anna Easton says.

Dunedin based Easton has combined her love of op-shopping, her She Hunts Op-Shops Facebook page has 40,000 followers, with a knack for making spaces you more like home.

If you get to know your local op shops, and visit regularly, linen, soft furnishings rugs - even art can all be had for a few dollars, she says.

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For example, she recently snagged a brand-new set of flannelette sheets. They had been dropped off by a hotel at one of her favourite bargain hunting haunts, Easton swooped in and grabbed them three sets for $20.

Easton’s own home, a rental in Dunedin, is testament to her eye for beauty at bargain prices.

It is adorned with ornaments, knick-knacks and collectables.

While op-shop art can be a mixed bag, look out for quality frames, she says.

She looks for ones that have been taped at the back, you can swap the picture out by easing the original off with a butter knife, then replace it with a family picture or an alternative piece of art.

Easton runs workshops for Dunedin City Council called the Art of the Op Shop.

Most successful op-shoppers are determined and focused, she says.

“I would come with my blinkers on and look for what I'm looking for.”

Also get to know your op-shops, she says, when they open, what they stock, and when they receive donations.

A third of New Zealand households don't own their own place - but that doesn’t mean a rental can’t feel like home she says.

For example, Easton has combed op-shops for curtains that are stylish and warm for her own home.

Sometimes she’ll remove the original curtains and replace them with some more in keeping with her taste – she recently discovered velvet curtains for $5.

She has a collection of rugs she uses to protect the carpets in her rentals.

As an art lover, she negotiates with landlords so she can hang things on the wall. She'll take a swatch of the paint colour and when it's time to leave she restores the walls to their former glory with a bit of putty and a test pot of paint.

Easton says "lace is my best friend, it's incredible,” using it for privacy and to make interior partitions within the home.

Strategically placed mirrors help a place feel more light and bright.

“If I've got a bedroom that doesn't get that much sun like my back bedroom ... I'll put a mirror on the other side of the wall so that it catches the reflection of the sun that it does get and bounces it into the hallway or into another room just to bring in more light.”

She’s even hung crystals and a disco ball in properties she’s rented.

“I'm all about light, finding ways to get it bring it in, manipulate it, use it, love it.”