Thrifty Thursday & the one that got away

As any of you Craigslist-ers, yard sale-ers, and thrift-ers out there know, this hunt can be hit-or-miss.  I can search Craigslist for a month to no avail, then BAM!  This happens.

I had a "bam" moment recently that I feel inclined to tell you about.  I've been searching for a dresser for the dining room (you know, a buffet, or whatever), and suddenly one afternoon I came across this:

That's right.  This.  Magnificent Mid Century Modern beauty.  For 50 bucks.  The stars had aligned,   the clouds opened up and a beam of light shown down on me sitting in front of my computer screen.  And I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing, too.  I almost pulled a finger muscle hitting the "reply" button so fast.

Then I realized the beam of light had actually been shining on some other lucky a-hole.  Someone had beat me to it.  I wanted to cry.  Like a young, spoiled child.

But don't think I didn't get back up on that horse.  Like a gambling addiction at one of those quarter pusher machines, I became obsessed.  Furiously searching Craigslist, I decided this unfortunate situation would NOT happen again!  (stomping foot and shooting fist into the air).

On the bright side, I did manage to rake in a handful of other bargains that are attempting, unsuccessfully, to fill the void left by my dresser (yes, mine).

Exhibit A.  Hello, little cabinet.  I nabbed this guy for $40- probably more than I should have spent looking back, but I was rebounding, people.

He's a little worse for the wear, so a paint job is in order.

I plan to put him where the little grey cabinet is under the window in this picture.  Then the dresser will go under the chalkboard.

I also snagged this sweet quilt at a neighbor's moving sale.  I bought 6 dresses and 2 pairs of earrings from her for $8 (because when you're as freakishly small as I am and you find anything remotely cute at a good price that fits, you buy that ish).  She tossed in the quilt.  Fo' free.  Whoop whoop!

The last addition is this ginormous beast of a trunk.  It had seen better days when I bought it.  A couple of boards were loose, and the trim on the lid was coming off.  But as mentioned, it's gargantuan.  And only 20 bucks.

A little hole-drilling and nailing got this baby into workable shape.  I've been considering a paint job, but I'm kinda digging the beat up, rustic look.  At any rate, it holds a ton of blankets, which until now were kept in giant crates in the office.  Also, don't mind that crater coming from beneath the window.  The glories of old-home-ownership.

I did spot this great MCM sofa as well, not long after the dresser catastrophe.  A bargain at $90, and new upholstery would make it a beaut.  It didn't really "get away".  I actually emailed the person selling it, had plans to reupholster it myself (oh yea, and learn how to reupholster a couch, because that's also important), and was figuring out a way to haul the thing back to our house.  Then my brain came out of hibernation, smacked me in the face, and asked me why in the heck I would buy a couch.  I freaking love our fantastic Chesterfield.  And I no longer have an extra 3000 square feet of space to just... fill.  Poo.

So what about you?  Any celebration-worthy finds recently?

Because We Don't Like Eating on the Floor

Fear not, friends and neighbors!  The days of standing around the kitchen bar are over.  We finally have a central gathering spot for game nights, snacking, and swooning.  Okay, I'm probably the only one doing the swooning.  But can you blame me?  I've been pining for a reclaimed wood table for quite a while, and here it is in the flesh!

I mentioned here that I sold our previous Craigslist table.  On Craigslist.  So when Upcycle rolled up with this beaut, I was practically lying on it as they carried it in.  I had no idea how much I would miss having a table for 4 weeks.  Sure it's great for eating dinner on, but where else would I put piles of mail and knick-knacks to gather for weeks in a huge chaotic mess?

You may also notice the bright yellow chair in your face.  We grabbed that on Craigslist for $20.  And the stool on the other side was another Craigslist find for just 5 bucks.  I like having it as an extra seat, in case we have more than 8 around the table.

The rusty metal base was originally part of an old work bench, we think.  

Then came these guys.  Two of these transparent chairs were listed on... you guessed it... Craigslist, for $25 each.  Since I was planning on selling 2 of the 4 woven IKEA chairs for $25 each, it was basically an even trade.  

Here's the full set, jiving happily together around the new dining table.  I plan to toss a couple faux sheepskins over the transparent chairs when I get a chance to order them.  You may recall that we had one on the living room rug.  After one delightful Jackie GI explosion, the crisp white fuzzy piece was history.  You're welcome for that great image I just created in your head.  So for now, the purple scrap fur has it.

I've been a little scarce here lately, but hoping to make a greater appearance this summer.  Life is busy.  Have you noticed?  So come back soon.  And in the meantime, go outside.  Spring is here!

Sitting On It

I'm just going to put it all out there.  Remember the table and chairs we bought on Craigslist a couple of months ago?  We sold them.  On Craigslist.  No, this was definitely not my original plan.  And no, this is not like me to change my mind after making a purchase!  I'm the person who hem-haws around for a week before I spend $20 on something- therefore never regretting a purchase.  I'm changing, guys.  Who AM I?!?!

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It all started with the decision to replace the original 6 chairs that came with the table.  I'd considered it from the beginning, and finally posted them on Craigslist to see what kind of response I'd get.  A new neighbor came by to see them shortly after and happened to dig the table, too.

It's generally not my style to sell whatever items in my house visitors show interest in, but truth be told, Will and I had been semi-wishing we'd gotten a table that was just a bit bigger.  This is the result of a lot of reminiscing about family dinners and game nights with friends.  Then, a couple of weeks after we bought the set on Craigslist, an awesome new shop called Upcycle opened in the Quarter that makes reclaimed tables and other furniture.  That's where we bought the fantastic French Horn light I posted about last month.  Most of the reclaimed tables we've come across are waaaay more than we'd ever be willing to spend, but this particular shop is very reasonable.

So when our neighbor offered to buy the 6 chairs and the table for the same amount we originally paid, I basically shouted "Sold!" and helped her carry it to her house.  That second part is quite true, actually.  Carrying a solid table for 2 blocks isn't nearly as easy as I imagined.

In the midst of all this table-selling business, I started to peruse Craigslist in case some wonderful and inexpensive chairs showed up.  Sure enough, after just a couple weeks I was quick enough to nab 4 woven IKEA chairs for 25 bucks a pop.  My plan is to collect mismatched chairs, but I figured I could easily sell 2 or 3 of these at some point.  So the set came home with me...

Then about a week later, I came upon this vintage school chair for $25 at a thrift shop in town.  He was pretty grungy, but nothing a good vinegar-scrub couldn't take care of.

I'm contemplating painting it.  Maybe a bright yellow for the wood?  Or leaving the wood and adding turquoise to the legs?  I found a few inspiration chairs floating around in inter-space.  Like this from Dot & Bo.  Before they sold out, these guys were $265.  Holy moly.

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So we're currently with 5 new chairs, sans table.  Our dining room is looking a little sparse.  Luckily the guys at Upcycle have already started working on a custom table for us.  The great part is, we made enough money (back) from the old set and some extra outdoor furniture we sold to pay for the new reclaimed table.  Woop woop!

More to come soon!

The Table Tale

I sneaked in a shot of our new dining room table in this post about our Christmas decor, but didn't get to share the story of where we found it.

It started with an endless search for an inexpensive table... Okay, it only took about a month, but I had a burning desire to fill that empty space in the dining room.  This is the "dining room" sans dining room table and plus desk and office chair, from when we first started settling in.

Slap a Little Paint on It

I showed you my Craigslisted cabinet in this post, but I haven't gotten around to showing you the finished makeover until now!  

I started with this guy for $20.  Shabby, right?  Someone loved that green/gold spongepainty look at one point, but it wasn't working here.  

And check these out.  Especially the ones in the background.  Falling a little short in the leg department?  

Here's what I had to work with.  

• 6 little legs from Lowe's- $1.50 each
• $3 sample container of Valspar satin paint in "Almost Charcoal"
• foam paint brush
• mini foam roller- the same kind I used for the kitchen cabinets
• fine grit sand paper- I used 220, because the original paint was flat and I just needed a little roughing.

The new legs.

After taking the lion pull off the front (which is completely awesome, by the way), I sanded the whole thing down.  Next, I wiped over the surface with a damp cloth and got to painting once it was dry.  I painted the new legs separately, then added them on at the end.  Total cost for this little cabinet including facelift?  32 bucks :) 

The mirror came with the buffet we have in the dining room.

I've been getting a lot of questions about the next giveaway- For those of you wondering, we don't have a date nailed down yet, but there's some good stuff coming your way in March!  Stick around!

Chester for Cheap

As I discussed in this post, I've been doing a little more thrifting and Craigslisting lately.  I am seriously on a roll this month though!  If you remember, I was gushing before about how super-duper amazing it would be to find a Chesterfield sofa for less than... ya know... 1000 bucks.  Ohmygoodness did I find the perfect piece!

I happened to look at Craigslist Saturday morning just seconds after this post was written:

Umm... a Chesterfield sofa AND 2 chairs?  For... $169?!  Holy moly was I on it!  Naturally, I professed my creepy, stalker-style, undying love for this sofa to the guy selling it.  We stopped by Monday afternoon to see it, and the seller told us he had gotten over 50 responses in the first 3 hours and had to remove the listing.  And yours truly was the first to respond!  Woop woop!

Tuesday evening we rented a Uhaul van for about $30 to get the thing home.  And here he is.  Chester.  My lover.  Isn't he handsome?!

Now that our furniture family is complete, what's left to do?

1. Tile the fireplace.  I'm thinking small white and grey marble, like this, this, and this.  And I'm also loving the different designs from Home Depot, like this one and this one.  For such a small area, price won't be much of a factor.
2. Spruce up the floor tile around the fireplace.  I'm thinking about painting it.  We'll see.
3. Replace the curtains with something darker and heavier.  I considered painting the walls darker, but curtains are much easier :)

Don't forget, the Etsy Valentine's Day Giveaway ends Thursday!  Scroll down to get your entries in before it runs out!

Thrifty Things

I've been doing a little thrifting and Craigslisting (yep, it's a word) lately, and I've gotten pretty lucky with a few pieces.  Here are a couple, with a slight lamp facelift and another makeover on the way.

Sweet little candy jar with scoop for $3 at a thrift shop east of downtown.  I have absolutely no idea what I'll use it for yet... but we had a love connection, so I'll come up with something.