On general principal I go to the Habitat Restore and the Salvation Army store about once a week. I am always on the look out for great used furniture and often find they are of much better quality than what you find in the stores today. The trouble I have is stopping myself from buying too many pieces because I just don't have the space. 

Having said that I recently found two ivory wing back chairs at the Habitat Restore. I was concerned I might not have the space in my living room but I knew I had to have them. Seldom are you able to find two of anything at a thrift store. Try finding two of the same lamps, nightstands or end tables the next time you go. Whenever I have found two of something I grab them right away because it's rare. There was little sign of wear on these chairs. There was no dirt, no rips and only a few minor scratches on the legs. In fact, for white chairs they looked nearly brand new. I checked the label and they were from Wicks Furniture Showroom which was a good quality furniture store that has since closed.  

These chairs are very comfortable and the tone on tone ivory fabric with a leaf design and dark stained legs make them a perfect choice for any room. The way the fabric was woven gives them a lot of texture and even little shimmer. I've considered using them as end chairs for my dining table but my dining room is really to small. 

I paid $40 a piece and would guess that wing back chairs of this quality brand new would be $200-300 a piece. I am so pleased with my purchase. They are beautiful chairs and I just love them. 

Thriftstore Find - Dressers and Chests

I wasn't in the market for a dresser but the Habitat Restore had several that caught my eye. They were all well built, solid wood and had terrific details. Some had a few scratches but that's to be expected with furniture that's several decades old. They all had simple, clean lines and were neither too plain or ornate. It's hard to find new furniture built this well and especially at this price. They all ranged from $40 to $60 bucks. Whether you refinished, painted them or in some cases just gave it a good cleaning they are all well worth the price. 

I love the arches on these two pieces. I definitely would never purchase both. That would be too much of a good thing. 

Check out the unique hardware detail on this chest.  

This is by far my favorite piece. Love the color and the recessed hardware.

Have you recently had a thrifty furniture find you were excited about?

Enjoy your day.

B.

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Thriftstore Finds - Bamboo

One of my favorite thrift store finds was this gorgeous bamboo console table. It measures 4' 3" wide x 12" deep and was manufactured by the Brandt company in Hagerstown, MD. It has such great detail like the rich color of the wood and bamboo, the three paneled doors, of course the painted leaves on the front and sides and it even has a shelf inside for lots of extra storage. It's in excellent shape except for the top which just  needs a good sanding and re-staining. For $25 it think it was a steal. 

The other piece I found this year was this wonderful bamboo mirror. Ahh yes. Insert deep sigh here. The bamboo mirror. There is a long story behind this mirror but I promise to keep it brief. Let me explain. ARRRGGHHH!!!!

I spotted this mirror at the Salvation Army thrift store and it was marked, get this, $6.95. One look and I said to myself, this baby is mine. I'd been looking for one and definitely did not want to pay top dollar. This was a gift from heaven. Thank you heaven. I also added to my cart a beautiful crystal decanter, a silver sequined box and piece of gray wool for $2. When I got to the register the cashier said that someone had changed the price on the mirror so she couldn't sell it at the price marked and proceeded to rip off the tag. Well that was just completely unacceptable so I huffed and puffed and demanded to speak to the manager. The manger came out, looked over the mirror and again stated that someone changed the price. So now I am not only mad, but I am offended because it sounded as if they were accusing me of switching the tags. Me. Me?? How dare they question my integrity. I then threw a big ole hissy fit, said I don't want any of this stuff and proceeded to walk out. I went home angry, insulted and just a little hurt. I go there every week and they should know I, Miss Honest Every Moment of Every Day, would never do such a thing.  

As I calmed down I began to realize that they were right and the mirror had to be the wrong price. It was very heavy measuring 24x36 and I would guess that it really should be more like $15-20 bucks. I was also disappointed that I didn't get the other pieces that I really wanted. Instead of having a tantrum I should have asked them if they would give me a discount but my feelings were bruised since they insinuated I altered the price. 

A week goes by and I still can't get that mirror off my mind. I've always wanted a bamboo mirror and this was nearly perfect. I decided to go back and get the mirror. I was too ashamed to go in myself and opted to send my beloved son. Sure enough he found and bought the mirror but now we have a new problem. It is written on the back that the price is $22 and the tag reads to me $22. When they rang it up they rang it at $28. Dang it dang it dang it. I can't win. So at this point I ask myself should I go back and tell them to give me my $6 or do I chalk it up to a $6 donation. I decided it's a $6 donation that I am happy to donate. It is after all not just a retail store, it's the Salvation Army. 

By the middle of the day that store got the better of me. At the end of the day I was the better for it. Not only do I have my mirror but I donated to the Salvation Army twice in one day. Once when I bought the mirror and second when I donated $6.

Still love thrifting. Always will.

B.

Painted Thrift Store Tables

Last week I blogged about my thrift store end tables. They are beautiful solid wood tables but I really did not want brown tables because I have so much brown already in my living room. I have always loved the look of white tables and decided to paint them white. 

These were my inspiration tables... 

And this is what my tables look like now...

I have to say these were extremely difficult to paint and if I had it to do over again I might have done things differently. I began painting them with spray paint but because there are three flat surfaces, a four sided scalloped based and fluted legs this job was crying out for a paint sprayer.  

Spray paint cans was not a good choice because it would have required many cans to prime, paint and seal both tables. The amount I saved on buying used instead of new would have been wasted. I didn't have a paint sprayer and wasn't ready to invest in one so I opted to paint them by hand. 

I gave the wood a good sanding before priming. The yellow tops were vinyl so I don't know how much the sanding helped. I had glass tops so I wasn't too concerned about the paint not covering well. I used a sponge paint roller for the three flat surfaces and a bristle brush for the legs and base. There are a lot of nooks and crannies so paint tended to puddle in places. I took my time to make sure the wood was covered and did not put too much paint on the brush. If there is anything I learned it's that you have to get down low when you paint furniture like this. If not you will easily miss spots. You my not notice if you are standing up but if you are ever sitting on the floor the missed spots will be visible. 

I used two coats of primer, two coats of paint and two coats of water based sealer. It took a few weeks to finish both tables because I wanted them to dry thoroughly between coats. The  most important step was to let the paint cure or harden so when I was finished I didn't touch or move them for a week.     

These were easily the most difficult paint project I've ever had. I thought they turned out beautifully and I am very happy with them.

Thrift Store Tables

I have been on the hunt for end tables for my living room the longest time. As always the question was should I buy new or used. I decided to buy used but for the life of me could not find the right tables. I shop thrift stores a lot but often it is difficult to find two matching tables. I didn't want the end tables to match the coffee table, but if there are too many different styles of tables it can make everything look cheap. My living room is small and I feel balance is important in a small space. This means I need matching tables and had to be patient. After several months of patience, I couldn't wait any more so I started to shop, and shop, and shop. Nothing. Then I went on line and I saw these options. 

Overstock.com

Wayfair

I liked the size and color and all the detail made them interesting. I was almost ready to buy but thought I'd make one more trip to the thrift store. I was hoping to get lucky and finally I was. I found this matching set of solid wood end tables by Lane Furniture for $40 a piece. This is a little more than I would want to pay for thrift store finds, but I could see these were really good tables.  I talked to the manager to see if I could get a better deal and he agreed to sell them to me for $30 each.

They were a little beat up and had this ugly yellow top but I loved the scalloped details on the base, the fluted legs and the turned feet. The only thing I did not like was the size. I preferred about 18" to 20" square or round and about 22" high. These were 24" high and 22" square so before I bought I weighed the pros and cons. Pros: Solid wood, well built, nice details with two shelves and $30.  Cons: They are too tall, too wide and I don't like the color especially the top. These are solid wood end tables for what is likely to be a fraction of their original price so pros win. 

Now I have to decide what to do with them. They look like tables you'd find in a banker's office and that is definitely not the look I am going for. I can leave them as is, paint them or white wash but what ever it is I do, that top has got to go.

Stay tuned.

Nightstand Redo Completed

Last week I started re-doing a couple of nightstands that I picked up at the Habitat Restore. I got them for my bedroom because what I had was way too small. I took a couple of old tables and replaced them, but they were too big. At the risk of sounding like Mama Bear, these were just right. One problem, they were badly damaged from cigarette marks. It was nothing that I knew a few coats of paint wouldn't fix. Here is the before picture...

and after....

Remember the damaged top..

and with a little paint....

The hardware was kind of scuzzy so I cleaned them up with a little tarnish remover. Here is the before...

 ....and after.

The one battle I had was deciding whether to keep or replace the hardware. My original thought was to replace them so before I primed I filled in all the holes with wood filler. As I was searching for new hardware I realized a few things. First, each nightstand had six handles so I would have to buy either 6 or 12 new handles which would cost as much as the stands them selves. Second, when I started looking at used, everything I looked at was similar to what was already there. Last, I have a bench and picture frame that are similar to the gold on the nightstand hardware so they already fit in well with the decor of the room. I wasn't planning on redoing my bedroom, just spiffing it up a bit. This means minimal cash. For all of these reasons I decided to stick with the original hardware for now.

Ultimately I want glass, acrylic or crystal handles. I want them at the right price so I am willing to wait.

On to the next project.

Thrift Store Nightstands

The last few years I've used a TV stand and a small dresser for nightstands. I used to have a matching pair that I got at an estate sale for next to nothing. They were nice little solid oak nightstands but the tops were too small, it had one teeny little drawer and an open shelf that was barely large enough to hold a basket. They just did not suit my needs. I wanted something with more storage and since I am so opposed to buying everything new I kept my eye out for a pair of nightstands that were decent sized with good storage. Finally, on the day i found my marble bathroom top I also found my nightstands. 

They are made of solid pine, have a large top and of course I'm loving the three drawers. They are a little damaged from someone putting out their cigarettes but it's nothing that a little wood filler and sanding can't fix. I paid about $50 for the pair which is more than I wanted to pay but I waited so long to find them. They were still a good price considering they were solid wood. 

The other thing I like are the lines. The material is traditional wood but the plain square feet, top and detailing make it more contemporary. I think it will be a nice compliment to my existing dresser. 

I haven't decided if I want to paint or stain them. It will most likely be paint but picking the color will be the tough part. Do I go neutral or add a little color. Also, should I keep the hardware or replace them with something more modern. Who knows but the answer will come to me.