A Sad Departure

No we haven't moved to the big OK yet, that's not for another month. What's so sad is that I sold my Mid- Century Lounge Chairs this week. 

(Moment of Silence Please)

I have been torn for a while about what to do with them. They were on my list of what to keep and what to give away with the pending move. It was a hard decision and I made it kind of spur of the moment. I listed them on Craigslist in the morning and by the afternoon they were gone.

I really enjoyed lounging in them after work, or reading a book or magazine at night. Good times. I even felt kind of Mad Men-ish sipping wine or some other adult beverage while sitting in one of my chairs. 

What finally did it in for me was that I've heard from people living in Altus now that the main thing they do is go to each other's houses for dinner and movies (since there is nothing else to do there....). So I want to make sure I have a comfortable living room that people want to hang out in. The lounge chairs are comfy enough but don't have a head rest or upholstered arms. So I'm seeking out some alternatives.

What also helped sway me was that I only bought the pair for $35 and was able to sell them for a lot more than that. A lot a lot. 

I'm glad they went to a good home, the girl who bought them was super excited to find a pair in such good condition. All good things must come to and end- and now I have an excuse to furniture shop again!

The hunt is on!

Have you ever had to part with a piece of furniture near and dear to your heart?

Dining Chairs: A Life Journey

Ok, maybe the title of this post is a little dramatic and I'm sorry to keep bringing this up but it's really starting to get frustrating. Why can't I find a decent pair of chairs at a decent price? For real...

I guess I was extremely lucky to find these chairs for my future dining room for $30 and $80 respectively.

I've been scouring Craigslist in my city and surrounding areas trying to find chairs to finish the set, going to garage sales and thrift stores with no luck. It's like all the cool furniture has been sucked into some black hole never to be seen again.

I've resorted to searching Ebay in hopes of a deal but those people think very highly of their stuff if you know what I mean. Some examples:

This chair would be a good complement to the first one I found (for $30). Guess how much they're asking for this bad boy? $200! Not including the shipping. It doesn't even have a seat! Lame...

This little beauty doesn't have quite the sticker shock starting at $50. But even if no one bids on it the shipping will make it over $100 which isn't worth it to me.

This chair is a set of four made by a company called Farstroup. It would go well with the pair I found at a local shop. It must be some famous company I've never heard of because they are asking $550 for the set, not including shipping!

And this ONE chair made by Shelby Williams (some other famous company I've never heard of) selling for $250. At least shipping is included in this one.

And finally look at this. $200 plus $60 for shipping. Look familiar? Looks pretty similar to these lounge chairs I bought not to long ago. $35 for the pair!!!!!!!!

So what is the deal Ebay? Is your furniture made of gold or something? Do people really buy furniture off of here and pay the shipping costs? Because for me it's a deal breaker.

And a heartbreaker because I'm starting to feel like my grand plans for a new dining room are falling apart. I hate to start off the new year with a big pout face but can I get a break here?

And I promise this will be the last you hear about it until that fateful day I find the rest of my set!

Craigslist: The Good, The Bad, and the Really Really Bad

From reading my posts you may have gathered that I am an avid Craigslister. I peruse it regularly and I've been pretty lucky with some of my finds.

 I found Con-Man's crib still in the box, unused for 1/2 of what is was selling for in the store.

I also scored his dresser from Craigslist as well- it was a steal! All it needed was a new coat of white paint and some new hardware.

I found my awesome dining chair on CL for $30-

I didn't buy these off CL but it's how I found the store that I bought my other chairs from:

We've also been able to sell a lot of stuff on CL as well. When we renovated our Kitchen were able to sell the old sink, some of the cabinets and when we bought a new washer and dryer we sold the old ones on CL!

But be aware that not everything is all glitter and rainbows.

For example- the heading on this lovely set was something like- "Vintage Couch  and Table Set Solid Wood Frames!" Sounds promising right?

Wrong so wrong. That is NOT what I was expecting! :p

Oh, nice shade of pink. I believe this one had a title of "Nice couch". It's not horrible but the color is pretty bad.

I've found that it pays to be wary of things with the word "Nice" in them. "Nice doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. But for the most part you can find some pretty unique stuff if you take the time to look.

Hopefully I'll find a pair of chairs to finish off my dining set soon!

Dining Room Dreams

Lately I've been going on and on about changes I want to make to my dining room. I wanted to change the lighting and a new dining set, ect.

All these thoughts have been floating around in my head for some time now. It's hard to explain the look I'm going for- I want to mix vintage items with contemporary pieces. I love some of the items I already have but am ready for some new things as well. I finally got around to putting my thoughts down on paper and am interested to know what you think.

Some of the items may not end up being the exact thing I end up with but it's a start. I love the stained glass window I have hanging above the console table. I bought it back in high school for $30. One of the glass pieces was missing but I was able to find one that was similar to replace it with. It had white paint which I stripped off and stained with a dark stain. I'm partial to it and don't want to get rid of it.

The console table we have now doesn't do much for us in the name of storage. I'd like something with some doors and drawers. We don't have a lot of storage in our 1930's home so gaining some extra through furniture would be nice. I haven't decided if I want to go ultra contemporary like the white one I have shown or do something with some wood and metal like this one:

I love the metal and wood dining table. Though I think I'd like the metal legs to be raw steel, not painted in any way. A large vintage door would be awesome as the top! I've been searching Craigslist and Antique stores for deals but haven't found any yet. I've also been on the hunt for the rest of my dining chairs. I found this guy last week and am looking for some friends for it:

I think having a mix of chairs in the same style, upholstered in the same fabric would be pretty cool. I'd love to find a bold graphic print to use. I like the one with the dots from Knoll above.

Finish it off with a clean contemporary light fixture and I think I'm in business. 

Any thoughts? I always get these crazy ideas in my head and never know quiet how they will turn out!

Latest Craigslist Find

I don't know if I've mentioned my obsession with Craigslist before; but it's true I'm a Craig Junkie. I bought several items for Con-Man's room from Craigslist (crib and dresser- $250 for both!), furnished our garage apartment for cheap, and we've sold a bunch of stuff on Craigslist too.


Well my latest find is my favorite so far. I love Mid-Century Modern Design. You may not be able to tell by looking around our house since most of what we have is family hand me downs, but slowly but surely we are updating the house to fit our taste. I've been thinking about updating the dining room lately. I was so excited to see this guy for sale the other day:

It's solid walnut, the lady got it from an estate sales years ago and was ready for a change. She sold it to me for only $30! I love the detailing-

And it's in great shape, just needs an update on the seat cushion. My plan is to try and find another chair that is similar and a set of 4 that are the same. Then upholster them in the same fabric. I'd like to find a unique table to go with them. Our table we have now only seats 4. It would be nice to have one that fit at least 6 so when we have company over people don't have to eat on the couch.

But for now it's hanging out in the corner just chillin until I find it some friends. I'm so excited about it though!

What's your favorite Craigslist find? Are you a Craigslist Junkie?

New Toy

So I bought a welder. I'm not sure what's more dangerous, me with this welder or me searching craigslist finding this stuff. Can't wait to use it!