What I'd Buy on Craigslist this Week

Hi friends and Merry Christmas!

What an awesome time of year. I've taken several weeks off from doing this post, but I missed it, so here we go!

1. Beautiful King size caned bed

You cannot go wrong with a classic like this. Ballard Designs has a gorgeous option that will run you $1000.
So the seller's asking price of about $200 seems like a good deal to me!

2. The gift of a dollhouse is timeless and what little girl wouldn't love a house like this one?

It does say it needs some work, but isn't that what January is for? A good project to pass the time… For $80, I just love this.

3. I've shown you chairs like these before, but as I have also mentioned in the past, finding things in pairs can be especially difficult if you are buying secondhand.  And things in pairs can be especially helpful when it comes to decorating and staging your living spaces.  Symmetry is your friend.
So GRAB these for $35 and run.

And you are already imagining them with new upholstery, aren't you?
This Etsy seller did a fantastic job.

Never gets old, does it? :-)

4. I love a simple wooden bench like this, called a deacon's bench, I believe.

It is beautiful in its spare design... so unfussy.  Great in a foyer or bedroom or hallway if you have room.

What about using this at your kitchen table for a change? Just a thought.
For the life of me I cannot find a good photo of a room where someone has done this, but I think it would be really great looking.

5. What fun is this table?

We put our crack team of investigators here on the case to find out what this is, and in case you didn't already guess, it is a sewing machine table.  According to this woman, who also found one, 

it dates back to the 1890's.  Very cool. And so striking with the cast iron bottom.

No sewing machine included in the one for sale now, and as you can see the pedal at the bottom is missing, as is the original cabinet on top, but the stand alone I think is worth the $65 the seller is asking.

I found old ads for these machines… here

How cool is that? 

Even if you are not a sewing type person, this would make a fabulous addition to your home.  Instant history.

Try this:

And I cannot read one word of this, but I don't need to.  This is gorgeous in any language.

So there you have it. 

As always, if you choose to buy from these sellers or anyone on Craigslist, please be smart, be safe, take a friend with you, and as the song says, "don't outsmart your common sense."

To anyone whose eyes are on this page, I just want to say thank you for taking a few minutes to spend with me here. This is more fun for me than you'll ever know!

And Merry Christmas.

May all the blessings of the season be yours.

XO,

Anne

 

What I'd buy on Craigslist this week - and what to do with it

Hi friends!

There is a chill in the morning air, I have a cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee in my hand, and we're plotting a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Fall is lovely right now.

Here's a few gems I found on my local (Cincinnati) Craigslist this week.  See what you think.  I also have a few tips for how I mine CL for the best and most useful things.

1. Buffet/server/sideboard.  This piece is classic, can be used in a million different ways and rooms, and did I mention it's $60?

 Put it in a foyer or front hall with a beautiful lamp and a mirror. This piece from the Turquoise Iris looks so gorgeous.

Use it in a bathroom as a vanity - just add a sink - there are tutorials all over Pinterest.
It just so happens that the super talented Traci and her husband Cy over at Beneath my Heart found almost the exact same piece as the one I picked this week.  It's in their master bath and it looks like a million bucks.

Or put your TV on it and have the classiest media stand around, like Carrie at Hooked on Decorating did.  (Again, almost the exact same piece - so cool!) I love that she took out the top drawer for technology stuff and had a piece of glass cut to fit the top.  Fantastic.

PS - tip #1 look at the other stuff in the picture/listing.  Be observant.  The other items this seller has - table and chairs, etc. are all awesome!

2. Vintage Gun Cabinet.

Stay with me.  Look at it for a minute.  What else does it look like to you?

It screamed hallway bench to me.  Apparently I'm not alone! Ericka at Rose Colored Glasses did exactly that.

Her piece rocks!

3. Pick up this entry bench for $20.  It looks like it's in great shape.

Yes, you can use it in the front hall or mudroom.  But a la Pottery Barn, you can also stick it at the foot of a bed

or use it as a coffee table. It's $20!!

4. Waterfall hutch

This can be turned into a lovely storage and display piece for just about any room.  Just as shown at The Weathered Door. Charming.

Tips for searching Craiglist with the best results?  Use the CraigsPro app.  It's far better than the actual website.  You can set up searches and it will notify you when there is a match.  You can also mark your favorites (which you can do online, too.)

Use the search limiting functions.  I usually start my searches looking only at items that are listed from $5 to $75.  It's a pet peeve of mine when people put $1 in the cost for the listing, so I just start above there.  Sort from the lowest price up, then check the most recent listings.  But don't forget to check the oldest listings.  If the item is still around, the seller may be very willing to negotiate and get rid of the thing they're selling!  Once you've skimmed through the items up to $75, you can then go higher if you want.  Remember - the price is just what the seller is asking.  It by no means is what you are required to pay...it's all up for negotiation, unless the seller says the price is firm.

Check different sections - Antiques, Furniture, General, Household, and yes, Garage Sale.  People list stuff everywhere, it seems.

Use keywords: cabinet, bookshelf/shelves, hutch, storage, drawers, and wood are all some of my go-to's.

If you want to see if you can get a better price than what's listed, I have found a good way is to simply write, "Would you be willing to work with me at all on price, please?" and then offer to pick the item up at their convenience.
Hard to say no to that... in my opinion. :-)

Hope Fall is fantastic wherever you are.
Cheers!

XO,
Anne

What I'd buy on Craigslist this week

Hi friends!
You know I love Craigslist, probably more than the average bear.  It is a treasure trove of things just waiting to be reinvented, or used again.  As always remember that safety is the most important thing when shopping Craigslist!!  Be smart and safe and always take someone with you if you are picking an item up, and make sure someone knows where you are going and who you are expecting to meet.  That said, I don't know any of the people selling these items.  I haven't seen any of them in person.  So if you want to buy one of these things, just know I can't personally vouch for them.  But I would buy each of them myself if I could. :-)

1.  It's not furniture.  But it's adorable and vintage and would look fantastic sitting on a table in a hallway somewhere.  Add a vase of flowers.  Be tempted to start that novel you've been meaning to write (this thing still works!)  Hint: if you're not the novel-penning type, get a cool piece of card stock.  Type out a page full of "Happy Birthday from the Smiths," cut them up, tie them on to gifts and look COOL.

2.  Run.  Do not walk.  And someone please go buy this chair.  Why, you ask?

Because you paint it a gorgeous creamy white, and join the ranks of happy people everywhere who have cheated the Pottery Barn Gods by stealing a look of theirs FOR $300 LESS.

3.  Fuzzy picture.  Clear winner.  This coffee table has loads of character, storage, and leaves you can pull up for more space with guests or with the kids to play a board game.

Paint it and show off all the great detail (like this one that looks like it sold for $225 on Etsy although the link is broken.)

4.  Find a cozy corner of your home, fill it with books, a blanket, and this chair.

Or this one.

But first, give it a fresh blue and red color scheme. Gorgeous, right?

5. Ok this last one requires a little imagination. But it would be a conversation piece for sure!
Pick up this unique side table.

Paint the body of it white like this one.

Then paint the faux book spines a soft beige, or mod podge some burlap onto them. Grab a stencil and some white paint.  Stay with me.
You would hopefully end up with a look like this on the spines:

Would that not be cool?!
I hope you can see that in your head as I can.

Now get out there and make something awesome!!

XO,
Anne

Long time, no posts.

Hi!
Remember me?  I run this little blog.  At least, I used to... man, the last several weeks have been nuts since kids got out of school, vacations have come and gone, and now we're in full time summer mode, which means mama's on duty a lot more!
Whew!

But...don't let that fool you.  I've still been working!  So I have some catch-up posting to do!

I'll start with two tables that we've owned for years, but since we just inherited a truckload of furniture from downsizing family members, we were starting to look like Value City Furniture around here.  So, the black coffee table and console table had to go!

Rather than taking them to Goodwill, I decided to offer them up to my Facebook contacts as candidates for custom paint jobs.  I got two takers! I'll post here about the console table, the taller of the two.

We decided the console table would stay black, and get a monogram and some detail on the drawer front.

This was our inspiration - an awesome hutch/cabinet done by a lovely lady named Michele, over at The Scrappe Shop Blog.  I pinned this baby a long time ago, and this console table was the perfect piece to try out a similar design!

She used vinyl on her piece, but I just used paint.

I found the letter T online that I wanted, printed it out and traced it onto posterboard.  That became my stencil.  I centered it on the top of the table and penciled around it, then used the ivory colored acrylic paint to fill it in.  Then I actually used a paper plate like the one above to trace a circle around the T so I could paint that, and then I freehanded some "leaves."  Disclaimer: I am a very eyeball-it kind of girl... I'm sure there are more scientific ways to transfer designs onto furniture... I just haven't gotten there yet.

I did the same thing for the drawer front, drew up a posterboard stencil to fit the drawer front, and repeated the pattern all the way across.  I LOVE how this turned out.  So striking, and honestly, easy!!  I could see using a paint pen for this type of work, too.  I just used very fine brushes.

This is one lovely table - a high-impact makeover with not a lot of work involved.  I'm thrilled to be sending this to the home of a good friend so I can see it in her foyer. :-)

Thank you, Michele, for the inspiration!!

Here's a view of the finished product...

So the next time you have to get rid of a piece... offer it to your peeps and try out a fun, new design.
Thanks for reading!

XO,
Anne

Belated reveal of our upcycled hall tree for charity!

I didn't get to post this when it happened just recently, but my Dad and I finished the hall tree we created out of an old interior door and an ugly bathroom vanity! Here's my earlier post on it.
This was part of a design challenge issued by a local reuse/salvage store that benefits Easter Seals.
We got $100 to spend in the "store" and then had to create something new and fabulous.

You might have seen this pretty image floating around blogs and pinterest...

It's from an awesome blog called Pretty Handy Girl.  It was exactly the spark we needed to make our hall tree!

And here she is:

That's my sweet Dad who worked happily with me to create this - and make sure it won't collapse when someone sits on it.  :-)  Thanks, Dad!!

The only things "new" about this piece are the cushion (I made it...foam, fabric, and piping from Joann) and some plywood my Dad used to reinforce the bench.  Everything else - even the four matching hooks, mirror, and door pulls came from Building Value.  Lovin' it!!  So, this is my completely uncompensated pitch for you to scout out your local reuse and salvage outlets and USE their stuff.  Very cool.

This little beauty was auctioned off for charity, but if it wasn't, I would happily have this piece living in my house right now!

Here's the befores:

And here's the after!

Have a great day!

Anne