My Finds : Tales of Craigslist and Beyond

Guys, It has been a while since I showed you any of my SCORES!  If you follow me on Instagram you have seen some, but I thought I would pull them all together here. These have all been acquired while living in our "new" house (how long can you call it a new house anyway?).

Not everything has an official spot yet, but the hoarder in me had to grab now and place later.  Is that how you do it?  Or do you shop for a specific piece knowing exactly where you will put it??

This first score happened right after moving.  Four barstools.  And guess what?  We don't even have a bar in our kitchen. LOL  BUT WE WILL!! So I hoard until that day comes.

This deal doesn't come along too often, so I had to.

4 vintage Milo Baughman BRASS cantilevered bar stools. BRASS!! They are in very great condition, I might add.  (minus the horrible fabric, but that is an easy diy)  These things can be priced quite ridiculously.

For example, here they are on Charish for $1100 for just TWO!

Here they are at CB2.  These are not vintage but the Mack Stool is the exact same style for $299 each! 

Wait, wait, wait....How about paying almost $5k for four on 1st Dibs??  That is just ridiculous!

(1st Dibs is always ridiculous expensive - it is for people who want cool-ass vintage pieces and have no monetary restrictions - or Craiglisting skills for that matter.  Who knows maybe they have never even heard of Craigslist?)

Whenever I find a deal, I go to 1st Dibs to make myself REALLY feel good.

Are you ready to hear how much I paid for mine???
Drumroll please..............

$10 EACH!!! LOLOLOLOLOL  oh the LUCK!

Sorry 1st Dibs, I am going to stick to my search and find methods.

Take a guess how much I paid for a brass chest from Sarreid of Spain.....

This one is $1600 on Charish...

Mine needs some serious polishing but potentially will look like the shinny one above and I scored it for only $200 !!!!!

How about $3200 for a BIG set of embossed brass deer??

Or $50 on Facebook Marketplace - Have you used this resource? There is usually a lot of crap to wade through.....but ....BRASS DEER!! 

Yeah, these babies are perfect flanking a burning fire! 

Annnnd...Since we are talking brass animals, let me tell you a sob story. 

I found a set of HUGE brass giraffes on Craigslist.  Like 4 and 3 foot HUGE.  I was dying.  I had to have them.  The guy was asking a bargain price of $200, which is great, but being the bargainer that I am, he agreed to $180.  He lived 40-50 minutes north of Atlanta, but said he was passing through Atlanta on his way to Florida the next day.  What a deal and almost no hassle!  

Well, the next day, you know what happened?  I was raking my yard and missed his call.  I missed him by 10 minutes and he would not pick up his phone. He left me a voicemail saying "I guess the giraffes are going to FL"  I was frantic.  NOOOOOOOOOOO!!  WAIT!  STOP! 

I MAY have sent him five a couple text messages that portrayed me as a crazy-brass-obsessed girl. 

Also, this is one of those times that you DON'T want to look at 1st Dibs...cry cry cry

$4,000.  FOUR THOUSAND!!!!!!   UGH.

This was hard to get over.  BUT! Just like in a relationship, the best way to forget about someone is to find someone else. Ha!

Enter The. Brass. Herons

I mean who would pay $1,200 for these huge brass Herons....??

...when you could find them on Asheville Craigslist for $40 (bargained down to $30)??

And mine are better.  Look at the big bases!  They need a little shining, but aren't these 1970's Herons going to be AWESOME in front of my 1960's house, positioned just so in our new landscaping??  Can you see it??  CAN YOU??  What. A. Score!!  Possibly one of my best! 

One recent sale (found on estatesales.net) had a cool mcm house JAMMED full of ART from a renowned Atlanta painter. I was able to pick up a few portraits that spoke to me.  Im not sure WHY they spoke to me, but they did.  And now here they are, sitting.  Waiting patiently to be hung.

Sooooooo back in August, my brother texted me from a thrift store in Wooster Ohio.

Him:  "Is this mid century modern?

Me:   OMG! That is gorgeous!  Are the handles brass?

Him:  Yes. 

Me:  How much is it?

Him:  $249 for two night stands, tallboy, credenza with large mirror.  

Me:  WHAT?  I MUST have that.  Im going to buy it right now.

Him:  You're nuts."

And that is what I did.  I called up Friendtique in Wooster Ohio and bought it over the phone.  I had to wait 6 months to get it delivered, but it worked out fine. 

(on a side note:  I'm probably not going to use Paul's Shuttle anymore for furniture.  The service to and from the airport has always been fast, friendly and efficient, but it's somethin' different hauling long distances. Plus he told me he doesn't want my business anymore.)

I split up the set.  Credenza in the living room and tallboy/nightstands in the bedroom.  

I LOVE them so much.  I shined them up with Wax-N-Feed and they are beautiful!! 

Also, in the picture above is a rug I got off Craigslist. It is nice, but Im not in love with it.  I wanted a more tribal design..and maybe a little more black than red.  hmm

The HUGE vintage oil painting was scored in Asheville last year but we had to leave it there with my brother for a while.  Ernesto actually really liked it, too mostly because it is the Hotel Del Coronado, an old famous hotel in San Diego.

Remember my Craigslisted bed that I had re-built/recovered/tufted last year?  

Well, I wasn't into it anymore.  It was a monstrous STURDY bed, but from day one I was not happy with the tufting.  Also, the footboard drove me nuts-it didn't go with the headboard.  Turns out, I wished that I had not altered the original shell shape of this beauty.  (#designregrets) Oh well. It just didn't fit in my new house "plan"  anyway (right, like there is one, but..)  

I wanted something more...simple and streamlined.

When a perfect replacement turned up on Craigslist, I put the "old" one up for sale the next day. 

Luckily the blue bed was an easy sell on NextDoor, and this beauty (that looks identical to the $1000 Acorn bed at West Elm, by the way) was picked up by my sweet husband for just $100!!!! 

I am looooooooving the wood grain.

And it looks super nice next to our dark teal wall.

Are you still there?  Want to see another score?

I found a pair of these parsons ottomans at the same thrift store as the above bedroom set. (in Ohio)

Unfortunately they did not make it on Paul's Shuttle to Atlanta and are still sitting in my parents basement. 

I loved the square-ness of these but I do NOT love the fabric.  (It's not the flame stitch so much as the green and pink together) 

 I envision these beauties in this fabric.

Right? Right??

ANNNNNND.....Just for shits and giggles, let's take a look at a pair of these on 1st Dibs.

 Oh that is so satisfying, isn't it?  (ridiculous as that price is ha)

I'll try and do more of these posts since I am ALWAYS finding deals.
Which do you think is my best score???  Do you even like ANYTHING that I posted?? LOL
Oh well, to each his own.  I love what I love and hopefully once all these things are arranged in my house, you will see too that they are AWESOME!!! 

House Stuff

Well, first let me give you the sad update for our dream house. We got an estimate back from our contractor, which was totally reasonable and exciting. BUT! In the time it took us to figure this out, the owner had put up a sign in his yard (unbeknownst to us-or our realtor) "for sale by owner" UGH!!

Of course the house went under contract 8 HOURS after he put the sign up [because the house is FREAKING AWESOME!] So that is where we are. Which is no where! Wha-waaaaaaa

You know what though? I had fun dreaming and imagining about this house for a month, so there is that. You have to dream right?!

The fact that the house went for about $100k over our pre-construction budget (price for land and unfinished house) made it a little bit easier to swallow. Like I said, it was fun while it lasted.

We will still be keeping our eyes open for a slightly bigger house with a yard, but there is no rush.

In an attempt to help me focus on the good of my current house, (and get me excited about it again) I bought a few things.

First! Wallpaper! Back when I showed you my plan for little 1/2 bath redo, I was ready to pull the trigger on this wallpaper from Lowes.

Well, wouldn't you know, it is now discontinued. Ha! It makes me laugh that it takes me so long to make desicions and then this. Oh well. New plan.

I actually stumbled upon another wallpaper at Serena and Lily last week. I immediately liked the design. It's simple. Like, so simple that I could draw it myself if I just painted my walls navy. BUT! The price was so good, I couldn't pass it up. Yes, I made a quick design decision [which almost never happens].

Also, Im afraid painting over my half stenciled wall will leave a texture from the design, so wallpaper is really the best way to go. AND I have been wanting to use wallpaper for years. Did you notice the price? $20/roll reduced from $88! After searching for so long for a wallpaper, I was beginning to think it would be impossible to wallpaper my tiny bath for under $300! My four rolls arrived the other day and it's even better in person. $80 for FOUR rolls!! That is unheard of...if you like the design, there are four other color ways, so check it out! I think it's a really cool graphic design for little investment.

I'm hoping my sweet 'can-do-anything' mommy will help me to install it the next time she is here, as I am a wallpaper rookie. (Also, I can't seem to get things done without her)

Another quick satisfying project I am looking forward to completing is painting my stairwell. It is tall and BORING. Also those sconces need to go.

I love these wide stripes from Honey We're Home.

I am also loving these different sizes...doesn't that look great?! (couldn't find source)

And then there is this. just half black and white.. (again no source)

Now my walls are a light gray, not white, and I dont wan't to repaint it because it connects to all of the 1st floor, but I know it will still look great with black. Which one do you guys like best?

While the kids were in school last week, I wandered (because that is what I do with my free time) into the new Anthropologie at Ponce City Market (have you guys been there yet? So cool!) I love Anthropologie's home decor, and their store displays are always so inspiring. There was a basket of knobs on sale for $2.95/each with an extra 20% off.

Immediately I thought these Clandon knobs would be great for our kitchen refresh project (that has not been started yet)

I know I want brass hardware, and this is actually the shape I was looking for. The brass/iron mix on these is unique, although I may try to do something to the iron side because they have a little reddish tint. As you can see below though, that seems to be a coating that scrapes right off. Hopefully I can get down to a more black colored iron, which would be a great contrast to the shiny brass.

Still $45 for 18 cabinet pulls is a steal, so I HAD to purchase them [even if I wasn't 100% that I would use them].

The other thing that I am trying to procure...

...from Asheville Craigslist (thanks Fenella!) is this vintage Turkish runner for the kitchen. I love having a rug in the kitchen. It's 3x7 feet long and would be just enough dark to my white cabinets. (when they get painted)

I ordered some of this Braemore Jamil Natural velvet fabric too.

I have been loving it for a while but wasn't sure what for...I am still not sure, but maybe if it is in front of me I can decide. I'm waffling between making a removable cover for my kids snack table ottoman or for the awesome parsons chair that I FOUND ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!!! You saw this right?

Ally, a fellow blogger in Atlanta has a set of two of these that she had recovered in the same fabric. (incidentaly, she also inspired the geode wallpaper that I waited to o long to buy- I can't let that happen with this fabric) Aren't these unbelievable??

Right? RIGHT?? Ok folks, that is all. Have you done anything exciting to your house lately?

 

 

 

 

Curb Appeal : A New [Craigslisted] Front Door

Living in a historic neighborhood, I am constantly reminded of how much character a front door adds to your home. And then I pull up to our house. Waa-waaa

Ok...this is an old picture, like 2 years old, and the fact that my plants aren't in full swing does make a HUGE difference. (Plants are everything!) But it also allows you to focus on the bad. The door and the small sconce.

We never did like our this door. Just another touch of boring from the builders. It was dark brown when we moved in. Dark brown with an army green house...what were they thinking? Black paint was applied, which was an improvement, but we still knew we would change it one day.

I guess it's not the style I dislike so much. This door could be fine on other houses. For example, my parents have it on theirs, and they have a matching palladium window in front with rounded shutters. It looks cute. But on our house it looks generic, especially when driving around our neighborhood and seeing all the gorgeous old doors.

I saw this on CL and although it has the same shape window [as our current door] at the top, it has SOOOOO much more character. Solid wood, stained glass, brass knocker and kickplate and the aged bronze handle. I think they were asking $100! Of course I would have painted it, and I could do without that middle carving detail, but I think it would've added a lot to our curb appeal. It had character! It's not cookie cutter.

I really like a door with windows to bring in as much light as possible. I was inspired by this one (above) that I saw at The Painted House and what do you know? Not too long after seeing it, this one popped up on CL for $90.

Of course I knew immediately that this could be the perfect door...if we could cut those wood panels out. Ernesto had mentioned that our accountant had done this to his door, so he called to ask him directions. His response was "bring it over, I have all the tools and will help you do it." Yes!

So one Thursday they got to work. Here is a mid process pic after using a router to cut out the panels.

And with all 6 panels out....

A heavy duty sander took the gray paint right off and a day later, we had a clean door ready for glass and paint/stain.

At this point Ernesto put the new door up to make sure it fit correctly in the existing frame. A little sanding was needed in a few spots, but otherwise an easy fit. I was so excited by the amount of light coming into our living room.

Our dilemma then was color. The inside we decided to leave wood, but we had to pick a stain.

I thought we should get a walnut stain. In my mind walnut is the color of midcentury dressers that I love, like this Broyhill Brasilia dresser.

I WILL have this beauty in the future, by the way. I'm on a serious hunt! (Mom, if you ever see this while you are thrifting, please don't hesitate to get it for me!)

Anywho, I bought a "light walnut" stain by Varathane and it was way to red for my liking. Shown here on the right.

Ernesto brought home a mahogany (shown on left), which, when put against this walnut, I liked much better. With that being said, I was not so sure once I saw a coat applied liberally with a brush.

It was DARK! The color is nice, but much darker than I wanted.

I was scared to tell Ernesto that we may need to try a different stain. He has put in a lot of time on this door. BUT he said the same thing...too dark! He sanded it down pretty easily and I headed to Lowes and brought home this "special walnut" stain.

BINGO! This stain had that mcm color I was looking for. As most of you know, I am still new to introducing wood into my home, and there aren't a lot of colors that I'm crazy about at this point.

We applied 2 coats of the stain -this time using a cloth (instead of the brush)- we were able to control the color a little more this way. Ernesto finished this side up with two coats of a satin finish poly and it was good to go.

We decided to paint the outside of the door, so we can pick and switch colors as much as we like. We are planning to paint the exterior of our house, if not this fall, for sure in the spring. In the mean time though, we needed to pick a color for the door that looks nice with the army green color of the house.

Color options for the exterior is a whole other blog post. It's going to be a tough decision because I like light and dark. White is in our top 3 choices, but I have had this picture saved for a while. It looks so fresh and pretty. 

There are several other gray houses on our street though, so I may have to save this color scheme for our [future] beach house.  I do like the look of the Ben Moore Paint on the door called Robin's Nest, however, it is more on the blue side than mint. On the BM website though, it does read green, right?

Oh well,  it was a little more saturated than I wanted anyway. One more sample I picked (but can't remember the name) was light enough, but still on the blue side. A few days later, I picked up a sample of Behr's Jade Mist and this one seemed like the right shade. (Very close to the color my dresser at the front door entry)

Here are the three colors painted on a canvas. It isn't a huge difference, but can you see how the top [front] color is the more minty color and the others blue?

I bought a quart of Behr's exterior semi-gloss (paint + primer in one) in Jade Mist and Ernesto applied 2 coats with a roller.

Whew! Next was the glass and hardware. We were referred to Dixie Glass Hoppers in Decatur, and they were super nice and helpful. They had many many glass designs, however all of them cannot be tempered, which is what is needed for a door [so it won't shatter]. Ernesto wanted to go with clear glass, but I thought something that could blur the view a bit would be good, because I do not want a curtain or shade on the door.

We agreed on something that had a little blur, but when it came in [bigger sheets] I wasn't loving it. I didn't remember it looking like this. It reminded me of a patio table top.

Dixie Glass Hoppers said they wanted us to love our glass, so if we didn't like it we could bring it back. (not normally their policy) We decided to give it a try before reordering, and it looks much betting IN the door.

I think we are going to keep it. Once in the door and with light shining through it, it doesn't seem so 'patio table' anymore. Unfortunately, one of the six glass panels was not exactly the correct size and wouldn't fit. Ernesto even sanded the door a little with hopes of squeezing it in. Of course, glass doesn't really squeeze and the piece shattered.

So! Needless to say, we aren't ready to reveal the "before and after" pics yet.  Plus, there are still a few other details.

I am pretty set on this brass handle from Lowes and we will be attaching the brass kick plate back in place.

We aren't stopping with the front door. (curb appeal!) New house numbers, a new (but probably vintage) doorbell, and Im really loving this light fixture (above), but may continue searching for a more economical version. (Sorry RH, I will eventually need three of those lights!)

This awesome cement/gold planter from Target will be hung on the right, above the doorbell.

I also need to majorly trim my garden down for some curb appeal. I usually give up gardening once it hits 90, and it has been for the last couple months, so needless to say, my beautiful garden is not looking its best.
Stay tuned for the final pics coming once our new glass order comes in!!