A couple weekends ago (yes, I am way behind on my updates, I know), my Mom and little brother came to visit. It was our first time having overnight guests in our new house and I had a lot of fun setting up the guest bedroom for them, even if it only involved hanging some curtains and inflating some air mattresses. Oh, and flowers. Can’t forget those. Anyway, they came to visit and of course we all had a wonderful time. The weather actually cooperated, which is a rarity for Seattle this summer, and we were able to get out and do a lot of sightseeing without being hampered by rain. We were also able to pick up some killer finds at a garage sale down the road from our new house. We were kind of skeptical when we drove by it (on our way to Alki Beach to enjoy a little sun and a lot of traffic), because so much of it looked like really heavy, beautiful pieces of furniture. Basically, we were certain that everything would be fairly expensive, but we turned around anyway and decided to pop in an see what there was to be had.
It turns out that all of that gorgeous, solidly-built, antique furniture was priced ridiculously low. They (the pieces of furniture, not the people) practically begged, “I’m such a deal! Take me home and love me!” (Did that sound wrong? I can’t tell…) And who am I to argue with beautiful old antiques? So what ended up happening was that, between Mom and I, we basically picked up all the pieces that we could rationalize buying. For example, I wasn’t able to rationalize taking a beautiful claw-foot, pedestal-base dinging room table home with me (even though I tried really hard!) because I already had a lovely mission-style table at home. Nor did the big, carved wooden bowl set (priced at around $12 for three of varying sizes) make it home, if only because I couldn’t picture a spot for them in my house.
But what did make it home with me that day was this: a gorgeous dresser and two matching bedside tables ($45 for the lot), a low, oval coffee table ($10), a funky goldenrod-colored sofa ($20), two ornate mirrors with plaster frames which I plan on painting ($1 each), and a vintage suitcase with a pale blue cover and impeccable violet lining ($5). Mom ended up with coffee table, as well, ($12) and a nice drop-leaf table ($15) for my other little brother who’s moving in to his own apartment this month.
Here’s the dresser, which I automatically pegged as a beautiful sideboard to put in either the dining room nook or the lower-living room nook (our house is just full of nooks, it seems). It has oodles of storage and is in pretty good condition. However, I haven’t decided if I want to paint it or maybe re-stain it someday; I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the rooms end up developing.
Here is the mirror which goes with it. It had some metal rails on the back by which it could be attached to the dresser, but I promptly removed them. I have plans for the mirror in another part of the house, which I will share with you tomorrow.
The matching bedside tables need a little work, as they’re pretty beat up and water-marked. However, since I don’t plan on displaying them all in the same room, I think it will be fun to sand them down and paint them eventually. They may or may not find their permanent home in the front living room, or possibly, fulfilling their original function, in the guest bedroom (when we get a bed for it…someday).
Denny liked everything that I dragged home with me…except for this one item.
Okay, I admit, it’s a little…I hate to use the word “ugly.” Homely, perhaps? But it was $20, for crying out loud, and it’s really less offensive in real-life than in pictures, I swear it. I think that given the right accessories and a little bit of love, it could be very fun and stylish. And, if not, it was only $20 and at least now we can use our front living room without having to criss-cross-applesauce on the floor.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics of the other stuff for you right now (I’m still getting used to my new goal in life as the project paparazzi), but I’m sure they’ll turn up in some pictures soon. Although I do have one more photo for you (albeit a weirdly lit, toddler-could-have-taken-it one).
These are the bookshelves that we were able to score a couple days later…for free! You see, by the end of the weekend, there was still quite a bit of stuff leftover and it appears as if the people holding the sale really just wanted it gone and gone now, because they simply sat out a sign that it was all free as of Monday morning. It takes a lot of willpower for me to resist bookshelves of any sort, much less free ones, so I ended up lugging one home by myself on my way home from work, then wheedling Denny until he helped me get the other two (one for Mom and one for little brother). Oh, and, sidenote: those bookshelves are not light! You should have seen my slow, inching progress as I virtually dragged the first one across the driveway and about threw-out my back hefting it into my car. Not the brightest idea, I’ll tell you (but certainly entertaining to look back on!).
So that concludes my adventure in garage-sale-ing. I’ll be sure to write back soon as all of these lovely pieces find places in my home. And I’ll let you know how the couch turns out. Will it be an ugly dud (as Denny predicts), or will I manage to transform it into something cute and blogworthy? I guess only time will tell.
PS: Did you get my Styx reference, or was it too obscure? Here's a video that may help.
Hey! I like that couch! It's very Simpson-ish. Name it Homer and accept it, Denny!
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