Thrifting Success

This weekend I made the trek out to Gardendale to a fantastic flea mall - 2 floors jam packed with treasures.  I snagged a mid-century-ish orange chair for only $15.  We originally had this dusty green chair in the corner of the guest room.

I love the shape, but the green did get lost against the wall colour, so its nice to add a pop of contrast.  Mo seems to like it too.  The green chair now has a new home in the other guest room - also known as home of the lost furniture.  It's such a mish mash in there that at some point I'm going to have to put some serious time and effort into bringing together.

Next up was this magazine rack for a crisp $18. 

 

You can see the great shape better from the side.

 

 

How could I not love the top with its geometric pattern.  It reminded me of something you'd find in Urban Outfitters.

I also picked up a couple of glass bottles and some wall sconces that have made the spray painting list. 

 

Kate

xxx

Aye aye Capt'n

I knew these trays would come in handy, I just knew it.  Well, I knew they were cheap (on clearance at Target for a measly $4 each) so I snapped them up.

They've been hanging around in a box in the basement ever since then, just waiting for their big transformation.  Oh yes, they knew their time would come.

Now for the plan: I've seen lots of variations of the Captain Mirror.  From Ballard Designs, ringing in at a whopping $449:

 

To Horchow at a budget busting $725

The first thing I needed was a mirror to insert into the center of the tray.  I measured the tray and it was an awkward 13.5" across.  Michaels had a craft mirror at 12" and Hobby Lobby had a candle mirror at 13".  Ideally I would have gone for the 13" to leave as little a gap around the outside as possible but it was so heavy I didn't want to put any extra strain on the straps or bamboo tray (notorious for splitting).

The 12" turned out great, and I kind of like the extra border around the outside.  It was as simple as hot gluing it into the center of the tray.

Now for the straps/belts.  I measured the height of the tray and around the bottom half to make sure the buckles would meet the tray at the right point.  With tape measure in hand I hit up J&J Junk (more on that here) and found these 2 belts for only 50c.  That's right, just 25c each and unbelievably both are real leather (one is even Tommy Hilfiger).

 

 

See - I told you so.

 

 

I hot glued one belt around the bottom of the tray, then attached the second belt to loop around the top so the buckles were level on each side.

Here is my version of the Captain Mirror for under $10.

 

I used a chunky acrylic hook I bought, for I think $1 at a flea mall, to hang the mirror.

 

 

I love how the worn leather belts look.

 

 

Here's the captain in pride of place in our master.

 

 

Kate

xxx

 

Macklemore Challenge

This weekend I took a trip out to Pinson to visit Mission Possible thrift shop as part of Young House Love's Macklemore challenge (as if I ever needed an excuse to go to a Thrift shop).

The challenge was to see what goodies you could find with just $20.  You didn't have to spend the whole $20 but you shouldn't go over (Price is Right styleeee).  Then we'd have a good ole link party to share our spoils over on YHL today.

I immediately snapped up these two black candle holders.  They look like black glass but are only plastic (shhh, don't tell!).  That was a whopping $1.78 of the budget spent.  You've got to love Thrift Stores that just write the price on the item.

They had a couple of side tables that would have looked great refinished in a bright colour, but I couldn't resist these 2 lamps.  Ok, so the gold is terrible and they're not an exact pair, but I think when spray painted the same colour they will look great.  Now all I need is to decide what colour to paint them - any suggestions?

I only spent a total of just over $10 ($10.76 to be exact, the lamps were $3.99 and $4.99 each) and managed to pick up a pair of candle holders and a pair (ish) of lamps.  You can't beat that!

While I was in Pinson, I thought I may as well pop into Sonya's Stuff (think thrift store meets junk shop meets flea mall) .  I mean I was in the area so it'd be rude not too!  They had posted a pair of mid-century nightstands on Craigslist about a month ago.  I was sure they would have been snapped up, but thought I'd see what other goodies they had.

I couldn't believe it when I walked in and they were still available.  Clearly I grabbed them and ran. Here they are at home in the Master:

 

 

 

 

Lots more Master Bedroom updates to come next week.

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Kate

xxx

All Bar None

Until recently, the corner of our dining room was home to a small dark wood table  Unfortunately, I don't have a before pick because that sad little rickety table was out of here as fast as it's wonky spindle legs could carry it!

On a recent trip to one of my favorite flea malls (Bama Flea Mall), I picked up this amazing bar cart to take the tables place: 

 

It's in amazing condition, no chips to the glass or scratches in the gold.

It originally had 4 care home style wheels on the bottom that I managed to pry off as they didn't go at all with the faux bamboo modern gold finish and hexagonal shape.

I've seen lots of examples of amazing bar carts, these are some of my faves:

 

The Life Styled - I heart the paper straws

 

 

Interiors by Studio M

 

 

Interiors by Studio M

 

 

Style by Emily Henderson

 

Kate

xxx

 

Find more Thrifty Finds HERE

Velvet spool

Anthropologie had the sweetest little spools wrapped in velvet, but they were expensive!  I want to say they were $12 - i gasped and put them back on the shelf so quickly I'm not 100% on the price. 

A couple of weeks later I saw the exact same ones in TJ Maxx, and decided to splash out the $5.  That's still a ridiculous price for a spool and bit of velvet but they were just so bright and cheerful I couldn't resist.

The only thing better that one velvet spool is TWO velvet spools!!  I already had a spool from one of my many thrift store visits.  I picked up some velvet ribbon from Michaels, wound it round and pinned it.

Ta-da:

Kate

xxx

See more crafty ideas HERE

 

I'm a big fan fan

I've been on the hunt for a vintage fan for months.  The word was obviously out as any I came across were always mega expensive.  Well, too expensive for me anyway.  Etsy had a good selection, but when you factored in shipping it just wasn't worth it.  So I couldn't believe my luck when I came across this beauty in my go to flea mall (Bama Flea Mall).

 

 

 

I have no idea if it works or not - I haven't risked plugging it in in case it shorts the whole house!

 

Hopefully it will end up in a beautiful vignette like these (nothing a globe, a few lemons and a cactus shouldn't take care of!):

 

 

The Painted Hive

 

 

Miss Mustard Seed

 

 

Smile and Wave

 

Kate

xxx

 

Maybe next time

Unfortunately, the trip to Mall of America didn't happen after all.  David will just have to wait to meet me - I'm sure he was disappointed!

I did, however, manage to pick up another source of design expertise at one of our local thrift stores:

 

It's funny to read how much decorating opinions have changed.  It was published in 1976, and has some real decorating gems, such as:

 

"Making a man suffer in a pink bedroom or, worse, a pink living room.  Think of others when you plan a scheme."

 

"Being afraid to cover everything in a living room in a bright chintz.  It can be charming."

 

I'm not even going to tell you what I thought a "lambriquin" was before reading this book - and now I know, and can guarantee we won't be having one in our house!

 

To see decor we would be horrified to find in a house today referred to as crisp and contemporary (yes, paisley fridge I'm talking to you!) is hilarious.  Makes you wonder if we'll look back on in 35 years and wonder "what were we thinking" about ikat or chevron or chalkboard paint!

 

Kate

xxx 

 

Smug thrifter alert!

I am feeling especially smug after my trip to J&J Junk at the weekend.  I managed to pick up some real mid-century treats. 

The Jacob Zook sign was a whopping $1 (admittedly, I had to Google it as I thought it was some magical board game I had never seen before!), the Royal Haeger vase another $1, and I splashed out on the mosaic trivet for a budget breaking $1.50.

 

Also making it into the basket this time around were a stack of orange melamine plate mates, a pair of lucite wine bottle holders (marked at $3 each - amazingly the nice cashier lady took exception to that lofty price tag and gave me the two for $3!) and a small wooden candle holder.

 

I was fully prepared this time with cash (they don't take cards) and wet wipes to wipe away the inevitable layer of grime that comes from rummaging through boxes of toot for 2 hours! 

 

A morning well spent. 

 

Kate

xxx

Master coming together

I couldn't resist a close up look at my favourite new dresser.

 

 

 With my favourite little yellow lamp, favourite knitted pouf, and favourite fuzzy felt containers.

 

 

These fuzzy little felt treats were from the dollar section in Target.

 

 

And this small ombre bowl was (surprise surprise) a thrift store find. 

 

 

One more time for those at the back.

 

 

Kate

xxx

Bumper year!

It wouldn't be a weekend without at least one trip to a thrift store or flea mall.  So I set the SatNav and hot footed it to Gardendale Flea Mall.  I hadn't been there in a few months, and they had some goooood stuff this time around.  I was specifically looking for furniture, and I wasn't disappointed.

The first thing I spied was this dresser.  I ripped the price tag off quicker than lightning so no one else could steal my the dresser.  It came with a mirror too, but I couldn't squeeze that in - a good excuse to pop back this weekend to pick it up.  And maybe have another quick look round :-)

Next up was this sweet shelving unit.  It was piled high with junk and fabric, but I know amazingness when I see it.

I also snapped up these 2 pictures

 

There was also a vintage orange chair that nearly made the cut.  I might buy it if it's still there this weekend.  Watch this space!

Longest Yard Sale

Here are some overdue shots of the longest yard sale.  Sadly, I didn't find much loot this year, but it was definitely worth the drive for the experience.

Lesson 1 - Pack your best parking skills.  Be prepared to go off road and squeeze into the smallest of spaces.  But don't go over that white line - I saw the police handing out tickets on my first stop (as I sprinted back to my car to make sure it wasn't me they were ticketing!).

Lesson 2 - Head for churches and schools.  They have parking (woo hoo!) and lots of sellers in one place.

Lesson 3 - Get there early.  I joined the sale on Saturday, and the Thursday and Friday buyers had clearly grabbed a lot of the good stuff.

Lesson 4 - Bring a good co-pilot who can scout out the sales as you drive by to see whether it is worth stopping.

Lesson 5 - Watch out for cousin Eddie, I'm pretty sure I saw him out there!!