Thrifting :: Not Much to See Here Editition

I haven't had much time to poke around thrift shops lately but did spy a couple of nice art deco pieces last month.  I love the egg and dart trim and the veneer patterns on the second piece.

This glass fixtures casts really nice light.  The base wasn't the greatest but that can be changed.

Spot anything good yourself lately or have the pickings been slim everywhere?

Thrifting :: Bungalow 5 Edition

For my trips to Manhattan, I have always driven into the city and parked and then driven out.  Part of this is that it is super expensive to take the Amtrak train all the way.  Part of it is because I always thought, "What if I find something large that I want to fit in my {small} car?"

The last trip I was sick beforehand, so sick that I figured I'd only go if I woke up at 3:30 am {with no alarm} and felt well enough to go down.  I did wake up on time, but I was tired and recovering so I stopped at a random train station in Connecticut and took the train in.  At one point I walked by a thrift shop, decided to see what they had inside, and found these.....

Brigitte 3-Drawer Side Table

Harlow 1-Drawer Side Table

Paramount 3-Drawer Side Table

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Hourglass Stool/Side Table

It is like a whole Bungalow 5 sample sale.  Needless to say, none of these were hauled back to Grand Central and the random Connecticut train station I came in from, but they could be a serious score for someone.

Thrifting :: Tons of Furniture Edition

I found a bunch of great furniture on my last trip out.  It's actually from two thrift and one consignment shop - I've been busy.

This evil cat looks familiar and makes me happy to look at.  I almost got it for my niece but this was a new consignment shop for me and their prices were at the top of what I would pay for things {new} and I already have Christmas presents.

There's something about curled wicker that draws me in.  I have some end tables with the curved wicker curlicues but my last cat used to work really hard to bite them off {she didn't ever even scratch things but she really wanted the nibbly bits on the wicker dead} so I hid them.  I'll have to drag them out and use them again.

These chairs are quite nice - I think there was a whole set of 6 which is a rare thing it seems.  They'd be nice with the wood refinished or painted and some new seat fabric.

This is an amazing sofa below.  The curved lines, the rolled arms that go straight into the rolled back, the deep tufting.  Contrary to what the picture shows, it's a deep deep red which is a great color.  It's so gross that I itched for two hours after seeing it, but if I needed a sofa I'd buy it and throw the cushions away and rip the fabric and foam off while it waited for reupholstering.  I'm super happy with my own sofa though so this will wait for someone else.

Thrifting :: Consignment Edition

I popped into a few thrift and consignment shops last week and found mostly nothing special but there were a few things I really loved.

This waterfall desk is really great.  With the veneer pattern being so nice, it should be back to working condition with a tung oil treatment and perhaps a bit of stain.  The drawers were nicely dovetailed and I love the simplicity of the pulls.

 A bamboo vanity!  It's super 80s but I really like it and it was in excellent condition {with the exception of the bench seat}.  It wasn't cheap though.  The classic dresser to the left was very nice too, you can kind of see a sliver of it in the photo.

I fell in love with this hefty ash tray.  I think it's the bright orange and white combined with the metal that I loved and it would be great for holding paper clips or keys at the front door.

These 70s lamps {I want to call it a chandelier lamp} with the hanging smoked glass disks make me really happy.  Again, not cheap but in perfect condition.

Thrifting :: End of the Summer Edition

My wrist is still healing but it's doing a bit better now so I thought I'd do a quick post on my latest thrifting finds.  A few weeks ago I popped into one of my favorite thrift shops and found a few things I would have loved to take home with me. Two things did come with me, and I'll post about them later, but here's what stayed behind.

The first is an inexpensive solution to the strangely popular "boob light" you find in new houses everywhere {and sadly, a lot of my apartments}.   The faceted glass makes it look fancier than it actually is.  There were two similar fixtures there, but this one had a dangly bit on the end.

 This headboard caught my eye and would be great for a kid's room.  I would paint it since the wood color is a bit 50s {or perhaps that more gross 70s shade with the black flecks added, I forget} but in the right place it could go as is with a bit of a tung oil polish.

This rattan rocker was so great but it was broken.  If I could have found a reason to take this home with me I would have, so it's a good thing it felt like it was going to flop over when I sat in it.

There were two dressers there that I liked, the first one, in dark wood was really nicely made - something you don't find around much.  With some new hardware it would be nice as is.  I'd paint the white one below to keep it from being so "french country" or whatever it is now.

 

Thrifting :: Slacker Edition

I have been pretty stressed out lately and working hard.  Last week I was pretty busy trying to gain access to my email account, working extra hours {many involving crawling around buildings}, and redoing my taxes - the IRS tells me how I've screwed them up every year.  Then there has been all this heat and humidity where my hair takes on a life of it's own.  So I decided to relax instead of blogging.  I feel much better now.

Since it's fun to drive around in a hot car with no AC I decided to stop at a local consignment shop.  I purchased my sofa there 10 years ago for about $200 but after that trips have been more miss than hit.  They had some nice things this time, so here is what I found:

The upholstery is shot on this bench so it's probably not worth the money they are trying to get for it but it's really nice and could look great with some new fabric.

 This midcentury tea and coffee set caught my eye but they were asking $175 for it.  I feel like this is more an item for ebay than a consignment shop but I'd be interested to see if it sells.  I forget the name of it....

 I actually love this mirror.  I'd paint it something other than brown though.

This cute little pie crust table was one of my favorite pieces.  It was also really sturdy for a vintage piece and was one of the most reasonably priced items there.

 Cute little table, I love the drop pull.

I thought these vintage car prints were nice but my photo of them is terrible.  They'd need new frames but could be perfect in the right place.

Thrifting :: Tuesday Morning Edition

I haven't posted thrift store photos in a while so I thought I'd put some of the latest up. Just because I'm not posting about going doesn't mean I'm not looking. I don't need anything so I've been trying not to go though.

This dresser is nice.  If I bought it I'd paint it and change out the hardware - or at least change the hardware.

I like this cute little swiveling cane stool - and actually the side table/night stand next to it. 

A terrible photo of a beautiful mid-century dresser.  It was in great shape I love the simple, angular hardware.

Remember my carpet posts from last week?  I kind of want this rug.  It needs a good cleaning but it is probably large enough to fill a room {8x10}.  I walked away but I think about it a lot.

They had rolls of fabric for really reasonable prices.  They were all really traditional but not exciting traditional - although toile is nice.

Thrifting :: Consignment Edition

Over the weekend I stopped in one of my favorite consignment shops. I was able to walk out the door empty handed but it was a bit difficult.

These pint-sized Thonet chairs are adorable. They were priced a bit high for their condition {in my opinion} but cute nonetheless.

I liked this set of vintage nightstands that had a matching dresser - I love the little ring pull especially.  They would be cute as end tables as well.

I really want this mirror to come home with me someday.  Perhaps for my birthday or if it's still there when the price drops as low as possible.  I play that game all the time and in thrift and consignment shops and I generally lose.  It's just a mirror though.

I thought these were cute with lucite being so popular these days.  It's lucite that's acceptable for boys {and also little girls who love cars}!  Each piece that has a car actually rotates so there are a bunch of configurations, someone just happened to have pushed them all together.  Perhaps a small child who was bored and trying to figure out how to liberate the cars.

Has anyone else stumbled upon a great thrifted find lately?

Thrifting :: Mid-week Edition

Along with my clothes shopping this past weekend, I also fit in some thrift store browsing. I didn't find a ton of things I was in love with but I did find some interesting things.

This dresser is huge and well constructed. I love the simple round pulls {though it's missing one} and it has a jewelry drawer too.  For some reason, jewelry drawers make me happy.

I think it would be fun to have a vintage range and this one was super cheap {freezer basket not included}.  It had a sign on it saying one of the burners doesn't turn off though, so maybe it would be more fun to have a range like this if I could actually fix all the problems that might arise myself.

What I fell in love with were these 60s silver ceiling fixtures from Lightolier with four smoked glass globes.

There were two of them and while they are a little bit tarnished they are a great find!

I bet they would be sold on 1st Dibs for 1.6 million dollars.

Thrifting

On Monday afternoon, after a meeting I had in the middle of nowhere {if the person you are meeting admits it is the middle of nowhere, it really is}, I decided to take a trip to a thrift shop that was sort of close by.  I had heard rumors about this place and wanted to see what was there.

They actually had some good furniture there if you have some skill at restoration.  This Art Deco piece definitely needed some love on it's veneered wood drawers but they all worked and the piece was nicely made.

I really loved this dresser and it could probably be polished and have the two gouges fixed and live for a while like that but would be beautiful refinished.  Probably the biggest problem was that the bottom drawer wouldn't push in.  I didn't check it out closely since I didn't want to sit on the floor and look.  Plus I don't need a dresser so I'll let someone else figure it out.

I have to say that being there was a bit depressing because while there were these nice pieces for sale {at super cheap prices} there were two people eager to buy an old particle board tv cabinet that was probably from Walmart or Target and was wobbly.  Better for me I guess.  At least the good things will stick around...

That bit aside, this was the cleanest thrift shop I've ever been to.  I felt a bit grimy after I left {as usual} but it was still very clean and brightly lit.

Thrifting

I was feeling restless recently so I went to a thrift shop I had literally been thinking about stopping at for years {this is a recurring theme with me but I'm making it a point to actually stop these days}.

They had some great things at pretty good prices. What I saw...

This faux bamboo bookcase.  It needs some serious TLC, or maybe just some paint, but it's a nice piece.

There were a lot of chairs.  The yellow cushioned chair with the fluted legs fascinated me.  It also looks like the bookcase above came as part of a set because it's chair friends were here.

This sideboard was a really nice piece.  If I had needed one it would have come home with me, it would make a nice dresser.  The veneer was a bit nicked but it had dovetailed joints and dentil molding and would just need some polishing or painting and some new drawer knobs.  The velvet inside the top drawer was pretty scary but that's easy enough to replace too.

Happy thrifting!

Thrift Store Chair Upgrade

I found a new thrift shop the other day after a friend recommendation I check it out.  I accidentally went to a different shop than she recommended since she didn't know the name, only the city, and only one showed up in my search.  It wound up being a happy accident since they had such great items and were soooooooooo cheap {plus they donate some of their profits to different charities which is a bonus}.

I really liked this teapot.  I had to dig in my bag for enough change to get what I was getting so this didn't come home with me but I keep thinking about it.  I typically heat up my tea water in a small sauce pan, so an enamel teapot would be welcomed.  Plus, it was $2.

These small floral lamps were kind of sweet.  I would probably take a can of spray paint to them to make them less sweet and more modern.  I would definitely change out the shades.

I could definitely see them in the color combination of this Anthropologie vase.

via Anthropologie

Or even this one {I didn't have this one in mind until I opened the site to find the vase above}.

via Anthropologie

Then there was this chair.  I'm definitely concerned about becoming a furniture hoarder but this chair is still calling my name.

It's pretty sad looking as it is, but with a little elbow grease it could be great and perhaps a boxier version of the design center chair below.  I worry about my lack of elbow grease and my over-abundance of 'good intentions' though.

I've been trying to decide what goals to set for 2012 and perhaps finishing up projects {some, like my sofa and my cane chairs have had some progress made} should be one of my priorities.  I'm so good about helping others with projects but my own tend to be left by the wayside.  I'll have to change that.

Happy thrifting!