Craigslist Treasure Hunting Again

Please accept my apologies for the lack of DIYs this week.  Right now I'm enjoying the calm before the storm.  We close on the newest flip house, "Millie" on Friday and while I'm very excited to be taking on an antique house, I'm kinda scared sh*tless at the same time. I have a feeling I'll be spending quite a bit of time on Craigslist trying to find appropriate pieces for a period craftsman bungalow, but for now, let's just look at a few pretty things currently listed for sale.

How pretty is this little vanity set for $90?  If it wouldn't completely clash in my bedroom, I would seriously consider taking it home.  Don't worry, though, Hubby- it won't fit in with the rest of the furniture so you're safe this time.

I also may or may not have resold the dresser that I bought intending for my future niece.  It was a lovely buffet/dresser, but when I started thinking about a toddler trying to open/close those gigantic drawers that didn't have any kind of track, I decided to go back to the drawing board.  My current thought is this:

Just picture it with the weird handle recesses filled in, painted, and with proper knobs.  It has tons of potential at $100.

Although, if I decided not to do the refinishing myself, this dresser is pretty stunning already, just a bit more than I was hoping to spend on a dresser for said soon-to-be niece at $350:

Returning back to potential beauties at $100.  I'm not enamored with it when the doors are closed...

...but if you removed the doors and left the open shelving on top, I'm pretty charmed by it.

And for some reason I'm always drawn to old banker chairs, library chairs, etc.  Rarely do you find one that looks this nice for $20.  Luckily for my already overstuffed basement, I'm on a self-proclaimed chair buying hiatus.

I'll leave you with one parting bit of eye candy.  WAY WAY WAY above what I would ever spend in reality, but in my dreams, I'll totally be spending the $2395 for this restored antique pulley chandelier.  Would you like to dream with me?

It's easy to be overwhelmed when perusing Craigslist, but if you know what you're looking for, the gems are there.  Happy thrifting!

Make it Work: Steamer Trunk

What?  Another new series?  I'm on a roll!  I hope you're loving them! In the past I've shown you all the treasures (and some not so much...) for sale on Craigslist, but I though it would be fun to not just show you the piece, but also show you how you can make it work in your own space

This week's treasure:

The steamer trunk

Currently listed on the Boston/North Shore Craigslist for $10.  Seriously $10.  The picture makes it look pretty decent and if the inside is clean and usable, $10 is a steal!

Antique steamer trunk, meet modern home:

via Houzz

How I would style this piece:

1/ IKEA Stockholm sofa-  Surprise! Just goes to show you can have style at any budget!

2/ Olia Table Lamp via Lulu & Georgia

3/ Penelope Night Stand via West Elm

4/ Racing Stripe Pillow via Serena & Lily

5/ Domino Pillow via Lulu & Georgia

6/ Sculpted Metal + Leather Bowl Chair via West Elm (another surprise)

7/ Triangles Dhurrie Rug also via West Elm

Are you loving/hating my new series posts?  I'd love your feedback on Make it Work, 5 Ways, or Crash!

Frankie Update

Frankie, oh Frankie.  Why must you break my heart so?  Frankie the Fliphouse (our second flip) still hasn't sold.  Great house on a good street on the wrong side of town.  Live and learn.  Without dropping the price yet again, we need to take action to get this guy gone! In the words of Sir Tim Gunn:

That saying's kinda a thing with Hubby and me.  I still need to frame this print that I purchased from ScoutMob and hang it properly, but I love the positive reminder.  I dare you to not hear Tim's voice when you read it!

Craigslist will be sick of me by the end of the next week or so- We've decided this house needs to be staged to help market it better.  I'm hunting, scavenging, and haggling for the best deals possible for furniture to stage an entire house.  That means mattresses, beds, dressers, etc.  I'm hoping to furnish the entire house quickly on a shoestring budget and make it look like it wasn't done on the cheap.  So far I've only set a time to pick up this guy on Saturday.

I know it's blue, but the style is pretty simple, it's clean and neat, and above all else, the price is right.  $50 for a sofa in good condition?  I'll take it!  Since I'm going blue on the sofa, I'm looking for a more neutral colored chair with interesting lines to accompany it.  Here are the current front-runners:

Now the race is on to see who responds to my e-mails.

I'm sure I'll come up with a quick DIY or 2 to help stage once I get some of the larger pieces procured.  Until then, I'll be that girl on my iphone every 5 minutes looking to see if anything new has been posted.

Let the staging begin!