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!

Les Antiquaires

Challenge accepted, Bordeaux, I hear you loud and clear.  Sadly we haven't had too much time to explore while the shops have been open, but we've scoped them out and know exactly where we want to head back to.  That's the benefit and downfall of a river cruise wrapped up in one.  We've been to busy blending our own cognac and truffle hunting to do too much shopping #firstworldproblems.

We were able to sneak into one shop right as the shop owner was turning on the lights and opening- we had a solid 10 minutes to shop and get back to the boat before they set sail and we cut it a bit too close for comfort.  BUT we hopped back onto the boat (literally) with a few fun trinkets.

A small wood & metal ship that seems to be a souvenier from la Rochelle more than a few years ago.

A small painted gold pot that's about 4" tall and its calling to have some succulents or other easy to maintain greenery planted in it.

And a pretty sweet clock.  It has a battery mechanism, so it's not some precious antique, but it makes it easier to fix up and I don't have to worry about winding or any annoying ticking.  The numbers and hands had me at hello.  I think I may try and freshen this one up a bit once we get home.

You know, port hole window sills actually work quite well for photography.  I may have had to stand on the bed to take the shots, but work with what ya got!

Who needs generic souvenirs when you can come home from trips with items like these??  Hubby and I are both itching to get out there and do a bit more shopping.  I'm craving something that just makes me giddy.  I don't know what is it, but I always have fun hunting!

Hope you're having a great week too!

CL Mission: Dresser

I had been afraid it would take us a while to find our next flip since the summer real estate market is pretty hot, but apparently that was an unfound fear.  I'll share all the details Friday, but this one'll be a totally different type of project and I'm super excited! Another project I'm super excited about is designing my soon-to-be-neice's room!  Cutest Nephew Ever is going to be a big brother right around Halloween and it's Auntie Karen's job to make sure she has a beautiful room to come home to.  It's not a very spacious room, so a big part of the design is the dresser/changing table.  If you've been around here long enough to remember my nephew's nursery you may recall that I refinished 2 mid-century pieces for him (2 years later they're still going strong!)

The crib and the rocker will be making their way into my niece's room, but that's all she has currently!  Her room will be directly across the hall from my nephew's and will practically mirror his lay-out wise.  Lucky for her, though, it's just a smidge bigger, so I'll be able to fit a full-size dresser/changing table.  The craigslist hunt is ON!

Since the rest of the room has yet to be designed, I'm open to any style of dresser that I can get a good deal on.  As you might be able to guess, I'm partial to antique.  I've got my head stuck on painting a piece gray and white which will compliment the soon-to-be sunny yellow walls perfectly, but if I find a piece in the right condition stained, that plan could certainly be revised.

This first dresser would look delightful painted, but I have a feeling it's just a bit too large for the room.

This next one caught my eye.  I can't quite tell how damaged it is, but I am intrigued for $50.  This one might be a partial-paint to cover blemishes, but that graining is just so pretty!  Another thing about this one is that I can't tell the age.  If it's newer, it might not have the best construction and not be worth refinishing, but if it is antique I'll bet it's solid as a rock.  With an e-mail out to the seller, we shall see.

I love the shape of this one.  It has a fresh coat of black which looks nice but would be WAY too dark for the room.  The good news here is that it's already painted so I wouldn't have to worry about ruining beautiful wood!

I'm also keeping my eye out for a more mid-century piece.  Might be nice for it to relate to her brother's room a bit?  It'll all come down to finding something in solid condition at the right price (aka cheap).  Which one would you pick?