Furniture Find

I am starting to think that the girls at the thrift shop down my street think I am a hoarder. For real.

 

I go in there every weekend and see the same people working all the time. But how could I resist when I find amazing pieces like this?!

 

For less than an eighth of the price of similar styles at Restoration Hardware, how could I pass this set up? Regardless of the fact that I DO NOT need any more furniture, nor do I need to be throwing down my hard earned cash on a whim- I still went for it.

 

But these beauties were not for me, there were to go straight to Craigslist. Mama needs a little spare cash!

The details were really nice, and although I didn't exactly who made them, I guessed they were not sent over on the boat from China. The down feather cushions said they were made in Brooklyn, so I will assume the whole chair is US born.

 

Needless to say, these chairs sold in less than a day for more that 4xs what I paid for them. Amazeballs!

 

I am thinking that once baby comes, this resale hobby of mine might need to become more of a part time job. Its the thrill of the hunt that keeps me going :)

 

XOXO Katie

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Flaunt Your Feathers

The moons collided with the great find that I had this weekend. I was walking around the block to our local market to buy an ingredient for my latest Pinterest inspired meal, and I stumbled upon small and somewhat...ahhem informal flea market on the lawn of our neighborhood recreation center. I have seen this group of characters there before and usually take a quick glance, but never find anything good. Unless you want a crude oil painting of JFK wearing clown costume to go above your fireplace. If so, then this flea market is for you.

 

Please note the bed pan in this pic- true gems here for sure :)

 

Well, after taking in the "interesting" array of goodies I came across a set of  gold aluminum peacocks that I knew just had to be mine. I knew the vendor was desperate when I had asked the price and she just replied with, "Well, make me an offer." Game on, Lady. And after pretending to look concerned about the flaking paint and one bent feather I blurted out, "Well, I have $5 dollars in my purse. So that's the best I can do....for both" And guess what?! She said "Then I guess I have no choice- $5 it is." Dunzo! These boys were mine!

 

They are now perched above the side table in our living room, which was screaming for some kind of sculptural work because another piece of art would have been too close to the botanical series above the couch.

 

 

 

I love the way the peacock image in carried out through interior design. It can go from traditional, to bohemian, to art deco so seamlessly. Considering the peacock represents rebirth, immortality, and love I am happy to have these statement pieces in my home.

 

Here are some other uses of the image that I just love...

 

I have been on the hunt for the last 2 years for a brass screen like the one above. I think it would look amazeballs in front of my faux fireplace that I installed forever ago! I am thinking that I need to suck it up and just order it on Ebay.

XOXO Katie

**Just a reminder the leg warmer giveaway still open for entries- so enter now because there are only 2 days left until the winner is announced!**

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Made in the USA

I am sure you guys might think that all I do on the weekends is hop from thrift store to thrift store picking up goodies. I have mentioned my finds a few times (here & here), but I swear I am not a hoarder (I think...). I have only picked up something off of the side of the street ONCE- but I resold it for $80 so I have no shame in my quirky ways :)

But I HAVE to tell you about a find that I had recently because I was a total steal, if I do say so myself.

I was in the thrift store on my block that I pop into when I go for my walks. I spotted this amazing contemporary wing back chair in a gray/blue color with brass nail heads and I instantly knew it was a really nice piece. It was marked at just $45. STEAL.

Please note the kitten at the bottom of the screen- she was checking out her new turf:)

After close inspection I confirmed my suspicions- the tag under the seat said it was a Century Furniture chair and it was made in North Carolina. No joke- if you see any furniture with a made in the USA tag, chances are that it is a pretty well made/expensive piece. Most furniture is made overseas (Asia or South America mostly) for significantly less cost, so a USA born piece will instantly be more expensive.

So in the back of my car it went- that baby was mine!  Of course my curiosity was killing me and I went home and Googled the brand to see if I could get an idea of the value.

I found the exact same chair on the website (different fabric, but same design) and the sirens went off when not only was the furniture on the site beautiful, but you had to email them for a quote on everything. O-M-G this must be expensive! Of course, I sent them an email to get the price and this is what they wrote back:

The Century Furniture Living Room Stanford Skirted Chair.  In a grade 18 fabric = $1789.00; in a grade 40 fabric = $2245.00 and in a grade 60 fabric = $2665.00.

HOLY HECK!! JACKPOT!!

The upholstery was in good condition with only one burn mark on the removable seat near a seam. I am pretty confident that I can just take in the seam at home to totally fix that issue. I will also look into getting it cleaned down the road. To professionally clean this size chair is about $40 and the cleaners come to your home and cleans it on the spot. The only issue is that there is a $99 minimum for this service so I am going to hold off until I need a rug cleaned or something to make it worth my while.

Right now this beauty is parked in my bedroom and totally classes up the place. When I first saw it in the store I was temped to just resell it for maybe $200, but once I learned the retail value and construction I decided that it was a keeper. It does work well in my rooms since the colors are blues and aquas, but it would also be a great piece to recover down the line.

All in all this was one of my more high end finds so I was pretty pumped. So the next time you are hunting for furniture, whether its at Goodwill or on CL, just keep an eye out for that "Made in the USA" tag. Because you can hit the jackpot too!

XOXO Katie

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