Part of the excitement of a new-to-us, bigger
house is getting to put our own stamp on it.
But the reality of having 2 small kids in daycares + medical bills +
heating said bigger house with an old
and horribly inefficient heat pump means we don’t have a lot (any) extra money
lying around. The upside is that I now
have a perfectly valid excuse to frequent thrift stores for bargains and
upcycling projects. Bargains are in my
blood – my Mamaw (maternal grandmother) was the yard sale queen, and after many
early Saturday mornings being dragged around, I’ve had extensive training. I’ve scored a few finds recently that are
helping to decorate the house a little and make me happy in the process.
P.S. Yes they are all icky flash pictures as they were all taken post-bedtime.
I found the white lamp base at Goodwill for $5, all
it needed was a quick wipe-down with the magic eraser and it was as good as
new. A few days later, I got lucky at
Target and found the lamp shade on clearance for $5.06. So, for $10 I have a great accessory for my
desk in the office!
Not sure what is up with the wooden bowl here - it isn't beat up at all!
All of these little bowl-thingies (possibly
ash trays in prior lives) are going to live in various places to hold keys,
bobbins, thread, etc. The biggest
splurge was the star at $3.99 from Mega Thrift, the other two were $0.49 each
at Salvation Army (what?!).
P.S. The local Salvation Army is new to
me. It’s in a shopping center that used
to be pretty sketchy, but it’s being made over.
The workers are awesome to chat with and their prices are so much better
than Goodwill and other thrift stores around here. The only downside is the number of bargain
hunters – the furniture in particular goes really fast.
This desk was an AWESOME find for $9 at
ReStore. I have a fold-up sewing desk
that I love, but it’s a pain to open and it already holds my serger and other
machine (that’s another story). Plus,
the small surface area made it terrible for quilting, and there isn’t much leg
room. In other words, it’s only ideal
for small projects, like clothing, and I didn’t want to have to move machines
around. So I began looking for larger
desks or a table, but couldn’t find anything sturdy, low enough to accommodate
my shortness, and with tons leg room for multi-tasking. This meets all those requirements, and
because of the lacquered/kinda ugly top I can even pin on it without
worries. Although this could probably use a coat of paint to combat the 70s brown, it’s in pretty good shape and mostly needed a quick cleaning.
Finally, some top sheets (vintage and probably
Target). The vintage one will definitely
be a quilt back.
Yay for thrift store finds! Cheap and with personality, can’t beat it. I have a few others that I’ve made over, just
need to take the obligatory before and after shots J
yay! another blog post.
ReplyDeletejealous of your thrift store finds. especially the vintage sheet. I mostly clothes shop at thrift stores. I'm too nervous to buy home decor recycle projects. because I have a history of never getting to them.
anyhooo. we should go yard saleing sometime. :)