My Newest Craigslist Scores!!

Hello! Things are happening around here slowly but surely. We've been tackling some big and little projects over the last few weeks and sometimes it feels like it's never going to end. So, today I decided to add a couple more projects to the list by making a couple craigslist purchases!

First, I found this snazzy little mid-century dresser.

The drawers are covered in a latex paint that is easily peeling away. So far, from what I can tell, the wood underneath is in great shape. The top and sides are clearly covered with an oil-based paint that will be more difficult to remove. I haven't decided yet if I'll do that, or leave it white. The dimensions make it perfect for me to use as a bedside table. That's not the best deal though...

 

 

From the same seller, I got this Danish Teak loveseat frame. For $5. That's right. I'm going to have to make some new cushions for it. I'm thinking an oatmeal colored linen-like fabric. Box cushions with a matching welt. I've never done it, but surely it can't be that hard!

 

$5! Can you believe it? She had no idea what she had...she kept calling it a "bench". Oh well. Her loss is my gain!

 

This week I'll post some new pictures of my kitchen/living/dining area. Things have changed quite a bit up there since I last posted pictures.

 

So, what kind of finds have you made on craigslist since our last talk? Post some links in the comments - I'd love to see!

Nursery Update - Another Craigslist Dresser

Hello, all! I hope everyone is getting to enjoy some fantastic early spring weather like we are here in North Dakota! We went to a St. Patrick's Day parade yesterday and it was almost 80 degrees! Who would have ever thought that you'd be able to wear shorts and a tank top on St. Patrick's Day in ND?

Anyway, we're plugging away on the nursery and this is our most recent project.

I love this solid wood (no particleboard or veneer!) mid-century dresser and at just $60, it was a steal! The top was in sort of bad shape, with some water spots, stains and dents so I went back and forth on what to do with it. I loved the look of this dresser from aDESIGNdock.

I love the darker wood drawer fronts and the contrast with the white shell. This is such a fantastic look but the dresser is going against a cream colored wall and I just didn't feel like it would look right. We decided that since it was solid wood, sanding and staining was the way to go. So...I put my husband to work :-)

My next decision was what to do with the bare wood. (Man, decisions are TOUGH!) I had three options in mind. First, a clear coat just to seal it. The color would have been super close to the crib but the contrast against the cream colored wall wouldn't have really been there. My second thought was a simple, natural colored stain and my third was a beautiful, deep walnut color.

I ended up going with the natural stain.

I'm super happy with my choice. I love the little bit of color and if we decide to go darker in the future, we can easily do that.

So, that's just a tease. You'll have to wait until the room is totally done to see the finished project :-)

As far as updates go, here are a few more. I finally got the chevron curtain fabric and blackout liner and plan on sewing them up today. While I was at it, I picked up a yard of this Dwell Studio fabric for some accents.

I also have a couple updates on the baby. My c-section is scheduled for April 23rd so unless he decides he wants to come early, that's his birthday! Speaking of him deciding to come early, I guess he's big. He's measuring a couple weeks ahead so I have another ultrasound scheduled for March 27th to get an idea just how big he is. Who knows, maybe he'll be here sooner! I guess that means we still have a lot to do!

How is everyone doing? Are you taking advantage of the fantastic weather? What are you working on right now?

Found Treasure - Mid-Century Love

Hello all! I just wanted to pop in to show you my latest "found treasure". My love of Craigslist is well-documented. I regularly buy and sell furniture and household items and have gotten some incredible deals. Well, I think that today I got my best deal yet!

Behold, my PAIR of vintage Hans Wegner folding rope chairs!

Well, I can't tell if they're Wegner or the earlier Ebert Wels version but either way, they were a steal and they're fantastic! I am planning on selling them so if you're interested, let me know! If I don't sell them, they might just end up in baby boy's room - which I'll be posting my plans for this weekend!

2011 Wrap Up

Hello friends! 2011 has been a big year and I can't wait to share with you some of my favorite posts and happenings.

My five most popular posts this year have been:

#5

Easy DIY Art

I love these in my bedroom. The cream color adds some much needed light to the space!

#4

Another Waverly Fabric SCORE!

I paid $14 for 2.75 yards of this gorgeous Sun N Shade fabric and am planning on finishing up my deck project this summer. Here are the fabrics I'll be using.

#3

Downstairs Bathroom - DONE!

This summer I did a mini re-do of my downstairs bathroom. It was just the freshening up I needed...and SO simple! I've since added a DIY Sunburst Mirror to the spot next to the mirror. It's the perfect finishing touch!

#2

Craigslist Dresser...Done?

This was another one of those never ending projects. I had so many problems with the paint bubbling up and I spent so much time sanding and re-sanding. In the end, it was worth it! This is the perfect storage solution for DVDs, diapers and wipes, toys...I love it! I do still need to buy the hardware I've got picked out but I'm having a difficult time getting myself to spend the money. The knobs and pulls are $5 each and I know that doesn't sound like much but that's $60 total and I just don't want to take it out of my budget. I am planning on a re-do of this whole space sometime this year so when I begin that, I'll buy my knobs :)

#1

New Reading Bench

This was by far my most popular post this year and one of my favorite projects. This goes to show you what a little bit of elbow grease can do. I bought the bench for $20 on Craigslist, pulled off some nasty upholstry and padding, repainted and reupholstered it. For a $30 total investment, I have a fun new piece of furniture and a great addition to my little girl's room.

So, those were my most popular posts of 2011. I want to share a few of my personal favorites.

#3

Valentine Wrap-Up

I loved the Valentine's Day crafts I did this year and I smiled every time I looked at them. I can't wait to get them back up and to do even more this year :)

#2

Owl Love You... (Before & After)

I love this little guy. He just makes me happy :)

#1

Lattice Entertain You...

These are my absolute favorite project from this past year. I fell in love with the fabric and got an awesome deal when I found it in the clearance bin at Joann. Unfortunately, I only had enough for one window. I hunted and hunted for this online but this color isn't made anymore. (It's Waverly Lovely Lattice in mocha. They do make this in the Sun N Shade fabric but I had the 100% cotton and needed the same to match up to what I already had.) Finally, I tripped over a store that had this online.

I love everything about this fabric. The weight, color and pattern are perfect and the curtains are perfect for my living/dining area. Almost every time I look at them, I can't believe how lucky I was to find that second five yards :)

2012 is going to be a busy year for me too. I've got a monster list of projects and to-dos that I'm planning on posting soon. Included in that list will be converting my guest room/office into a nursery for a baby boy coming in April. That's my biggest DIY project planned for 2012. (The baby, not the room!)

I've had so much fun looking back on 2011 and it's inspired me to forge ahead in the coming year. I've loved all the friendships that have developed through this blog and all the support I've received. Thank you ALL for making it wonderful :)

Linking up to:

I'm Stuck

I'm sure my lack of posts has been noticed by at least a couple of you. Truth is, I'm so embarrassed that I haven't finished my Craigslist chairs that I've been too embarrassed to post anything. The problem is getting them covered.

Before I started taking them apart I thought they would be a breeze, based on my experience with my reading bench, which had a simple frame I was able to remove and attach my new padding and fabric to.

These chairs don't have that. I'm completely frustrated trying to figure out how to get the fabric to go around the legs and actually look nice. Last night I was trying (again) while my husband was watching football, which gets me all edgy and annoyed anyhow, and I was so frustrated I was yelling at him to not even look at me and my failed attempt. Okay, so part of that might have been hormones. I'm so glad I've got those to blame!

Anyway, I'm almost ready to admit defeat and just take these to a professional to be covered but before I do, I want to reach out for help. Does anyone know of a good tutorial I can look at or have any advice for me? I don't want to be done in by chairs and any help would be greatly appreciated.

On another note, we found out we are having a BOY!! Designing a nursery is going to be fun and I've got a few ideas floating around in my head. :)

Progress

Okay, I know it's a long time coming but I'm finally making some progress on my pair of Craigslist chairs!

I wasn't able to find a stapler that would work so I've been going crazy trying to come up with a good solution. I think I found one! Anyway, I'll be finishing these this week and I cannot wait to show you but for now, here is a little teaser :)

Oh yeah, I've also got my ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday! I can't wait to find out the sex of this baby so I can get started on a nursery :) There's lots happening in the Wonderfully Domestic household so stay tuned!

Weekend Project - On Hold

Well, I don't want to leave you all high and dry but my Craigslist chairs project is on hold. I've got them all painted and ready for new upholstery but I couldn't find what I wanted locally so I had to order the fabric online. You know how that is, you have something specific in mind and you just can't make anything else work out...

I can promise you this, these chairs are going to be FANTASTIC! Just the new coat of paint has got them looking so much better and so chic. Here's a little preview...

I'm not going to tell you what fabric I chose because I want it to be a surprise...Just know that it's going to be FAB!! The fabric is in transit so I'm hoping to be able to finish these up this weekend. In the meantime, I've got some other projects to share with you so stay tuned!

Weekend Project Sneak Peek

I mentioned the other day that I was heading out to pick up something from Craigslist. Well, here is a teaser - a before pic from the seller:

You'll never guess how much I paid...$10. FOR THE PAIR!!!! These will be going in my upstairs living room. I still need to pick a fabric to reupholster them and a color to paint them. I'd really like to go bright on the paint but at the same time, glossy black would be so pretty!

I'm hoping to have these done and posted on Monday so stay tuned!

Adirondack Chair Before & After

Remember here where I showed you the awesome deal I got on these Adirondack chairs? Well, I went ahead and gave them a simple makeover.

These chairs were SO faded...they just soaked up the paint. I ended up putting four coats on!

Anyhow, they turned out great! I love the crisp navy blue color.

They're a great addition and a nice lounge area for the deck. At $2.00 for the chairs and ottomans and about $20.00 for the paint, they're a great deal!

On another note, we finally started staining! (Yes, that is a different furniture set up there. I'll tell you about that another time!)

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Thrifty Decor Chick

Craigslist Dresser...Done?

Hello, all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty mellow...I started working on a couple sunburst mirrors. I would be done but it was SO hot and humid, I didn't want to go outside to paint them. So, hopefully today after work I will be able to get those done!

Today I'm going to show you a peek at my downstairs family room. This room is BAD. Disgusting. It has been severely neglected since we moved in to this house a year and a half ago. My husband and I can't agree on a direction for this room to take. We've got two of his outdoorsy, sportsman type pictures hanging down here and as much as I hate them, I feel like I need to give him some input. I told him that we can put his autographed baseballs and bat down here somewhere (because I flat-out refuse to put them in the bedroom, where he really wants them!) but I don't know how to mix his sports memorabilia with the outdoorsman type stuff. I swear that one of these days I will figure it out. It's at the top of my to-do list!

Anyway, here is the TV wall. We used to have an entertainment armoire here but it just seemed too heavy for the space. In the interim, we've been using this old farmhouse table that I used to use for my desk.

Look at all that clutter! It drives me so crazy. Luckily, I spend so little time down here that I don't need to see it constantly. I realized that we needed a solution for storage so I was on the hunt for a dresser I could use as a media stand.

Enter my $35 Craigslist dresser...

I loved the faux bamboo trim on here. It's also huge and heavy. It is going to provide so much storage!

I sanded...

...and primed.

...and had issues with the paint bubbling, chronicled here. I really was exasperated and had to fight to keep myself from giving up.

Well, after sanding and re sanding a few (10?) times, I finally got it looking pretty!

I've still got a lot of work to do in this room. It's a work in process :)

I still need to get some new hardware for it. The dresser was missing one of the original pulls. Unfortunately, there is no way I'll be able to find a match because they are so unique, so I'm on the hunt for new ones. I'm thinking some polished chrome would look really pretty on there.

I have some posts in process for this week and like I mentioned earlier, I'm really hoping to get those sunburst mirrors done. So, my question for today is...what have you found on Craigslist?

Linking up to:

Thrifty Decor Chick

Not JUST A Housewife

Miss Mustard Seed

Summer "Mantel"

Hello, all! Well, I've mentioned my procrastinating ways before and this time I'm regretting the procrastinating. I'm late for the Summer Mantel linky party over at The Lettered Cottage. Oh well. My loss! I still wanted to share with you what I've done for my Summer "mantel".

How simple is this? I wanted to keep things light and airy because it was such a looooong Winter. I was really beginning to feel claustrophobic being kept in the house so much!

So, because I wanted to keep things light and airy, I decided to decorate with clear glass. I've got tons of glass of all different colors (I'm kind of a glass freak. Weird?) but I really was drawn at the time to colorless and simple.

Can you tell what's different in this picture? My daughter has been using my DIY Dollar Tree hurricane as a holder for her "Belle rose". Remember that in the movie?

Here it is from a distance...

Close up. I got the two apothecary jars on a recent thrifting trip and the cheese dome from another thrifting trip. The tall candle holders are from Pier 1 many years ago.

These are the DIY Dollar Tree hurricanes that were all over the blogosphere a while back and the silver tray was another thrifting find.

The cabinet is from IKEA and my garden stools are from Craigslist...$30 for a set of two!

I've been thinking of posting to show you what I've got in that cabinet. I've got some really fantastic treasures in there I should share...

I hope everyone is having a great (short) week. I can't believe it's already Thursday! I'll be posting more tomorrow or over the weekend. I've got a lot to share!

New Reading Bench

Hello, all! I've got to tell you, I've got several posts in process and I would love to be able to share but I'm having some issues with uploading pictures to Blogger. I'm working on the issue and hope I can show you soon!

Anyhow, last Friday I came across this bench on Craigslist and immediately knew I had to have it. I love the simple lines and the caning detail. It was listed for $20 and I didn't even want to dicker...it had to be mine :)

As soon as I got this sucker in my vehicle, I realized how horrible it smelled. The cushion was disgusting and smelled like cat pee. There was no way I could salvage the padding.

I have never ripped apart upholstery before so I just kind of guessed where to start. I flipped over the sucker and peeled the padding off the rusty springs.

I finally just ended up cutting the fabric so I could pull it and the foam off so I didn't have to smell it anymore. It was really that bad.

Aah, SO much better!

I then unscrewed the spring frame from the bench frame and removed about a million staples. I'm sure I had my neighbors wondering what was going on with the steady stream of expletives coming from my garage.

I gave it a few coats of white spray paint.

Looking better already!

I brought the seat frame inside to get a new cushion put on. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on foam so I bought a twin sized egg crate mattress topper.

I laid the frame down on top and traced it with a marker so I knew where to cut.

I layered the foam on top, stapling the first layer to the frame so the subsequent layers wouldn't slide around so much.

I covered the foam with a few layers of batting to smooth it out.

Making progress!

Here is the fabric I used to re-cover it. And...as much as I was cursing the staples I removed from the original padding, I stapled the crap out of it myself :)

Viola! (Excuse the crappy cell phone pic. I do have better ones but can't get them uploaded!) I'm proud of the work I did and although it was really tedious, it was pretty easy and the finished result is a hit. I'm going to be putting this in my daughter's room and I think it is inspiring a mini-redo.

She loves her new reading bench :) My mom takes care of her during the days at my house and the first thing she said yesterday when she woke up was "Would you like to see my lovely bench?". I'm glad it was a hit :)

The bench was $20 and the mattress pad was $10. I had the paint, fabric and batting on hand. Not bad for $30!

So, that was one project for Memorial Day weekend. I hope you all had a nice weekend too! I've got more I need to get posted, like I said. I hope to be able to get my pictures uploaded tonight or tomorrow!

Linking up to:

Faded Charm Cottage

The Shabby Chic Cottage

Somewhat Simple

Miss Mustard Seed

Young and Crafty

SNS at Funky Junk Interiors

Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle

Not JUST A Housewife

Thrifty Decor Chick