A friend moved to Europe and decided to sell me these amazing side tables. Got a KILLER deal... I'm talking like $5/table. They are so unique. I forgot to take a before picture before I stripped them, but they were in rough shape to say the least. They'd been painted at some point, white and tan, and the paint was in pretty bad shape... you could see brush strokes, it had been slapped on and was starting to peel off in quite a few places. I tried to even just clean them and it wasn't working out so well. So since the paint was already coming off, I figured it would be pretty easy to strip them. I was definitely hesitant b/c the last time I tried to strip something, it was horrendous, but this time it was a breeze! I used the more eco friendly citrus stripper and just left it on for a few hours and it scrapped off like a dream.
I wasn't sure what kind of wood was underneath so I asked a few of my friends, got a few different answers, but I think I landed on poplar. I'm no expert, but it seemed to match. I love the combo of white and medium-dark wood, so I thought I might repaint some of it white and stain the wood a little darker and thought that the contrast would really make the details of this table pop. I don't have a paint sprayer and so I thought better of the painting idea :) After all, I didn't want to do another half assed job. These tables deserved better. And then I didn't want to stain them... as I'm sure you know I'm a bit of a hippie and so I just wanted the wood to be what God created and enjoy it in all its naturalness. So I just put some antique oil on it and it looks great. I love them.
As I said, I forgot to take a before, but the first photo here is as close as its gonna get and you can't even really see it all that well... the wood needs to be sanded still and finished (and the middle shelf put back in!). The next two photos are the finished product...
Yes, I cut his hair against many of your wishes :) But it was just getting too moppy... and it WAS getting warmer, so I thought what they hey. It'll grow back out in like 2 days anyway. He's such a little love muffin... I just wanna eat his little curious george face.
I just died in your arms tonight, Kent Coffey. I'm gonna geek out for a little while.
by Allyson Neely on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wow. What can I say? I mean I've been craigslist-ing, salvation army-ing, garage sale-ing, etc. and never have I come across the exact pieces I've been searching for... and for an affordable price. But, the vintage furniture thrifting gods smiled upon me this last week. And then smiled again, as a good friend offered to pick these pieces up for me in Springfield (as he travels there for work). Perfection. More on that in a second.
So, if you've been living under a rock, you might not know that I'm a furniture-a-holic. A mid century modern furniture-a-holic to be exact. And on a budget! There's not a lot to be had in these parts. And what I have found has been the cheap, laminate pieces that look terrible all ready or will look terrible soon and laminate is not easy to refinish and/or make look good.
When Md and I lived in Chicago, it was easy to go pick something up at Ikea. But now the closet Ikea is 6 hours away. And frankly, I'm sick of spending money on furniture that is just going to fall apart in 5 years. I can't afford to buy furniture from design within reach, so in comes vintage furniture. A lot of people don't know what they have and some people are just giving this stuff away. GOOD. SOLID. 100% WOOD (not particle board) furniture. So, this has spurred me on to find "the good stuff" and not settle for the first laminate/veneer credenza that comes my way. Restraint is hard yes, b/c as I said, modern lines are not easily found around here. But definitely well worth the wait.
About 6 months ago, I bought an entire bedroom set (dresser, chest of drawers, mirror, 2 nightstands, & a headboard) ALL for $350 (just to put things in perspective, the dresser alone easily goes for $350 in Chicago). Are you serious? I snatched it, sold my Ikea platform bed and side tables for $325. BAM! What a deal. The furniture I bought was solid wood, walnut, and made by a famous mid century modern furniture designer, Kent Coffey (Marquee Modern series). Its gorgeous and its in great shape. I really love it, but there's something about it, that's just not EXACTLY what I wanted. I still love it and find it beautiful. But I thought, its the right era, the right shape, the right quality, the right price... so I did it. And I'm glad I did. its ubber classy.
Just last week I was looking on craigslist in Springfield and found THE pieces. THE Kent Coffey pieces I was looking for (I had a couple series in mind that I really liked after having bought and researched my last Kent Coffey buy.). I called, thinking, oh I'm sure SOMEONE (if not many someone's) has already called and bought it and she just didn't delete the ad, but decided to call anyway, and lo and behold, they were still available! wha!? I could not pass up the amazing deal these were.
And what I love most about mid century modern furniture is that I feel like the pieces are so versatile. The dresser is a buffet is a credenza is a tv stand, and could even go in a hallway... I mean the proportions are always right.
So, before I give you some eye candy, here's my reasons for buying used furniture.
5. money. its less expensive than buying new, no matter if you get average quality pieces.
4. quality. you can get a good-excellent quality vintage piece for the same price as a flimsy Ikea piece... or less! They don't make 'em like they used to!
3. recycle folks. There are plenty of fantastic pieces out there to fit most everyone's style without losing the rain forest. Ok, I know most of the furniture I buy ISN'T actually made of wood from the rain forest, but it just sounds more impactful.
2. sell-ability. So, I paid $350 for an entire bedroom suite. Chances are, someone else would to. And even if they don't, say I have to sell it for $300... I'm only out $50. And if its been in my bedroom for a year, it only cost me $50 to have that furniture. You can't RENT furniture for that cheap. And since I'm a re-arrange-a-holic as well, I can interchange pieces, sell and buy at whim, knowing that I'll recoup most of what I paid for an item.
1. did I already say they don't make 'em like they used to? I'm a HUGE fan of danish modern furniture. now, I live in Joplin... where am I gonna find local, danish furniture, that I can afford? SALVATION ARMY! woo hoo!!!
And without further adieu, I died in the arms of Kent Coffey once again... "The Tableau" series. Oh and I have the mirror to boot! I will be "refinishing" these pieces... they are pretty good, but I've been dying to try out Howard's Restor-a-finish... and these pieces seem perfect. Not too beat up, but beat up enough that a good coat of this stuff should make them look brand new again!
sure hope we find a house soon... they are obstructing my living room a bit... :)
THERE'S NEVER TIME! Whoever said that must have been a bum with nothing to do. No one knows the value of time more than moms. Before I had children I used to dream about being at home with my children and playing with them, leisurely doing housework in heels with my hair done and cute little apron and just having an altogether relaxed life. SNAP! Back to reality. In all fairness, I might need to pare down on some of the things on my need to do list and shift them over to the "only if you have time" list. But to make life easier for me and my crazy need-to-know-everything daughter, I've made a family schedule for the week. From breakfast to dinner, if I'm asked, "Can I....?" or "When are we....," I'm going to say, "Go look at the schedule." Now to teach them about time... such a downer. Probably so b/c I'm NOT a good manager of time. Time feels kind of like shackles to me. I'm such a free bird :) I'm 38% YELLOW for goodness sakes! So now I just need to make everything FUN :) Aaaaand GO!
As we all know kicking things always fixes everything. I want to start this back up to give me an outlet and to document my kids growing up. I should have continued it along time ago b/c I've missed documenting so much of Avery and Asher's lives over the last couple years. Anyway, to catch you up, Avery is 5, Asher will be 3 in July.
THE DAYS ARE LONG, BUT THE YEARS ARE SHORT.
Best standing-in-line-at-walmart-talking-to-the-person-in-front-of-you-because-the-lady-in-line-wrote-a-check wisdom ever. As this blog has so appropriately proven :)
Things that I have realized in the last two years about parenting MY two kids:
Avery is not a mini adult that I should expect to be on my level. about anything.
Avery knows more about reverse psychology than I do.
Avery has a keen fashion sense.
Avery is a daddy's girl through and through.
Avery is connected to the spiritual more so than any child I've known.
Avery will sing you the most theologically interesting song you've ever heard.
Avery is motivated by fun, energetic activities. Yay for gymnastics!
Avery is bossy. I'm clinging to the fact that this will later turn out (with some good direction) to be some kind of leadership quality :)
Asher has me wrapped around his fat little pinky. Every part of him is squishy and I LOVE it. He is definitely a momma's boy.
Asher is funny w/o even trying. He just has the cutest, funniest gestures, mannerisms, faces.
Asher HATES to clean his room and will spend HOURS in his room "cleaning." (Kids aren't allowed out of quiet time until rooms are clean.)
If a normal kid comes into contact with a germ, he gets a cold. If Asher comes into contact with said germ, he gets pneumonia. This kid's lungs have issues. Asthma issues that is. So if you see Asher and he doesn't sound like he's hacking up a lung, consider it a rarity.
Asher doesn't mind if he's poopy. This is troublesome b/c my nasal passages have been so scarred from all the horrid poop I've changed that my olfactory senses have been numbed to the smell of my child's poop. So, sit in it he will.
Asher has the sweetest lisp that I hope doesn't go away any time soon, but for goodness' sake before he gets to middle school.
Asher is happy. Asher means happy. Well done.
Things I've learned about myself and parenting:
There is such a thing as hyper modesty... and Avery's got it... at least on the top half. Avery seems to forget about modesty when it comes to the bottom half but God forbid anyone see her neck or her shoulders.
If I don't make a list or schedule of things to do with the kids for the day, it won't happen. An out-of-sight kind of brain has its advantages and disadvantages.
There isn't a magic gnome that comes and cleans my house while I sleep, as much as I want that to be true. Cleaning throughout the day is much easier to maintain than letting things go for a day... For me, as the kitchen goes, so goes the rest of the house.
Praying with my children and hearing them pray is the sweetest part of my day. That and watching them sleep... all the annoying things of the day melt away for me at those times.
We are homeschooling Avery and thus Asher until we think they are ready to go to school, if ever. This is going to be the big one for me. This is going to be my test of faith in Jesus and his power to overcome my sin and selfishness. Go team Jesus.
I love my friends. I have never had better friends than I do now. Real friends. Real relationships. Real love. Between Mystery Church and Christ In Youth, I think we'll be here in Joplin with this group of people for a long time. And that makes my heart smile. Yeah I know... hearts don't have mouths. shut up. you know what I mean.