Often, our outside shed whispers my name.
It seeks me, it calls me to come out and play, or better yet, to clear away the clutter the treasures that rest within.
I’ve ignored that invitation for far too long. Beautiful treasures that need to be painted have their own coffee clutch without me, and yet, someone else screamed my name yesterday, and I accepted her invite. I guess it was the detailed lines, the knowledge of how much storage was being offered, as well as the ugly brown wood that was ALREADY painted that drew me in.
You see, someone previously had answered the painting call so that I would not have to.
I spied this piece at Goodwill, and could NOT believe it. I was tentative at best because lately our Goodwills have been charging crazy, high prices on their furniture, yet when I cautiously took a peek at the six, yes, I counted them, six price tags that were stuck all over this piece, my tummy did a giddy flip flop.
I couldn’t believe that it was marked at just $50. This is a solid piece of wood. It was once an ugly brown piece, yet now it had the white I love. It was solid and HEAVY – so heavy that my big, strong guys were struggling, and they get paid to move furniture for people.
In the midst of the huffing and puffing, they thought they were pretty humorous when two different times they cried wolf and screamed my name as if they were dropping it, and then again, as pretending it dropped on someone’s toe.
Yes, I came running. Yes, they had a good laugh, and yes, then they spent about ten minutes in our foyer trying to decide who would get the heavy end. My “big man” always draws that short stick.
Just because $50 is a great deal, doesn’t mean I don’t ask for an even better deal. All of the hardware is in great condition except for these two drawer pulls, so I kindly pointed them out and asked if they were firm on $50.
The guy chuckled and said, “This was just put on the floor this morning.”
Meaning, no way. lady, will I even think of going down on the price.
“No problem, I will take it for $50.” And then I proceeded to guard it because I didn’t want it sold out from under me. Just while I was standing there three other people tried to snatch it up.
In the picture below, you can see the wall on which we placed it. If you look below the arrow, you will see the very, short desk that I had there previously. It was not in proportion with our 9 1/2 foot ceilings, but I wasn’t in the market to buy something new, so this was perfect. I just threw some accessories on the top for a quick picture this morning, but I will definitely be playing around with staging the top of it. (Sorry for the bad lighting.)
My next step is to get two cool new drawer pulls for the middle, and also rub a tiny bit of finishing wax over the top to give it a bit more of an aged look. It’s a pure white distressed look now, which is fine for the time being, but a little more character will make it perfect. I will be changing the color in this room shortly to more muted tones and that will be a better fit.
So, I am thrilled with this week’s great treasure find, how about you?
Have you found any fun thrifted treasures recently?
It’s beautiful, Jen! I’d have fought you for it 🙂
[Reply]
Oh what a GREAT find! You did score! Good for you 🙂
Jennifer
[Reply]
I just love this piece and it provides what everyone needs these days: storage! My last Goodwill finds were a $300 boy’s bike for $15. I’m a furniture junky as well though and am currently turning an old record cabinet into office storage.
[Reply]
Our great finds this summer have been a nearly-new upright freezer for $100 at an estate sale and a $300 rebuilt riding lawn mower…we love them both!
[Reply]
Wow….awesome. I wish I could find such great deals!!
[Reply]
That is AWE-SOME!!! What a great find, congrats!
[Reply]
great score Jen! FYI, the drawer pull is from Lowe’s. Just put them in our kitchen last year!
In our area, there is a 40 mile yard sale that was just this past weekend. I have my favorite spot – the lady whose mother cleans house for a wealthy family in DC and gives her all her clothes. The are exact fits for me, hubby, two of my daughters and the shoe size of my son! Everything is TWENTY FIVE CENTS! If I could go to one sale a year, this would be it! The scores were too numerous to mention but it should suffice to say that the Suburban was packed and I only brought two of my children. The next day at mass, my eldest daughter leaned over to me and said, “Mom, you look great! Everything you are wearing came from that sale!”
How about craigslisting some of the shed contents? (Don’t hit me!)
Blessings, Leslie
[Reply]
Jen Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
@Leslie in VA, HAHA – Leslie – I would never hit you, and yes, the stuff either needs to get painted or moved. Loved your daughter’s comment…how sweet.
[Reply]
Before you paint, Jen, tell me the color you currently have on the walls please.
That’s a lovely piece!
[Reply]
So beautiful! You inspire me all the time, I just can never find the great stuff that you do!
[Reply]
Very jealous! Good storage is hard enough to find, but add solid wood & already being beautifully painted & I believe you have found the last unicorn! I agree with you about Goodwill prices. Ours gets damaged goods from Target & prices them as though they’re still pristine & being sold in the original store! Very frustrating. On a recent trip to Charlotte, I found a wonderful white dresser, tall & skinny, solid & in great shape, for only $17. I practically stood there with my arms around it while a friend hunted down an employee (& even then, multiple others came over & checked the sides & drawers as though I was going to give them a chance at it!). & it BARELY fit into the little car I had. The guy that loaded it up didn’t believe it would fit (& said so at least 10 times) right up until…what do you know!! It fit! I couldn’t see out my rear view mirror for the whole 2 1/2 hour drive home, but it was worth it!
[Reply]
Jen Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
@TwinJoys, Oh, I can just picture you holding the dresser hostage because yes, I do believe that was the exact action I took with this piece. 😉
[Reply]
Right now I’m just looking to get rid of our ‘garage sale’ pile that is taking up space – in the shed, the back room, the downstairs AND upstairs hallway AND my craft room… Sheesh…. THEN I may look for something ‘I can’t live without’… lol
[Reply]
I am always disappointed when my kids go back to school but I am looking forward to being able to get out and do thrift shopping again, once they go back!
Love what you found! I wish I could take you with me 🙂
[Reply]
Love your awesome Goodwill find. I have just recently found a Goodwill 30 miles from my home and have found a few treasures on my 2 trips there. I can’t wait to find more items at Goodwill!
[Reply]
LOVE it, Jen! What an amazing score! 🙂
[Reply]
That’s a lovely piece – so much storage for so little $$$ – yeah! Very pretty and functional! I went thrifting this morning with the children on a hunt for shirts for my husband. For $38 we came home with three big bags of goodies! Eight dress shirts for my hubby were just part of our haul. Everything is washed and hanging to dry and will be ironed and ready to wear when the cooler temps arrive – the off season (fall and winter) clothes were plentiful and cheap, just the way I like it! I didn’t find anything super cute, but basics that will work well with the children’s existing wardrobes and that works for me! It feels so good to know that we spent so little but have a core Fall/Winter wardrobe pretty much ready to go.
[Reply]
Beautiful piece! I’m always in awe of the items you find, and to be honest a bit jealous. Today as we were going to get packing boxes, someone had set out 3 pieces of furniture (2 tables and a shelf) for the trash. All 3 pieces were on our list of items we needed for our new house. So we checked them out, loaded the SUV and took them back home with us. They need a little TLC, but are very usable as is. I told hubby to keep an open mind and look beyond the scratches etc. and that a little paint or wood wax will make them beautiful again. Your blog has helped me look beyond the dust, scratches and broken knobs to see the potential in items I would have passed on before. 🙂
[Reply]
That is a GREAT find!! Kelly
[Reply]
Hey. Just thought I’d report my recent Goodwill findings.
Being a guy, I’m always on the lookout for things I can sand, grind, re-wire, re-invent, or rescue for a man-cave. In the past month, I’ve found a huge solid pine table with tavern legs and hand-painted tile inlay for $39.99, 2 heavy soild brass Stiffel lamps (one, originally painted with white enamel, is now naturally distressed with a blueish patina for $7–the other a torchiere with a roman column looking body that when gripped, can be “pumped” to turn the lamp on and off for $5.99); a framed needlework (?) 1930’s Golfer in antique golf leaf frame for $1.99; a huge brown and white old stoneware whiskey jug for $9; a First Edition of “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCort in perfect condition for $2 (listed on Ebay as high as $500); and a vintage Brunswick bowling ball, hard shell bowling bag, leather wrist brace, and bowling shoes in EXCELLENT condition, along with the vintage booklet that came with it, for $12.99. The shoes alone, listed on Ebay for $89.
Just thought I’d share from a guy’s point of view.
P.S. I don’t get the whole “paint-it-white-and-then-spank-it-like-a-junk-yard-dawg” thing, but then again, I just bought and old bowling ball and am impressed with my find!)
[Reply]
Jen Reply:
November 3rd, 2011 at 7:41 am
Warren – you made my day for chiming in with your finds. Loved your “guy” perspective, especially the ‘spank it like a junk yard dawg’ thing….that totally made me laugh. You ‘re right though, how in the world did that become so popular? 🙂
[Reply]