Scheming Again
September 30, 2010
So it’s no secret I love old furniture. And thrift stores. And the paint department. The three combined bring me great joy and make my world complete.
Like so many of you, I love to fix up older pieces with stain or paint, and give them cool new hardware. You know, bring them into this century. Which is why I wander around local thrift stores and spend hours on Craigslist when I should be folding laundry. Yet again, I was out ‘shopping’ yesterday, and found a few gems I really want to bring home.
Especially when I see this sign when I walk in.
This antique dresser just needs a little love, but I’d never paint it. The burled wood is just too pretty. And a glass top too!
I can hear these end tables whisper, ‘Please paint me antique white, distress my edges, and replace my knobs with some crystal bling instead’. I may just have to heed their call, since they are only $15 each on sale.
I love the lines on this piece. It seems everyone knows someone with this style of dresser. Dark stain or light paint (cream or gray) either way, it’s lovely.
Even more beauties. Such potential!
How cool is this hall tree bench? Don’t you love that hutch! Wouldn’t it be stunning in robin’s egg blue?
Today, I’m loving this midcentury style credenza for my office to replace the ‘pretty but not storage friendly’ sofa. It’s weathered and the top is *gasp* Formica, so I see it painted in pewter gray with nickel pulls. Plus momma really needs some file cabinets. I’m kinda liking that lamp too, it’s tall and has a gorgeous shape. It would be stunning in glossy black.
And the crème-de-la-crème. Be still my heart.
I’ve spoken to several local antique stores and boutiques who are wanting to sell my pieces. Which is why I’m in the market for one of these.
Or one of these.
Just as soon as I epoxy the garage floor. And just as soon as I can convince my hub his parking spot in that same garage may become my new ‘shop’. Notice how I said his parking spot. 
What’s your latest thrift store find? Got any recommendations on a professional grade sprayer? Do share!
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Tags: thrift store find
Great finds! I found two pieces of furniture for $1.50 this past weekend at a garage sale!
Check them out here:
http://finewire.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-150-i-ever-spent.html
It would be so great if you could visit :) Have a great night!
Courtney @ One Fine Wire
http://www.finewire.blogspot.com
http://www.onefineblogdesign.blogspot.com
Are you going to do a tutorial on the epoxy of the garage floor? I’m about to do that and never have. Any tips? That is a great thrift store! Sadly, there is nothing like that where I live (at least not that I’ve found yet)
That first dresser is speaking to me. It’s saying, “come take me home.”
Kate. I am your biggest fan. I kid you not.
It’s all a lil heartbreaking tho, cos I’m all the way out in Singapore where decent affordable furniture (or thrift stores that house them, if we’ve even GOT such things as thrift stores!) and hardware stores with stock of reliable supplies are elusive.
I look at these pictures and I ache to get my hands on them and maybe fix em up half as well as you do. That kinda opportunity can only be dreamed about right now. Sads.
Because I can only live vicariously through you and others of your ilk, please, get that Formica cabinet, and DO SOME MAGIC. For me. Pretty please?
As soon as I saw that whiteboard sign, and the massive furniture room in your photos, I knew you made it to the St Vincent dePaul thrift store in Rohnert Park. Their furniture section knows no bounds, what a treasure cave for you and your creative eye.
Oh My Gosh!! I am in LOVE with that hall tree!! I never find wonderful furniture at my thrift store!!
Fantastic finds!
I’ll be curious to read about your search for the perfect sprayer and whether it is worth the investment. Why epoxy the garage floor? Is it easier to clean if you get some spillover spray?
Thank you for thinking to share such treasures with us CG. I am drooling and have goosebumps just looking at the pics of some of those lovely pieces!
As for the sprayer, you might check in with Tim, the Remodeling Guy, he has a lot of wisdom about hardware bits, or at least has some experience with said items.
Now I have to go wipe the drool out of my keyboard.
You have the BEST thrift stores near you! We don’t have any like that here (in Atlanta). Or at least not that I know of. Sad :(
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
i am salivating over the deals for those furniture pieces. I live in NY and while I do have a few large thrift stores with great selections the prices are ridiculous. Dressers, sofas, etc. start at about $200 – $300 and up!! I’m not kidding, they may as well be new retail prices for second hand furniture, used, scratched, chipped wood,missing hardware! I got a “steal” for a mint art deco wardrobe at $236 once at a SVdP. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise otherwise I couldn’t walk away from anything like in your post. I’d be the “Old woman who lived in a pile of furniture!”
I don’t know a ton about paint sprayers (yet)… but I do know that when I buy one it will be gravity fed. I am secretly hoping that husband does most of the research for me and then just hooks it up to his compressor so I can use it :)
I saw that same antique dresser but I have no place to put it. I’ve been looking for a desk (table style) but saw a small desk that was similar to the dresser but the top needed some work. Can you give me any suggestions on how I could make it look better without painting.
what beautiful finds! i can’t wait to see you new space in the garage. i too have a very nice space carved out for myself in the garage. what i’d give for a basement!!
Happy Friday ~ Elizabeth
How exciting for you! I can’t wait to hear all about your new adventures. You’re so talented and will do well!
Sounds like that St. Vincent de Paul’s is a great place for furniture finds. WOW!
Oh the fun you could have with a sprayer!!! Kate, your comment this week about me giving you a kick in the pants gave me the biggest laugh. As if! I get tired just reading about all that you do! Have a great weekend, my dear!
Fabulous finds-furniture sales makes my heart pitter patter- Doesn’t True Value sell sprayers? I’d probably ask the pros for their recommendations!
Funny that you are considering a paint sprayer- I lust after vans in which to transport such finds. I joke that my dream car is a Dodge Sprinter van, or the new Ford Transit connect… how do you schlep all your finds around?
My darling husband has suggested that I rent a storage unit around the corner from our house in order to start storing and selling my finds from there rather than have our house littered with random furniture…
Is this at a Goodwill type store? I swear you find the BEST furniture! I’d gladly buy a piece you’ve redone if I were in your area! I am on the hunt for a dresser for a nursery and a smallish dresser for our front room, but I never seem to have the luck that you do (or the skill perhaps).
I love, Love that hall tree bench. I’ve always wanted one of those, and as soon as I have an actual hall to put it in, I’ll be on the lookout for one.
I may have missed the basics in an older post, but can you tell me what you recommend for primer before painting. Does anyone have a favorite soft white to recommend? Thanks, I’ve “found my people” right here!
I may have missed it in a previous post, but what is your recommendation for a good primer before painting? And does anyone have a favorite soft white paint to suggest? I’m so happy I just found this blog today, I’ve found my people!
I would definitely second the advice to get a separate sprayer and air compressor. I’ve done some research on the airless sprayers and one person said “They’re good for dribbling paint on the ground, taking apart and giving away.” Plus the air compressor is great because it can be used with many other tools like a nail gun or stapler for upholstery (which I just purchased). I got my equipment from Harbor Freight Tools. Just be sure that the compressor is capable of producing enough PSI for the tool you buy.
I also love the paint sprayer idea because it not only because it saves money on spray paint (and fumes!), but it also eliminates all those nasty propellants from polluting the air.
Be sure to post about what you end up getting (I’m sure you will!) and how you like it.
[...] where was I? Oh yes. Take this sweet little French style solid wood nightstand I spied while gallivanting around the local thrift store last week. Fab lines, lovely detail, but with yellowed spotty paint and [...]
OH MY GOSH!!! Why could I not live closer to you?! My daughter has the 4-poster bed and tall dresser that matches your night stand and that wide French dresser. I’d snap both of ‘em up in a HEARTBEAT! Ours are refinished in Restoration Hardware’s The Right White (tinted in oil-based Ben Moore), and I had the holes for the handles filled so I could use the crystal knobs from RH instead. Every time I see her dresser, I smile.
So crazy — I just rescued the exact same set of end tables (from the second pic) from my mom’s basement and we’re using them as night tables. They were in my grandparents’ house for who knows how many years.
I was wondering what the names of the thrit store, I just moved to this countrry and have no idea where to look. I would greatly appreciate it. You have done such Beautiful work!! Thanks
I have the GRACO TrueCoat Sprayer and it is fabulous! I just wrote about it on my blog at http://www.sugarandspackle.com. I did over two chairs, one with traditional spray paint, and one using regular wall latex paint that I custom-mixed with the paint sprayer. You can read my review and see how they turned out at http://www.sugarandspackle.com.
xo
Margaret
I found two adorable sconces in a thrift store that were actually a matched set! They had a turquoise colored glass bubble on the front. I’ve never been a fan of turquoise, but I brought them home, sprayed the shiny brass fittings with pewter finish, and added new shades. We actually mounted them to the high headboard of our bed in the master bedroom, and they look beautiful! I changed up a few other things in the room to accommodate the new turquoise color, and tone that down by mixing in some other blues that go well. The biggest surprise? Each of these gorgeous lamps was marked at $2.88, but I got them half-price because it was senior citizens day! Woo hoo!
I love the thrift store, also a good yard sale!! A few weeks ago I found an A-Frame mirror for $10!!
Read about my renovations at http://www.autumnmaeblog.blogspot.com!