Craigslist has some good stuff right now!

I haven't been trolling Craigslist in a couple weeks - but today I found a few great nuggets. Check these out!

$65 each or 4 for $200
Great deal on these cool modern chairs.

Etagere- $295
Very cool!

Mid-century slipper chairs with a little bit of a Chinese feel.
$450 for the pair. I love these.

Yep, sucker for nesting tables, these are $45 bucks. Awesome.

Love this green velvet head/footboard set. I think I would recover it in another fabric,
but it's pretty cool as is at only $175.

And this is my favorite. I thought I finally found the cabinet for the dining area in the apartment - totally perfect
except that my wall to wall space is only 65", and this says it's 65" - which makes me worry that I would
have to totally WEDGE it into the nook and that might look bad. I'm remeasuring when I get home.
But it's a great cabinet and it's only $125.

Adoption Agency

Here's the latest in the long list of items on Craigslist and Ebay just waiting to be adopted by you (or me)! 

Reminder - don't get sucked in by the used and tired words "shabby chic" in craigslist or ebay postings. That was 25 years ago people - and if your house is full of that stuff, it pretty much looks like a dirty little rat's nest. Try to be careful not to pick up stuff that other people have painted or recovered badly - they will probably call it "shabby chic" instead of "I fucked this up and don't want it in my house now, so YOU buy it"! But that's what they mean. Look for quality stuff at reasonable prices, and the less tampered with, the better. Now go forth and get something awesome.

Nesting tables $150 - I love nesting tables.

Small server - $250 - This is pretty unique and if you have a smallish space, it would make
a nice little place for snacks or cocktails. The top folds out too.

Set of 4 chairs $100 - I would maybe re-cover them but the design is really nice.

Dresser - $75 - I have a dresser similar to this and it's a really nice bedroom piece or put
it somewhere in a hall or main room.

Teak lamps - $75 - Replace the shades with wider shorter drum shades and they would be
great and modern looking.

Antique mirrors on ebay -$124 buy it now. These have never been out of their box according to the listing.
Side by side, I love them.

Mirror - $99ish- Nice over a fireplace - and since my fireplace mirror broke into a million pieces,
I'm in the market. Maybe this would be good as is, or painted?

Craigslist - What's Old?

Here are a few more craigslist items worth getting that I saw this week in the Seattle version. All you need is a little DIY love and these things will be great. This is exactly why I need to become an upholsterer. Take a look:

Chair pair $99

Old chair $85

Dresser $35

Side table $50

Cute Italian tables $75 for the pair

Wood lamp base $45

Craigslist again

Here is another installation of "Craigslist - Make your house look great for not much money"! Check out these goodies that I found today on Craigslist Seattle. Great deals if you want to spend some time being crafty. Usually one of these project's only require elbow grease, some sandpaper, paint and beeswax. You can do it. Some might require some re-upholstery - so if you're not up for that,  think about hiring a professional, and in the end you will have some really unique pieces in your home for less than it would cost to go to the shops and get the same thing everyone else has.

Vintage wood desk - $45 - repaint this sucker - the hardware will look beautiful on a lighter background.Desk, vanity, entry table?

Vintage arm chairs - $50 - great price and sort of mid-century cool look.

Vintage oak restored coffee table -$95 - someone already restored this and I'm not a big oak fan, but you could refinish again in a color and have a beautiful table in a pale green or gray

Old wooden desk, $60 - great in a small space as is or painted

Vintage Sofa - $160 - classic style, just needs new uphostery and it's a great price

Here's a project for you - Settee $40 - Go for it. So cute in your bedroom

Side table - $15 - So cute! Paint it and clean up the hardware

Antique dining buffet - $250 - this is the big splurge but worth it because it's so fantastic

I may have said this before, but I'm starting to see more and more stuff on Craigslist that someone has already gotten their mitts on - and are trying to sell for some profit on their "refurbishing". I tend to steer away from these - because I don't want to pay extra for their idea. I would rather do that myself. If you feel completely NOT CRAFTY - you might like some of the stuff you see that's been redone. You get to choose. 

Warning: Your husband will yell at you if you start picking up too much junk on Craigslist and don't ever actually turn it into anything. Try not to just buy a bunch of other people's crap. Go through this list in your head each time: 

1. Do you have time to do the project?

2. Is this a unique item and at a great price?

3. Do you have a place in your home RIGHT NOW to put this thing once you're done?

If you did make a mistake and bought someone else's crap and it's still sitting in your garage, turn it right back around and put it back up for sale on Craigslist and move on. Now you are free to buy stuff. Good luck and have fun!

Hey Craig – Nice List!

I have a ton of patience for scouring Craigslist for treasures. Most people do not. But, if you take the time, you can find some great stuff and great prices. Most of it will need a little bit of love from you when you get it home, but look at the things I found this week. Excellent!

 Chair - $60

 Sofa - $FREE - note the awesome faux bamboo detail - 

this could be beautiful with new upholstery!

 Old Stereo cabinet - pull out the guts and make it into a bar - $50

 Mid-century chair - $60

 Tiny table - refinish and paint - has cute pull out shelf - $25

 Pair of chairs - reupholster in mohair - beautiful - $180 for the pair - great deal

 Walnut table - $80

Desk - $80 - This would be gorgeous in a solid color like white or grey

Here are a couple tips when searching. Go straight to the Furniture section, and then do a search for “vintage”, “antique” or “mid-century”. You can also reduce your search based on budget parameters too, but I don’t because I like to see it all – cheap and expensive! I’ve noticed in the past few years that more and more dealers and mattress sellers are listing on craigslist – so you have to navigate through them to get to the good stuff but that’s ok too. Craigslist will now let you browse in grid-style with photos, so that can speed up the process. Also, you’ll find a lot of things for sale that have clearly been “fixed-up” already. If you are ok with that, great.  I don’t usually go for those – I want the thing in its original condition – good or bad.

Don’t forget to check the Free section. I have found great stuff there. There are a lot of people who just want to get rid of stuff and they don’t care to try to sell it – they’ll just give it away. Especially if it’s a piano. Lots of piano’s in the free section. You should get one.

If people don’t post a photo, don’t waste your time. Move on. I still don’t understand how anyone could sell anything these days without some photos, but you will still see listing with no photo, don’t get sucked in. It’s not going to be good.

Most sellers on Craigslist are very nice people and willing to make a deal – but ALL of them will want cash, and soon. And most of them aren’t going to deliver you a sofa or carry it down 3 flights of stairs. That’s on you! If you want it bad enough, you’ll figure out how to get it.

Also, just because you’ve seen news stories about bad people using Craigslist to lure people to their house to do bad things, trust me that most of the Craigslisters just want to clean out their basement or garage and have no evil intentions. If you feel unsure about any transaction you should bring someone with you when you pick up your purchase. You can also exchange enough email or texts with them to get a pretty good idea of their character. If someone is emailing you with a legit work email, or is willing to give you their phone number or let you google their address, you’re pretty safe. But, having said that, use your gut instincts, if it feels weird, don’t go.

Now, get on Craigslist and start shopping. By the end of this weekend you could have new end tables or a summer re-upholstery project! As Macklemore would say, “F*-ing Awesome”!