Archive for the ‘vintage’ Category

Craigslist

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

I picked up a vintage Danish dresser off a lady out in the desert. It was weird. Craigslist is weird sometimes.

I drove a good two hours after work in about 120 degree heat to get to her place in Indio. When I got out to her dismal place the piece was WAY MORE damaged than her posting or pictures alluded to. Chips, missing veneer, scratches, water damaged – pretty much the gamut of shit that can go wrong with furniture. Originally I had talked her down to $100 via email when it was clear that the listing had been languishing on CL for some time, but when I arrived and saw what kind of shape the dresser was in I was like I will give you forty bucks and you should thank me.

We argued. She gave me a sob story about her divorce after 30 years and her ten kids. I sweated in the UNBEARABLE heat. She talked me up, I talked her down and finally we arrived at  a price under a $100 but over $40. Pretty much I didn’t want to have wasted my time driving all the way out there.

I’m going to fix it up as much as I can and have it live in the master bedroom. Since we got rid of almost everything in there at the big sale this is one of the first steps for the big redecoration of the master bedroom – yet again.

Hopefully by the end of summer we can pull it together. I’ve got some projects brewing…

HUNK of Burly Love

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Remember when I went all bonkers on that Craigslist guy and his stupid driftwood tables? Well, I’ve been on the hunt for some of those chunky organic looking burl wood root coffee tables for awhile now and finally scored. On Craigslist of course, different guy though.

We immediately had to take them outside for a good scrub down. Both were chock full of years of dust and dog hair, a snickers wrapper, push pins, and gum. Yuck.

BTW, these things weigh a fucking ton. I almost passed out trying to get it out of my car with The Boy, saw stars and everything, and skinned up my forearms pretty good. Great vintage always comes with pain! Speaking of pain, this Craigslist guys wife just kept yammering in my ear about kids clothes and her sister and their impending bankruptcy the entire time we were there, like one long LOUD ass run-on sentence. TMI bi-otch. I’ve had a run of a few pretty painful Craigslist visit lately, just another reminder of the crazies out and about in the Inland Empire.

It’s so hard to photograph these things. The den is like a vortex for bad photos since the space is awkwardly laid out and dim to boot. The weird curvy glass is reflecting all horrible and driving me bananas. I kind of want a square piece of glass for this thing and I’m thinking the cowhide rug is not working so well, plus I kind of am starting to hate those shelves. Now I gotta rethink this WHOLE room. Jesus Christ.

I liked the Eames elliptical table we had in the den before, but that thing is so goddamn low. How do people do it? I got tired of needing to crunch my whole body into a yoga ball every time I wanted to set down a drink.

When I talked to the Craigslist guy on the phone I originally asked just about the coffee table. He had it listed and languishing at $250 for a month. Of course I asked if he would be willing to negotiate on the price of the coffee table and he stated that he pretty much just wanted these beasts out of his house. We agreed to sell both tables to me for $100, even though I didn’t really have a place for or want the side table, but, I did take it off his hands in the end.

I stuck the side table in the pit that is our master bedroom to function as a temporary nightstand. We sold almost everything out of that bedroom and now need to redecorate, so you know that big plans are a-brewing! Too bad my sketch-up plan for it crashed and didn’t save and now I gotta start all over like a stupid jerk that doesn’t save a few hours worth of work…

Kitchen Chairs

Monday, June 21st, 2010

OK. The kitchen chair issue got solved.

I procured these fine babies off the same stylish fellows who supplied the new kitchen light. Holla!