Yard Sale-ing Away

I enjoy a good yard sale, but my husband is the real yard sale king in our family. He has some sort of weird yard sale mojo, where he sort of decides what he is looking for and comes home with it that day. His best yard sale scores have been of the practical nature (shop vac, weed eater, seed spreader thingy), where mine have been more happenstance-things-I-like.

My favorite yard sale find is not my cheapest, but I must share it here (as part of the linky party over at Nesting Place today) with some poorly-lit photos. YOU'RE WELCOME.

This is a vintage 1950s floor lamp from a Miami hotel. I bought it from a collector in my neighborhood who was moving. I paid $35 for it--a princely sum in yard sale world, but a major steal by any other standards. It works great, it's in pristine condition, and I'm constantly getting compliments on it.

Not that you can see it that well in the photo above, but it totally fits with the vibe of my living room. Plus it's turquoise, which is always a plus for me.

Cost-wise, our biggest yard sale score was our dryer. We had just been forced to buy a new washing machine because our old one (which came with our house) was twenty-plus years old and finally gave out. We had a feeling the old dryer wasn't far behind, when lo and behold, we saw the dryer that matched our BRAND NEW Whirlpool washing machine at a yard sale. FOR FIVE DOLLARS. The homeowner was buying a new set and just wanted to get rid of it. I will spare you a photo because my washer and dryer are in my basement, and good Lord, nobody needs to see that mess. Just know that Seth and I are still high-fiving over that deal. Well, we would be if we were the high-fiving type. Pin It

Appliances: The Gathering

I mentioned earlier that we remodeled our entire kitchen for under $5000, and that included appliances. We scored some crazy deals on a dishwasher, range, fridge, and over-the-range microwave on Craigslist--all of these appliances together cost us a whopping $500!

I had originally wanted stainless appliances, but I don't like how many of them (the smaller refrigerators, especially) are black on the sides. I didn't think that would look nice with my bright, white kitchen. My cabinetry would cover up most of the black siding on a range, but not on a big refrigerator. I lust after Fisher Paykel fridges--they're stainless all the way around. Swoon. One day I'll scrape together enough cash to get one of my very own. When that time comes, I'll also upgrade the rest of my appliances. Until then, though, I decided to get some budget-friendlier white appliances.

Lucky for me, plenty of people sell white appliances on Craigslist all the time (presumably while they're updating their own kitchens to stainless! Ha!). I got the dishwasher ($100), smooth-top electric range ($125), over-the-range microwave ($75) all from the same seller who was remodeling his own kitchen. Everything was in great condition, though the dishwasher and range needed just a little touch-up appliance paint.

The refrigerator was my best find. I needed a very specific, small size, with a door that opened to the left, AND I was really hoping for a model with the freezer on the bottom. I had pretty much decided to pay retail for this ideal fridge, when I spotted the exact thing I was looking for seconds after it was posted on Craigslist for $200. I dispatched my husband immediately to get it. The man selling it had used it as an extra fridge in his garage for beverages, and it was practically brand-new, the energy saver sticker still dangling from the shelf inside. SCORE.

Not only were these appliances a complete steal, but I further offset their cost by selling my own old range and dishwasher (on Craigslist, of course!) for a total of $200, making my net total for new appliances a grand $300. This method doesn't work for everyone--maybe you don't have time to wait for the right deal, your kitchen requires very specific appliances, or you don't have access to a truck to collect your menagerie of cast-off appliances. But if you don't mind exercising some patience, using some elbow grease to clean things up, and acting as your own delivery/installation person, you can save hundreds on your appliances. Pin It

More Cheap Tricks

So, the dining room. To put things in perspective, you should see what we started with.


This isn't the best picture--it doesn't show you the entire room--but you get the gist, right? Please note the Pathway of Filth that leads through the avocado shag into the kitchen, and the swanky pull-down light fixture that was coated in years of grease and dust.

Okay then.

Like the living room, the dining room also went through a transitional period, during which I liked very dark, saturated colors, and also during which I had no furniture. The result was a very traditional cave/dining room with deep red walls, my mom's old uber-traditional dining furniture (which I was not allowed to paint), and some very dramatic gold fabric (with tassles! Oh, my!) twisted up over the window. The fabric was intended for curtians, but I was too lazy to make them. We did manage to put a chandelier and some crown molding up.




The red was okay, and I especially liked it in the fall and over the holiday season, but it could feel oppressive in my tiny, tiny house. It really didn't feel very "me," either. The table, even with no leaves in, was too big for a room that we have to walk through constantly, and the chairs were too bulky. Over time, the dining room has evolved into what I think is something that's brighter, crisper, and much more reflective of who we are.










The walls are now a crisp apple/pear green (Sherwin Williams "Parakeet"). The curtains are from Target, and I was thrilled at their quality: thick fabric, nice lining, available in the long length that I need for my tall windows. We found the Spencer pedestal table at Crate and Barrel a couple years ago (I think it pops up in the online outlet store from time to time now), clearanced out because it was a floor model. We had the white chairs leftover from our years as renters, when we actually had an eat-in kitchen.

I craved a different light fixture, maybe something with a drum shade, but just taking the mumsy silk shades of the chandelier has placated me for now.








The above picture shows some of our baby clutter (high chair, exersaucer), but I included it for the shot of the buffet (flea market, $150) and the sunburst mirrors that I ordered from Pottery Barn Kids, thanks to a hot tip from Holly at Decor8. I think I may paint the mirrors black.


I'd had my china and crystal and whathaveyou on a big white bookshelf that Seth's grandfather made him years ago, but when Graham started crawling, we realized what a bad idea that was. I scoured Craigslist for something with doors on it, but all I could find were massive, overpriced (and sometimes hideous) china hutches. Then, a few weeks ago, I found this simple cabinet:

I loved its scale and its cute legs. The picture didn't tell me much about the quality of the wood. I decided if it turned out to be nice (visions of Heywood Wakfefield danced in my head), I would use it as-is, and if not, I would paint it.

Alas, it was not Heywood Wakefield blonde maple; it was wood from the Ikea Tree. So I went through forty-seven cans of spray paint and ended up with something I'm quite happy with.

I still need to touch up the paint a bit, and I'd like to add some more exciting hardware (Anthropologie's clearance bins are calling my name), but I'm pleased. I love the Craigslist.

From the last picture, you can kind of see into my kitchen, which isn't quite camera-ready (and not just because of the giant playpen blocking the door). Hopefully, after over a year of painfully slow DIY renovations, it will be done very soon and I can show it off here.

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