A Divine Experience

Decorating tastes and preferences can change over time. For the longest time my taste was country, antiques, some shabby chic too. But slowly I started liking modern, mid century modern, industrial and some japanese design. So what's a girl to do when she wants to make some big changes? Sell what you can and then donate the rest to Goodwill. 

It's not happening overnight. With four kids, college tuition, etc., funds are limited. It takes time to find things you like, want, need. This is where thrifting comes in and dammit, it works pretty well. 

For some time I've been looking for a pair of modern chairs for my living room to replace the old fashioned ones I have. My budget was $100 with the idea that they would be decent enough to use until I could afford to have them reupholstered. I found a pair I liked on craigslist and paid $80 for the pair. (The person who was selling them had gotten them from a friend who gave them to her and they weren't her taste.) The color is not my first choice, kind of a grayed purple, but I can definitely live with them. The chairs have good lines and are well constructed. Sorry if I'm going on here, but I'm trying to build momentum. I discovered after I got the chairs home that they are Baker Chairs. Pause. This is where the choir starts singing, because that is what I was hearing in my head. THIS IS WHY I THRIFT. Amen.

Thrift Happy

I should have been cleaning. But when the urge to seek out unknown treasures for bargain prices calls, cleaning loses every time. No hesitation. Not even close. Oh well, life's too short anyway, right?

Every year I go to a sale in Mazomaine, Wisconsin, about 25 miles from my house. Held by a church, the prices are cheap and selection is great. I somehow missed the first day this year, which is the best day to go. So I went on the second day of the sale, and still brought home a couple boxfuls for about $22.00. (yess!) Here are some of my finds. Pardon the mess, I was too excited to get them out of the box to clear the table much. Oh, and that cleaning thing.

How great is this table top lamp? I PAID $1.00 FOR IT. (THIS IS WHY I THRIFT) Need to get some type of shades for it and find a spot for it.

I was taken with this signed photograph picture, the colors are really nice, photo was was taken in Italy. I really like the triple mat on it too. It was $10.00, but they saw me hesitating and knocked it down to $7.00. I Need to get a different frame for it, something with a little contrast. 

This tea pot set was $2.00, so I couldn't pass it up. There aren't any markings and I don't know anything about it. Hopefully it all belongs together. I think the cups look like they could hold soft boiled eggs. If you have any info to part about this I would be appreciative.

Some obsessions as of late: egg shaped objects  and wood plates. I found the bigger wood plates at Savers. The person who made them put their name on the back and the type of wood they used. I got four, each a different type of wood. The small green wood plates are Japanese I think, anyone know what they're intended for?

Spring Fever

Welcome to my first post of Gone Thrifting. Thrifting is an obsession compulsion passion of mine(ask anyone in my family), so it seems natural to write a blog about it. I know that I am not alone in this and I hope that some of you will share your finds, experiences, what you've done with your booty, even some before/after refinishing. I would like that very much.

Now that Spring is here (with garage sales and estate sales - yipee!), I am thinking about our deck and how to spruce it up for family gatherings and parties. I like to look around for ideas and inspiration before I go thrifting. I found quite a few that have got me thinking!

I like this industrial yellow stool at eclectic revisited, I think it would make a nice plant stand. ( I don't like the snow, we've have more than enough of it here!) This style of stool is not difficult to find and could easily be spray painted any color. With any item that you spray paint for use outdoors, make sure the paint is for exterior, so it can withstand the elements.

Curbly has a nice post about turning ikea candle holders into industrial lookling firepots.

I really like these outdoor lanterns from Houzz, talk about lighting ambience.I am going to be on the lookout for something similar I can fashion into one. Food for a future post?

Studio g has some inspirational photographs for outdoor decorating, I like the bullet style planter with the succulents 

in it.

Here's a great idea - use two matching planters with the smaller one as a base for a sculptured look. This idea came from this 

etsy seller.

I love, love, love these benches from Made of New York, saw them on Studio g. Great idea, great design!

More from Made of New York

Also from Made of New York, this would be a great plant stand

I like the idea of different colored cheery chairs like these. This idea could apply to many different styles of outdoor chairs. These can be seen at Stardust Modern Design.

Nice mid century table & chair set from an etsy seller, Vintage Supply Co. This looks so cool and refreshing. If you go to Estate sales, don't forget to check the back yard and garage, that is where you will find items like these, usually in need of a paint job. But with outdoor spray paint at around $4.00 a can and some elbow grease, it is well worth the effort.

I would love to find a retro bullet planter, I saw these at 

Mid Century Modernist.

I think I need to have multiple words to use for thrifting. Another one I use is junking, but some people don't like that. It doesn't bother me. What do you call it?