Thrifted Thursday...back with some vintage luggage action!

Hi!
I know, it's been a little while...but that's OK. It's my blog and I can post when I want to...(if you sang that sentence then we are totally on the same page).
I wanted to share a quick side table idea that I put together. I recently sold my den side tables at a yard sale (they had a glass top and shelves on the bottom=super hard to keep clean). So my lamps sat on the floor for a couple of weeks. Then, on two separate Goodwill trips, I picked up a vintage briefcase, and a really awesome giant picnic basket.
I still needed a base, so I scoped out the local neighborhood streets and...SCORE!

 These guys (the bottom two) were just sitting with someone's trash.

 I love the different looks and textures of each one and how they stack nicely to the perfect height!

These are vintage Platt suitcases from somewhere around the 30's-50's, and are apparently sort of rare. It made me a little sad that this even has someones initials but was still thrown out. (You can't see the initials unless you pull up the handle)

So for $10 total I have a new side table. And if I need to store things like blankets in the Summer I have a perfect place!
A tip for those of you wanting to find cool things like this for free and don't mind doing a little leg work: drive around your local neighborhoods the night before garbage day. You would be surprised the things that people toss out! The funny thing is that this is exactly what I went looking for and found it on the first try! That never actually happens!

Thrifted Thursday: Vintage Typewriter Table

Hey guys!

Sorry for flaking on Thrifted Thursday last week! I am still working on that stool that I showed you two weeks ago, but I think the verdict was the ombre paint job, so I'll give you the final results soon!

This week's item is an adorable antique typewriter table that I picked up for a few dollars.

It is metal and has two drop sides that pop up for extra space. It also has a small drawer that needs a little bit of repair. It is still pretty dirty right now and I haven't decided whether I should keep the blue or paint it a crisp new color...input is welcome!!

Aaaaannnd, I just realized there's a dog nose in that second pic. Perfect.
I'll update you when I figure out where this little guy is going! Lot's of updates to work on for y'all!!!
Thanks for reading and if I would love it if you picked up my button below for your blog!!


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Shelving Under a Wall-Mounted TV

I know you have been on pins and needles since I told you that my McCarty pieces that previously lived in the kitchen were getting a new home (ok, maybe not, but humor me...) Well, you may remember last year when I decided to tackle a Pinterest project as a temporary shelving idea under the newly mounted TV in the den:

I used crates from Joann's and stained them. This worked for the time being, but I wanted an actual furniture piece there.

 

 A few weeks ago I walked into Pottery Barn outlet, and saw this...

It's actually PB kids, but we won't tell anybody :) It was the perfect fit for the space and also provides lots of storage. Not to mention it has two nifty back panels, so it was easy to keep one off to allow for outlets/plugs.

All of the DVR and DirecTV boxes are in the closet behind the TV, so I didn't really need a place for those, but I thought my McCarty would be perfect here!

It now holds all of the pieces that aren't being displayed in my Great Room built-ins...

 It also holds extra pillows, my antiique pepsi crate/candle holder, and some old records.

You can see how I left the bottom back panel out, and how the pillows conveniently cover all of that mess up!

So just for fun, lets look waayyyyy back, to where this little space started 4 years ago...

To wear it is now. Much better, I think!

And the best part...I had a $25 off coupon that I got in the mail along with two $25 reward certificates, and with a price tag of $79, this brought my total to around $7!  Not bad considering it is still $250 online!

Have you found any great deals like this lately? I'd love to hear!!

Also, don't forget to grab my new button to put on your blog!

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Don't Be Crewel! (Thrifted Thursday)

No, I'm not a bad speller...I'm just a bad punner , pun maker? Whatever. You should just be impressed that I worked Elvis and a sewing technique into my title...I am a Memphis thrifter after all.

There is a new thrift store type place not too far from my usual spots, so I thought I would check it out. It was a little chaotic there, but I managed to snag two beautiful crewel pillows for a total of $12!

I have them in the great room right now because the colors were great for in there. These items are hand sewn (and a little secret, there was an antique store tag inside one for $40...)

Crewel is simply sewing a pattern on top of a fabric...usually using some type of wool. You can see the detail in the pic below.

I absolutely LOVE these, and am so excited about this fun find!!

Thrifted Thursday: Milk Glass Serving Pieces!

This week's "Thrifty Thursday" features some of my milk glass collection that I have been accumulating for a while now. I love the vintage feel of milk glass and it is a very inexpensive collection to start. It's also very versatile as far as its uses and when I host a party I like to bring a lot of it out.

My fine china (above) has gold details (most of them tend to have silver, but I am a gold girl), and so I look for things with gold accents to pair with it. This serving piece was perfect!

  It looks cute with a couple of the grape pieces that I like to display with all of my grape Arthur Court pieces. This gold trimmed piece has the same detailing as another one of my pieces in the shelf above, the egg tray. I don't eat eggs, so I have to come up with other uses for it! I also have a matching blue one on my built ins.

These pieces all sit in my china cabinet, which you might remember from THIS post from way back when!
Do you collect milk glass, or do you have a collection that keeps you on your toes looking for new pieces when you are out and about?

Thrifted Thursday! Vintage Vogue Posters

This week's "Thrifted Thursday" features are a pair of vintage Vogue posters that I found recently while thrifting. I was immediately drawn to them and snatched them up as fast as I could! They came with these simple gold frames and that's how they are staying for now. They will probably end up in a bedroom, but for now, are on my mantle in the den hanging with some other thrifted friends, some of my milk glass collection.

The one on the left is titled "Vanity Number"(for sale HERE), and the one on the right is titled "Suggestions for the Hostess" These are taken from Vogue covers in 1916 and 1917, and were designed by Helen Dryden. They have beautiful colors and are in fairly good shape. I believe they were printed in the 70's but I'm not sure.

 The posters alone sell online for more than I paid for the poster and frame, so I'm happy with my purchase! Who knew you could find fun things like this at the Memphis, TN Goodwill!

 Here are a couple of angles to give you perspective of where they sit in the den. It needed a little more sophistication, so these help for now :)

I hope you're having a relaxing day like Riley on the couch over there. He has kind of become part of my decor so I don't bother moving him anymore!

New Weekly Feature: Thrifted Thursday!

One of my passions is finding items while thrifting that I can use in my home, and although I do share some of these things with you, it's usually in passing. I decided to make this a more structured thing, since it is something that is so important to me and is a big part of my decorating style. I also thought that through this feature, I can share some tips with you about thrifting like how to find quality pieces and things not to buy.
I consider thrifting to be shopping thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, etc... I hope you enjoy my fun finds!! Check back each Thursday for a new installment!

This week's features are my copper cannisters in the kitchen.

I found them at different places and at different times, and I'm still looking for a third. I love their vintage vibe and I even kind of like how they are a little worn. Shows character.

I think they look nice with my fruit bowl. The copper and blue are a nice compliment to one another. One has a flour label, and the other has a coffee label. But that's not usually what stays in either one!

Aren't they charming? I'm hoping they distract from the ugly countertops/cabinets/etc...in the kitchen!
FYI, a natural way to polish copper is by sprinkling salt on a halved lemon, and then rubbing it all over the item in a circular motion. believe it or not these were much more worn before I did this!
Where do you keep your flour, sugar, or other baking essentials? In the cabinet? On the counter? I'd love to know!

My Home's Newest Residents: Succulents

Every year around this time, the plants in the garden section at Home Depot quiver in their pots. They see me coming and know that it means certain death for whomever I take home with me. It never fails, I either don't read the plant's sun requirements, forget to water it, or it just dies from fear on the way to my house and I don't realize it until it has been planted. Whatever it is, I kill every single plant I buy.
So this year I thought I would try a more plants-for-dummies approach. I bought some cacti and succulents.

 I'm not sure which is which, but either way they are supposed to be able to live in a well-lit place in my home. We'll see how this goes.
I had two pots that would be perfect. The one on the right I found for $0.59 while thrifting with my mom this weekend (see the cute jeans I found that day HERE), and the one on the left I picked up on the side of the road. It was with my knitting stand, but I went back and picked it up with the car like a normal person (that picks things up on the side of the road).

 I placed two plants in the larger planter, and one in the smaller. Right now they are sitting together in the den on the side table. This will probably change, like everything else around here.

 They are so cute and so far so good (it's been an hour). Maybe I can save my reputation among the Home Depot plants this year. I'm crossing my fingers!

Have any of you had success with these types of plants? Any tips you can offer to me? I would love to hear them!
And speaking of thrifted items, check back tomorrow for the first installment of my new weekly feature, "Thrifted Thursday"! Each week will showcase a different thrift store gem! I'm excited to start sharing these with you!

Thrifted Bamboo Box Makeover

I have noticed that lately I've been drawn to dark, rich green hues when it comes to decor. I absolutely love the natural mineral malachite, and have wanted to use it somewhere in my home for a while.

Source

Malachite fabric used as chair upholstery.

Source

Used as roman shades.

Source

It's definitely a bold choice, and I'm sure that not everyone loves it like I do, and that's fine! I just wanted a little injection of it. It is also very pricey, no matter what form it comes in!

Which brings me to this thrift store box with a bamboo rim. It was 0.99 around Christmas time, and it has been sitting in a closet waiting for something to give me inspiration as a starting point.

It is very solid and lined, and I knew that I wasn't digging the banana leaves that covered it, and some of them were flaking off already, so I peeled them all off while sitting in front of the TV. Then after looking at my malachite inspirations, I decided to find a free image online, print off several sheets of it, and paste it onto the box. I used a modge-podge type glue, but any kind of craft adhesive would work.

Here is the "after"! I couldn't bring myself to paint the bamboo, maybe I'll talk myself into that soon. For now though, it's staying "au naturel"

It will be a great and stylish source for extra storage, and I haven't quite decided where to use it yet. I have been playing around with it as a fun book storage on my built-ins. I still need to clean up the edges around the openings with a box-cutter, but I LOVE how it turned out!!

For 0.99, I think my little idea worked out perfectly.

What do you think? Did this inspire you to try any bold trends that you may have been a little aprehensive about? I'd love to know!

My Office

I realized that I don't think I have ever posted about the office in my house. It is in one of the four bedrooms, and it was kind of a work in progress for a while. It used to be a walk-thru to the master as well as a home for the washer/dryer (in the closet), but we have closed up that door, built a wall and created a new hallway to the master that included that closet with the washer and dryer. So now, the office is a little smaller, but no longer a walk-thru room. And, the washer dryer is now in the hall closet as opposed to the office closet.
These changes will help in resale value because not only is the bedroom now completely independent, but the laundry is in a more logical place. And the bedroom has built-out closets so it counts as an official bedroom!
If any of that made sense to you, congrats because it's hard to explain, especially without pictures.
I only have one of the office "before", which was before we even moved in:

That door to the left that led to the master is now gone. And so is the built-in bed and the trim up top. I know you are all loving those bubble valances. It's not that it wasn't a charming space, just not functional.

We installed wainscoting to mask all of the ugliness left by the ripped-out bed. It made a perfect space for the desk! I left the bult-in shelves and they house things like fabric, ribbon, etc...

The lamps are $5 Goodwill finds. Their shades were clearanced out at Pottery Barn outlet. The drapes were $5 a piece at an estate sale. See what else I found HERE and HERE. The chair was $10 at Goodwill. It got some casters and now makes the perfect rolling chair!

I love the vintage drapes with the wall color. Seriously LOVE.

I know Sometimes it's hard to picture where things are in the house, so I thought I would give you some reference. This is standing in the dining room looking through the hall to the office. Maybe I'll show you the new wall/laundry/hallway in another post to give you a better idea of what's going on there.