Category Archives: Thrifting

Drink lots of coffee?

Take the next three days off work?

Hire moving men? (One vendor did that. .  . I kind of though she was crazy and also crazy smart!)

So the Green Shag Parking Lot Sale was last Saturday and we survived!  Here’s the booth at first set-up:

And then with JT and I awkwardly posing in front of it once a kind Green Shagger offered to take our picture.

It was fun to sit in the back and people watch (once the sun came out).  I wandered around and had to work very hard to not buy anything.  I also got to meet all the STL bloggers — Nick from Mid-Century Midwest and Hannah from Secondhand Hannah.  And I got to chat with Mr. Modtomic and his GF for a bit.

I am happy to report that the majority of things sold.  I was surprised at the things that didn’t — the four schoolhouse chairs and the brown vinyl chair with the great chrome tube legs came back home to Living Analog.  One couple ended up buying a few of our “projects” — the MCM walnut chair without cushions, a side table that was still halfway green and halfway bare wood and the alley cat zebra scratch chair I clumsily attempted to reupholster.

It didn’t turn out well and with the timeline and the amount of fabric I had, I couldn’t go back.  I was tempted to just put it back out in the alley but instead I brought it to the sale and gave the couple full disclosure before they paid up (it was priced at a whole $5 after all).  They were able to live with the clunky back and might just drape a nice throw blanket on it.  Problem solved.

So all in all, I’m glad I bucked up and did the sale.  I cleared a lot of things out of the house that we no longer had use for (the stemware racks from the kitchen, the old towel bar from the bathroom, lamps I wasn’t using for the bedroom anymore).  Some of the small items I bought specifically for the sale didn’t go though, like the nice Haskalite serving tray and another small teak and silver Danish-style serving tray along with that funky wood wine rack.  Everything I bought I liked though, so I’m happy to have it around our house for a while.

I take that back.  The chairs have got to go.  It’s crazy chair town at our house right now.  I posted them up to the list here and here.  Once those move out and JT’s latest reno goes on eBay (the Silvertone guitar), we’re going to have such an empty clean house!!!  And money for more furniture . . . which I may have already spent.  Tune in for more!

Also I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that today is my Mom’s birthday and tomorrow is my sister’s birthday.  Happy Birthday girls!

The last Wednesday of every month is a huge 1/2 off sale at our nearby Value Village.  A lot of times I will avoid going in on these days because it draws in all the riff raff and the store gets torn to shreds.  However now that I’m on the prowl for my booth/parking space at the Green Shag Market Parking Lot Sale on October 20th, I though maybe I should stop in on my way home from work. . . .

And I found a little chair I couldn’t resist.  It was tucked under a large dining room table so you couldn’t really see it.  I pulled it out and started marching my way through the store like a lion tamer with the chair legs out in front of me to clear the way.  The check-out was so slammed with three tired looking cashiers tending to the long lines of bedraggled customers.  Thanks to my little vinyl chair, I had a place to sit while I waited in line (although I looked a bit ridiculous).  But here comes the kicker of the story — after dragging this chair through the store and waiting with the hordes to buy it — I couldn’t get it to fit in the car!!!  Me, a person who does space planning professionally.  It was a sad, sad sight.  I tried it in the front seat, upside down and backwards and it would have fit — except for our little car has a dead seat motor and I couldn’t move the seat back the HAIR it would have taken.  I got desperate and tried shoving it in the back seat to no avail.  Finally I called the husband who came to my rescue (which was no small feat because he was on call and had to bring his whole work laptop in the car after activating and then crashing and then restarting his mobile hub.)

I tackled my new little chair last night with some vinyl cleaner, Simple Green stainless steel cleaner and aluminum foil and now it looks great.  I’ll try to get some pictures this weekend of its shiny new look.  My original plan was for it to go to the Green Shag sale but I’m kind of tempted to keep/hoard it for myself.

Is anyone else in STL going to the FORM show tomorrow?  Here’s their blurb/description: “

FORM is an annual contemporary furniture, functional object, architecture and design show. FORM is presented by The Luminary Center for the Arts as a forum for exceptional designers to showcase their work, connect with a community of other designers and sell directly to supporters.“

Sounds interesting, right?  Maybe I’ll see you there!  Cheers – CT

The $13 Man’s Chair in Living Analog’s living room got a little bit of a spiff up.  The straps that the seat cushion sat on were permanently warped down, down, down and they were old.  So old that they no longer had any flex and were now hard, brittle and flaky.  Time for new.  Right Shenanigan?

Did you break one?  No worries.  I turned to my trusty old friend Amazon and ordered this black webbing.  Then JT wrestled with the chair (it rocks so it was kind of hard to hold it in place) and staple-gun strong-armed in the new straps.  Much better.

The chair also had a bunch of finish runs and blobs.  I decided to try out the Howard’s Restor-a-Finish since I had seen it work so many wonders on Mr. Modtomic’s blog.

And wonderful it was.  We picked it up from the paint and stain aisle at our nearby Home Depot.  I just grabbed the first one I saw and it worked out but if you try this one at home be sure to check — the Howard’s Restor-a-Finish comes in different colors depending on the wood finish you’re working with.

So we’re back to sittin’ pretty.

Next up for this guy will be upholstery.  But he’s low on the list — first I have to do the Danish Daybeds I have languishing in the basement. And another project in the basement has also been started . . . .

But if and when Man Chair does get new upholstery, I’m thinking a leather/vinyl might be nice since our leather sofa is going bye-bye soon.  Something like this . . . but maybe in white?

Image via KRRB.com

Enjoy your short week everyone!  Cheers – CT