Category Archives: Thrifting

Baumritter “Man Chair” updates

Posted on September 4, 2012 by | 9 comments

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

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Posted in Furniture, Thrifting

Living Analog Living Room, Rearranged

Posted on July 19, 2012 by | 5 comments

Hey everyone — since we found our new thrift store chair, the living room became a mad jumble.  And then I promised more pictures.  I was literally thisclose to doing a post about how all the furniture in our house is all set and now it’s time for me to focus on the artwork . . .

But life never really works out the way you plan it!  Once we had determined in the store that New Chair was a rocker, I knew we would be buying it.  I had seen a sign up front that said all furniture was 50% off.

But lo and behold, when we went to check out, it was 75% off!!  The chair and ottoman were only $12.25 (before tax!)  Into the SUV it went. 

So here’s the new living room . . .

The big rolling cabinet our TV used to sit on went to Craigslist and met its new owner last night.  That shorter TV stand was donated from my mother.  It’s part of her Danish Modern buys for our house in Wisconsin and had been sitting unused in her basement.  We sprung for some new casters at Home Depot (one had gone missing during the multiple moves this guy has endured over the years.  I should have taken a picture of the remote control that was still stashed in that drawer.  Back to the Future classic.)

And another angle.

Yes I put my ZZ plant in the fireplace.  That fireplace is really starting to bother me. (And also the Target/Aalto-knock off blonde bentwood stool next to New Chair is temporary as well.  More furniture to hunt for!  But if a man’s going to sit in his man chair, he needs a place to set his whiskey.  Or so I’ve been told.)

The nice thing about our new chair is not only is the chair seat a rocker but the ottoman has two positions — up like you see in the photo for maximum comfort while sitting in the chair — but also it sits down so a person can sit on just the ottoman.  I’ve got another post in the hopper about what we’ve done to the chair so far (new webbing/strapping and some finish fixes, exciting stuff! Not to worry, there is also a plan for new upholstery in the future.)

No post of mine would be complete without gratiuitous dog images, so here is what Shenanigan did as soon as we removed the chair cushions to work on the seat.  Quite the princess and the pea, isn’t he?

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Posted in Around the house, Dogs, Furniture, Thrifting

Green Shag, what a sale (delayed reaction . . .)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Green Shag Market, an antique mall (the best kind!) just put on a parking lot sale two Saturdays ago now.  We may or may not have made our Memphis vacation a little shorter to accommodate said sale.  Whatever, I have a vintage buying addiction and I’m not afraid to admit it.

So, sale.  I didn’t take a lot/hardly any pictures AT the sale because I feel uber-awkward with a camera around people I don’t know. . . so, here’s what I got:

 Mister Modtomic, who is much braver with his camera than I am, covered the booths pretty well — check out his post here.  If you look close, you may even see me in there (Where’s Waldo style) with my new red “vacation hair color”.  Because that’s what people do on vacation, they dye their hair.

What’s more important (to me) is the “haul” from the sale.  We’re pretty full up here at the Living Analog abode on furniture so I tried to avoid it . . . and still ended up with one larger item.

The bar cart was only $15 and I couldn’t resist it.  It needs a little cleaning — the lady I bought it from said when she found it, it had contact paper from the 70s covering up all the black and white retro star goodness.  But I think I’m going to put it in my back porch and use it as a potting bench of sorts so it doesn’t have to be too clean.

JT snagged up the cool 13 colonies/13 stars American Flag reproduction.  I’m thinking we might tack it to a frame and use it for some artwork.  I found a large silk scarf for only $5 and then had to plan an outfit around it so I could wear it to work . . I love me some vintage (or any) scarves, and on a quick trip to Iowa last weekend, my grandma hooked me up with some more.

Hmm, what else did I buy . . . it’s been so long I almost forgot! 

I got a cute little (toothy looking) footed planter/collect all bowl from the Rocket Century booth.  The pretty bracelet things inside are actually a $2 set of fun napkin rings which look pretty good for a garden party on our new backyard dining table.  I semi-reluctantly bought the candle holders because I don’t really need candle holders . . . .but I couldn’t resist.  I’m thinking I need to find some funkier color of candles to use these two.  Turns out they’re from Ikea, go figure.  The pretty coasters are actually tin squares (that we will use as coasters) from Secondhand Hannah (one of my favorite STL bloggers).  I wasn’t sure at first because the tags only said “Secondhand” and there was a man working at the table but it was later confirmed by my brother and sister in-law.  I wish I had known at the time so I could say hi!

I also got this from Secondhand Hannah’s stall:

Cover Your Lover.  Classic and great and BLUE!  It will probably get stashed away until winter but for $7 I couldn’t resist.  (Are we noticing a pattern here?  I need to build up some resistance skills!)

And here is what happened when I started this photo shoot. . . first one dog comes nosing in, then two . . .

But I can’t resist their cute little faces . . .

. . . even if Shenanigan is giving me the stink-eye.  So that’s it from Green Shag.  Next weekend is a sale at Rocket Century . . . lock away your wallet, husband.

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Posted in Around the house, Thrifting

Auction Action

Posted on May 8, 2012 by | 4 comments

Sunday was the big auction at Vandeventer Vintage.  The small-ish shop filled up with other dealers, antique mallers and assorted “vintage vultures” (as Dabito at Old Brand New calls them/us).  The action got started right at 1pm and for me a few unsuccessful attempts at bidding –first for an awesome Lucite book stand (you all know I love me some Lucite!) and then for a pair of Paul Klee paintings.  I could have gone a little higher but I was waiting for Lot #100 — a pair of Hans  Wegner (esque) rope/jute folding chairs.  These had some wear to them so they came with two sheepskins (real and vintage) and you all know how I LOVE sheepskins. .

So . . . here’s the living room on Sunday night after a major rearrangement:

And again in the morning light:

And as seen by a lazy sprawled out dog . . .

(There’s another lazy dog on the sofa hiding behind the sofa arm. They can’t be bothered to get out of the way for the sake of photos.)

I was also lucky/determined enough/coughed up enough cash to win Lot #56 – an arc lamp:

It’s been a nice addition to the living room.  I’m typing under it right now . . .

The base actually disguises a real-honest-to-goodness brick to act as a counterbalance to the light fixture proper.

I’m not 100% sold on it though because it’s a little brassier then I usually bring home . . .  Mr. Modtomic not only has a nice video of the auctioneer from Sunday running through his patter (favorite line: “You got to find ’em first!”, repeated 100 times) and also has some awesome CHROME arc lamps he scored this weekend.  Jealous. (Check it out here and here).

But I’m definitely keeping the pair of chairs . . . (do you know how hard it can be to find things in pairs?)

Then the weekend wrapped up with a bang when JT found two guitars on Craigslist calling his name.  Quote from the guy he bought them from “When I buy things, I like to buy them in pairs”.  Me too, random Craigslist dude, me too.

Maybe JT will be back with a guitar post.  It’s been awhile, I bet you miss him.  The guitars are identical except their finish — this one is my favorite of the pair:

I can’t choose between Hans and Wenger though.  They’re both my favorites!

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Posted in Dogs, Furniture, Guitars, Thrifting

Alley magic & oops, I destroyed our kitchen . . .

Posted on April 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Out on a walk with Sophie, Shenanigan and the husband, and what else should we happen upon but some more South City alley gems.

We came back with the car and loaded her up.  I think we may have stumbled upon a neighbor who is slowly purging items out of their basement of something because I’m 99.9% positive these two chairs match the other pair we brought home  back in October . . .

So, these are now being hoarded in my basement, although I am hatching a plan that will bring everything out to the light of day come September . . . stay tuned.

In other news,  remember my last, semi-triumphant post about “completing” the kitchen?

Yeah, I tore it up again.  I mean not the tile but the base cabinets are all in disarray as they get painted and hardware gets installed .  . . so back to the “project awaiting completion” status for the kitchen.

Have a good rest of your weekend everyone!  Go forth and tear up some projects in the hope of getting over the hump of “mostly-done-but-there’s-still-a-few-more-things-I-need-to-work-on” to “DONE!”

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Posted in Around the house, Kitchen, Thrifting

The last of our Green Shag goodies . . .

Posted on April 24, 2012 by | Leave a comment

As promised, one of our other “picks” from Green Shag market is guitar-related:

Amongst JT’s dizzying array of guitars, can you pick out the new (old) stand?    The previous stand was a little tech-y and JT was always having to pack it up to take with him to gigs.  Now this new sculptural beauty can stay put in the music room (although the back leg does fold in for transport).

Better yet, it can also hold acoustic guitars which the old stand couldn’t handle.

(Not pictured with an acoustic guitar though — for the most part his Gibson lives in its case with its humidifier . . . )

We also found a bundle of old teacher’s aids posters.  They were all 18×24 or larger and really affordably priced for larger scale artwork.

There was a spot in the music room needing some art.  There are actually a lot of spots in our house needing some art, but let’s start with this spot.  For most of our time in this house, we were displaying our diplomas here:

But college graduation is fast becoming a memory and I need the frames for some artwork in the KITCHEN so down them came.

I didn’t have a large frame for our new poster and wasn’t really willing to spend any amount of $ on it.  I had some mat board down in the basement so I measured out the interior opening I would need, brushed on a few coats of black acrylic craft paint and jerry-rigged together a hanging mechanism out of some painter’s tape and a piece of leather cord.

Ta da, artwork!  (Or back of artwork, at any rate . . . )

The back says this “Specimens of original 19th-century American wood type.  From American Wood Type by Rob Roy Kelly.  Copyright 1969 by Litton Educational Publishing Inc.  Courtesy of Rob Roy Kelly and Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York.    Then it goes on to detail educational facts about typography and the interplay of negative and positive shapes.  That’s a lot of words to retype.  We’re more worried about what it looks like in the music room, right?

And I like that it’s music related (ish?)  Can anyone else see the word “Hum” or is this just one of those Magic Seeing Eye posters with a different label on the back . . .  The blue walls seem to color shift a little in each picture I take in there . . . just like the KITCHEN!   Pictures of that next post!

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Posted in Around the house, Art in Analog, D.I.Y., Hand Crafted, Music related, Thrifting

Another round at the Green Shag

Posted on April 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

We spent almost every free moment this past weekend on our hands and knees in the kitchen – grouting, wiping up grout haze and then sealing said grout.  However there was some curing/drying time required for the tile, grout and sealant to set, so I convinced JT to take me by the Green Shag Market again.  No need to sit and watch the paint (sealant) dry.

Our first visit netted us the vinyl ottoman and Pendleton blanket, both of which have been living in the music room.  I knew I was in trouble about four stalls in, when we started slowing down and calling out to each other to check out whatever cool thing we had just discovered.  By the third aisle, we had to start a “pile” at the check-out counter so we would have our hands free to finish perusing the store.

Here’s a peek at one of our (well mine really) scores — a gorgeous, spiky sculpture thing that had me at hello.

(Yes those are unpainted hole patches you see behind there.  I finally got around to patching the holes, just not painting them all right!  I’ve been busy!  And I tried to Photoshop it out but I decided to just keep it real.)

I picked the spiky spaceship up gingerly at Green Shag, expecting it to be heavy but it was surprisingly light – hollow.  It is a plastic catch-all dish and for $8 it was most definitely mine.  I’m always looking for aesthetically pleasing ways to store stuff.     Unlike some of the utterly bare second homes of rich Manhattanites with housekeepers you see on the pages of Elle Decor, we have clutter at our little bungalow and need ways to contain it.     Our house is lived in, every inch, and having a great stash spot for things like gum and the bar of “T” soap your mother gave you for Easter even though you are a 31-year-old grown woman is critical (But Thanks Mom!).

Better yet, the two halves of the dish are identical so if we ever want to get real fancy up in here, they can be gourmet dog dishes for Sophie and Shenanigan.  Yikes.

I’ll have some tile pictures soon — we got finished up so late the other night and then with this pesky work thing I haven’t had any good daylight for proper pictures.  I don’t want to tease you too much so here’s one I snapped in the morning before work. . . .

I am IN LOVE!!! (And Internet shouting, sorry people).  More on our other Green Shag scores later.  Here’s a hint — one involves a guitar.

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Posted in Around the house, Thrifting

Weekends are for Thrifting, right?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment

JT and I hit up the Green Shag Market this weekend.  After seeing it on Mister Modtomic’s blog and realizing it was a mere 2.3 miles from my house, there was no resisting.  With an open span of time on Saturday I could have spent on all of my 50 ongoing projects, I couldn’t ignore the siren call of a new and unexplored antique mall so gosh-darn close by. 

And it was worth it . . . .

There have been many-a-time that I have browsed through aisle after aisle of an antique mall (junk mall in my mind) and come away with nothing that just needed to come home with me.  This weekend I found two things — an amazingly non-smelly Pendleton wool blanket and a vinyl ottoman I’m pretty sure my grandparents owned at some point in the 70s.

What with it being a bone chilling 10 degrees out, a wool blanket seemed like a no-brainer.  I loved the colors and pattern and then I saw the little blue tag.

See, you don’t have to go to Target for designer names.  And it was $30 less than a nearly identical one I found on eBay. 

Shenanigan quickly proved himself the world’s best circus dog by trying out the ottoman.  I think because of his short little stubby legs, he likes to have a higher vantage point and gets up on everything.  We even find him laying across the top of the sofa sometimes like a 55 pound tabby cat.

I had been eyeing all the knitted poufs that seem to be all the rage now (see this one at cb2) and considering trying to maybe D.I.Y. one of those so I’m glad we stumbled upon this ottoman instead.  I don’t really have time to finish all the current D.I.Y. projects I have going on, let alone start a new one.  For now both thrifty picks have found their way into the music room but at this house, things move around . . . a lot!

We had some friends over for brunch on Sunday (yay New Year’s resolution in action!) and one of our friends said “Where do you FIND all this stuff?”  It was interesting to step back and look at our house through the eyes of others.  While JT and I are thoroughly enmeshed in a world of thrift and vintage, not everyone shops that way.  I like to think of it as being environmentally conscious and trying not to buy something new when a used version exists that might find its way into the landfill. 

Underneath it all, I think I nurture a strange pride at being able to pull together inexpensive items and make our home feel warm and inviting and not cheap.  There’s also the thrill of the hunt.  It’s fun (for me) to “pick”.    (I must clarify though, I’m a mid-level scavenger.  I’m willing to pay a little more to people who have already done some of the digging and leg work for me.)  And so while it may seem strange to some people, I still find it a compliment when people marvel at all the miscellaneous items in our home.  We’ll call it eclectic and everybody wins.

Update: After I published this, I realized it was our 100th post.  Since gratuitous pet pictures are our thing, I thought I would add one of Shenanigan the circus dog giving me a low five as a small congratulations on #100.

 

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Posted in Around the house, Dogs, Furniture, Thrifting

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Spray Paint is a Girl’s (New) Best Friend . . . or maybe Value Village

Posted on February 8, 2012 by | 2 comments

Forget all that talk of diamond’s being a girl’s best friend.  (And really forget those open heart diamond necklaces, gag!).  What a girl really needs is a good thrift store and a can of spray paint.  In my case, Value Village and my new can of Valspar Deep Sea Diving.

When Paul had his coming out party yesterday, I didn’t mention his new accessory — the lamp.

Paul McCobb secretary desk as a bar

Paul came home with us on Friday night and I had done a quick scramble around trying to find just his right accessories.  I tried out the Ikea “globe/blob” lamp on him but it was too bright.  The other lamps in the house were too tall.  I knew I wanted some big artwork there as well so I hit a few area thrift stores to see if there were any large frames or canvases I could McGuyver into something better.  No luck. 

But I did find this naked little white ceramic lamp base for $2.52 and a very sad country-style lampshade for $1.21 in two different aisles at Value Village.

One visit to the backyard “spray booth” later . . . .

And things are much happier.  All for $3.73 and a can of spray paint I had already used on another project. 

The artwork next to it was something we had picked up on a family trip to Memphis a few years back.  It’s an old flyer for a concert or something. . . As a happy accident, it contained the blue color that is now starting to pop up all around the house.  I propped it up on a little Ikea (!) easel.  I still have some ideas in mind for the big “statement piece” that will go behind there, but whenever that is ready, it will have a little light to light it up.

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Posted in Around the house, Miscellaneous Diversions, Thrifting

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Missing Pieces

Posted on January 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment

I’m going on an upholstery hunt this weekend for  the new daybeds.  And then (small drumroll) I think I am going to try to sew these cushion covers myself.  Yikes.

As I scour St. Louis for that perfect fabric (you know a bright white one that repels all stains and dog hair.  That exists, right?) I found an inspiration image to use as a starting point.

We already have the same starting canvas – blue front door, hardwood floors, light walls.  Since the daybed also has wood frames, I like the look of this sofa — white cushions  layered with blankets, pillows and SHEEPSKINS! for our living room.  This is Liz’s living room and it was featured here on Apartment Therapy.  Pretty sweet.  I’m digging the rug as well and wondering what Sophie would do to a shag. . . .

But while I’m out and about hunting fabric, I also have my eye out for a few other things.  I showed you guys my shameful kitchen pictures the other day and now I am in the process of rearranging everything.  The metal tall shelf and microwave cart are going bye-bye (or should I say hello craigslist) and I want to move our nice buffet into the kitchen to class it up a bit and give some hidden storage rather than have everything out on shelves like we do now.

So that frees up the wall opposite the dining table and I’m on the prowl for some closed shelving.  Dog hair is our constant companion and I want to put our wine glasses and barware behind glass to keep it cleaner and more usable.  (Right now it needs a good rinse before any wine glasses get used.)

So, if anyone happens to find something like this . . .

Or this . . .

Image from West Elm, http://www.westelm.com

That would be great.  We’re also in the market for a new coffee table.  I’m thinking round to shake things up a little.  I saw the perfect one on an early episode of “Secrets From a Stylist” on HGTV.  Does everyone else watch that show?  I highly recommend it — she uses so much vintage and thrift finds in her rooms.

I’m not 100% sure what episode this was from, but you can watch them online too . . . This table is pretty close to perfect – round with glass so it feels more open.

I was considering this affordable-ish ($300) marble job from cb2 until Brookyn Limestone spilled that it is a little on the short side.  (Design Within Reach has a similar one for three times the price as well . . .)

Obviously the perfect coffee table would be a tulip (as I have obsessed over here and here . . . )

I don’t think one of these lovers is coming my way anytime soon.  Sigh.

I do have one trick up my sleeve – another Ikea trip is on the horizon.  Yes I need therapy.  Yes St. Louis needs an Ikea.  The Strind might be my Swedish coffee table savior.

It’s round, simple and clean and has a bottom shelf for extra magazine and book storage.  Also, for a Benjamin Franklin, it’s not too expensive and should my tulip come along, I could easily bear parting with the Strind to the gods of craigslist.

So that’s Furniture Friday.  Does anyone else obsess about furniture this much?  Maybe we should start a support group.  And meet every Saturday at the nearest antique mall . . .  JT’s guitar eBay auction ends tomorrow so maybe I might have a little extra furniture cash . . . Have a great weekend everyone!

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Posted in Around the house, Furniture, Thrifting

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