Bargains And Mysteries

You know how it is.
You find that thing that you don't really need, but golly-gee, it's just such a great bargain that you can't pass it up.
And then, what do you do with it?
Well, if you have a blog, you show it to your blogging friends, and they understand.

Ready for a story about a Craigslist bargain that just begged
to come home with us from the wilds of Bergen County?

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Once upon a time there was a very nice man, a widower, who after 20 years of loneliness found happiness again. To make his new wife happy also, this gentleman agreed to completely redecorate and refurnish their home. All the furniture was sold.

Except one piece. So, the gentleman listed it on Craigslist.

Where I saw it.

"Where will we put it?" asked my husband, who also likes to make his wife happy.
"I don't know," said I.
"Okay," said he, philosophically.

I teased you with glimpses of it, on Monday.

Here it is, temporarily nesting in our dining room:

It's going to need just a little TLC.

It's in generally excellent condition, but after more than 20 years the frame needs a good cleaning.

I am tempted to paint it, but the original paint is in mostly excellent condition,
and is much better than any paint job I could do!

The caning is in perfect shape, and is double; very sturdy and comfortable.
This is a well made piece.

With the caning and the lines of the frame, I see this settee settling in nicely in a French or Swedish interior.

It's from a decent manufacturer.

The fabric is in very good condition, and it's lovely, but it is dated. That never stops me from using anything,
as I believe in decorating with what you love, not with what fashion tells you to love.
However, the fabric doesn't work in any room at That Old House.

Well, it could work in the pink bedroom, but I've already got a love seat in there.

Uh-oh. I am getting perilously close to having more furniture than brains.

Anyway, wouldn't it look great in a toile? Or ticking? Or linen? How about black and white?
Imagine the frame painted that pale, pale Gustavian gray, with beautiful new upholstery.

Who thinks I could recover it myself? Hands up. Anyone? Anyone? No one?

Who believes we spent $30.00 for it? Not bad, eh?

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Now, for another weekend Craigslist score . . .

About 25 years ago, this was someone's wedding gift:

But someone is redecorating.
Lucky for me, because my favorite lamps are Asian-inspired porcelain, and good ones are hard to find.

It reminds me of Imari patterned china. One of my faves.

A nice brass base.

And a custom-made enormous silk lampshade. I mean, really.
I know the 80s are famous for Big Hair, but Big Lampshades?
How come I don't remember that part of it?
Maybe because 25 years ago I was buying my lamps at Bradlee's?

I am not sure where this lamp is going to live, but it will live somewhere in
That Old House, because I absolutely love it. But it may get a new lampshade!

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(And now, a drum roll please . . . . )

It is time for the big reveal of Monday's mysterious brown case.

Did you guess what is inside? Some of you did.

It's a traveling, or portable, bar.

And it has never been used. The tags are still on it, and the little envelope
that holds the key is still attached. Only the key is missing!

Now why would I buy a pristine decades-old portable bar?
I once went to a college party with a guy who brought his dad's bar packed with 25 year old Scotch,
but that is not a sentimental memory!

But my daughter Anne went to bartending school during college, thinking that as an Art and Theater major, it might be smart to have a back up skill. And when she moved out last summer for grad school, she took our Prohibition-era coffee table with her, the one with the hidden bars in the ends.

(What? You've never seen that Art Deco treasure? Look here! You'll have to scroll down past a lot of other vintage thrift stuff that Anne liberated from our home, and took to her own.)

Anyway, Anne gets a kick out of old bar equipment; last month we found an old cocktail shaker at Goodwill. So, when I saw this old bar on Craigslist a few weeks ago, we got it, and gave it to Anne for her birthday.

Does that make us odd parents? Don't ask our daughters; I know what they'll say.


Join Linda at Coastal Charm for
her Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays!

She is helping her daughter decorate, too!





Tam at The Gypsy's Corner hosts
Three Or More Tuesday, and it's one of my faves
because you never know what you will find, in triples!


You MUST visit her today and see what she has made
for her expected grandbaby. It's simply amazing!


Whew! What a long post! I promise brevity tomorrow! -- Cass