The Garage Sale Table

I've reached my favourite stage in our family room renovations.

The walls are planked, everything has been painted, and almost all of the furnishings are in place. There are still a few details that I need to finish - put out the rug, hang my curtains panels, sew another small curtain for our entertainment unit and hang some art.

I'm so happy with how this room is coming together. It has a cozy, cottage feel to it which is perfect for this space. Toys migrate here from the den, it's where we snuggle up and watch movies together - it really is our family room.

But we'll talk more about that when it's finished.

For now, I wanted to share something I found this weekend.

While out on Saturday morning, I was forced to drive a different way home due to some construction. As I took the scenic way back to the highway, I came across a garage sale. It's a pretty general rule for me that if there's furniture, I stop. So despite the dreary weather, and my warm seat, I pulled in and did a quick tour.

I'm not sure what this little table would have been used for. It's high for an end table, but doesn't show any marks from hardware that would have made it a small kind of cabinet.

I was drawn to it's simplicity, and it's pretty little legs. And I liked the small shelf.

It was $20, but I only had $14.20 on me to offer. He happily took what I had and even loaded the table in my car.

So now it's found it's place in our family room. All of the furniture in this room is quite low, with the exception of two big cabinets on the other side. This dark and slightly tall table adds just the right amount of weight on this end of the room. It also is a convenient place to hide remotes.

If it didn't work here, I planned to use it in our master bathroom. I think it would suit some glass jars on top with soaps and things, and towels stacked on the shelf for easy access. I spent the rest of the drive home imagining ways to make it useful again.

I planned to paint it white, but I'm enjoying the dark wood for now. It's nicely worn and adds some contrast to a very light space.

The beautiful arched window was a salvage find that my dad has had stored away for quite some time. At our Christmas open house last year I leaned it against an old harvest table and added a swag of greens to it. I knew when I was arranging the display that I had to have this window. Finally I told him he couldn't sell it because I wanted it. It's going above the couch.

I'm nearly there.

Gone Thrifting

[Photo courtesy of Dreams on 34th St.]

A photo from the Ruffles and Rust show last month. I would have loved to have gone. But, as some of you may have been reading around blogland, there's a place you can shop all year 'round now! The new Ruffles and Rust Square in Snohomish, Washington! Booths full of fabulous finds and gorgeous old junk - like Melanie's from My Sweet Savannah.

Spring must be right around the corner. This morning I did a circuit of the local thrift shops and came home with lots of amazing finds! It's seemed like a slow winter full of dull auctions and unexciting estate sales, but today was different. It was exciting!

I can credit my avid love of thrifting to my mom and aunt. When we were little, my mom and her sister (both stay at home moms with 4 kids each; my mom 4 girls, my aunt 4 boys), would wait in line on Wednesday mornings at the nearest Salvation Army warehouse. They called it The Sally-Anne Shop, or Sally's Boutique. There was a line because this was the day that they put out all of the "new" merchandise.

Now this may seem funny, but it was actually serious business. Have you ever seen elderly ladies argue over odd balls of yarn? Well I have, and it wasn't pretty. We were assigned into sections, each in charge out scouting out a specific department. Anything that seemed like a good find, was gathered and would be edited later. We were crammed into a change room with my mother guarding the door, each of us girls fumbling around, trying on our finds, being handed item after item.

It was in this old warehouse that I developed my "thrill of the hunt" instinct. It was here that I discovered that just because something was thrown away, didn't mean it wasn't still useful.

Luckily, I married a man who understands this side of me. He likes to tell me that "He's been thrifting since before I was born". It's probably true. His mom is the same way. Their most embarrassing childhood story involves my mother-in-law, along with my husband and his sister, out garage saling one Saturday morning. Coming across a yard full of furniture, they began sorting through everything, quiet excitedly actually, as they seemed to be the only ones who had found the sale so far. While inspecting an old dresser, my mother-in-law was surprised to find socks and underwear still inside! When she asked the owner, who was now making his way outside, he informed her that this was, in fact, not a garage sale. He was moving in. Embarrassed, they quickly got back into the car, and continued on.

It's quite a lot of fun thrifting. It can be dirty, and a lot of digging, but those are the days that reap the most rewards, and bring the most excitement. One of the reasons I'm looking so forward to spring is the spring cleaning - that means decluttering. And where does all the unwanted "junk" go? - to the thrift store, just waiting to be scooped up!