Okay I realize this week is turning into a bit of a theme. Sorry about that. I've reached a level of frustration and I need to vent about it so that I can move past. : ) Thanks for baring with me.
So today I thought I'd share some examples of what I think I'm going to have to do furniture wise....as well as Ikea of course! I've started visiting my local Thrift Shops in hopes of finding a wonderful piece to refinish and again not cost an arm and a leg. This approach however comes with a handful of issues.....
Thrift shopping is time consuming....time consuming!!! Why? Because they're not just going to have the perfect piece sitting there waiting for you. And even if you find one with great lines it's used, there could be all sorts of damage going on some of which can't be fixed. Also these pieces are old, the drawers might not slide properly, they might smell, etc. And because it's so hard to find the right piece and there's so much turn over at these stores you have to go often. It's fun, don't get me wrong but like I said, time consuming!!!
Also I'm a clean looking, straight lines, modern kind of girl and there are a lot of very ornate, decorative pieces out there in the thrift shops. Refinished I do like the more decorative look but not for every room in our house. Bedrooms, yes, downstairs yes but on them main floor with what we currently have I just can't see it.
Dimensions play another major factor. You might find a piece that looks exactly as you hoped but oh wait, it's too wide or too deep or too tall or all three at once! A few weeks ago I found two pieces that were fantastic! Great lines, drawers worked nicely but the dimensions were all wrong. I need a dresser no more than four feet wide, the one I found was much longer. I need a long cabinet for behind the couch and the one I found was too tall and too wide. Frustration overload I tell you!
And the one final and most crucial issue....once you find that perfect piece you still have to refinish it. I have no experience with this so I'm assuming the first few pieces I do are not going to be my finest work. Also there's a very good chance that the time it takes to refinish a piece of furniture is going to put me over the edge as well and I'll find myself back at the furniture stores I proclaimed to hate so much in my first post this week!
Oh the joys of decorating! With all my complaining I do love it. It takes a long time but when you finally find the right piece or complete the look of a room it's a great feeling! And with all the complications thrift shopping brings I did find the most fantastic chair recently. It was only $5.00 and has great lines! We're not really in need of a chair but for $5.00 it was coming home with me. The fact that it needs to be reupholstered which I've never ever done and refinished is something I'm choosing to ignore right now. For the time being I'm just going to enjoy the thrill of the find!
The following examples of refinished furniture can be found on my
For the Home pinboard on Pinterest.
