OMG, I just read your post, and it was hilarious. I can so relate to your passion, although I am not so extreme. My gift is not in finding but in imagining. Let's say my mind's eye has perfect vision (not that I am a great designer, but it's usually quite easy to picture something in my mind). When we get something new or move things around, my husband's response to my ideas is often "that won't work" or "that won't look right." And I say, "pleeeeeeease, let's just try it, I don't care if we have to move the piano, pleeeeease let's just try it or I won't be able to sleep tonight, and we can always put it back." And he hems and haws and then moves the heavy thing or puts together the weird bookcase or whatever and says, "wow! You were right!" At this point, all I have to do is remind him and he is pretty compliant. I have made him a believer.

I will have to hunt around for my favorite house thing. My overall favorite CL item was our double jogging stroller, but that was not exciting to look at (except for me), plus we sold it. But so smooth, so easy to push. I even rewrote the Baby Got Back lyrics about my stroller.

And, you and I appear to share 2 names. My middle name is Elizabeth and, per your blog, our last name is the same. Funny!

I don't have a find to share, but just want to say how much I enjoyed your blog post. Hilarious is right. I'm so surprised you're still married!

This is why I want a big a$$ SUV to replace my "crossover" vehicle. I need to be able to capture my CL finds independently, without having to call in a friend with a big vehicle. I cannot afford to waste precious time arranging the transportation.

Very funny blogpost. Thanks for sharing.

Gorgeous cabinets! Your blog is hilarious and brings back many memories--my late husband didn't always (read rarely ever) share my delusions of grandeur.

I have a favorite Craigslist find, and it made it into my kitchen!

Before in seller's garage:

After:

This is my favorite find. I got it at an estate sale when I worked for an estate sale company and had first dibs on stuff. It came from a house where the owners made their living as dealers of primitive antiques. This cupboard was the only larger piece of furniture that hadn't been taken to an auction house. It had some water damage and had been stripped at some point. I wasn't able to pick it up until after the sale and my boss told me the customers loved it and they could have sold it many times over. I was in my early twenties when I bought it and it cost a small fortune for me at the time, but I'm so glad I got it.

mama_goose, that kitchen cabinet is incredibly beautiful.

VictoriaElizabeth, that was a really funny blog post. Can I ask where you got your ottoman/coffee table? I've been searching for something like that.

All your finds are lovely and VictoriaElizabeth your blog is such fun! I love auctions and tagsales so I have a lot of favorites. I think my very favorite is my dining room table that I paid only 30quid for in England. It was painted in a light green and I had assumed it was a MCM teak table but it turned out to be a beautiful walnut top. It is used by my young family for every meal without protection and the wood remains to be stunning. I hope everyone keeps them comiing! I love unique stories, purposes and finds!

This post was edited by roarah on Thu, Apr 11, 13 at 9:46

VictoriaE: Your Paul is my kind of man! That's so funny and I can certainly relate to your must have and don't care where it goes attitude. You got it and it looks great and now you know how to take it apart if you ever move.

Great finds all. Mamagoose, I love that kitchen cabinet you found and the way you refurbished it. Absolutely marvelous. Off to search craigslist-why do I never come across anything like that???

Too funny!
Husband is definitely a keeper!

One of my favs (I have a few) I found at an antique store.

Mamagoose, you scored!

Bee...I can so relate. A few weeks ago, I came across a brand new looking leather club chair on cl for $40.00. I could not find anybody to take me to pick it up. DH said no...he wasn't driving through downtown LA on a Friday night! I was so mad!
I was totally willing to sit in traffic for 2 hours...come on $40.00!

Roarah, I can't believe anyone ever painted that beautiful table. So happy that you saved it from that fate!

As I read your "Downton Abbey Portal Procurement" tale, I laughed out loud SEVERAL times. It all sounded so very familiar, and you're a master storyteller!

My husband got the same "Honey, we need to go pick something up...." for my dining room breakfront. It was one of those deals that makes your heart race, like you might hear a police siren wailing and find yourself in cuffs at any moment. (That's why they call it a STEAL, right?)

I was in a really sort of junky antique shop that has little-to-no furniture, but I have found the occasional light fixture there. I have a small problem with not being satisfied with my fixtures, but that's another story.

I came around a corner and heard the angels sing. BUBBLE GLASS!! I was a girl with piles of boxed-up stemware and a big blank wall in my dining room. What was this thing of beauty, and the answer to my storage prayers doing in this place? More importantly, HOW MUCH WAS IT?

The nice old man at the counter said they were consigning it as a favor to someone, and it was taking up too much space--how did six hundred sound? I tried play it cool, but I was hearing those police sirens as I wrote out the check. I really felt like I was stealing the thing.

I was vague with my husband about what, exactly, we were picking up. Just us. The (very) old guy definitely wasn't going to be able to assist. We have an SUV. High snowbanks and icy sidewalk. Busy road. Rush hour. Two trips. Darkness. It wasn't fun.

Nothing can compare to your gargantuan Portal closet ($300? for real???), but I really, really, love my bubble-glass breakfront with a hidden secretary desk and pretty inlays.

Wow! I love all of your finds! Super great! Okay -- I don't know how to get pictures from my phone or camera onto the computer, that's how computer illiterate I am. I'll get one of my kids to help and post pictures tomorrow. However, I have three finds, all equally repugnant to my sisters and to my father. My best friend, who GETS me, shares in my delight. My husband, when I ask him if he likes them, says, "It's all you, Baby."

One, was an Indian (Asian) wedding chair, in Goodwill. It is Sesame Street green with lots of gold paint, and shaky little Christmas tree-shaped bingle-bongles all over it. I think it is meant to be used to carry the bride or groom on a horse. It has seen the business-end of a lathe, that's for sure! I LOOOOVE it!

Secondly, I have a matching end table and coffee table, Spanish I think, that are entirely gold-leafed and ornately carved! With MIRRORS all over them!!!! They are so sparkly and gaudy, as in Gaudi. I saw them at a yard sale and SCREECHED to a stop, saying, "Mama like!" I got both tables, a beautiful mirror, also with a gilded frame, and a gilt, mirrored clock, all for $60.
All together in a room, they might get Trumpy looking (Trumpy means excessively laden with gold and reflective surfaces, a la Donald Trump's tacky apartment), or a little too like the Hollywood version of a sultan's palace. It is a challenge to use them in a witty way, but I don't care! I LOOOOOVE them!
BTW, Victoria Elizabeth, I love how you employed the Victorian piece over your window. Most clever!

Love all the finds!

I have a hubby just like Victoria's Paul. Definitely a keeper. I've come to telling people I'm married to prince charming ;)

I guess I didn't share my "favorite" find.

That famous green chair of mine. I was in a consignment shop, filled with blue haired (some with lavender) volunteers. I came across this chair and knew I had to have it. It was marked $63 (or $65) dollars. The color grabbed me, the lines grabbed me. It was in very very good shape. The cushion was so heavy. I went to the front as if there would be a crowd of people trying to buy it. I told them I wanted it. Well, the looks I got. They had no idea that I had just redone my kitchen and I was using that green as my accent color.....and not too much longer Wasabi would enter my life, but that's another story.

I had the heart racing experience--and in fact since I couldn't carry the darn thing by myself and would have to return with my dh, I took the cushion. I didn't want anyone to sit in it.

Now, I see this color on chairs with similar shape for sale for thousands of dollars. I love my old green chair. (the table is from CL--$20)

(I also scored some incredible never used professional cookware from the same store. They had it priced as if it was used Farberware. Every time I pop into that store I immediately look to see if someone brought in the mate to my green chair and any more cookware)

Wow, I am loving all the pictures. Bee, I want to LIVE in that room! So fun and cheery!

My find was at a state fair about 12 years ago. I could not get a great picture b/c it's raining out, so my bedroom is not getting much natural light right now, and there was a glare when I tried to use the flash. But here it is. We used it as a (strange) bedside table for a while, and now it is opposite the bed. I keep random stuff inside - books, notepads, chapstick, tape, hair ties, etc. It's nice to have a big space to keep stuff covered that would look junky if it were out. It also somewhat obscures the damage on the floor underneath, especially if I line my shoes up there. It was marked $125, but when I expressed some interest, the seller immediately offered it at $100. I have no idea if that's a good deal, but we were certainly willing to pay that amount for it. The stained glass panel is not old, btw.

Bee- I have been meaning to ask you for the longest time, where is that rug from. It is so bright and cheery.

VictoriaElizabethe - I love your blog. I made the mistake of opening this thread over lunch at my desk and could hardly tear myself away to actually go back to work.

I am wondering what is wrong with my CL, I peruse it and it all just looks like JUNK JUNK JUNK. I live is a city, but maybe it isn't a city where people want to remodel and get rid of all of their awesome furniture.

This is my favourite find. We got the table and 8 chairs on Kijiji for $1,000. They are solid handcrafted Indian red wood. The woman selling it was getting divorced and had to have it out of the house by the end of the week. We literally felt like we were ripping her off. We got out of there as fast as we could in case she changed her mind!

VictoriaElizabeth - you are one funny lady! I don't even want to share about my paltry little finds. I just want to go back to your blog and read, read, read.
:-D

kellie, the rug was from Hautelook. I think it has appeared on Joss & Main also.

Mother_goose, I LOVE that cabinet! I have many finds...almost everything I have came from the side of the road, a yard sale, flea market or auction. I guess my favorite is my house, which is still a work in progress. It cost $15,000 and that included moving it 12 miles. It was built from debris left over from the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, and the lumber traveled by barge up the Brazos River to a big ranch and was made into the foreman's house. Several years ago, the ranch was sold and a subdivision took it's place. The house was given to a house mover. It sat, cut in half, for 8 years on a house movers lot. It had been sold but found out later, the man who bought it, was now in prison, so we bought it from his sister. The moving had already been paid for. I wanted an old house to go with all my other "old junk". You can see pics here. BTW, when we were in our 30's, we moved and restored a 100 yr. old house. We said never again. But now we are in our mid 60's and we are doing it again. You don't have to be crazy....well, yes....maybe you do! :))

Here is a link that might be useful: Scanlon Road House

This post was edited by marilyn_c on Thu, Apr 11, 13 at 13:03

You all crack me up… and totally made my day! The baby got back stroller… two hours in traffic is nothing… And I too would like to be independent with a big a$$ vehicle… (but would still have needed to hire help to move this thing, if trying to leave DH out of it.)

He IS a keeper, but I am ALSO incredibly annoying when I want something, so he may have just weighed them out and decided the wardrobe was easier.

Mamagoose- I was already in love with your cabinets!! No kidding! They have been saved in my “clippings” for months now, while planning our kitchen!! I LOVE how you repurposed them. And the size and glass-front… everything about them is perfect!! I was hoping something would show up for me similar, but so far nothing.

TheRedHouse- love your cabinet! (and the globes on top) Coffee table is Restoration Hardware, although true to form, I got mine on CL. Pristine, like new… but way less. I had seen it at RH and LOVED it, and stalked CL for one, not thinking I’d actually find it… I will say this though: it is HUGE. It was really too large when I brought it home, and now with the wardrobe really not a good fit.

roarah- I can’t believe they painted that! The wood is beautiful. If you’re the one who refinished it, you did a lovely job.

shanghaimom- I try to be vague too… I figure if I can just get him there he will be required to deal with it. Love your breakfront, fits there perfectly!

naturalmom- I am TOTALLY stealing “Trumpy.” You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I didn’t even need you to define it for me… I knew the meaning immediately. I love shiny things too… can’t wait to see your gold/mirror tables!!

Beekeeper- whoa! Your room is out of a pro-design blog. The chair is great and is fantastic when combined with the rug and lamps (I love that aqua/blue)

Pitpat- I love dark-wood antiques too… so lovely!

kellienoelle- thanks, you made my day… I live outside of Philadelphia, and there are so many old homes here that eventually something amazing turns up… I have been REALLY lucky more than once with antique salvage items… plus, living within driving distance of rich people helps.

stephf- never even heard of Kijji... kind of afraid to google it since I don't need another habit!

Sunny Cottage/olychick- you’re my new best friend.

marilyn_c- struggling to wrap my mind around your poor house’s story!! (I do think you have to be a little crazy!) Hey: the link doesn’t work!

My favorite find is by far, my home. DH and I used to walk by it with our dog and talk about how we would fix it up and bring it back to life if it ever went on the market. It had a huge lot, a 3 car garage and was just really unique, like no house we had ever seen before. Well one day while DH was walking the dog, he walked past and saw a dumpster in the driveway, he rang the bell and asked if it was going on the market. The daughter of the owner (who had recently passed away) said yes, it never even made it on the market because we offered to buy it that day.

Here it is on the day of the home inspection:

Here it is now (pic taken at Christmas):

It has been a true labor of love, but with the double lot, a builder would have scooped it up and knocked it down. That was almost 6 years ago, and we are still not done with all the projects, and we paid too much at the height of the market, but we don't regret it one bit.

You all have the most incredible treasures!

This was such a fun thread.

VictoriaElizabeth, you are hysterical and I intend to follow your blog!

I don't really have any "amazing" finds to post. I've found a few notable things (a beautiful antique Jacobean bedroom set for my daughter on CL for $400, a small antique display case with awesome hardware, and a couple other things), but I know now I just have to do more hunting!

Marilyn, your link does not work, was very anxious to see your pictures.

dody

Thank you all for loving my cabinets! I have another Craigslist find, with a story attached. A lady was having a yard sale about 2 1/2 hours from me, so I called and asked if she'd hold an old stove that she had advertised, and if she had anyone who could load it. She said yes, on both counts. It was beautiful spring day, perfect for exploring, so I jumped in the pickup, solo, not really knowing what I'd find. She was a hoot! When I arrived I found out that she and her boyfriend (who lived next door) were combining their households, and she was getting rid of all of his ex's stored stuff.

I spent an hour there, combing through the junk, um, treasures, talking with her, and looking at her flowers. When we decided on the (excellent) price for the stove, she called a young friend, who loaded it, sans drawers and shelves, by himself. When I arrived home, I had to call my BIL to help me unload it.

The stove had a sticker from an antique store in S.Carolina, but since it had belonged to the ex-wife, she didn't know any other history. I started taking it apart to clean and refurbish, and found a tag, which dated it to the early 1930's, from a stove foundry that's still operating in the county where I live! I also found lots of dirt and rust in the rolled bottom rim of the housing, leading me to believe that the stove was in So.Ohio during the '37 floods. It's not functional where it sits in my DR, so I use it for storage:

Oh, yes, marilyn and polly, we need (more) pictures!

Victoria, Loved your post! I was telling my dh about it and will make him read about it.....he will hopefully not think I'm so nutty when I drag him to get things!

Bee, I thought of you with the cl chair in the link...yours is much better though!

http://hartford.craigslist.org/fuo/3680462277.html

Here is a link that might be useful: green velvet chair listing

My favorite find is this silly table! I know i have posted it before. It is ridiculously long. I found it on ebay about an hour from where I live. It was up a few times and they kept lowering the price. Finally I knew I had to have it! I emailed them and asked if they would deliver it. I knew there was no way DH would go get it.

The guy showed up with the table hanging out of the back of a pick up truck way in the air. :)

Right now it holds toys, but I have visions of family pictures along the top, baskets of beautiful throw pillows and magazines long the shelf, pretty throws folded in a pile, etc.

I have to go check out the blog! Love all these finds. THanks for sharing.

Mamagoose, I've always admired your kitchen cabinets and remember reading about how you lost your husband during the remodel, my heart broke for you.

VictoriaElizabeth, I made my DH read your blog post, and he was laughing that he and Paul would get along great. I've never bought anything quite so large off of craigslist, but we have taken many rides all over our state and the neighboring states for treasures I've found that I HAD TO HAVE! But he has had his fair share of CL treasures that we have traveled all over for as well so we are kind of even.

Here are a few other CL purchases of mine:

French provincial bedroom furniture for my daughters' bedroom before:

And after:

The other dresser with the mirror, and the cute little upholstered chair was also from CL for $30. I paid $200 for the bedroom set.

When we moved here I was obsessed with getting a farmhouse table for the dining room. I went to a friend's house and she had one from Nadeau imports and I went there with DH looking to buy one too. If you aren't familiar with Nadeau it's a huge warehouse that many interior decorators go to but it is also open to the public and there was one local to me in NJ. DH had a trailer that we could attach to his jeep so we went with the trailer to buy one. Only the one we bought was not exactly the one I wanted and I settled for it because we had made the trip there with this giant box trailer. I lived with it for 2 years and it was ok, but it had no leaves and we have a huge family so whenever we had a gathering we had to pull out the folding tables. Well after about 2 years with it, I spotted a farm table on CL that I HAD TO HAVE that day. DH was like, WHHHAAAAT?? We have a table, I am NOT buying another table. Well, I didn't care this one had leaves and came with the french country chairs and was only $600. I wore him down and he said, if you can sell our table and chairs on CL then you can buy that table and chairs. I posted mine on CL for $800 and it sold in 2 days, so off to Flemington, NJ to buy the table that I HAD TO HAVE. He met me there with his work SUV and me with my minivan after work one day, I brought the kids to my sitter. He checked out the table and could not believe the price. It was pretty high end. I asked the woman if she loved the table so much why she was selling it, to which she responded, it was to small for her dining room in her new house. And yes, her house was a mansion. We loaded the table and chairs up and if you've ever seen the IKEA commercial where the woman is running screaming "START THE CAR" because the stuff was so cheap....that was me and DH that day. I ended up finding where she got the table from on the internet and could NOT believe the original price.

Here is my table and chairs I sold (purchased for $500 and the chairs were another $300 at Target.com) I sold it all for $800
:

And here is the set I bought from CL for $600:

You can see my dining room is open to my kitchen and the color of the wood on the new table compliments my kitchen cabinets so much better than the original set. The original table would have looked beautiful in my first house because it had a cherry stained boxwood ceiling.

Here is the link to the maker of my CL table, which retails for around 4K. When I asked the lady where she got it, she said she bought it when she lived on the West Coast, and this is and exact match to my table.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farm table

Polly Polly Polly...what can I say about your house? Its warmth, its uniqueness, its character, and everything you've done to it I love. Just once though I'd like to come over when it isn't pouring rain!

I have to say, too, that our house is our greatest find too. I always wanted to live on the street we live on. Here is our before

And Polly, Cinco de Mayo is on a Sunday...how about we start those margaritas on Saturday night?

Still needs landscaping, but we love it...

Oops!!! Forgot, actually my favorite find was fivefootzero, a friend I made on gardenweb when she recognized a store I wrote about in a post and we discovered we lived in the same town!! We've been good friends for a few years now! And so have our daughters.

polly, thank you. Great score on the table, and on discovering fivefootzero! :) You should download a copy of that ad, and tape it to the underside of the table. Thank you for the pics of your daughter's room - it looks adorable.

boopadadoo, I drool over that table every time I see it.

fivefootzero, wow, what a difference - I love the porch.

I couldn't get rid of the glare, but this is a watercolor by a listed artist about this time last century in the San Diego area. It was one of 3 in a grimy old manila envelope in the bottom of a bin at a garage sale that I bought for $5 each. They all have some imperfection that apparently caused them to be put away and basically forgotten for 90 years. I love them, the more so since the wonderful wild places she painted were very likely destroyed long ago.

I just picked this up this art work at the flea market last weekend...I fell in love, it's antique ceiling tiles mounted on wood for hanging.

Rosie, I love that watercolor. And boopadaboo, I'd snag that long table in a heartbeat!!

I've really enjoyed this thread. I've revisited it a couple of times and have been trying to figure out what find of mine qualifies as my favorite. Maybe this one? DH and I walked into an enormous antique store in Pennsylvania just as they were closing. They were really nice and let us look around as long as we wanted. Smart move on their part. We bought this wrought iron piece and the stained glass window that is over our sink in the kitchen. There is something about this iron sunbeam that I just love....maybe just its graceful simplicity.

Try the link here and maybe it will work this time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scanlon road house

marilyn, wow! That house was so lucky you found it.

Love seeing threads like this....so fun to share "treasures". It inspires all of us~

My fave finds?
My 2 little green tables from "junk" shops, my tea table from my inlaws basement, my flowered chair from my friend Jan's barn & my grandfather's rocker from Christmas morning from my cousin.

(Excuse the smocked curtains, I was trying to decide pulled back or straight down. Straight down won).

My best find and most valued treasure (next to my kids of course) was a book. After my step grandpa passed away and his house sold we were cleaning the house for the new owners. I was told if there was anything left, to help myself because the remainder was going to the garbage.

In a box at the back of a closet, I found a book that was printed in 1787, called Philosophical and Miscellaneous Papers Lately written by Benjamin Franklin! I didn't realize what I had until I got home and looked it up online. Boy was I surprized!

The book had been in my step grandpa's family since at least 1846, since it has that date along with the name of his grandfather and gr. grandfather in it. It's in rough shape, but I love it!

Wow Debra!! That certainly is a treasure!

fivefootzero and Marilyn_c, I love what you've done with your houses. I adore house exterior makeovers.

shanghaimom - totally loved your story, and your breakfront steal. My heart starts racing, and I'm expecting someone to jump out of the woodwork when a deal is coming together. Too funny. I have bought and sold so many things on CL and ebay. Ebay is not what it used to be though. I hope craigslist doesn't go the same route. Fun post!

Oh I love love this thread and am living vicariously through everyone's amazing finds!

I love a good hunt or dig - one of my favorite finds was a huge vintage, white chippy-painted bird cage (way way back before they were popular and in pottery barn) - it was a total steal and all the little ladies at the shop kept asking the name of my (apparently giant) bird that I was going to put in the cage - when I explained I was going to fill it with white pillar candles instead, they gave me the typical Southern pity statement "Well bless your heart, that really is something." Their reaction and all the looks I got lugging it back to my car were so fun, but lighting all the candles in it for a dinner party (its in the DR) that's still the best part :)

I have 2. The first is this piece I got at an auction for $250. It was a little antique store going out of business. This was my favorite piece.

The second is one of the two chandeliers DH and I rescued when he worked for the historical foundation in Macon, georgia. We were restoring an 1885 Victorian that had been stripped And empty for 7 years. The foundation director let me go through the "spare parts" warehouse, which held all the things salvaged from houses that had to be demolished. I found two crystal chandeliers in pieces. DH removed the knob and tube wiring and I cleaned and re-wired every crystal on each. They have moved with us through 4 houses since.

This is my latest purchase, a cedar wardrobe for my daughters room. I found it on a Facebook neighborhood sale page for $125. I have finished painting the outside, but I still need to do the two mirrored doors, and we are going to add shelves or something to the inside. I find many things on CL, but I must not be quick enough.