Before shabby was chic...

19 years ago

Hello

As a recent member of this forum (which I was thrilled to find) I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth so to speak...I have been shopping at the curb for over 30 years, there are only three "storebought" items in my living room (tv, and two recliner chairs that my hubby and I splurged on for ourselves)...living in the city and in a highrise for over 20 years (I now live in a smaller building) I found the most wonderful furniture abandoned by previous owners...I have three china cabinets which hold most of my "collections" (most of which I found either on the curb or at garage sales etc.)..an old computer desk that became a stand for my microwave, coffee pot and toaster, four assorted "antique" small lamp/end tables and a large round coffee table...all solid wood. An antique mirror (hanging on living room wall with beautiful wood frame), assorted pictures, frames that now "house" pics of my children, a quilt stand, most recently a couch and an old desk....in other words, my house has been "shabby chic" before I ever heard the words..

When I first started "rescuing" furniture etc. my family thought I was a little strange, now I am the owner of several beautiful antique pieces...suddenly I am smart (vbg)...

Last night my dd rescued two end tables from the curb....it is true that apples do not fall far from the tree.

Linda

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Comments (12)

Carol_from_ny
19 years ago
I taught my kids to be thrifty shoppers too. We shop garage sales, junk stores, auctions and curbs.
It's wonderful when your kids grow up and bring you finds that they have found...or better still use their finds to furnish their homes.
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Original Author
19 years ago
I think I "inherited" this thrift gene...in the 1940's my mom bought a complete solid oak dining room set for 25 bucks from salvation army...pedestal table, six chairs, buffett, china cabinet, long side table and tea cart....when they divorced in the 70's my brother and sister grabbed it and split it up...can you imagine what it would be worth now??? In fact she furnished out "entire" house from estate sales...there is something to be said for us "blue collar folks"....we learn to live with less and end up having more for it. My husband is fond of saying "God must really love poor folk, he made so many of us"...amen!!
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Jamies, if you post pics you can get some specific advice for your style home. Don't be afraid. It's not impossible to pull of Shabby Chic in a newer home when you understand the basic principals behind it. Shabby Chic is about personalizing the space. You can get ideas here and then run with them putting your own twist on it. The main thing that will propel you decision is the style of the house itself. If it is very Modern and you own some pieces that are too rustic, you may have to mix some metal pieces in so the furnishings do not have a disconnect to the house. It won't be pure Shabby Chic but may be a look you are happy with. And don't forget Fabric. Shabby Chic uses lots of fabric. The dining room above could be made more Shabby Chic by showing it with and abundance of fabric curtains on the windows and maybe even a Chantilly lace tablecloth. Yeah crazy, I know. It's a look people where will either love it or hate it. Memorable. Not boring. People will talk. You may be able to dress up your rustic cabinet with fabric inserts in the doors or something to soften the rustic look. When you look at a rustic piece being considered for your Shabby Chic look you may have to think about softening it with fabric or a sheer wash of paint to make it fit in your scheme. OR transform a formal piece into something more gritty, like replacing the velvet on dining room chairs with grainsack or sailcloth. If your home is Modern and you do not want painted furniture consider using some vintage Danish Modern pieces in natural wood for a Shabby Chic look: Danish Modern in natural wood with elements of Shabby Chic like the white linen curtains. Picture this with vintage floral china instead of the modern china used in this photo.
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Allison, thanks for the article, I enjoyed reading it. Last month I went to the San Francisco store to look at one of their smaller slipcovered chairs for my living room. I heard their furniture was expensive so I was prepared for that but I wasn't prepared for the staggering delivery charge. I'm used to at most $75 delivery fee from furniture stores, if not free. And that's for the trip from the store's warehouse to my house...not from China or the pier to their store! But SC wants to charge me $300 to transport a chair and ottoman from it's place of manufacture, in Los Angeles, to the San Francisco area. When I asked why so much they explained that they don't have their own delivery trucks so it's no different than if I pay a mover to transport a piece of furniture. My other options were to drive down there and pick it up myself (never in a million years) or hire someone to bring it up here (too risky and I'm still shelling out money for gas and insurance). I think the trip from LA to their store in SF should be part of their cost of doing business, then you can charge me to bring the item from the store to my house. Surely they have means to transport merchandise intended for the store shelves, why not place our purchases on the truck with the store's merchandise and send it all up at the same time. Or have a separate truck intended for customer orders, wait for it to fill up before driving the entire load up to San Francisco. Get rid of that middle man, the trucking company. Otherwise the customer has to pay the most expensive form of transportation, one item at a time. Shabby Chic has got to come up with a better plan than that if they're going to open up stores in other states. Either the factory moves closer to the stores or they make changes to their method of transportion. To me it seems like an oxyoron when I think about the whole premise behind shabby chic....shopping at flea markets for scrappy old things that you pay pennies on the dollar for...but if you want Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic to make it for you be prepared to pay thousands of dollars! Her chairs cost more than I've seen in the finest furniture store. Not to change the subject and start squakking about the price of their furniture (well, maybe a little) because it is made in the USA and that warrants a premium. I applaud businesses who are trying to keep manufacturing in this country and I want to support that even if it means I pay more. My beef is mainly with the delivery charge. Hopefully with the company growing they'll work on that problem. Can you just hear a New Yorker saying, "you want me to pay HOW MUCH to ship a chair from Los Angeles to Manhatten?!!" ;)
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carolinacraftymama
19 years ago
I am so much like you, Ohiomom, it is scary, except our recliners came from goodwill, I almost passed out at my good fortune, about a year ago,while I was still living in the Atlanta area,I headed out for my weekly search at the thrift stores, well, I walked in an there sat 2 hunter green big boy lazy boy recliners, I just figured something had to be wrong with them, but no, they just needed a cleaning with my little green machine and I am now the proud owner of 2 lazyboy recliner, that someone paid about 1500-1800 for and i walked out only paying a whopping 50.00 for both. everything in my home I have made myself. I just can not see paying full price for something I can make myself.
User
Original Author
19 years ago
I am a northern girl with southern genes. My family originated in ETN and my husband says I will not buy anything until it goes on sale....I am not cheap, just "thrifty"..afterall, I buy mass produced items, they ALL go on sale eventually. And yes, the chairs we bought were ON SALE!!! Buy one the other was FREE!! My kind of deal.
cupajoe
19 years ago
Have you viewed my other favorite site yet?
dumpsterdiving site
User
Original Author
19 years ago
Went to the site, I will pick up off the curb, but I live in the city...not going "NEAR A DUMPSTER"...I do not like "crawly things"!!!
Ina Plassa_travis
19 years ago
:) third generation here- my grandmother used to beat the rag and bottle man in the mornings (as a scavanger family, we predate the dumpster!) and turned around and donated most of what she found to the Organization for Retired Teachers 'thrift shop' for years and years...

my brother's disowned the lot of us (after building a bike from the bianci frame my mom dragged home, getting not just college tuition but rent because the dorms weren't good enough for him...and letting my folks cough up the down payment on his first house, I might add) but after a tenative start, my husband has rather embraced the whole yard sale/trashpicking tradition in our family (he's still the best abandoned thing I've ever found)

and, since I don't have kids- I'm busy subverting the neighbor's and their crew- most of whom are plenty poor enough to appreciate the rise in their quality of life when they can find or make things without having to stress their parents out...

:)
cupajoe
19 years ago
Ohiomom,be a sport.Read thru that forum and you're going to find an equal number of curbcrawlers,pickers,yardsalers,and dumpster divers.It's a great forum because there is so much participation.Come down off that perch and take another look over there.Also a large number of people ebaying yard sale finds and curb finds.It's a pretty facinating read.
Chinacat,I'm the family joke and I could care less.If I waited for DH to buy me furniture ,we'd sleep standing in the corner lol.
User
Original Author
19 years ago
I am not on a perch...I am terrified of MICE or anything in that family!!! I have no trouble checking out the trash on the curb (much to my familie's horror)...it is just I have "murphy's luck" and just know the first time I looked in a dumpster "something" would jump out at me. Also, I don't have a car, so nighttime is out in the "city"...
cupajoe
19 years ago
I don't do mice either.When you go to commercial dumpsters,there is seldomany food garbage for critters like mice.I dive by day because it's easier to see that way,but most people dive after five.A backpack and a bike are great tools for diving.Try a drugstore,office supply place or home decorating store as a first dive.They are remarkably clean.Use a broom handle,cane or long stick to poke around.I think your'e more likely to find mice at the curb than in a dumpster,though racoons are not so uncommon,and cats are also frequent visitors .
User
Original Author
19 years ago
Just went to the site...I will lurk for awhile.
Ina Plassa_travis
19 years ago
:) I also curb shopped with a backpack, and a mountain bike with a milk crate tied to the rack over the back wheels...

of course, a couple of times, I DID have to lock up the bike, hail a gypsy cab ( many of them were station wagons) to get furniture home, and then go back for the bike (I've got no arches, crunchy ankles, and a bad knee- I bike because I can hardly walk) but even then- $10 for a couch or a dining room table's still a deal :)

Before shabby was chic...

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