I've been Junkin'!

What do you do when you have a whole house to furnish on a less than adequate budget?  

You go JUNKING!  

Now, I love to shop the high end interiors showrooms, purchasing stylish and beautiful pieces for clients, but secretly, I'd almost rather dig around in a jam-packed thrift store, searching for treasure.

So that's how I spent part of last week, and I've found several pieces for my clients home.  They're still in various stages of redo, so I'll have to show them to you later.  But one of the upsides to my job is that sometimes I find things that I love!

I've been looking for a small, narrow piece for behind my love seat.  It needed to be a demure little piece that would blend into all the other things in my open concept space.  I found a cutie!!

Size is perfect.  It needs a little TLC....maybe a complete makeover?....I'm thinking vertical black and white stripes...or maybe I'll just leave it alone....I've got time to decide.   It's exactly what I didn't know that I wanted!  And guess what?   It was $20!!

I did goooood!

So, now I need something to go on it.  A lamp is always good, right?  So I go on the hunt for a cool vintage lamp (that's what you call a lamp that is as old as me....vintage....nice!).

I was scanning the lamp section and saw this shape....the perfect shape...and I grabbed it!

I looked all over for the price....like it mattered!  I would have paid up to $20 for it, big spender that I am, so I grabbed it.   The price was written on the brass bulb socket....$3.98!!  Score!!   It looks like a pretty creamy white, but trust me, it was a nasty painted on finish that was chipping off in places. 

Spray paint in hand, it is transformed.  I had an old lampshade in the closet, so I searched through my fabric stash and recovered the shade.  

Check it out!!

Is she fabulous or what!! 

I'm almost ready to show you the room, but for now, you just have to know that this is so cute, it makes me crazy!!

I love being an interior designer, but I have just as much fun being an "artistic transformer".  I love making a silk purse from a sow's ear!  (I hope all my northern readers get that....you Southerners know what I'm talking about, don't you!)

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SCORE !!

I am a junker.  I love the hunt.  It's not even about the money any more, although I love to find a deal.  I really love it when I can see something wonderful amid the junk and garbage.

So a couple of Saturdays ago, with a little extra time on my hands, I stopped into  my local Salvation Army to see if there was anything I could find to repurpose.

I had hardly walked around the corner when I saw them.... A set of rattan coffee tables!

Check these out!

But here's the best part.....

SCORE!!

Based on the research I've done, these are vintage 1960's from the high-end McGuire furniture company.

I didn't find these exact same tables as I was researching, but I did find these McGuire tables on 1st Dibs....

.....and they are selling for $2,400 !!!!

Ask me what I paid....

go ahead....ask me.....

$19.00 for the pair!!!

Did I say SCORE!!

Although they are in pretty good shape, there certainly was some wear and tear.  All the rattan was perfectly attached and the 1/2" glass looked really good.

But I didn't want to live with old brown tables...even if they are McGuire.

I know I probably killed the resale value of the tables, but I pulled out my trusty paint brush and went to town.

TA DA !!

Aren't they awesome!!