The Guest Room

Mom and Dad, I can't wait for you guys to get here!  And, of course, by "here", I mean "there", since I'm not "there" either.  I'm still in LA.

This last off-hitch, I told Dave I had two big priorities: finish his birthday present (post coming soon! I took zero photos of it, so I can't tell you about it yet!), and get the guest room up to live-able-ness.  That means furniture.  That means I spent a good bit of time shopping.  The list:

1. Dresser
2. Desk-type thing
3. Bedside tables (and lamps, maybe)
4. A corner sitting chair
5. Window a/c
6. Curtains for over the a/c, blackout preferable
7. Hardware for the free bed we scored
8. Box springs/mattress for the free bed we scored
9. Hangers for the closet (and maybe a curtain for the closet?  it has no door)
10. Maybe some pretty things?  Pictures, maybe?

It almost goes without saying that I did not finish my list, but I made a valiant effort!  And here's what I found:

 At the Rusty Bucket.

 The Rusty Bucket is my favorite store in Ohio (well, besides Hartzler's ice cream shop).  It's like a cross between a thrift store and an antique store...just my flavor.  The beautiful pair above are (alas!) not purchased and sitting in splendor in the guest-room-in-process (however, if that vanity has not been snatched up by the time I get back, I'll be buying it come Monday!).

This piece, however,

 I did buy (for 65 bucks!).  I cleaned the wood with warm water and Dawn dish soap with a soft cloth (ahem, it was a sock).  I actually committed the crime of using a scrubbing pad on what appeared to be dried paint on the side of one arm...as it turned white and far worse looking, I ceased that practice immediately.

The burlap straps on the bottom that hold the seat springs in place had pretty much all let go:

 ...so I jimmied some canvas straps (glad I've been saving that canvas for the last 5 years!):

 ...and now here's my lovely antique, twisted barley rocking chair in its new home!

 I somehow took no photos of the new bedside tables I found at the Medina Antique Mall or the adorable lamps I found at this odd garage sale (the man collects antique stuff and puts on garage sales every-so-often to support his habit).

Then I found this awesome thing on Craigslist:

 It's in pretty bad shape, actually, but with so much potential!  I got it for less than 1/10 the price of that one at the top of this post that I loved. I cleaned it up with mineral spirits, but with the finish literally falling off, I decided clean was the best I was gonna get for the moment.  We'll go for the "diamond" part of the "in the rough" later.  How did I get NO photos of ANYTHING last off-hitch??

 I'm gonna strip it and paint it, I think (you know, after I fix all the bits and pieces, and after Mom and Dad's visit comes and goes).  I already cut new drawer bottoms for it (the old bottoms (MAN, I should've taken  more photos!) were pieced-together slats of wood, apparently from old crates), and I rubbed down the bottom of each drawer with soap...so now they glide better in and out, plus they smell fresh and clean! It's put back together now, standing proudly in the guest room.  Trust me.  It is.  I just can't show it to you.

This is not in the guest room, but I have to tell you about it because I bought it on my Garage Sale-ing Day.

 I found it in this lady's garage sale with a $35 price tag.  I walked right past it, paused, glanced over my shoulder, and kept going.  Once I'd looked at everything else, I sauntered back over and pulled out the drawers, on a whim.

Umm, dovetailed, solid wood.  Solid wood dividers.  Solid wood top, solid wood back, no laminate or hardboard to be seen anywhere.  The shuttered doors on either side (solid wood) hide another three drawers each.  Every drawer slides beautifully.  The finish is a little rough on top, and the hardware is badly dated, but.......

I got up and walked away.


What did I need this dresser for, anyway?  It wasn't on my shopping list.  I didn't know where I'd put it.  I briefly thought about sticking it in the craft room (that's eleven drawers of storage goodness!), then decided lugging it upstairs would be a pain and a half.  But...maybe...maybe it would work in the office.  We still don't have a lot of storage in there...since we haven't built the hutches for the desk yet.  Well...maybe...

"Um, Miss, excuse me, but would you guys take $25 for that dresser over there?"

"Absolutely!"

Baumritter, according to my *extensive* research, changed its name in 1972 to Ethan Allen, making this dresser probably 50-60 years old.

Y'all.  I bargained $25 for a piece that today can go for well over $300 AS-IS!  Do you know, the lady was still trying to convince me it was a good purchase even after I bought it?...I think she thought I might change my mind!  Her beef with it?  It was too heavy.

I'm planning to paint this one, too, and refinish the top.  Again, after our guests come and go.


So, to kinda recap: The list (so far)...

1. Dresser
2. Desk-type thing (we're using one we've already got...for the moment)
3. Bedside tables (and lamps, maybe)
4. A corner sitting chair
5. Window a/c
6. Curtains for over the a/c, blackout preferable - update on this one coming, see inspiration here...this is project numero uno when I get home Friday
7. Hardware for the free bed we scored
8. Box springs/mattress for the free bed we scored
9. Hangers for the closet (and maybe a curtain for the closet?  it has no door)
10. Maybe some pretty things?  Pictures, maybe?

Got a little ways to go, but I think it's getting there!  Can't wait to show it to you guys in person!