kpvxl You understand exactly how a lot of designers have been stating things like “every space ought to have something old in it”? Or have I been the only one noticing that lately? kind of like exactly how they state “every space ought to have something black in it” (but other than oil scrubed bronze curtain rods or dark mocha wood, practically nothing in any type of of our spaces is black – although 95% of my t-shirts are black, so perhaps that counts?). Either way, it’s official. I’m on the “something old” train.
It all occurred when I was browsing craigslist (searching the words “dresser” as well as “sideboard” as well as “buffet” weekly or so, if you’re wondering about my craigslist technique) because we want to convert a huge piece of wood furniture like a dresser/buffet/cabinet to be a TV stand in the living space as well as likewise want a huge buffet-ish piece for the entryway next to the front door. then bam, out of nowhere, this happened:
I went crazy with sideboard lust. I promptly emailed the seller (it had just been published that morning) as well as stated “I like your sideboard, is it still available?” people ask us for craigslist suggestions so right here ya go. suggestion number one: don’t inundate the seller with a lot of questions. I’ve discovered one of the most successful methods to get a great reaction is just to tell somebody you like what they’re selling as well as ask if it’s still available. No challenging concerns about size, finish, defects, shipment methods, price-negotiating, etc. That all makes you noise high maintenance off the bat. just see if the thing is still to buy first.
Our preferred Videos
How To set up Board & Batten (Part 1)
Simple steps for producing a board-and-batten wainscot treatment to your wall for under $100.
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 28 seconds
Live
00:25
02:03
06:46
Thankfully I heard back from the seller about five agonizing hours later as well as her reaction was extremely friendly. She suggested that she had a number of people interested as well as she was just going to offer it to the very first full cost bidder to find get it. This information was no surprise to me (aka: I understood she wasn’t bluffing) because about 99% of the dressers/buffets/sideboards on craigslist right here in Richmond are noted for much more money as well as aren’t half as simple on the eyes. We’re speaking particle board dressers from Walmart noted for $180! Crazytown. many other solid wood sideboards typically run around 400 beans such as this one:
Tip number two: I like to utilize the “we’ll come get it as well as pay you money best now!” method when I’m trying to talk somebody down on the cost of something. however that only works when you’re one of the only people interested (when great deals of people are vying for the exact same piece the seller will typically just wait on the greatest quote because their fears of nobody wanting what they’re selling are gone). So as soon as I heard that others desired my buffet I understood it might come down to exactly how terribly I fought for it. as well as we desired that sucker. Bad. John included. As in, he was completely crossing all appendages with me as an act of sideboard solidarity.
We most likely would have paid $200 for it, particularly after doing some googling around for something similar as well as coming up with other solid wood sideboards of about the exact same size on sites like antiques.com as well as craigslist alike for around $400 as well as $500! as well as when I looked for similar painted sideboards (in that pretty antique turquoise surface like the craigslist one) the costs got even higher. like 695+ bucks.
So we most likely might have bought a wood sideboard as well as painted it to look distressed, however I wasn’t discovering any type of other similar solid wood sideboards with the exact same chunky rounded legs as well as ideal significant size as the one that already came painted (and it was a few hundred less than the wood ones!). So we went all in. I emailed her back as well as stated “Oh please oh please let me purchase it! I’ll pay $155 so you’ll pick me over the others! I like it. If you’re available, we can come get it tonight as well as pay you in cash. just state the word. I truly am in like with it as well as guarantee to provide it a good home!”
Tip number three: if you want something on cragislist, particularly something you believe is worth much more than the seller is asking, certainly provide them at least full asking cost or it’ll end up going to somebody else. commonly people will purchase things that are priced as well low on craigslist just to resell them for much more themselves (and I understood this buffet might opt for much more if somebody linked to a similar one for $700 as well as made a great situation about why it ought to be $400). So five bucks over asking cost was my method of telling her “please pick me!!” – it was definitely worth five bucks to get the advantage as well as stand apart from the pack.
Tip number four: if possible, offer to get the product best away (that method they won’t get an email from somebody else providing them $50 over your offer in the day or two that it takes you to gather stated item). So I shot off that “please pick me” email as well as then I waited. as well as about half an hour later I heard back. Sold! We just had to go get it that night as well as bring the cash. So we changed cars and trucks with John’s father (he has a Honda Pilot that has space in the back for pieces like this) as well as made haste over to the seller’s home with money in hand while Clara hung with the grandparents. suggestion number five: when you understand you’ll be bring a huge piece of furniture down three flights of stairs, it’s always good to leave kids in somebody else’s care whenever possible – just so it’s one less thing to concern about while you’re cursing the day you ever laid eyes on that heavy-a$$ solid wood buffet.
About a half an hour later, this man was in our entryway. as well as we were completely staring at it in that love-at-first-sight-in-a-cheesy-romantic-comedy way.
Tip number six: if a piece is old as well as painted, it always makes sense to test it for lead. just to be safe. I utilized one of those lead paint test strips from house Depot (they offer them in a set of four) as well as it evaluated out clean (many antique pieces were kept au naturale for decades as well as only painted in much more recent years after lead paint was phased out, so I had quite high expectations that this wasn’t lead paint however was extremely pleased to have it confirmed). Whew. I do plan to utilize some kind of remove sealer on it, just to keep it from chipping any type of further, however I don’t mind the chips whatsoever – I believe it completely appears like something Anthropologie or Restoration Hardware would offer for 1K after sanding the heck out of a new piece to make it look old like this.
Once I saw it in the dining space I realized it was completely worth the cost as well as those three long sets of stairs that John as well as I dragged it down. Doesn’t it look remarkable with the eco-friendly tones in the dining space curtains? This is the view from the kitchen area peninsula. Can’t wait to add lamps as well as stacks of books as well as art behind it. Wahooo.
It’s quite much my preferred thing in the whole house. There’s so much storage area as well as I like those rounded baluster legs of hers. as well as each time I get a bit pang about costs $155 for it, I just keep in mind that we only paid $20 for Clara’s dresser that we refinished back in 2010…
…which we’ve now seen selling for $200+ every single time it appears locally. So I assumption scoring one huge six drawer dresser as well as one huge leggy sideboard for $175 overall brings the typical cost per piece down to $87. I can completely online with that. That’s essentially the cost of a three drawer dresser made from laminate from Ikea. as well as we really got the old wood dresser in our bedroom as a hand-me-down from John’s parents (aka: free) so if you add that into the mix, we have three old wood pieces in our home for an typical of $58 each.
So as much as we like clean as well as modern, we have to agree that an old piece in every space is beginning to noise like an remarkable concept (we already have that old dresser in our bedroom together with an old chair & dresser in Clara’s space as well as a pair of old secondhand chairs in our office). as well as I assumption we shouldn’t be amazed about the old furniture thing – I imply we like older houses packed with character, so it makes sense that an old piece of furniture with appeal to spare is best up there with a box of Oreos as well as a Don’t Be Tardy For The wedding event marathon. For me. John wants me to clear up that that’s his concept of a nightmare.
More messages from young home Love