New Project: eBay Furniture

I went a little crazy last week when I came across a woman in Cleveland selling a bunch of mid century modern furniture on eBay. It was all "pick up only" which means everything tends to go much cheaper because it restricts who can bid due to geography.

I picked up a Heywood Wakefield dinette set that has seen better days for a great price, and a bid on a great couch but was outbid at the last minute. Lucky for me the high bidder backed out and the seller offered it to me.

We picked up the furniture Saturday, and it's piled into the garage. The couch seems to be the world's heaviest, so getting it into the house will be a chore (any volunteers??) but I'm excited to find some great upholstery fabric!

My addiction: Surplus Auctions

When I started at the University I had to go to Surplus to get some furniture for my office. While there I noticed a beautiful antique piano. The surplus guy told me to come back for the auction. Apparently someone decides when something is no longer worthy of university use, and they auction it off to the highest bidder. So Charlie and I went back for the piano and ended up with a desk and a few other miscellaneous items -- and we've been attending the quarterly auctions since.

I've furnished the living room in auction finds:


The chair was $2. Probably because it was upholstered in orange pleather and had copper-colored legs. The couches were $7 and $1. They're sleeper sofas so they weren't fun to move, but easy to reupholster. Here is a before:

Obviously it's during my progress, but you can see the previous fabric. Samantha was afraid of a thunderstorm so she hopped right in!

This is the piano that started it all. Moving it and tuning it cost more than the piano itself, and we had to cut part of a wall down to get it in the house. Well worth it, the piano turned 100 this year. The chairs to the left are also auction finds, $2 for both.

Posting, The First

I've been inspired by my friend Heidi to start a blog. Heidi is an incredibly talented, prolific, and speedy (!!!) crafts-person. She puts my sewing to shame.

I figure this is a good place to display projects I'm working on, and blogging is something I can do while I'm feeding Jaxon, which is the majority of my day.

I'll be posting some of my latest upholstery projects, as well as the results of my newest hobby -- quilting. I'm also about to tackle a first: refinishing an antique dresser.

In thanks for stopping by, here is something to make you smile: