Change of plans

I mentioned my less-than-gorgeous early 50s sofa and chair set in yesterday's post. I'd had it on Craigslist for a couple of weeks with only one inquiry that didn't pan out, so I had decided to keep it and find a chair that would work with it.

My SIL and I loaded up the boys and drove to BFE to get the striped chair and ottoman yesterday afternoon. The seller was asking $100, but my SIL worked his magic and talked her into taking $80. I sat in the truck with the boys, because at this point, he's a much better judge of furniture than I am...and a much better negotiator.

He came back to the truck waving a $20 bill, and when he got in, he said, "Good call! That chair is definitely vintage and definitely great quality." He said that, judging from the tilt of the ottoman, it might even be Dunbar, but he'd have to look it up to be certain. He assured me that whatever it turns out to be, it was a great deal at $80. The upholstery is predominantly gold (almost orange) and cream stripes, and while I don't think I'd go so far as to say I like it better than I thought I would, it's fair to say I can tolerate it better than I expected.

We got back to the store, I grabbed a lamp I wanted to buy from him, and I headed back home. As soon as I walked in the door, I noticed that I had an email about the sofa and chair on Craigslist. Sure enough, someone wanted to know if they were still available and if he could come get them right away.

I called my SIL and told him to hold the turquoise daybed in the warehouse for me...and to bring it with him when he drops off the boys on Wednesday. He said he would, so I immediately emailed the person who inquired about my set and told him to come right over.

Since the sofa situation has changed drastically, now I'm doing the room in shades of turquoise, dark teal, green and gold. Maybe just a few bright colors here and there for good measure, because I love them so much. Here are some mood board hints:

To buy or not to buy?

Isn't that always the question?

Here's my dilemma. I'm in a redecorating frenzy, and I'm changing every room in the house, but I really don't want to spend much on the grandsons' playroom. I almost gave in and bought another Gus piece from my SIL the other day. Honestly, though, with one boy not quite three and the other just a little over a year and a half, do I really want to invest a lot of money in that room? There are still a lot of spills and messes just waiting to happen.

Right now I have an early 50s sofa and chair set upholstered in that indestructible nylon fabric made to resist a nuclear blast. It's a solid brown, and while it may not be the prettiest piece of furniture in the house, it's highly functional. The boys love making forts with the pillows, and I love that it's survived unscathed through hundreds of diaper changes, a number of leaky sippy cups and various and sundry supplies that have mysteriously made their way from the art table to the cushions. (Holden says, "Maybe Bubby did it, Grammo!" Grayson is starting to talk, so he'll be able to counter-blame soon.)

I've made a few changes in that room so far...a different rug and pillows and pictures...and I plan to get a new lamp or two from my SIL in the next few days. The rug is a moss green with muted multicolored squares scattered across it, including a couple of shades of orange and a teal and a gold that I plan to play on. It also has some cream colored squares.

I've located a really inexpensive chair and ottoman locally, and while I'm not a big fan of the striped upholstery and don't have any immediate plans to have it recovered, the orange/gold/brown/cream would coordinate with the existing furniture and rug and give me something super-comfortable to sit in while hanging out with the kiddos...and I wouldn't really care if they crawled up in it with sticky hands. The chair is in excellent condition, and the fabric is spotless. I actually like the lines of the piece better than I like the sofa and chair I already have. It's just the stripes I'm iffy about...but that could easily be changed, I suppose, if I couldn't learn to live with them.

So how do you vote? Workable or not?

To buy or not to buy?

Hooray for eBay

How did we make it before eBay and Craigslist?  Aside from the obvious instant gratification it gives me, a self-avowed shopaholic, nothing makes my mid-century philosophy of "out with the new, in with the old" easier to put into action than having access to sellers and buyers from around the globe.

I miss many things about the days pre-Bay, but the limitations of using the classified ads section of the local newspaper aren't on the list.  Just this week I sold a Frank Lloyd Wright clock on Craigslist to a man from Dallas, which more than paid for my latest eBay purchases, a Raymor bowl from Hawaii and a great mid-century lamp from Oregon.

Here they are now, nestled all snug in their new home, just in time for the holidays:

The  $13 Raymor dish, alongside the Fenton piece I love so much

My "new" $29 lamp from eBay

Close-up of the lamp