Fantasy Craigslisting: Portlandia Edition

Last week my brother and his fiance moved to Portland from Virginia with only the goodies they could fit in their car.  Being the altruistic older sister that I am, I took it upon myself to scour craigslist for all the Pacific Northwest has to offer.  I found quite a few bodacious goodies for their downtown loft, some they loved and bought and others are making their big design crisis appearance today.  And guess what?  Not a single item has a bird on it.

First up was this leather sofa, at $900 it was a bit steep, but oh that charcoal leather looks so soft and dreamy.  Plus it's in amazing condition.  Also, the number one rule of craigslist is don't talk about craigslist, but the number two rule of craigslist is this:  always talk the sellers down.  It's so important it really should be rule number one, but, hey, I'm not in charge of these things.

Next was this mid century teak coffee table.  Since I'm in the market for a coffee table myself, and a big square block of wood is exactly what I want, I was pretty excited about this find.  Turns out the table is much to large for their small condo, so it was a negatory.  It's $100.  Someone go buy it.

Since I've never met anything in white tufted leather that I didn't love, I was pretty excited to stumble upon this sofa.  Turns out the bro and his lady already found a couch just right for them, which means I won't get to visit this gem in the fall.

Pick your chins up off the ground.  This was easily my favorite Portland Craigslist find and for $20 (twenty dollars!!!!) I prayed to all things holy that D & E would share my sentiments.  Luckily my bro has great taste in women who has great taste in tables and they bought that mofo.  Dear portlanders, this table had been on craigslist for a week.  You should be ashamed of yourselves.

If you're hankering for a piece of brass in front of your sofa after seeing the last dreamy table, they had two of these tray tables, this one here and this one here.

Or get some brass for behind your sofa here

This arc light was priced a bit high (remember rule number 2!) but I still think someone should race out and get it.

I usually defer to ebay for all interweb lighting purchases, but I thought this little gem was just delightful.

Turns out there's lots of burl wood laying around in Oregon (go figure).  I found this tabletop here and this one here

Ok, this is where I pull out the showstopper:

I found and developed an obsession for this rug early on (wouldn't it look AMAZING under that brass coffee table???!!!).  The young couple decided to pass and their loss is your gain, Portland readers.  Go, roll around on this rug, stare at it longingly for hours, I will hand write some love letters for you to read aloud to it, the rug will like it, I can tell.

I've seen pics of all the pieces D & E have selected so far and it all looks awesome, I can't wait to check it out in person.  As for Portland craigslist:  All in all, I found some pretty good stuff up north, you dudes have a pretty nice well to tap into.  And to whomever ends up with the rug:  sleep with one eye open.

Oh, PS, if there are any amazing secret stores the new Portlandiers should know about, leave a comment, yo.

Round Top Roundup Spring 2011

Now is the time when you sit through a bunch of grainy pictures I took last weekend and then you golf clap for us -- a trio of dehydrated bargain hunters willing to brave the dusty Texas fields in hope of discovering hidden treasure. Unfortunately, we picked the last day of the market to shop, so let's just say the glint of golden goodness was rare. However we did meet a lot of vendors desperate to lighten their loads before packing up and heading home, thus we did not go home empty handed. And in between wheeling and dealing Karly art directed me take a few pictures here and there, so to thank her you can throw your hands in the air and wave 'em around like you just don't care. Let's do this.

Straight off the bat Karly scored this giant vintage anatomical chart for a whopping $35. Some little hussy was huffy because K got to it first, so picking it up later in the day as she stood by and watched her precious go home in the hands of another lover was awkward.

I really wanted to buy this vintage tole chandelier for the Inlaws' new house, but then I remembered, oh yeah... it's not my house. Dammit.

Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Dontcha?

Sigh.

Karly and I both spied the Dad pillow from across the proverbial room, but we were not so impressed by Mom.

We forced our Chinese friend Diana to buy this huge mirror because we're racist like that, but it will fit perfectly in her entryway. Also, it was FIFTY FIVE dollars. Five - Five. Vintage 60s from a Palm Springs estate. We don't see a lot of stuff like it around these here Texassy parts, y'all.

This is what we normally see around these here parts. I'll give you a few moments to reflect on the full situation.

Love love love these ginormous Buddha heads. Love.

My megolamania appeared in full force, as I was mostly attracted to very large things. And obviously the giraffes and I have a mini affair brewing.

This hand hooked rug was large and in charge. I really like the colors.

Ok, so every year these dudes have a baby head display, but I felt that they really stepped up their game with the addition of creepy troll man .

Karly bought this bamboo lamp for $7 whole dolla billz. Despite her oft repeated mantra of "No more brass, no more horses," she also bought some brass door pulls with horse heads that I forgot to take pictures of. Duh me.

She also talked me into buying this vintage Persian brass milking stool for $35. Ike thinks it's his new drum, but Karly suggested we use it as a kid stool for later on. I'm hoping "later" will be about 10 years from now, since I am nearly apoplectic at the thought of Ike having access to the counters.

That's it for this year's tour of the dustbowl that is the Round Top antiques market, where you can buy leggings with bell bottomed ruffles sewn onto the legs.

I think you know why I didn't take a picture of those.

I'm Riding the Thrift Train to Flossytown

Last week I flipped the thrift switch, and now I'm an unstoppable bargain buying machine. Vintage ikat and paisley tablecloths, overgrown 70's floral needlepoints, a crazy musical cakeplate, and 5000 ceramic pieces later, I show no signs of slowing down -- which is handy since Round Top is tomorrow. (Will Karly buy another coffee table, or won't she? Tune in next week to find out...) My latest find has left me with a bit of buyer's remorse, not unlike the time I bought this.

Let's see what y'all think of my latest purchase:

A vintage Milo Baughman brass based barrel chair in lipstick red. Homegirl still has her Thayer Coggin manufacturer labels intact. And she swivels and rocks. Tease.

But what the hell am I going to do with this thing? Although I love the color -- despite pledging my allegiance to the black and white stars and stripes forever -- the upholstery has seen better days and probably needs to be redone. And wouldn't it look amazing in this?

But since this fabric is $150/yd, I'm thinking no. Dammit.

Of course what I really wish I could do is upholster it in a vintage Jack Lenor Larsen fabric.

Did I say I was afraid of color? Well, If someone gave me a bolt of Larsen fabric, I wouldn't bat a lash -- I swear I would redecorate my entire house around one of his crazy psychedelic prints.

But back to the real world, and the most pressing question: do I keep this chair for which I have no available space and no real need, this chair which needs a $400-500 upholstery job, or do I sell it and make a little cash for... more thrift purchases (duh).

Sleepy eyes sure likes it.

In fact, since I brought little miss hot stuff home, Ike and the cat have fought for space on her bountiful seat -- sometimes to deleterious effect. Ike and the chair are a little worse for wear. The cat, however, is doing just fine.

Keep or sell, people? Help me out.