I am hoping that selling the most god-awful, ugliest stool in the entire world on New Year’s Day is a sign of good luck for 2011! Because, honestly who would ever buy something like this (besides me, of course…cuz I bought it at a yard sale)?
As posted on craigslist, “The Craziest Looking Fish Stool you have ever seen!”
Paid $.50 (Original asking price $1.00)
Sold for $15 in just under 3 weeks
Thus proving, that you can sell ANYTHING!
From Shabby to Chic On a more serious note, I wanted to blog about one of my most dramatic transformations on a beautiful piece of furniture that had undergone a seriously bad restoration! For the past three months, I have been on the hunt for a wardrobe, which I have discovered is a hard item to find reasonably priced at yard sales. But, early in December I came across this potentially amazing wardrobe at the end of the day while the family was cleaning up their yard sale mess. Immediately, I saw the potential of what it could look like with some paint, hardware and embellishments. The original owners had attempted to stain and varnish this solid, cedar wood wardrobe…but it was a job gone bad. It looked as though the stain was applied unevenly and the varnish had been applied much too thick. They took a paint brush to even out the varnishing and the end result was cracked, clumped and clotted varnishing all over the piece.
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| Stripping down the varnish |
After negotiating the price to a mere $15, I loaded up and headed home with a vision. I started by sanding…and more sanding…and some sanding after that. I ended up using 80 sandpaper (which is really coarse for most woods) but needed a rough finish for the paint to adhere. I also removed the chunk wooden hardware on the front and filled one of the holes on each door so that I could replace with knobs.
Sanding Job: 1 hour
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| 2-coats of paint |
The wardrobe itself was overwhelmingly plain, so I wanted to embellish it to add some more visual interest while maintaining the integrity of its simplicity. So, I bought some very small but finely detailed molding to go around the top edges of the wardrobe. I also bought a wooden doo-hicky to add to the bottom below the doors. I glued them onto the wood and then tacked them on with small nails.
After that, the grueling job of painting began. Three coats of paint total in two days! Once the paint was dry, I took a sander to the edges so that it would look completely “shabby chic” and distressed. The distressed look gave it’s natural flaws character and charm. The final touch…two new crystal knobs, replacing the big, chunky and totally ugly wooden handles.
Total time spent: 4.5 hours
Total time spent: 4.5 hours
If you want to see the finished product in person, it was purchased by Blue Chair Children’s Bookstore in Downtown Glendora and is being used as Mary Poppins, Cinderella’s, Alice’s, etc. personal closet. 😉
Voila!
Solid Cedar Wood Wardrobe
Paid $15 (Original asking price, $40)
Supplies $35 (Paint, hardware, etc.)
Sold $100
Another awesome sale this week…
This 1950’s vanity that I bought at an estate sale. I have had this for sooooo long, I practically gave it away. I painted it and added new hardware to give it a completely new look!
Paid $30 (double my furniture budget, but it came with a BEAUTIFUL round mirror that had engraved flowers around the edges and I broke it moving it to the garage…bummer!)
Paint and Hardware: $19.25
Sold for $75 after having it posted for almost six months…the longest I’ve ever had anything posted. I’m pretty sure the pink had something to do with that.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Resolve to clean out your house and garage this year…and have me sell your stuff in the process! Check out my brochure if you need someone to manage the buying and selling.
