The $5 Flea Market Find

So this is NOT for The House of Goodwill, but I have to share because it’s a perfect example of why I love flea-ing.  Whenever I have to drive somewhere for work, I always try to combine it with checking out an antique store or flea market along the way if I can.  A couple of months ago I stopped at a flea market and found this vintage pitcher and bowl for $5.  $5!!!  I stood in front of it for ten minutes trying to talk myself out of buying it because at this point, even after buying two cabinets to store my vase collection, I really had nowhere to keep it in my house.

    

But the heart wants what it wants.  And hey, it was only $5.  Even the guy checking me out couldn’t believe the price the vendor had on it.  I just knew that it would make for the perfect spring flower arrangement, and with $8 worth of alstroemerias, it is.  Buying vases so cheaply it makes it easy to use them and then pass them on to friends full of flowers when I’m done with them.  

Happy spring everyone!

Just the coolest vintage stuff

So, on my one thrifting trip before coronavirus shut down life as we know it, I picked up a few things that the house would need, and a couple of things to give it a little personality.  What the house needed:

A $7 coffee pot (Lightly used, but for some reason came in a box. I cleaned it with vinegar and water.)

A $5 hair dryer

2 brass lamps for $25 (Boring white shades, but they can be changed.)

An amber glass lamp for $15

What the house wanted:

An old, crazed porcelain blue and white mallard for $10 (I still thought the house would be blue and white then.)

A pair of porcelain ducks for $9 (Hey, it’s a lake house! Don’t want the guests to forget…)

A $3 pair of yellow porcelain birds  (These look straight out of grandma’s house, and they are AWESOME!)

A BEAUTIFUL $7 vintage framed print of birds

So I think that trip established a definite avian theme to add to other two – now it’s colors, flowers and birds.  Nature!

My Dining Room Used to be Beautiful

For probably five years now, I’ve been hoping/dreaming/wanting/ saving for a lake house/Airbnb within a few hours drive of our home.  Since I’ve been planning for it, whenever I’ve changed a piece of furniture in my house, finished a great book or been offered someone’s extra garage sale leftover whatever for a house I’ve accepted, and I’ve kept things.  My shed is a mess.  My garage is packed.  My attic’s got more than a few boxes.  And I am SO excited to finally be clearing them out!

Using some of my (and other people’s) leftovers is going to help me out with my budget, which is the whole reason I’ve hung on to the things I have.

My husband and I used to own a condo in the city which we used as rental property.  (Sadly, we sold it when we adopted our son to fund the adoption.  It’s gone up significantly in value since we let it go but it’s like the pool table – one of the ones that got away.)  Anyway, we almost never had renters vacate without leaving stuff behind, and in some cases, LOTS of stuff behind. 

Always, I would sift and sort before cleaning and boxing up potentially usable stuff for the future, and donate anything I knew I definitely couldn’t use.  Over time, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of renter leftovers.  I went out to my shed a few weeks ago and uncovered four or five boxes worth of random dishes left by the last renter.  I ran everything through the dishwasher and lay it on my table to decide what to take to The House of Goodwill.  Unfortunately, there’s not a matching set of anything, and I have at least one box to donate to the Goodwill store.  (I can give as well as receive!)  There are however, lots of random extra dishes to round out whatever I buy.

I think my former renter loved Goodwill as much as I do

The dining room has become the collection area over the last month for everything I’ve been buying that’s waiting to be moved.  Right now both of our cars are full of furniture and rugs, so tomorrow we need to move the dining room table to make more space and carry more stuff in.  (My husband just wants to make sure we don’t block the path to the bourbon.)  And there’s more stuff in the garage.

We couldn’t eat Easter dinner in the dining room and it killed me.  Lamb is not meant to be eaten buffet-style in front of the tv.  In a couple of weeks I should have my dining room back again.  Not to mention a cleaned out shed, garage and attic!

my dining room shortly after beginning the house project

my dining room 3 days ago

Yikes!

A Tale of Two Rugs + 1 more

I found this BEAUTIFUL 8x11 white rug with colored flowers on craigslist for $85.  (I was told by the seller it was purchased but never used.)  For a rug that size, the price was amazing!  When I decided on the two red flowered chairs, I thought this rug would go well with the room, so I was REALLY hoping the reds in the chairs and rug would complement and not clash.   Also, the house being a tad bit on the dark side, I’m thinking a white rug will help lighten the room up a little.

The same seller posted another dark blue 8x11 rug, for $65 (I was told it was barely used).  It seemed a little dark, but again, I’m sure I can make it work somewhere.

A week earlier (when I was still thinking the house would be blue and white) I found a beautiful large rug with those colors for $150.

When we took the first load of purchases to the house I laid out the rugs with the ottoman in the living room to see how the colors worked.  Here are the possibilities:

The $85 rug

The $65 rug

All 3 possibilities 

All 3 rugs = $300 total of budget

I like this!

...but I like this too!  We'll see what happens...

So between the rugs and the chairs I’m seeing another theme emerge here – flowers!  So now we’ve got colors and flowers.   Both evoke feelings of happiness and summer in me – great for a vacation home.

The Price is Right!

What is better than great used furniture at a really great price?  Great used furniture for free!  Even I’ve been surprised at how many great free finds I’ve found in a month that I can use in our house.  So here’s what I’ve found:

My son and I were walking the dogs and our foster children through the neighborhood one day when we passed a house with a free king size bed frame with rails sitting out at the end of the driveway.  It wasn’t fancy, but perfectly fine – just a wooden king mahogany-colored headboard.  No marks or scratches or anything.  Perfect!  We walked home superfast and I sent the boy back in the car to pick it up.  (Teenage sons are so useful!)

I was on the “for sale and free” section of the NextDoor website when I saw my neighbor (3 houses down) had posted a free fire pit.  She had just upgraded and put her old one out on the curb.  Score!  All it needs is a new coat of paint.  Unfortunately, this house was not in the works when she texted me asking if we wanted her pool table for free about 6 months ago.  It would have been SOOO perfect for the finished basement lake view room.  That was definitely one of the ones that got away…

The House of Goodwill has 2 kitchens; one upstairs and another downstairs in the finished basement lake room.  In the house inspection we received, one of the only things found wrong with the house was a non-functioning dishwasher downstairs.  When I was on craigslist one day, I saw someone had posted an older (but totally functional) dishwasher for free, and (miracle!) three days after it was posted it was still available.  So the teenage boy and I claimed that.

When we went for the dishwasher, we passed a house that had two plastic outdoor chairs and a table on the curb with their trash.  They just need to be pressure washed.  I actually knocked on the door to make sure we could take them, and got a yes.  You never can have too many extra outdoor chairs at a lake house, right?

About an hour ago I received a text from the man I bought the two red chairs and ottoman from.  He and his wife also had a (practically new) and barely used red and white sofa for sale for $200.  He told me they were wanting it out of the house this week and offered it to me for free.  Yes!!  Again, not the color I was envisioning but it’s ok, when the budget is small and the price is right you find a way to make it work. 

photo from craigslist

So what’s the style?

I think the hardest part of putting together a house is just figuring where to start.  When I moved into my current house, I had no idea what to do, so I figured out what colors I liked started choosing paint and furniture based on that.  I’ve always loved the combination of blue and white, and it seemed perfect for a lake house.  Over the years of flea-ing and thrifting I’ve found myself drawn to the same things over and over, so I’ve figured out what I love and assume The House of Goodwill will probably contain:

Marble top tables

Colored glass

Interesting art

Old Transferware

Brass

Great books

I began to realize pretty quickly that limiting myself to one or two colors will be hard.  Finding really great, secondhand furniture in good condition is definitely possible, but there’s not loads of it out there, and my budget limits it WAY further.  In addition to limited supply, right now it is late April, and we are hoping to have the house ready and rentable by early to midsummer (at the latest).  So I’m feeling a bit of time pressure to get this thing done!  I need to start making decisions based on what’s available now.   I’ve decided I need to start with the furniture, and figure out a way to incorporate the colors as I go.

Case in point: the living room has two niches on either side of the fireplace, seemingly a perfect spot for a pair of chairs.  After a month of looking for a pair of chairs, I found two that appeared to be perfect: comfortable, excellent condition and the price was on point.  But they were definitely NOT blue and white.

Ok, so the chairs convinced me that the new color scheme for the house is – all colors!  I’m going to find a way to make this work.

2 chairs + ottoman = $250

picture from craigslist ad

The first furniture purchase

On March 6^th my husband and I went to look at The House of Goodwill for the first time with a real estate agent.  We loved it immediately.  Not only was it a beautiful lake house on two acres, but it was in immaculate condition and, miracle of miracles, did not have any carpet at all, making it perfect for a dog-friendly home.

We made an offer on the house right away, which happened to be about a week before the Coronavirus started shutting down the whole world.  I made it to one thrift store before everything was shuttered completely.  I was hoping to start working immediately on finding things for the house, but it’s been challenging with only online resources available.  For the bulk of the kitchen items, etc., I was hoping to find some good auctions or estate sales so I can buy in quantity.  Buying everything piece by piece will be much more expensive.  I haven’t worked this problem out yet.

Craigslist has been my best friend; it’s always been the best furniture source for me.

On March 12^th, before we even made the offer on the house, I bought my first piece of furniture for it.  I happened to see a beautiful (and huge!) marble table for sale half a mile from my house.  For $25!  Miracle!  (This is because the Murphy’s Law of craigslist is in effect 90% of the time - when you find the perfect craigslist item it’s located at least an hour away.)  I took this as a sign that God certainly must have wanted us to buy this house.

The table’s got some random paint on it (?) as well as some scratches, but nothing that a little sanding and stain can’t fix. 

Note: I have an obsession with marble top tables.  Not only do I think they’re beautiful, but I love that you can set a hot cup of coffee or cold glass of water on them without worrying about damage to the surface.  Perfect for a rental property!  And right now Victorian-style marble top tables are totally out of style – which makes them easy to find and way less expensive.  (Though this one is not Victorian.)

Closing day!

We just closed on The House of Goodwill, on a beautiful, sunny, blue-sky April day.  As we entered the house for our final walk through, all the doors were open and a gentle breeze was blowing off the lake.  The azaleas, irises and columbines were all in bloom.  So beautiful!  Honestly, I really didn’t want to leave, and as we walked down to the lake I was wishing we could rent out our primary home and move to the lake house instead.  (Alas, my son still has two more years of school before graduation and we don’t want to uproot him.)

We definitely have our work cut out for us at this house.  It was built in 1974 for the same family who sold it to us.  They cared for the house meticulously.  It doesn’t appear as if much of the house was changed over the last 50 years.  It reminds me a lot of the house I grew up in in New York that was built in the 1970’s – dark, dark wood cabinets and molding everywhere.  Because most of the windows in the house face north and south (I don’t remember the stone façade in the front of the house having any windows at all), there is also not a lot of natural light in the house.  The current paint colors are on the darker side, the floors are dark, and it all adds up to the house feeling a bit cave-like, and not as open and airy as a lake house in my imaginings should be.  So lightening up the house with paint and furniture will be the #1 goal.

Without further ado, here some pics from closing day:

Front of the house

The entryway

The living room, with super cozy fireplace.

View into the dining area, with most excellent 1970's banisters.

The kitchen.  In great shape, and has beautiful back splash tiles.  But not looking forward to painting those cabinets!

One of the bathrooms, with a fluorescent-ish, avocado colored bathroom sink.  I have a feeling that most people would rip this out immediately.  I actually love the color, and will defnitely be keeping this!  (Note: in the 1970's home of my childhood, the downstairs bath had a vivid orange laminate sink.  It was equally awesome.)

One of the bedrooms with a built-in desk.  Convenient!  Now my work-from-home husband has a place to work while we're there.  Future renters, bring your laptops!

More groovy banisters in the master bathroom.  But one odd discovery that will need to be rectified - no door on the master bathroom! (This is one life decision that seems a little hard to understand.)

The downstairs "basement" walkout lake room, with spiral staircase.

The "basement" kitchen.  They left the barstools! Yay!

View out the front door through the stone columns.  I suspect Mike Brady was the architect here.  I have some mixed feelings on these.  More to come on that.

View of the lake from the back porch.  Love the porch swing facing the neighbor's house, NOT the lake!

The back yard.  Looks like the house came with a paddle boat!

Look closely at the terraced wall.  The former owners left a concrete alligator (sadly, with a broken tail)...AND...

a fake snake, next to the fake flowers!  (They're staying, of course!  The animals, I mean.)  I had not met the owners when we first toured the house, but I immediately loved them.  I feel we definitely bought the house from some kindred spirits.

And, finally:

A view of the "beach house" as the former owners called it, looking up toward the house from the lake.  This small building seems to have some flood damage to cabinets inside it.  (Apparently it was a good size screened-in storage shed/workshop.  This place has tons of potential but will have to wait till we have a little income rolling in.)

Let the project begin!

The Fully Furnished for 5K Challenge

So, the idea of furnishing a 3000-square-foot house beginning with nothing is a bit overwhelming.  But it’s also exciting!  The House of Goodwill is a house on a lake, but it has no dock, so that will need to be put in asap.  Also, we have dogs, and want to have a family and pet-friendly rental, so we need to install a fenced-in area somewhere.  Since we are the kind of people who can afford a second mortgage on a second property, but not the kind of people with diamonds falling out of our pockets, furnishing this place on a budget is not for fun, it’s necessary.

Fortunately, secondhand shopping is my favorite kind of shopping.  J  For me, the fun of shopping is in finding the things I want at a fraction of what they’d cost new.  The challenge is what I like.  Since my personal preference is vintage, this helps a lot. 

I chose $5000 for my whole house budget because it will absolutely be a challenge.  When my husband and I bought our first house sixteen years ago, we didn’t have the advantage of the internet for finding used anything.  I have bought very few new pieces of furniture in my life, but I remember walking into a furniture store and picking out our bed for almost $2000. 

$2000.  For one bed.

$5000.  For everything in the house.

Challenge on!

Why do I love Goodwill?

Goodwill is my one of my favorite stores.  And my local Goodwill is amazing, perhaps because I live in a very affluent suburb where people seem to regularly replace perfectly good stuff with other, newer and different perfectly good stuff.  

My personal favorite thing at Goodwill?  Anything you can stick flowers or candles in.  And Goodwill is loaded with vases, dishes, candleholders, etc.  I like to garden, and I love decorating my tabletops and hosting dinner.  Goodwill is loaded with great home accessories.  (Not to mention great books!)

Goodwill is a great source for vases.  I love to buy inexpensive vases at Goodwill, fill them with flowers from the supermarket (or just a single flower from my garden if it’s a bud vase) and give them to friends.  A $2 vase with a $4 bouquet makes a great affordable for-no-special-reason gift.

Here are a few of my favorite combinations so far this year-

The less-than-$5 arrangements:

I love this antique bowl I found for a couple of dollars at a flea market in New York.  The beautiful tiny irises were $1 at WalMart.  The moss I stuck between the flowers is from a shady spot in my yard.

This is a former FTD flower "vase" I found at Goodwill.  The muscari were also $1 at Walmart.  They are still in their plastic container from the store.  The best part of potted plants as indoor decor?  They can be planted in the garden when they're done blooming for next year.

The House of Goodwill - the beginning of a new adventure!

This blog is a place to celebrate all things vintage, recycled, thrifted, flea and free.  I’m creating this place to share my favorite thrift store finds with anyone else of the same mind: those who believe that the only thing that improves antique and vintage finds is finding them at a great price!

This week my husband and I are closing on what I have named The House of Goodwill.  It’s a 3000-square-foot house on a lake that we will be using, and renting on Airbnb as well.  It looks like it could be the home of the Brady Bunch’s southern cousins:  a really cool stone house built in 1974, complete with dark molding, spiral staircase, intercom system and sunken bathtub.

Since my own house is full of secondhand furniture, Goodwill purchases, flea market items and family leftovers, why should this lake house be any different?  Not to mention that since we are borrowing money to get this thing going, the budget is hugely important.  I started wondering if I could get an entire house (4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms) completely furnished and ready to go on a budget of $5000.  Is it even possible?

The big ticket items will certainly be hard to find: beds & mattresses, nice televisions and quality sofas are extremely hard to find cheap.  Not to mention that I’ll need bed linens and towels, etc. – things that most likely I’ll need to buy new.

The real challenge will be not just to find everything within budget, but to find everything within budget AND make it look good.  Really good!  I don’t want to create an Airbnb that looks like I threw together a bunch of free pieces of junk furniture that I found on the side of the road somewhere.  I want people to step inside this house when it’s finished and think it looks great.  I want to make my $5000 budget somehow look like I spent $15,000 or more.

So here we go.  I’m going to record everything I find or buy and keep track of my budget as I go.  I have no idea if I can do this or not, but the fun (as always) will be in the hunting!