Add us to the list of Karlstad lovers...

I've been looking for a couch for years. YEARS. I bought a "leather" couch off Craigslist about 6 years ago and then my style totally morphed and it hasn't fit in with my decorating style for quite some time. It was comfortable but not the look that I was going for. I started saving all my antique booth money toward a couch. I saved for two years because it took that long to make a decision!

My wishlist was:

• Clean, mid-century lines
• Button tufting
• Tapered mid-century legs

I kept looking and looking in furniture stores and online for just the right couch. I couldn't find anything that I loved for under $3,000...and that just wasn't happening! I knew I'd have to make some compromises based on what we were willing to spend.

I thought about getting the leather Karlstad couch. It has tufting, but not button-tufting. Both the back and seat were tufted, but I really only wanted tufting on the back. We almost went with it, but I was having serious doubts. I felt like Goldilocks!

Then I saw this image and I fell in love with the idea of a fabric couch.

It was hard to decide on fabric - Lucy sheds pretty badly and I was really nervous about having to constantly vacuum the couch. Each week, I wiped down our "leather" couch with a slightly soapy rag and I knew that a fabric couch would be a totally different cleaning experience. I was nervous about the dog hair on fabric, but we took the plunge anyway.

We got the Karlstad couch from Ikea in Sivik gray and I love it!


I ordered replacement legs on etsy from thirteencolonies. I love them!


I'm so happy that for under $600, we have a really great new couch! It's really comfortable and I am so glad we went with this.

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One of my favorite finds of 2012

I know it's a little late to be posting about 2012 still, but I'm a little behind. :)

Our dining room table is one of my most favorite finds of 2012. I found it on Craigslist last January and we've been happily using it ever since! I did change the orientation of it - I rotated it around and I think it fits better in the space. I love it!

Read more about it here. 

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Our new nightstands

I'll be honest - I totally staged this nightstand in order to show it off. This is Andy's side of the bed and he normally has a huge alarm clock and some framed photos and deodorant on his night stand. I wanted the photos to be slightly prettier than that, so I scavenged around the house in order to stage the bedside table. :)

I got the white lamp and its match at the Goodwill Outlet years ago on one of my first trips there! The teal tray is from Target (right now in the holiday section), and the wooden box on the shelf is a box that Andy's grandfather made that now holds some keepsakes.

I love our smaller, more streamlined nightstands!

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New-to-us Nightstands!

Years ago, my former roommate and I were on Find & Design, a home makeover show on A&E. They filmed a whole season in Nashville and I heard from a friend they were casting so I sent an email, they did a phone screen, then sent someone to interview us, and we were booked!

The room in our house that is currently Andy's office used to be the guestroom and before that it was a sort of spare room for all my and my roommate's random post-college stuff that we didn't know what to do with. Our first apartment in Nashville had room for 2 couches and a chair & a half but when I bought the house and she moved with me, the new living room only had room for 1 couch and the chair. The second couch went to the spare room along with a rickety bookshelf and assorted floor lamps we were no longer using.

The room was a perfect candidate to be made over. At the time, my style was heavily influenced by pottery barn and anything shabby chic. I told the host that I wanted a second living room that could double as a guest room but mostly function as an overflow living-room-area when we had parties. That morphed into her designing us a "shabby chic party pad."

Over the years, my style has evolved and I have been getting rid of the various items they bought for me. (A shame, huh? A room full of free stuff that I quickly grew out of... A total bummer.) They brought in apothecary-style nightstands for the room and when Andy moved in after we were married, they worked pretty well as bedside tables for us. I didn't LOVE them but they worked well and held a lot.

I subscribe to my Craigslist searches and a few weeks ago I saw a posting for a pair of mid-century nightstands for $35 each. I spoke to the seller on my way to Louisville and he graciously agreed to hold them until I got back to town the next afternoon. He was so nice!

When I saw them in person, I knew they were perfect replacements! Out with the shabby, in with the Danish!

I found beautiful teal pearlized trays at Target (in the Christmas section) that fit PERFECTLY and cover up the white painted top of the nightstands. I feel like it makes our room look infinitely more decorated, even though it's really not decorated.... We have two things on the wall - a tiny bird painting I got at the Brooklyn Flea and a TV. Eek. :)

But, I am feeling majorly inspired to decorate lately so I'm trying to be better about it and commit to buying things. I'm so frugal that it's hard for me to actually commit to buying something new or big for the house. I'm so glad I found a great deal on these tables!

Tomorrow - shots of them set up!

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Two of my favorite things

I went home to KY over the weekend to see my mom at Glendale and to shop for my booth!

I'll do a "thrift report" post eventually but here are two of my favorite things I picked up.

This teal molded chair:

And this beautiful crewel piece with a framed mirror in the middle!

It's become harder and harder lately to decide what to sell and what to keep!!

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New Vendors at the Tennessee Antique Mall

There are some exciting updates at the Tennessee Antique Mall! Some new vendors have moved in and I know them!

First up, Rae has opened a case at the mall. I'm so excited that she's starting this new venture and that she's in the same mall as me!

This is the top shelf of her case which happens to have my two favorite items in her booth - the paint by number painting and the framed piece of embroidery.

She has so many fun things - check out the rest of her case:

Don't you see like 10 things that you would want?? I do!!

Secondly, a guy named Gerald emailed me in May to ask about my experience at the mall and I told him it was great. We emailed a bit, I visited (and loved!) his booth in Bowling Green and now he has moved into the TN Antique Mall and I'm happy to have another dealer similar to my style in the mall.

I love this vignette! I am really drawn to school-related items so the globe, pencils, and school desk are really speaking to me.

Really great items including a fun in/out organizer, a hat/wig carrier, faux bois canisters, a midcentury slat bench (!), and an amazing teal patio light!

Check out those great yellow chairs! And the luggage hanging out under the bench! And I really like the portraits hanging above the leather chair!

Welcome Rae and Gerald!! Can't wait to see all the goodies you guys bring in in the future!

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Scenes from our Living Room

Here's a little bit of our living room! On the left is the new bookshelf I mentioned awhile ago. I found it in Louisville over Christmas for only $10 (!!!) and bought it from the son of the man who built it. We didn't have room in my car to bring it back with us, so my mom brought it down in February when she went to Blissdom.... but she didn't have the legs... and neither did I. We spent a few months looking at our houses for the legs and could never find them. The shelves sat in our dining room, taking up room, until we could find the legs.

One day, my mom called, saying "Hallelujah!" She found the legs! They were in a random rubbermaid tub in her spare room. I was sooo happy! She mailed them to me, which was so sweet, and I put them on immediately! We had some other shelves in this space that I did NOT love so I moved these in right away and got to styling them. They fit much better with our decor!

Edited to add: On the top left of the shelf is our wedding invitation framed, sitting atop my Design*Sponge book along with a mini globe I got from my craft/home decor swap along with really cute handmade ornaments our friend Emily gave me a few years ago - a gnome and an owl! She knows me so well. On the right side of the top shelf is one of my terrariums plus a brassy owl (I can't remember where the brassy owl is from!) and my favorite estate sale lamp!

Below that, we have my grandfather's Bible, a sweet trinket box imprinted with the word "Believe" that my friend Kelee gave me and on top of that, a yellow gnome bowl I bought in Boston several years ago. It says "Leon a l'accordion." (I wish I knew how to do accent marks!) It has a little image of a gnome playing the accordion. It reminded me of Amelie and was so whimsical, I had to have it as my souvenir from that trip! I keep our souvenir pressed pennies in it now. :) Next to that is a photo of my mom when she was a kid, one of our engagement photos, and a Mary Poppins book with my mammaw's Brownie camera.


Below that, we have a record that Andy painted our wedding date on, a bird illustration I found in a vintage book I once bought, a photo of me & Andy when we went home to Louisville for Thanksgiving for the first time, a Lego heart Andy designed for me for our first Valentine's Day, my mom's senior photo, and some special books including photo albums.

In the right photo is a little tv stand (or plant stand?) that I got at an estate sale when I went on my marathon spree awhile ago. The family running the sale said it was a tv stand but it seems more like a plant stand to me, so that's how I'm using it! I love it. It sits in front of the stairs but we rarely use those stairs - upstairs is the guestroom and my craft/storage space. I love having some green in that corner!

Edited to add: The frame holds a vintage Nashville puzzle I found at one of my favorite thrift stores. I had no idea if it had all the pieces when I bought it, but I was so excited to find out! I brought it home and Andy opened it right away to start putting it together. We spent all evening with the puzzle and were thrilled to discover that it DID have all the pieces! Since Andy grew up here, it was fun to hear him talk about how the city has changed based on the locations illustrated on the map.


The basket on the bottom shelf is a Liberty of London tote from Target. It holds magazines that I'm saving or have yet to read. The plants are a variety - the lime planter used to live on our dining room table but it's been over in this corner getting sunshine for awhile now. The bird clock was a gift from my friend Dawn years ago!

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The hutch!

I subscribe to my favorite Craigslist searches and last week, saw a "retro hutch" come through my Google Reader. I emailed, didn't hear back, emailed again, and finally heard back. My friend Jacqueline went with me to look at it (an hour away!) and while it wasn't PERFECT, it will work perfectly in my booth!

I spent 3 hours at the mall Saturday rearranging and making room for the hutch, then reorganizing parts of my booth. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. I think the hutch makes the booth look a bit more professional. I would like to get more actual furniture but it's hard to find something affordable that matches the style. The only thing I don't like about the hutch are the knobs. If it were coming to our house, I would definitely switch them out but they're fine for the booth!

You can barely see the hutch's mid century tapered legs, but they're there! 

Hopefully rearranging will produce some nice sales this summer!

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We got the dining table!

I really didn't mean to keep you in suspense, I just haven't had a chance to blog about the dining table!

We got it!!

We drove up to Goodlettsville on Saturday to meet the woman who was selling it. We found out that it was her mother's, meaning it had been in the same family since it was first bought. I love to think about how many family dinners and celebrations happened at this table and the homework and learning and life lessons that occurred here. I love to think about our children one day doing homework at this table and us having our first dinner party and Christmas at our house and all the memories we will have with our first real grown-up table.

It has so much character and Kathy (the woman we got it from) showed me the 3 different upholstery fabrics on the chairs - from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I love that you can see hints of past decades when you look at the bottom of the chairs.

I love that Andy and I can both work at the table, whether it's an art/craft project or working on our computers and still have plenty of room. Saturday night, we worked on one half of the table and when we were ready to play a boardgame, we moved down a chair and sat at the other half! Our previous table (that I bought for $20 at a yard sale) was half the size of this table.

I love that it was a great price (really great!) - cheaper than a new dining set. And it comes with a leaf so one day when we're in a bigger house, we can even accommodate more people.

I love that it feels like REAL furniture. It feels authentic and purposeful and intentional. This is the table we have because it's beautiful, has history, and will serve us well.

I am on the lookout for the perfect fabric to recover the seats. It needs to coordinate with the curtains and our table runner (which you can see a hint of in the 2nd photo).

I am so happy with our new-to-us table! I tell ya - it pays to stalk Craigslist. :)

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The Couch That Got Away

I mentioned in my Thirty Before 30 Update recently that I found a couch I liked at a thrift store that I wanted to buy and re-upholster, but sadly it sold last week. You snooze, you lose, I guess!

So now, I introduce you to... The Couch That Got Away.

I loved the simple lines, the tufted cushions, the PRICE, and how incredibly soft and cushy comfortable it was.

I had dreams of re-upholstering it in a dark gray velvet-y fabric and removing the skirt to reveal the cute legs.

But it was not meant to be!

Still on the hunt... I ordered some swatches from fabric.com so I could try to be ready to order fabric when the time comes, but none of them were ideal for a couch... so I still need to find an affordable fabric option... and a couch. The hunt continues!

Have you ever scored a couch secondhand? Our current couch is a craigslist find that I am so, so, so over. :)

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The Furniture Hunt: I finally found what I'm looking for!

When you finally find what you've been looking for, it's ok to pay a little more for it and not stick to your thrifty, ridiculously cheap ways, right? It's ok to recognize that this kind of furniture doesn't come around all the time and it's ok to pay a little more... right??

I'm trying to convince myself not to be too cheap to pass this up. It's not expensive, it's just not thrift-store-cheap... and I am normally stuck in my thrift-store ways. When you shop at the Goodwill Outlet and leave with an armload for under $10, it's hard to pay full price for ANYTHING!

We're looking at the below table that I found on Craigslist today. I'm so excited!!


I have been coveting a vintage Danish-style dining table for a few years now. I can never find one that is real wood and in my price range. (Andy and I don't really want a laminate table so I'm hoping this one is real wood.)

I hope it works out. I can't wait to pick out fabric to recover the seats! And to have SIX chairs?? We have a 2 person pew pulled up to our current table (which I bought for $20 at a yard sale and it's very shabby) and a random chair I bought at an estate sale years ago and we used to have a pew chair (that I found on the side of the road) pulled up to it, but it is quite broken.

Actually, you can see a photo of our dining room from a previous post here.

Wish us luck!!!

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Happy Customers: Jon and Jenny's New Record Table!

At the October flea market, I picked up the cutest little record table I ever did see! It lived in my garage for a few months until I was at a Nashville Rollergirls event (Andy DJs for them), talking to "Evil Mendes" and her boyfriend about vintage items. They said they just bought a record player but didn't have anywhere to put it and I told them about the adorable table living in my garage and the rest was history!



Doesn't it look so perfect in its new home?? I am so happy that they loved it as much as I did! Most of all, I love when I know that an Owl Really item goes to a good home! I am thankful to them for their support!

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Favorite Finds: Katherine's Estate Sale Couch

The Vintage Bazaar has become one of my most favorite blogs to check everyday. Katherine and Libby won me over with the "Guess The Year" posts and amazing product round-ups and really helpful "tips" posts. The info is great and the aesthetic is incredible! Not only do the bloggers behind The Vintage Bazaar, Libby and Katherine, post unique content every day, but they also host pop-up shops across Chicago.

If you saw Katherine's apartment recently featured on Apartment Therapy, then you may have already seen her favorite find! She shares it below!

What is your favorite find and where did you find it?
Our couch, which sort of looks like something from This End Up in the 1970s. Blue cushions, boxy wood frame. I got it at an estate sale earlier this year.

photo credit: Jason Loper at Apartment Therapy

What were your first thoughts and did you know right away it was coming home with you?
I've been looking for a couch with a wood frame for a while since we have cats and they scratch sofa arms. I saw this in the estate sale ad and made a beeline for it when the doors opened. I had to sit on it to claim it until someone came around with a SOLD sticker.

Did you have to do any restoration or repair to it?
Nope. I vacuumed it. That's about it.

photo credit: Jason Loper at Apartment Therapy

Anything else we need to know about this couch and finding it?
I don't know who made it. I'd like to know. If anyone has any insight, I'm most appreciative!

Do you and your partner Jem have the same style? If not, how do you balance your different tastes?
Does Jem have style? I don't know. We moved in together when we were both 26. His style at the time was mattress on the floor and hand-me-down family sofas. I think our styles have morphed together. He's into my style by default.

Why do you love vintage?
Because older stuff was made better and lasts longer. Because buying it doesn't contribute to the massive amount of consumerist waste that's destroying our planet. And because, if you know where to go, it's way more affordable than buying new stuff!

Katherine, thank you so much for sharing your amazing couch with us!

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Couch Coveting

I've had my eye on the Corona sofa at Macy's for quite awhile now but I've also looked around at some other vintage-inspired couches. Here's a round-up of some of my favorites I've found.



First, the Corona sofa, then the others. Click through to learn more about each sofa!

What do you think? Do you have any favorites? Do you own a vintage or vintage-inspired sofa? If you have found one other than those posted, where did you find it? I am eager to tuck more away for the future. :)

Favorite Finds: Janine's Lane Coffee Table

I discovered Janine's blog, SalvageLove.net, when her amazing painted wood wall art made the blog rounds last month. I was so impressed by it that I devoured her whole blog and I can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeve! Janine was kind enough to contribute to Favorite Finds and below she tells us about her mid-century Lane coffee table!

What is your favorite find and where did you find it?

That would have to be my mid-century Lane coffee table with dovetail top and black feet on tapered legs. I love it just as much as the first time I laid eyes on it.

What were your thoughts when you first saw it? Did you know right away that it was coming home with you?

I had been searching for this exact coffee table for about 8 months. I obsessively checked craigslist 10 times a day, checked thrift stores,antique malls and flea markets. One would pop up and be sold right away, or the price would be higher than I was willing to spend. Then finally, the stars aligned and one was listed for only $85. I called right away and begged the man to hold it for me. The downside was it was an hour away and I didn’t have a car so, I bribed my brother with a fancy dinner and gas money and we drove his SUV to pick it up. (Thanks Jonathan!)

What kind of condition was it in? Did you have to do any restoration?

It is in good condition, no structural issues or deep gouges in it, but it could definitely use some refinishing which is on my long to-do list. I would love to lightly sand it down, do a light stain and apply polyurethane to bring it back to its glory days. But I love it just the same in its current condition for its history and story.

How often do you thrift shop and what is thrifting like in your area?

I have a thrift shopping addiction and thankfully two of my friends do as well. They both have their own stores, Little Dog Vintage and Newton Street Vintage, so while they shop for inventory for their stores, I shop for items to redo. I live in Somerville, MA right outside of Boston and there are many thrift stores in my area, which is dangerous to my wallet.

I go to my neighborhood Goodwill almost every day after work before going home to try to snatch up the best finds. I am also lucky enough to be in driving distance of some awesome flea markets and the famous Brimfield Antique Show. If I only had a warehouse to house all of the things I would love to take home. My apartment is getting quite crammed.

Thank you so much for sharing, Janine!


If you have a favorite find you'd like to contribute, I'm currently scheduling the rest of the fall. Please email me a photo of your favorite find and I will send you a few questions to answer!

Want to see more favorite finds?

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Vintage Chair Hunt and TV Inspiration

I am on the hunt for a pair of cute vintage chairs for my office. I have been in the same office for about 2 years but never really took the time to decorate. I recently re-arranged the office and got rid of an old, sloppy couch and now I'm ready for a pair of cute chairs.

When we were home in Louisville in June, I spotted a pair of chairs at a "peddler's mall" but didn't pay much attention to them because I wasn't on a chair hunt at that point! I recently asked my mom if she could go look and see if they were still there, and she sent me a photo and the price. $35 a piece! I think that's a little pricey - I was hoping for more like $20 a piece. (I am cheap!)


I passed on the chairs but I'm hoping they get discounted sometime soon.

Over the weekend, I was at an estate sale and snapped some photos of other potential chairs. They were much different from what I'm looking for, but I was trying to keep an open mind.

First up - these amazing green living room chairs!


They were sooo comfy and only $40 for the pair! I thought it might be a little strange to have living room chairs for guests in my office, though... so I unfortunately passed but the same estate sale had dining room chairs that I was intrigued by as well!


But they also might look strange in an office. My heart is really set on those small, rounded, cane back green chairs. Here they are again- so cute!


Imagine my surprise when I was watching the Dick Van Dyke show on Hulu and saw a very similar chair in Rob and Laura's bedroom!


You may wonder what Rob is doing with a gun! In this episode of Dick Van Dyke, there is a cat burglar roaming their neighborhood. One night, they hear a stirring and Rob gets his trusty rifle in order to investigate the situation. Right next to their dresser is a chair so similar to the one I wanted that I was convinced it was the same one until I pulled up both photos!

I'm still looking for some vintage chairs and I'm constantly inspired by the design on the Dick Van Dyke show! AND, we just started watching Mad Men on Netflix and I'm drooling over the furniture and design on the show! (I know, I'm 5 years late, but DANG this show is amazing.)

So, I'm definitely still on a chair hunt... if you're in Nashville, let me know if you come across some chairs you think I might life for my office!

Should I buy this sofa?

Here's a little game we like to call "Should I Buy This Sofa?"

I am checking out a local, online auction and I think this sofa is KILLER. It wouldn't be right in our home, but I feel like it's awesome enough that I could easily re-sell it.

So....here's the million dollar question...

Should I buy this sofa???

Leave your thoughts in the comments, please!! Oh - I should mention - there's a matching chair!!

CUTE!!!!!!!!!!

Going on a couch hunt...

The only piece of furniture in our house that I have bought "new" is a cute little loveseat from Target.com. Everything else (except the mattresses) is second hand. Literally.

I really used to like the Pottery Barn style so when I found a good deal on a brown "leather" couch on Craigslist several years ago, I snatched it right up. My style has developed and evolved, however, and I find myself drawn to cleaner lines... and daydreaming of buying a vintage (or vintage-inspired) couch.

I have a plan to save up and get a new couch. The funds are adding up thanks to my recent birthday and I'm researching and looking around and trying to figure out what I want that will be husband-approved (comfort is key to him!). I always had my heart set on the Corona sofa from Macy's - let's take a moment to admire her -

Ahhhh

She goes on sale quite often but she's not available in our area and I'm a little wary of buying a couch without actually sitting on it first!

I have googled and googled and looked through the photo galleries of local furniture chains but I have been unable to find anything similar - style or $$ wise.

I did stumble upon Regal Furniture in Smyrna, TN and their huuuge online gallery of couches. I can't imagine they keep all these in stock, they must just be available for order... and I did find a designer that I like but I have no idea how much the couches run! I used their "contact us to inquire about a price" form but have heard nothing.

All that to say, the designer is Charles Schneider and here are a few beautiful couches to drool over!

If you're also couch shopping, follow my "couch coveting" board on Pinterest to see what else I find as I continue to embark on the Great Couch Hunt of 2011!

Do you know where to find vintage-y new couches? Let me know in the comments!