Virtual Craigslist Window Shopping: $300 or Less

I've taken a bit of a break from Craigslist the past few weeks.  It's a combination of stress of getting the little man in school (he already has a girlfriend, by the way - after the first day), stress of sending the boyfriend to Atlanta soon (without us - for 10 days - sucks, sucks, sucks), and the stress of having no money.  Oh yeah, and because I have several pieces that I'm supposed to have finished up and sold by now that are just hanging out around the house, but I just can't motivate myself to work on any of them.  I will though, promise.  Real soon.  Maybe.

Anyway, to give myself something to blog about besides school lunches (today's worked out much better, btw - and I learned that you can add 1/2 cup of steamed, pureed cauliflower to boxed mac & cheese without noticing it at all), I decided to check out the local Craigslist with an imaginary budget of $300 and see what I would buy.  In this fantasy I also have a place for these things once I bought them - not much on the buy/rehab/sell front these days.


$299

Love this super long (93 inches!) bench out of a railroad station.  Would look great in one of those large entry/hallways Texas McMansions all seem to have.


$55

It's hard to tell from the spectacular photo - but I'm pretty sure this is a square chinoiserie coffee table.  Great price, custom made, solid wood.  I'm obsessed with this style of coffee table.


$100/pair

The ad says they're chairs, but they look more like barstools.  Either way I'm loving them.


$50

Okay, there are a few fixer-uppers out there.  This could easily bring in a profit if you paint it.  Or even just relist it under the furniture section rather than the antique section.


$55/pair

These chairs are begging for dramatic, large scale fabric.  Maybe painted frames.


$75/pair

Small pendants to classy up your bedside area or around your bathroom mirror.  Do it with modern touches so it doesn't go all frou-frou.


$30

I love the lines on this desk chair - and they're practically giving it away.


$289

Get your Sputnik on.  I don't really know if this is that great of a price or not  - but it looks pretty.


$100/pair

They have a matched pair of these armchairs.  They'd look pretty cool in my living room.  They'd look pretty cool in another fabric down the line.  Love the arms.   Want to buy...  Must resist.


$100

I'm pretty sure someone with fabulous taste could make this chinoiserie couch a showstopper in their house.  I really like the fabric - just needs to be relocated to a modernized setting.  And lose the matching pillows.


$150

Love this apple green color - will do something similar in the future for sure.  (In San Antonio - not Austin)


$60/pair

If you haven't noticed, I love things in pairs.  Good price - paint 'em up, of course.


$150

A very interesting shape on this antique rocker.



$275

Such pretty detailing. 

$195

Too bad Kellie couldn't find these for this week's Design Star.  Poor girl - the judges say "Don't be so literal." So she tried not to be too literal and they were like "Give the clients exactly what they say they want."  And her handyman built the most dangerous looking platform bed of all time (which she designed, so blame goes both ways).  Luckily my favorites are still in it:  Kellie (nicest on air personality), Meg (most on-trend design taste) and Karl (probably the best designer).  All Mark does is put up a big art piece and fill the room with lots of wood - I have no idea how he's lasted this long.

Any items you'd like?  And what about Design Star - are you still watching?  Who are you rooting for?

HGTV's Design Star

Any other Design Star fans out there?

I watch it religiously.  Every episode of every season.  Must watch TV.

Which is funny, because at the end of most episodes I'm left wishing the producers would finally get around to making a halfway decent show.

And it seems that I am not alone.  Despite the fact that this season has been completely dreadful, it seems like lots of people are watching it and talking (mostly negatively) about it online.  The ratings will probably only encourage the producers to crap the show up more, but I can't help myself.

Sunday is the first time the designers get to work individually since the first episode.  Really HGTV?  Isn't this the final episode?  You would think they would be interested in making sure someone who will land their own TV show could design a room on their own.  Obviously that's not as important as making sure they can be "inspired" by tacky souvenirs and flowers.

The show has turned into a complete commercial. The designers are only allowed to shop at two pre-determined stores for their challenges - and if that store doesn't sell something like fabric (which I think most designers would put up there with furniture for a room's necessities), they just have to deal.  And don't get me started about the lack of carpenters this season - total BS.  When is the last time Vern, Genevieve or Candace put a room together from scratch by themselves?  There's such a thing as setting people up to fail.

Anyway, despite my love/hate relationship with the show, this season has given me one of my favorite new "reality celebs" - Emily Henderson.  She's been a bit of a dark horse in the show - I liked her quirky sense of humor but she didn't seem to get much camera time when it came to her actual design abilities.  Somehow I stumbled across her blog and LOVE IT.  It's called The Brass Petal.  Go check it out.  Right now.  She's so funny and fresh.  Not only do I love the behind-the-scenes scoops, but she has a great design aesthetic. 

(It seems like most of the contestants have blogs - so if you have a favorite you should definitely look them up.  From the interviews I've read here, most of the contestants are not only a lot more talented than you would think based on what we saw on TV, but are also really interesting people.)

I'm hoping Emily will win - but I realize that it is probably Casey - the "bombshell" they expect to pull in more men viewers.  Really? I'm surprised HGTV hasn't noticed that most men watching their channel aren't exactly into girls, but whatever.  Just another bad decision made in a long line of bad decisions.

Go Emily!