Score!

Ever hear one of those 'Man Finds Rare Art at Garage Sale' stories? Yeah, I always daydream that I could be that person - especially with all the estate sales I go to. The closest I have come to 'treasure' so far has been finding those cool drawings and letters in a few books. Well, my luck seems to be changing! Remember our Goodwill coffee table? Here he is:

I was never able to find a brand name anywhere on it, so I just gave up trying to figure it out. A few weekends ago I stopped by Finders Keepers Furnishings in Atlanta, and my friend Megan shouts out "Oh. My. God - it's your coffee table!!"

I realize that finding the same table is not that exciting, but what is exciting is the price:

$265.00! At a consignment shop! I've sold things at consignment shops and the sale price is normally half (or less) of what you originally paid and this table was really scratched. We paid twenty two dollars. I love you Goodwill. I still cannot figure out who makes the table, but knowing we got such an amazing deal on an impulse purchase makes me really happy.

Another fun story - yesterday I see this 'pin' come across my Pinterest homepage:

That desk look familiar?

I think it cost me $75 on Craigslist. Score!

On the Hunt...

For what? This:

(http://www.abeachcottage.com/)

All of it. The table, the vintage wooden box, pillows, wicker vase, lanterns - I'll even take the tennis shoes. I'm not exactly sure what the inspiration table is made of (wicker?), but I want mine to be made of wood with that same general shape. Yesterday I did a little 'window shopping' in HomeGoods:

Love the industrial vibe going on here:

Really a bench, but still cool:

I love it, but the off-white would clash:

Great shape, but craaaaazy paint job:

None of these really fit what I was looking for, but still nice to get some ideas. This is more of what I want:

So far, nothing has magically appeared on Craigslist, but you better believe I am on the hunt for it. Meanwhile, I will begging my husband to build it for me. Hey, can't blame a girl for trying.



DIY Seagrass Headboard

I am back from my blogging sabbatical with the most exciting reveal ever. (Humor me - I'm really excited).

I'm sure everyone is aware of how obsessed I am with the Pottery Barn Seagrass Headboard:

Not so thrilled with the price - after surcharges, delivery and taxes, we're talking well over $500. That's just too much for me to stomach. After checking Craigslist at least once a day, I began to lose hope that I would ever find a seagrass headboard for my guest room. But as always, Craigslist did not let me down! I came across a listing for this Pottery Barn 5x8 Seagrass rug for $40! Did I need a rug? Not exactly, but for $40 I knew I could not pass up the opportunity. I figured I could find a place for it somewhere in the house.

Here is it when I got it home:

It stayed rolled-up in the guest room for a week or so before I came up with a brilliant idea: using it to make my very own seagrass headboard! Of course I thought it was nuts and I had no idea how it would work. My first source of inspiration was Censational Girl's tutorial. I took the basic ideas (plywood, foam, staples) and decided I could apply them to the rug. Let me just state that I don't think this would have worked with a cheaper rug - we have a seagrass from Lowe's in the living room and it's just not that pliable. The Pottery Barn version was much softer and easier to manipulate.

The first step was to see if I could remove the fabric border:

It was beyond easy. All you have to do is snip the thin plastic thread and just rip. It only took about 10 minutes to get it all cleared.

Then we were off to Lowe's to buy some wood and hanging hooks. We chose to use OSB board since it was cheap and no one would ever see it. Here is the board after Brian cut it down to size and curved the top. (I did not document this process, but he said he used string to lay out the radius and then a jigsaw to make the cut.)

We also decided to hang the headboard directly on the wall. Not only was this easier (no legs to cut and measure and no attaching to the bed rails) but it also gave us the flexibility to move the headboard up or down to get the look we wanted.

  

After laying out a sheet of plastic in the garage, Amber and I got to work:

I decided to go with 1-inch foam for no other reason other than it was cheap. Seriously, foam is expensive. If I had measured and planned correctly, I would have spent less money, but since I just eye-balled it, I had to go back to Hobby Lobby to buy another roll of foam. We used spray adhesive to attach it to the OSB.

Then finally, it was time to wrap!

Brian didn't really trust us with the air compressor/staple gun, so he took over from here. (But we did help pull the fabric taut)

From the first moment we laid the rug down, I had not been able to see what the front of it was looking like. I had really low expectations that it would come out good, so when Brian finally flipped it over I screamed like a little girl!

Aside from the bad garage lighting, it looked amazing. It's not 100% done yet - I still need to glue a few pieces down on the back and I am looking into how to clear-coat it, but check out the after pictures:

Yes, those picture suck. It was dark, bad lighting and I have a simple point-and-shoot. (I think fancy camera is on my Christmas list for next year). Hopefully I can get some better shots soon. Let me break down the costs for you: 

• 5x8 Pottery Barn Seagrass Rug = $40.00 on Craigslist  
• OSB Board + Hooks = $9.00 (we used a Lowe's giftcard, but I think the original total was $25
• Two rolls of foam = $30.00
• Staples and staple gun = already owned

               Grand DIY Total? $79.00

               Pottery Barn Tota? $500+

I can barely tell the difference!