Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I Love a Treasure Hunt

This past Saturday was full of treasure hunting. I get such a thrill from free or cheap items that I can remake and reuse to decorate my home.

Pin found here


The day started off with a trip to ACE Hardware for a free quart of paint. I chose a minty/sea foam greenish aqua called Winter's Circle. And, I have no idea what I will paint with it. But it seemed like an excellent color choice.

My neighbor/BFF and I also decided to stop at an Estate Sale on the way home. She's always up for an adventure! I had honestly never been to an estate sale, and found it fascinating that EVERYTHING in the house was for sale. People were going through the kitchen utensils in the drawers and the sheds out back. I picked up this great frame for $2. I will probably paint over the canvas painting of some explorer unless someone tells me its worth lots of dollars.


I also purchased 2 lightweight beach chair/lounge beds for a total of $7. Since I love my beach time, I knew we would put these to good use. The fabric looks as if these chairs had sat in a shed since 1996 - they were rust free. The chairs we currently own are quite heavy. This will make it much easier to tote back and forth to the car on our up coming beach trips. And, I won't care if these get rusty or ruined. They are currently in the garage, waiting to be hosed off. 


My last estate sale find was this tall umbrella basket for $1. I still haven't determined where its home will be.


I was proud of my finds and thought that my treasure hunting had been successful. But about 3pm, I scored the deal of the day. Ashlee called, saying that a yard sale down the street had a really cool looking bench. We decided to walk down to ask how much they were asking. Since it was later in the day, they were actually cleaning up their unsold items, preparing them for a Goodwill drop off. The man said, "The sale's over...if you want it, you can take it." I couldn't believe my ears! I do believe that Ashlee and I began jumping up and down in the stranger's driveway. My mind was already reeling with where the bench could go.


It was a fabulous vintage find - and once Ashlee decided that she didn't want it, I was even more giddy. I felt bad taking it for free when the wife told us they'd hardly sold anything that day. They had another wicker bench sitting there with $10 on it (Pictured above with the umbrella basket). I asked the lady if she would take $10 for both benches...and she did.

I love the curvy details of my large bench. It is wood, with some type of woven back. Right now, I'm thinking I will paint it sunny yellow and use it for seating on my deck. A long cushion along the seat a few funky pillows should complete the look nicely.


Guess this time the late bird got the worm!

Maybe, I should drive around every Saturday as people are cleaning up their yard sales...Who knows what I might end up with! 

3 comments:

  1. Is your basket big enough to put toilet paper in for the bathroom? That way it looks decent and everyone can grab a roll when the last roll is gone, and put it directly in the tp holder....Aunt Jo

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  2. Looks fun! I hope to spend a Saturday going to yard sales SOON. Drew has a list of things he is looking for so I think it will be fun to take him. Big score on the bench! I am one who shoves free stuff at latecomers. I beg people to take stuff so I don't have to load up Nate's truck for Goodwill. Can't wait to see where you put everything!

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  3. I think the bench will look great in yellow! The back is what is called caning. Some older chairs have it on the seats as well. My mom actually bought my dad a caning kit and he did the bottom of a chair!

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