UPDATE: Now that I have more readers and have learned about dandy things like Pinterest I am going to re-post some things. Most of this post ran 2 years ago but it still applies. I still love to grab things off the curb, repaint them, and re-purpose them. Once I painted a chair, had a bunch of famous cartoonists draw on it and was able to auction it of for charity to the tune of $600!
Here's to curb combing!
Enjoy the following story of a late night curb adventure:
The secret to my decorating style is out.
My house is done in a style I lovingly refer to as "stuff from dead people".
To date, I have bought exactly one couch, two wing chairs, and a variety of mattresses that were brand spanking new.
Everything else - dead people.
Well - I guess some of them aren't dead. They maybe just cleared out a room.
But many of them are dead.
I don't sweat it.
Any piece I own that hasn't come from a personally deceased family member has come from someone else's departed loved ones via estate sales, thrift stores, or the curb.
So, earlier this week I was driving along my street and there, perched jauntily curbside, was this oak table with an enormous pedestal foot and one leaf in it.
I did NOT happen to be driving my honkin' big Odyssey van.
Dammit!
I got out and looked at the table. Not terribly great as it was, but some terrific potential if I painted it.
But I didn't really have time in my schedule to go to home and get the van.
And, honestly, my house was getting too full and I didn't even know where I could stash the thing until I could get to refinishing or painting it.
I said my goodbyes and drove off.
But it nagged.
Now the only person I know who has more "projects" sitting around her house optimistically awaiting their facelifts is my friend Phoebe.
Phoebe's garage and basement are a testament to yes-aholic optimism. We're all sure we'll fit everything in somehow, somewhere, someday, aren't we? I mean that's the yes-aholic manifesto "I can do it - I'll fit it in somehow!".
I found myself talking to Phoebe at 10:00 the night of the table incident:
"I thought of you today, there was this oak pedestal table on the street and - "
"Is it still there?!!!!!'
"I don't know - probably - it was still there at five this afternoon with a bunch of other stuff piled on it - "
"Let's go get it!!!!"
"Now?!"
"Yeah - it'll only take 15 minutes - come on!!!"
Good as her word - 3 minutes later she was at my house with her van - man, that woman can hustle when there's free furniture involved!
Which is how I found myself, in the dead of night, beset by mosquitoes, taking boxes and a microwave and other sundries of said table to get a better look at it.
"Oh, darn it! It's got a fluted edge!"
"This is a problem?"
"Yeah, I hate that kind of edge. And look - it's not old."
"Well, no, probably from the 70s - but it's still solid oak...."
"No - I'm going to pass. It kills me to leave it here for the garbage man though - who does that, I mean couldn't they at least take it over to St. Vincents?"
"Well, we could toss it into your van and you could take it over tomorrow..."
And then my friend the yes-aholic took the first steps to recovery. She said no.
This was such a personal achievement on her part - I decided to let slide the fact that we were going to let the garbage men take the table.
Besides - there were other headlights slowing down.....
Recent Comments