Score! -- Leaning Bookcase

I've wanted to put some sort of shelving unit in our master bedroom (specifically on MY side ;) since we moved in. That way, I wouldn't have to cramp all of my crap treasures on top of my dresser. Unfortunately, there isn't much extra wall space in the room to have any sort of large bookcase. In fact, the only real space I have for something, is a nook less than 30" wide in between the wall and my dresser. Now, while I found plenty of pretty, tall and skinny bookcases... there was a problem.

Houston, we have a problem!

The problem is that there is a heating/AC vent... on the floor... right. in. that. corner. And since I obviously couldn't place anything on top of it, that ruled out nearly every one of my options. :(

BOOHOO

But then I thought.... why not get one of those leaning ladder-style bookshelves?? That would be nice and open on the bottom! So I searched the internet for one that was skinny enough to fit in the space but that didn't break the bank either. And even though I found a few that would work from a size perspective, the shipping on the darn things cost just as much as the item itself. Seriously???

So... as is pretty typical of me... I waited... and waited... and waited...

Until one day...

While perusing craigslist...

I found one! Local! Cheap! In the right size!

It was actually still brand new in the box and the seller was asking $40 for it -- even cheaper than any of those I'd seen online (without shipping). So I went out on a limb and offered $25 (knowing I would still pay $40 if she wouldn't budge) but... she accepted it!

~happy dance~

Apparently she had tried to sell it in a yard sale and had no takers, even though she had reduced the price from $40 to $35 during the day. I guess she just wanted it out of her living room by that point so she gladly accepted my $25 offer. Score for me!! :)

Here it is right after I assembled it and put a few things on it.

I need to spruce up all of my stuff a bit and go shopping in my house for a few more accessories, but not bad for a $25 brand-new shelf!

Giving new life to an old table

So our house has a fairly nice-sized deck. In fact, it was one of the selling points when we bought the place 2 years ago. And one section of the deck even has a built-in bench which is the perfect size for a pretty, round, patio table.

1. No we are not alcoholics - this pic was taken when we were hosting a party with a "beer exchange"

2 . Yes, I HATE that our neighbors are so close and we have ZERO privacy. But we deal with it.

Too bad, though, that we didn't actually have a pretty round patio table...

And wouldn't be buying one anytime soon since I am too cheap frugal to spend several hundred dollars on one.

So for the past couple of years we put up with the inexpensive, white, plastic, oblong table I had purchased from Ikea back in 2000. But it never really fit in the space very well. And it was... well... cheap, white and plastic.

Then, ~one fine day~, I spotted an ad on craigslist for a glass-topped, round, patio table. It had a really nice leaf design in the glass AND a built-in lazy susan AND a hole for an umbrella. And not only was it located in the next town over, but they only wanted $25 for it!! What?? Apparently the sellers had already bought a new table so they really just wanted someone to come get rid of the old one for them. Plus, the frame was in rough shape with lots of rust and it didn't come with chairs since they were keeping them. Hence, the low low price.

But I knew the rust was fixable and since we have our lovely built-in bench, we didn't need any chairs. So I immediately sent my husband (and his always-convenient truck) on a mission to get it ASAP! Well, when he got there, it turned out that the sellers didn't have any change for his $20+$10 bills - - so they willingly accepted only $20 for it!!

Here you can see one of the worst spots of rust that was around the edge. (but notice the pretty leaf detail on the glass)

BEFORE

~~~ PAUSE~~~

(I'll admit that it sat in our driveway for a week or two or three...)

We finally tackled it one weekend while our girls napped. I started out by scraping the rust with a wire brush and managed to get most of it off. But the Heelamonster (aka - my husband) decided he wanted to go even further with the rust removal so he took a quick pass over the worst areas with his electric sander and then did a full wipe-down with some Naval Jelly.

(and I apologize for not having any pics of the process, but I didn't have a blog at the time so it didn't occur to me to document the transformation process - DOH!!)

Next step was to give the table a new paint job so I picked out a can of Rustoleum in "HAMMERED BROWN". The Heela volunteered to do the painting for me and I was thrilled by the end result.

AFTER

LURVE IT!!!!

We "splurged" on a nice umbrella and stand from Costco and couldn't believe our luck with the pure coincidence (I swear, it really was!!!) that the color of the umbrella and stand are the same exact color as the new paint on the table.

ahhhhh ahhhhh ahhhhhh

 (ok, in my head that is sounds like the heavens singing, but on the screen it just doesn't quite convey that way)

They honestly look like they were part of a set!! Anyway, we couldn't be more pleased with our "new" table. And can you believe this gorgeous beauty only cost us about $30 total?? (used craigslist table plus one can of spray paint)

As always, here is the Before and After

BEFORE





AFTER

SO?? What do you think?? I love the way it turned out!!

Linking up to these parties:

Thrifty Decor Chick's Spray Paint Party