thrifting in montana

We went to two little shops yesterday morning, and we'll hit the local thrift store today since they were closed yesterday. The first store we went to was River Breaks Gear & Books. It's mostly a used book store, but there are a few antiques & knick-knacks crammed between the piles of books, as well as used outdoor gear scattered throughout the store.




The little ceramic owl was hanging—unpriced—from one of the bookshelves. It was covered in dirt and had melted wax caked inside, but I don't mind having to clean off a few layers of neglect. The owner of the shop sold it to me for $4. Here's what he looks like with a candle lit inside:


Next we checked out a saddle and antique store. The owner repairs and sell saddles, and even has one of my parent's old saddles for sale right now in his shop. I hadn't seen it for years, but as soon as my mom pointed it out to me, I recognized the leather lacing on the back—that's where I used to ride when our family would take our horses out for the day. My sister always rode with my dad and I always rode on the back with my mom. I wish I had appreciated those rides when I was little. Instead, I remember being bored, hot, and repulsed by the foamy horse sweat seeping out from under the saddle.


There were some great wool blankets for sale at the saddle shop, most of them priced between $35 and $85. They reminded me of the blankets at the Ace Hotels. I'm still tempted to go back and buy one, but I don't know if I want to deal with the dry cleaning.

This yellow striped one is actually a saddle blanket and was smaller than the other blankets, but I loved the colors! Here's the blanket at the Ace:


My mom also picked up this glass hen dish as a birthday gift for me. I'm not sure what I'll put in it yet, the black and green iridescent glaze is peeling slightly on the inside, so I'll have to be careful with it.

two dollar throw pillows

I was so excited about my new shelves last week that I didn't even mention these great throw pillow covers that I found on the same thrifting trip for 99¢ each. I first spotted the blue one and was smitten with the color and texture. Thinking that finding a second one would be too good to be true, I almost walked away without doing a thorough search. I'm glad I decided to look anyway, because a few feet down the rack I saw another great textured cover. The orange one was slightly different, but when I looked inside, the tags were identical—"Fabindia" handwoven in India.

I purchased the feather pillow inserts about ten years ago at pottery barn with a 40% off discount. I've since ditched the original covers, and for quite some time, these have sat in the closet, waiting for me to sew them some new ones. The thrifted covers are much nicer than anything I could have sewn, so I think it was worth the wait.

The majority of our furnishings around the house are pretty neutral, so it's always nice to add a little pop color. I didn't realize how well these pillows would go with the handful of colorful accessories we already have until I put them on the couch. Here are some books that are sitting on a shelf a few feet away from the couch:


And these are some wheat-paste collages that we made that hang on the wall behind our dining table, directly opposite the couch.

a game of musical chairs

Against all craigslist odds, our recent chair purchase was fast and problem-free. We picked up the chair Friday night in SeaTac from a young woman who has had it since she was twelve. Coincidentally, she was selling the chair because she's relocating for a job to a town in Montana that is only forty miles from where I grew up. The chair is heavily influenced by the Eames Lounge Chair, but has some subtle differences that I find particularly endearing. The back is one solid piece of bent wood instead of two, the legs are bent wood as well, while the Eames legs are all metal, and there is no tufting, which I see as a bonus because it means fewer little places to collect cracker crumbs.


We love the way it looks in our living room, and Alden loves to sit in "daddy's chair," but we have run into a few logistical problems. It's funny how acquiring one new piece can throw a wrench into the whole flow of a room. First, in order to make room for the chair, we needed to remove the two black chairs that were previously in our living room. In case you missed it before, we have a lot of chairs in our house. I'm not really willing to give any of them the boot yet, although one particular chair will probably get its marching orders as soon as we save up enough for a new couch downstairs.

Since we decided to keep the black chairs, I had to figure out a way to work them into another room. They are more like office chairs than armchairs, so it seemed fitting to move them to the office—currently the least organized and most unfinished room in the house. Moving them to the office meant moving the two dining chairs out that were being stored there. The dining chairs haven't been in the dining room because I hadn't ever managed to recover the seats to match the first four that I had done two years ago. I guess I finally got the motivation that I needed to complete that project, and we now have six matching dining chairs around our table!


Now the only problem I'm left with is that our coffee table no longer fits in the space in which it used to reside. The ottoman of the new chair sits just a few inches too close to the corner of the rectangular coffee table, creating an awkward pathway, and with my bruise-prone shins, it's an injury waiting to happen. The solution: a round coffee table has now been added to my thrift store master list.

flos vs. kulla floor lamp

When I can't afford a piece of furniture that I love—which is most of the time—I try to find something that is similar in design and function that isn't necessarily an exact "knock-off." The Kulla floor lamp from Ikea, for example, bears a striking resemblance to the $1300 Flos Spun Floor Lamp, without trying to fool anyone that is the real thing. The top photos are of the Flos—carefully balanced, and beautifully crafted.

Here is Ikea's Kulla lamp, costing a whopping $89.99 (or $20 if you buy it from Goodwill like we did). Though it lacks a bit of the grace exuded by the Flos, it's still a great lamp that can blend seamlessly with either modern or midcentury decor.


The only problem we've had with our lamp is finding a 3-way bulb that doesn't stick out the top of the shade. I've rigged it the best I could by adding a spacer under the ring of the shade in order to raise it's height by an inch, but we still get just the very top of the bulb peeking over. Ikea must have realized this problem, because I've noticed the ones in their store are now slightly modified.

an antiques roadshow moment

Driving around this weekend I realized that garage sale season is in full swing. There were signs for sales nearly every other block, and of course, I had to check as many out as I had time for. I drove around most of the morning with nothing to show for it but a $1 pair of boots for Tula. I regretfully missed a great deal on some fabulous green chairs at a sale in Wallingford, and I figured the best part of the day was simply walking around in the sunshine.

Later in the afternoon I went back out to go to a certain store in search of a gift for Patrick's 30th birthday, and on my way I decided to stop at one last sale. I'm so glad I did. There were tables and tables piled knick-knacks, toiletries, disheveled doilies, and nearly every other cliche garage sale item you can imagine. Signs stated that everything was 1/2 off the marked price but most items weren't priced. The first thing I found was this cute little plastic deer. I guessed it would be around 25 cents, and I thought it would be a hit with Tula. She loves it, but I inadvertently set it on a nightstand next to my new clock and decided they were a perfect pair. I think she'll be okay with setting it there when she's not playing with it.


I also picked up a beautiful glass pitcher. I'm a sucker for anything white and wood, and I figured it couldn't be more than a dollar. Ready to pay, I asked how much for both items. $1.50. I offered $1.25 because that's the change I had, and got back in the car.

When I got home, I decided to do a little research on the pitcher. I've never really bought anything second-hand that was worthy of a trip to the Antiques Roadshow, but I always hold out a little hope. Thankfully, the pitcher still had a label with the maker's name, which made the google search much easier. I soon found out that it is a 1960 Jacob E. Bang piece produced for Kastrup Holmegaard Glass in Denmark. I can't find an exact price but a similar pitcher (minus the bamboo cane and the label) is going for $140. Not too bad for my little $1 investment!

I still haven't figured out a good place to keep it. I bought it because it's pretty, and I want to put it where I can see it, but with two kids and hardwood floors, my options are a pretty limited.

a clock in every room

I love clocks, and not just as accessories to decorate with, I love to know the time—all the time. Our house has a clock in nearly every room, and when I'm in a room without one, I get anxious and frustrated. I really don't know how some people live without a clock in sight. Yes, I'm neurotic and probably need therapy, but it's cheaper and easier just to buy clocks at the thrift store.

You might wonder why I don't simply buy a watch and thus solve all my time-related woes, and I agree that's a great idea in theory. I'm just too picky when it comes to watches, and I've never found one that I've thought looked nice on my wrist. They all seem too big, or dainty, or too sporty, or ornate. I'd gladly welcome suggestions!

So, this morning I took my little Tula on an unscheduled trip to Goodwill. She was in a particularly good mood and she was excited to go. Before heading into the store, we drove through Java Jane for an americano and a cookie. It's pretty dangerous for me that my two favorite things happen to be in the same parking lot—coffee and a thrift store.

Tula wanted to look at dresses and toys—her biggest loves—but she was patient enough to browse the furniture, kitchen, and electronics sections first. I've been on the lookout for a nice vintage clock for a while now, and I found one today that I fell in love with. I tested it out in the store and it worked perfectly. I haven't tried the alarm yet, but I'm sure it's completely obnoxious. We use the alarms on our phones though, so it really won't matter. Now, I only need four more clocks to complete my clock-in-every-room strategy.

Oh, and just to reiterate my point from yesterday, we spotted a Lack side table in the furniture section today that was in terrible shape—scratches all over and a piece of the laminate was ripped off—for $12.99.

Friday Finds

We just got back from our little mini-vacation to Great Wolf. It was a really nice break from everyday routine, which would have normally included my weekly trip to Goodwill this morning. Although, I did just get off the phone with my husband who, on his way back from picking some things up from his office, just so happened to be at the thrift store. I guess he's as die-hard as I am.

Instead of posting things that I found today, I'm going to share some kids-related past finds.
Above is a picture of one corner in my little girl's room. The rocking chair, guitar, and the tall doll were all purchased at Goodwill. I am particularly fond of the vintage dolls. The short one, nicknamed Little Miss Trouble, is from my childhood. The tall one reminds me a little of these Alexander Girard wooden dolls.
My dear friend Margaret Ann, who is a seasoned thrifter, sent me this picture of a recent purchase she made:


She had been looking for a ride-on toy for her son, and came across this great Radio Flyer trike—new it sells for $60—for under $10. I laughed when I saw the picture, because I almost bought this very trike at the thrift store on what must have been the same day, but I decided that we already had enough wheeled toys in our house. I'm so glad she picked it up!

Send a photo of your most beloved thrift store purchase to modernthrifter@gmail.com, and I'll pick a few to feature each Friday.

Before & After - Amy Butler Chair

I picked this chair up about two years ago from Goodwill for $1.29. It was a Monday, which means they put all items with a certain colored tag on sale for a flat price of $1.29 in any department. Structurally, it's really solid, but it was obviously in need of a makeover, and at that price, I figured I could afford to put a few more dollars into fixing it.

This is somewhat disturbing, but as I removed the old vinyl seat cover, I discovered that it was originally white—not brown! Apparently, it must have been owned by one of the guys from Mad Men. I've found that problem with a lot of mid-century pieces—everyone was a smoker.

My upholstery skills are pretty much limited to chair seats and pillow cases, both of which were needed in this case. I picked out some pretty Amy Butler fabric, and a $2 pillow from Big Lots. I spent a lot more money on the fabric than on the chair! It took me two tries to find a pattern that my husband and I could agree on, but I'm really pleased with the result. (note: if you are doing a project like this, make sure to use upholstery weight fabric)

The paint has held up really well, too—even after two years of repeated collisions with a ride-on firetruck. I think I used one coat of primer and three coats of white satin finish spray paint.

Favorite Finds

My house is full of thrift store finds and I wanted to share some of my favorites. I have a lot of favorites, so I'll periodically post a few at a time. The first is hands-down the best thrift store purchase I've ever come across.

This couch was $79 at Goodwill. We had been wanting something similar and we assumed that a couch would have to be something that we saved for and bought new. I did a double take when I walked by this couch lined up with the la-z-boys and the floral printed sectionals. I was by myself, so I had to park myself on it while trying to flag down an employee. Here's a hint I should have included before... Never walk away from an item you want to purchase or it will probably be claimed by someone else when you get back.


We put our outdated couch on craigslist that afternoon for $250 and sold it right away. That left us enough money to have the new (thrifted) couch professionally cleaned, which is sort of my policy when it comes to buying upholstered furniture second-hand.


The next find I want to share is this kid's drawing table. I had seen this one at Tottini for $299 and I fell in love with the concept. I love the metal bowl in the center for holding crayons, markers, or chalk. My kids used to routinely spill or fight over the box of crayons, but now they are easy to access and easy to clean up. When I found the table it just had a hole in the middle, but I knew with enough searching, I could find something to fit. Two thrift stores and $1.29 later, and I had the perfect bowl. The chairs were given to me for free by an old neighbor, so all together this set cost me $9.29.


Lastly, this typewriter was found by my husband. It was kind of a splurge at $14, but I have been so happy with it. It came in the case, in great shape and as tough as a tank. We leave it out and let the kids play with it all the time. They love playing "office" and typing "emails".