You can’t swing a dead cat in the diy online universe without hitting a home décor blogger discussing his or her fabulous craigslist find.
I was intrigued at first, but after checking out the Chicago craigslist “furniture for sale” listings realized finding a great deal involved a mix of patience, persistence and perseverance that I just do not possess. (And people, just because it’s old doesn’t make it an antique; sometimes things are just plain old old. And if you snap a photo of a bed frame for sale, for the love of all that is good, please make the bed!)
… and then I stumbled across this dresser for $50 and made my first-ever craigslist purchase.
It’ll be a perfect replacement for the non-functional dresser that is currently taking up prime real estate in our master bedroom.
It does need some work though …
I
… and I need to figure out how to remove the wax …
.
… which is everywhere …
I’m pretty sure I’ll be painting it, just not sure if I’ll go dark or light …
.. and I’ll definitely replace the knobs with something interesting.
The biggest issue: Since we picked it up in June, it’s been ‘living’ in our family room. And now it’s made a new best friend – the Mr. Ikea desk that is my second craigslist purchase …
The desk is for my son’s room redesign (my next big project that I’ll be tackling soon). I wasn’t diligent or persistent or anything like that when I found it on craigslist. Just dumb luck. It’s in great condition and I only spent $25 …
I picked up the chair at the Salvation Army last week for $8.09 (how do they come up with their prices?). It fits perfectly with the desk …
I don’t know if I got a great deal or not. What I do know is there will be no more craigslist shopping for me until I officially settle these two pieces into their new permanent homes.
I’m running out of ‘storage’ space in my family room!
P.S. It’s now April and the dresser continues to live in the family room. Now I’m feeling shamed … as we approach it’s one year anniversary … to get it fixed up and soon!
Sharing at Rhoda’s:
This dresser is perfect. It’s exactly my style! I can’t wait to see what you end up doing with it.
xoxo
Jessica
If you haven’t removed the wax yet here’s a suggestion…med-hot clothes iron (no steam!!), paper towel or brown papers bag. Lay the paper towel/brown bag down over the wax and iron. Move the iron back and forth, checking under the paper towel/brown bag and move as needed to absorb all the wax. If you find the iron leaving marks or leaving moisture, back down the heat or place a dish towel between the iron and paper towel/brown bag. Works to get wax out of fabric and carpeting too!! I know this works first hand. Have had to use it myself!! Can’t wait to see what you do to your first Craig list find!
Shannon, thanks for the tip! I’m going to give it a try — and soon. I need to get that piece out of my family room before xmas! Linda
Oh! That dresser is soooooo pretty! I agree with Shannon and her iron trick – it works well. Check out interesting knobs at Hobby Lobby if you’re not going to do the vintage thing. Can’t wait to see the final product! -Jill
Ooh, loving that dresser and mirror! WOW! Hugs and blessings, Cindy
great deal on the curvy serpentine chest and mirror. I love that style. That will be a fun piece to make-over. I look forward to seeing what you do.
I think you and I fell down the same rabbit hole as I bought a lowboy(?) dresser of nearly this exact make (even the mirror is the same shape) at an antique shop a couple of months ago. I love the lines and I’m trying to find one like it (or nearly so) to complete a his-and-hers vanity set for our new master bath. I’m sure many would boo/hiss me for desecrating antiques but I love the dresser-to-vanity conversion idea as opposed to mdf, big-box crap and I’ve given up on finding pieces with the right combination of good bones and a messed-up top that I won’t feel bad about cutting a hole in. Moreover I already have a dresser and I may as well make this into something I’ll love looking at and using every day rather than stashing it in one of the guest rooms where it will receive only occasional use. Now that I’ve recently learned that “serpentine” is the operative term, I can better search Craigslist, Ebay and the like for a suitable match. All in all, congrats on a great find! My dresser sends its love :).