The Catch That Almost Got Away

It seems like great deals always have some kind of crazy story behind them!  One day last week, I woke up extra early as a result of going to sleep super early the night before (I should really do that more often, because I felt super awake and wonderful). For some odd reason, I felt compelled to check up on some of my recurring Craigslist searches. I have been looking for patio furniture FOREVER, it has become one of the most frustrating things to look for to put in my new house! I've been looking for a good 4 months or so. The search was looking pretty standard, expensive, boring, or falling apart. But suddenly it was like a light shining in from the thrifting gods, when I refreshed the page, a newly posted set of spun fiberglass patio furniture popped up! I almost fainted at the price: $50 for 8 pieces!!  My little fingers couldn't zoom around my iphone keyboard fast enough to email the seller!  "I knew I woke up early for a reason today," I told myself! I then looked at the listing again because I just couldn't believe my eyes, and noticed with dread that it had been posted half an hour before I went to sleep early the night before.  A little later that morning I got an email that another person had scheduled to look at it at 4:30pm that afternoon, so I emailed back and told her to please let me know if the other person didn't end up buying it. I basically knew it was a goner at that point though.  My bright and wonderful day was ruined and the patio set of my dreams was gone. I got home that evening at around 4:45pm thinking of the "other woman" with my patio set, and how she was probably planning on flipping it (yes, I can be a bitter person). About 15 minutes later, I got an email notification from the seller, which I immediately assumed was a "sorry, it's gone" letter.  Instead, when I opened it up, it was a "The other buyer never came and won't answer my emails, if you want it you can come check it out tonight" letter. Practically hyperventilating, I called my mom and told her the story quickly, as we contemplated whether it would all fit in her Jeep Wrangler.  It turns out the seller lived in a subdivision right down the road, and she was super nice and so helpful! I think she could tell just how thrilled I was! She had previously bought it a yard sale and just never gotten around to painting it or finding cushions, and then realized it wasn't really a big enough set for her family regardless.  She and her husband helped us load the pieces in my mom's jeep, even thoughtfully wrapping the glass table top in a  moving blanket, and yes, it all fit in one go! The set included a table with a super thick round glass top with four matching chairs as well as a larger and deeper style chair with two matching side-tables. The set had been painted white and is starting to peel, but with some scrubbing and a new coat of paint, they are going to be dynamite! The real question is, do I need cushions? They are pretty comfy without!  And what color should I paint them?  Keep white or go for something more bright like turquoise or lavender? This might be the most difficult decision yet!  One thing I do know is that my screened-in back porch is finally coming along!

When I first got it all home...

I adore the way the fiberglass is woven on them! And the glass table top is SUPER thick!

I'm currently playing around with placement and accessories of course!

Final layout? I think it still needs a few more random pieces to feel right!  But I did get some new patio plants to add to it!

So, you may be asking "what the heck is spun fiberglass?,"A few months ago, I "discovered" this style, and soon after it became a fore-runner in my search terms, except that most people don't know what spun fiberglass is, so they call it a million different things, especially wicker.  From what I've researched, it's a very 50s/60s style popularized by Russell Woodard, but there are new repro sets being made. Instead of being wicker or rattan which can become fairly easily damaged, from what I've read about spun fiberglass, it's nearly indestructible! The beautiful interweaving of fibers is what really attracted me to this technique, and the super light-weight feel of all of the pieces just makes it even better! You also can't beat it for the bohemian but also very midcentury modern feel!

So, how would you refashion these?

Dreamy Wishlist

You know how you have those things that are on the top of your thrifty wishlist (or maybe that's just me)? They're the things that you would absolutely die to find, like you'd probably start crying happy tears of joy if you found them while thrifting or estate/yard sale-ing for the right price? I've checked a few off my list over the years and I definitely looked like an insane woman with the biggest smile on my face! I'll be regaling you with my best finds off my wishlist in a future post, because sometimes you do find exactly what you've been looking for forever!

1) First on my wishlist is this 50s/60s Vanity Fair nightgown:

Source: Lucinda's Desire on eBay

 I've seen this in a few different color combos, but this was the first color combo I spied on ebay about a year ago. When I saw it on ebay, I obsessed over it, the ruffled top, the perfect blend of colors in the skirt, and the criss-cross ribbon detail underneath the bust).  I fell for it hard, but not $250 hard.  I've since seen it in various other places  as well as in other colors, but still way out of budget. This is my holy grail vintage piece at the moment. It's funny how you only have to see one and then they continue to taunt you ;)

2) Second, is a 1950s pinwheel table. I have no idea where I would put it, but this is just about the coolest piece of furniture I've ever seen.

Source: Decoratum on 1stdibs.com

I saw this style of table first on an antique tv show, and my jaw dropped,I just LOVE this table, so creative and fun! On the show they showed how you could arrange them in any number of different ways to create different looks, since they're all individual pieces. When I saw it on the show I had to have it, but I understandably balked when I saw that they were selling for a couple of thousand dollars...

3) Of course, something with a cat would make it onto the list! The Enid Collins Bird Watcher bag has been a favorite for a long time!

Source: Enid Collins

I'd be thrilled to find ANY Enid Collins bag while thrifting, but Bird Watcher is at the top of my list!  I adore the fact that there's a cat and a bird on the bag (two of my favorite things), and the combination of different jewels and textures are hard to beat!

4) A 1950s prom/formal dress

Source: All from Etsy: DearGolden, Stardustvintagestore, bloombird, and capricornvintage

Not a terribly specific thing, but I've wanted one for a very long time! 1950s formal dresses were what first got me into vintage clothing.  The full skirts and feminine details like bows and ruffles just have my heart!  I've been into vintage for a number of years, and I've yet to get lucky and find one! I do have an 80s-does-50s prom dress that's pretty lovely though!

5) A floral embroidered/applique nightgown from the 40s/50s/60s

Source: All from Etsy: Badgirlvintage, BellaBordella, HoardJewelry

 Ever since I came across the first one with the embroidered lilac flowers (already sold when I first saw it), I've really been looking hard for an embroidered nightgown! The combination of the sheer fabric and the way the flowers look like they're floating across bare skin is just so delicate and heavenly! The other two are just as pretty! The middle is by a vintage brand named Laros and I have fallen hard for many of their incredibly delicate designs!

 6) A peacock/fan chair!

Source: Style of Design

I have smaller version of one of these, but with not a big fan-back.  Weirdly enough, I bought it an estate sale at the house that I now own for only a couple of dollars. But I still really want one of the larger peacock-style chairs! You see them all over the place and they're super trendy and have been for awhile.  I see ones on craigslist for fairly good prices every so often, but they're always too far away or already sold. I even saw one in one of my favorite thrift stores, but they wanted $75 for it! I don't know about you, but I'm a bit more thrifty than that, and if I buy it at a thrift store it better not cost that much (I'm really cheap, I know, but getting something for an amazing deal is part of the fun)!

7) Last but not least is a 50s nightgown detail I added to my wishlist today while looking for more photos for this post! I've never seen this detailing before, but I came across 2(!) of them in today's online picture search!

Source: Both from Etsy: IntimateRetreat, SownThreadsClothing

Umm...yes please.  These are perfect! I'm curious what this detailing is called, because I need to add it to my future search terms on ebay for sure! It's almost a kind of piping? In any case, it is incredibly beautiful! The coral gown with the turquoise ribbon is such a perfect color combination that I think I'll be incorporating this color combo into some interior decor!

So, what's on your thrifting wishlist?