Monday, June 22, 2015

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?

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