Thrift Store Shopping - finding and Redoing Furniture

When you shop at consignment shops you will often find ability furniture from old decades. The furniture may be ready to use "as is" or need refinishing or reupholstering. Thrift market do not offer as much ability ready to use furniture although once in awhile you find very good pieces. The things to look for at thrift shops are pleasing shapes and first-rate lines. You can then redo your treasure with a vibrant accent color that fits your decor.

Wood Table Lamps

Some items to look for and hints on how to redo them:

Unupholstered chairs - occasional chairs and dining chairs - not all the chairs nearby a table must match, they can each be different or make your mind up two styles, one style for side chairs and other for the head and foot of the table. Just look for styles that work well together. Occasional chairs are single chairs that are beneficial in all rooms of your home. Use in a bedroom, bathroom, living or house room as accent pieces and close to a door as a convenient place to put on shoes. The frames can be refinished or painted and fabric seats are for real covered.Small tables - Look for tables that complement your existing furnishings. Wood tables can be refinished to chronicle the former wood or painted. Metal tables can be cleaned and polished or painted. Even plastic can be painted or decoupaged. Replace damaged or missing tops with plate glass (often mismatched glass tops are for sale the same thrift stores) or precut shelves from home correction stores.Stools - of all heights are useful. Bar stools can be used at high counters or tall tables. Use counter stools in the kitchen or with a high, wide shelf to originate an informal eating area. Chair height stools can be used in the same way as occasional chairs and function well as side tables or foot stools. Refurbish them as you would a chair or table.Lamps - first, check to make sure it works. If you are shopping for lamps, carry a small light bulb with you to use as a tester. Look for lamps with a shape and size that will work with other items in your room. Often an fascinating lamp only needs cleaning and a new shade. Metal, ceramic and wood lamps can also be painted or otherwise refurbished.Unique items - this is that piece of furniture or odd shaped vase that for some presume you just love. You are not sure why and for real don't know what you will do with it. Buy it! If you love it, it will fit somewhere in your home and come to be a conversation piece. If you take time to think about buying your find person else will have seen it's charm by the time you return to the store.The secrets to victorious thrift shopping are: knowing your beloved decorating style, a sense of adventure and the willingness to experiment. If you love something, trust that it will work and if the price is low sufficient it doesn't for real matter if you make a mistake. If what looked so exquisite in the store doesn't look as good at home, donate it to a thrift store where person else will find the exquisite use for it.

Have fun and experiment.

Thrift Store Shopping - finding and Redoing Furniture
No URL

Lighting - finding the Right Lamp for the Right Spot

I have been searching for a lamp for months. group stores, reduction stores, used furniture stores, catalogs, and Web sites -- none of them had the perfect lamp. My lamp, if I ever found it, had to be 22"-24" high. The socket had to fit a three-way bulb. The shade had to be white or off-white. The establish had to link New England and Oriental styles. As for cost, I didn't want to pay more than 0, along with shipping.

Table Lamp

Now you know why the search has taken so long. I have read dozens of articles about selecting lamps. agreeing to "Lighting Essentials," an description on the Home and garden Web site, a room should not be over-lit. "Proper lighting enhances your skin tone, allows you to see what you're doing and draws attention to the focal points in your decor," the description says.

An description by Fred Albert, "Before You Buy a Table Lamp," on the About.com site, reminded me of something important. "Make sure the lamp is correctly proportioned to the table on which it will be sitting." Albert also says the shade should not stick out beyond the edges of the table. I added these points to my list of requirements.

The search for the right lamp had come to be a treasure hunt. By now, my option had narrowed down to ginger jar lamps. I logged onto the Internet again and found a site that specializes in Oriental furnishings. Two black lamps caught my attention. One was square and the other was vase-shaped. Both lamps had white shades. The square lamp was too large so I eliminated it. Though the vase lamp might work I worried about the color.

The dining room walls are off-white and the table and chairs are brown. A black lamp might make the room look drab. To see how the lamp would look I hung a pair of black slacks on the existing lamp. With my luck my husband would find me "dressing" the lamp and and wonder about my thinking health. Was the search for the right lamp making me whacko?

After tossing and turning most of the night, I decided to order the vase lamp. But when I logged onto the site it would not accept my prestige card. I tried again. This time the address box disappeared. I tried again. an additional one glitch. I tried again. Then I realized I had ordered four lamps. Yikes!

I called the toll-free amount and reported the ordering glitches. "I'm not occasion a lamp store," I said. "I just want to order one lamp." It was a good thing I called because the business had not told order processing that the lamp was on sale. "That can't be right," I said. "Your Web site shows the lamp under sale merchandise."

"Just a minute," the ordering person said. "I'll check on that." Yes, the lamp was on sale and in stock. I would receive e-mail confirmation of the order. The lamp would be shipped via Federal Express. After months of searching I had found the treasure I was seeking. My lamp -- the right lamp for the right spot -- arrives in a week. I can hardly wait.

Copyright 2007 by Harriet Hodgson

Lighting - finding the Right Lamp for the Right Spot
No URL