Smell Your Furniture and Other Finds

Here are my latest yard sale and curbside finds from the last few weeks. As you've likely noticed, yard sales are popping up everywhere and I can never pass them up, especially if I see chairs. Chairs are my sirens. They sing to me and lure me in no matter their condition.

This little rocking chair was a $6 yard sale find.

It had a cushion and a faint cigarette + air freshener smell. I washed the cushion twice, sat it out in the sun for 2 days, then promptly put it in our basement for future use (most likely for outdoor seating or for kneeling when gardening). The chair was scrubbed twice with vinegar and washed it down with Murphy's Oil Soap. It also sat in the sun for about 2 days and after that the smell was gone. Thank goodness! I was starting to think I was on a "nicotine streak" and everything I found or bought would have a cigarette smell to it (like the bag of batting I bought at Goodwill...boo). I'm not sure why I'm just now encountering these issues, but I've learned my lesson and I smell every piece of furniture, even the free stuff, before I bring anything home. Sure, I may look like a massive freak but it saves me a ton of trouble and frustration!

I also picked up 2 of these chairs for our dining room at a yard sale.

Sorry I'm too lazy to take a picture of it by itself, so it's a cropped close-up from another picture. These chairs will eventually be painted. The farm-style dining table we bought didn't come with any chairs and I really like the miss-matched chairs look. I'm thinking white or yellow for all the chairs but they likely won't get a makeover for at least 6 months. Hey! Don't give me a hard time! I'm due in 2 weeks!

Last of all, I picked up this little sewing bench for free this past Saturday during our neighborhood yard sale day.

This will make a great little storage box for Annie and the new baby. Or maybe an end table/nightstand? Or use it to hold toiletries for guests in the bathroom? Well I didn't know exactly how I'd use it, but I knew I could give it a quick makeover immediately. After wiping it down and letting it sit out in the sun for a few hours, I recovered the plastic fake-veneer top with one of my favorite fabrics. The blue fabric was what helped me sell one of my first huge consignments back in Houston. Oh yeah, still love that dining set!

And here's a preview of my next post. A peek at the new crown molding and new molding around the windows. So pretty! Yep, I'll finally show you the dining room and living room makeover. I know, I can't believe it either. The rooms are done!

Love the Beasts,
Emily