Love on me

The treasures can be found if you look hard enough.

Posted on | July 16, 2012 | 9 Comments

First, I have to say congratulations to my husband as he just had his Change of Command ceremony today. Love you, babe. I could not be prouder.

(no, his uniform doesn’t usually have a butterly on it. gotta protect the privacy, yo)

Sorry Sully squirted sunscreen all over himself in the middle of the ceremony. Take it as a sign of his approval.

Now, so I don’t make him blush too much, let me talk to you about our most recent finds for our home. The other day, we stumbled upon a Facebook page called “Mid Century Salvage.” The photo albums were stocked full of furniture that made us excited. As I’ve mentioned before, we’re really trying to stay true to the character of our home. Meaning, when Taylor suggests that we buy yet another IKEA light fixture or swing for an entertainment center there, I die a little inside.

I always joke to Taylor that if it were up to him, our house would look like a cross between a dorm room and a doctor’s office.

Fortunately, he trusts my ideas, and he leaves the final decision on furniture purchases up to me. Sometimes, this means I push him WAY out of his comfort zone. Like when I suggested blue cabinets and blue walls in our kitchen? He thought I was crazy. Guess who loves our kitchen now?

So anyway, the store happened to be right off the highway we frequent between our house and our parents’ homes, so we thought we should take a chance and swing by on Sunday. The prices all seemed super reasonable, so we figured it couldn’t hurt. We have stopped spending much on the furniture aspect of our house because we’ve had to put so much into supplies for fixing it. Paint, trim, brushes, and hardware add up rapidly. The end result is a house that looks much more finished than before but still bare as ever. We have been particularly bothered by our formal living room.

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Bad, right? So after adding some paint, quarter round trim, and furniture, it became better, but still boring and empty.

We’ve since ordered a couch from West Elm (which we LOVE), but we knew we wanted a mix of old and new in the room. Up comes our (my) obsession with thrifting.

When we walked into the store this weekend, I thought I would die of heart palpitations. I was in love with almost every piece of furniture I saw. Clearly, Taylor doesn’t want our house to look like a Brady Bunch set, so I keep my mix of mid-century pieces and new pieces relatively even, but if I could really give into my true self? My entire house would be filled with vintage tulip chairs and sheepskin rugs.

So anyway, I spotted my treasures almost immediately. Tucked in the corner were two chairs. They are completely different styles but totally awesome. First up, the “grandma chair” as we have dubbed it.

Always look for well-made furniture. Solid wood, impressive fabric, and lack of nasty smell are positives. Though the fabric of this chair may seem a bit…dated to some, I fell in love with it. It’s a little ecentric, a little old lady, and totally awesome. The fabric is a velvet that is surprisingly great shape. It has a bit of wear on the arms and two small holes, but nothing that is noticeable. We asked about replacing the fabric and were quoted $800, so we immediately declined. I love the pattern, and a little wear doesn’t bother me. Maybe someday, if it holds up like I think it will, we’ll get it restored.

Taylor was less in love with it, but I promised him it would work and he obliged.

Next up, a Danish, mid-century chair.

The clean lines are simplistic and typical of the era. Similar chairs that have had the fabric replaced can run thousands of dollars. We got this one for just around $100.00. It’s in awesome condition and unbelieveably comfortable. I expected it to feel awkward and was pleasantly surprised. The fabric is almost flawless and so, so soft.

Together? They are my idea of perfection. As a heads up, I don’t particularly care for the current placement. I’m leaving them there for now until I got another piece of furniture, and then I’ll play around until I like it.

(note: I didn’t realize the mirror was off-centered until I snapped this picture. The stuff on the mantel is just a hodge-podge I tossed up there, and only the mirror is staying).

Clearly, this room still has a lot of change that needs to take place, but it’s a damn good start, I think. Our walls need LOTS of help. I’m on the hunt for window treatments. I haven’t decided if the brass cover on the fireplace is staying or not (though, I kind of like it right now). I still need another end table, and I think a floor lamp would be bitchin’. Also? That terrible fan has GOT to go. It’s next up on the list for replacement.

Together, all the furniture in the room has cost us surprisingly little:

Couch-$1000 (give or take a little…I can’t remember shipping costs)
Grandma Chair-$100
Danish Chair-$125
Rug-$250
Mirrored coffee table-$100
Poufs-$89
Lamp-Free with purchase of our nursery furniture
Side table-Free from my parents (will be replaced eventually)
Mirror-Free from Taylor’s parents
Rocking Chair-Free, family heirloom that belonged to Taylor’s great-grandmother
Paint-$80
Quarter round-$50

Total-$1794 over the course of eight months. A little over $200 a month has given us a room we’re proud to call our own.

We have a loveseat on the way as a gift from my mama. Can’t wait to share it, too.

So there we go! I hope y’all like the changes. If you don’t, that’s okay too. Because I love it, and I’m the one who has to look at it every day. Also, Mid Century Salvage is in no way, shape, or form a sponsor of this post. They had no idea I planned on blogging these chairs. They had no idea I blog. Period. I just like to share the good word when I find a great store filled with great, helpful employees. I highly recommend them to anyone on the hunt for unique, mid-century pieces.

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