Free Furniture?

When I found out that I was going to move into my own place, I kind of went crazy looking for furniture. For three weeks I was on the prowl, trying to find items to furnish our apartment with. Here are a few things that I found:

We found this dresser at a garage sale in the summer of last year and I used it in my bedroom for my clothes. Now, however, we are using in our living room for our TV. I love having it there because it matches the white, shabby chic thing I have going on, and the drawers give us a lot of storage. 

Lesson: You don't always have to use your furniture for what it's meant to be used for. Furniture is versatile and there are a lot of different purposes for each piece. If you need something for your home, try to think of what you already have that you might be able to use. You never know what you will find!

I found this lamp at a thrift store and I fell in love with it! It is wrought iron, and extremely heavy, so I'm sure it cost a lot more brand new. I just think this lamp is the most beautiful thing that I bought for my home. 

Lesson: Thrift stores are your friend! But beware of bad deals. I found that sometimes I could find better prices for brand new things at places like Ross and Marshalls. 

The price of this chair is a little deceiving. I picked up a set of four of these chairs for free at my church rummage sale (they like me :). My fiance painted them (the price of paint isn't included in the price) and I reupholstered them with fabric I got from a discount fabric store (it cost $2 a yard for the fabric). 

Lesson: There are a few things you can take from this. First, look at the potential of something. When I told the youth minister at my church that I wanted the chairs, he looked at me like I was crazy. They weren't the most attractive chairs, with a weird wood laminate covering the chair and a hot green fabric on the seats. But obviously, with a little paint and fabric, they look adorable. The second thing you can learn is that reupholstering isn't difficult! All you need is some fabric, a screwdriver, and a staple gun. I think it's pretty self-explanatory from there...Lastly, I got the fabric from a discount fabric store that looked pretty nasty from the outside, but was a fabric lover's paradise on the inside. With hundreds, if not thousands, of discount, six foot bolts of fabric for one or two dollars a yard...you can't really go wrong from there. So I guess what I'm trying to say is explore stores and things around you. Again, you never know what you'll find. 

First, please ignore the mess. It is our office and we do share it. Its the one place in our apartment where people don't really spend time so it's okay for it to be a little disorganized. I got this desk at a garage sale, and when I saw it, I had no idea what it was. It was just a pile of wood, but when I asked what it was and when he said it was desk and that he would give it to me for $1 if I wanted it (I felt bad giving him $1 so I was generous and gave him $3...), I knew I had to have it. We had been looking for a desk, and I was willing to give it a try. I had no idea if all the pieces were included, and I didn't even know what it was supposed to look like. We eventually figured it out, however, and this was the outcome. Not too bad, right?

Lesson: Don't pass up a deal. Even if you don't know what something is or what it's supposed to look like, if it's a good deal, get it! It might just be a great desk, like this one!

I grew up with this table in my grandmother's formal living room. I hated this table, by the way. She had it covered in glass birds and fake roses, but when I realized that we needed a coffee table, I figured we could use it for now. And I think I've grown to really like it. I love that there is a shelf underneath for some of my movies and books. And the glass on the top gives it a little fanciness that I love. 

Lesson: It's okay to use grandma's stuff. Vintage items and antiques are definitely back in style, and it makes our apartment unique. Nobody else our age I know has anything like this in their home. But you have to be careful: sometime vintage can just be tacky. Don't just accept anything for free!

I have more furniture that I can post another time, and I'm sure we will always be upgrading. Here are a few photos to show you how it all comes together though. Just remember, it's a work in progress.