Mid Century Night Stands & Trading Up

I am not a fan of mid century design. I can appreciate it, but it certainly isn't my style. I do know that mid century is hot right now in my neck of the woods.

A few years ago I picked up this chaise lounge for free in down and out neighborhood near my home.

It had a Burberry looking cover/pad that came with it. I admit the chair was comfortable. It swiveled, rocked and was a great way to relax by the pool BUT I wanted matching chaise lounges. After seven summers in our home (this will be our eighth) I am ready for some matching pool furniture. I began to search on Craigslist for loungers, but kept finding singles. Finally, I began to search Target, Sears and even Wal-Mart for new ones. HOLY COW. A cheap, decent looking one runs at least $130 without cushions. Add a cushion and you are at around $200. I asked for friends opinions on Facebook and the split was 50/50 on going with a cushionless one or trying to buy used.

In the end I found two wrought iron chaises with pristine cushions for $100 on Craigslist. After researching I found my chair had value. Ones like it went for $350 on Etsy. I sold mine for $150. The base was a little rough and the person who bought it told me they would be sandblasting it, repainting it and selling it for much more. I didn't feel like I had the time or the patience to deal with that so I was happy to pocket the $150 and buy my new chairs. I even had enough to put away for an outdoor shower (more on that later).

Speaking of mid century I picked up two night stands from a teacher friend who is moving to China with her husband (also a teacher) and three kids to teach. She is adventrous and I admire their families need for new experiences. I could never do it. Anyway, she was selling a bunch of their old furniture and I ended up buying five tables from her. These two pieces were from her Grandma's house. The varnish was bubbling and they had seen better days.

I sanded them down. This took a lot more work than I like. There is a reason I usually paint furniture.

They were solid wood and the drawers worked perfectly.

I had some issues with the stain. I beleive it is because I didn't get all of the varnish off completely. This is the top of one. It looks worse in this picture than it does in "real life". I am suprised they have't sold yet. If they don't sell soon I may go ahead and paint them black or another color. I have seen some on Etsy that go for at least $200 a pair.

 

I realized that I don't think I will be spending a lot of time sanding furniture down unless it is an amazing piece I can make a lot of money from or I plan on keeping for a long time. Stripping, sanding and restaing is a lot of work. I don't like to work very hard. Just kidding.