The Bargain Life

Stefanie and i are looking for a third roommate right now, and consequently our common areas are looking spotless and stylish. (my rooms on the other hand have filled up with the junk we don’t want out on display). Here’s a look at our house and some of the bargain solutions we’ve come up with:

after i killed the potted petunias i bought for this window shelf, i put up a spectrum of colored glass bottles, which looks really pretty when the sun is shining through. i added blue and green vases that i got for 50 cents each at a thrift store since most of our empty bottles were orange and brown. total cost: $1.

also pictured: hello kitty toaster: $15, Stefanie’s vintage owl cookie jar, 2 clear bottles i painted the insides of that got demoted from the shelf, small plant and pot from Ikea: $2, Target kettle: $6.

the wooden bowls on the end of the counter were $1 each at a thrift store. i put my keys in them right when i walk in the door so i don’t loose them.

we replaced an ugly wall-mounted mail sorter with a swirl shaped coat hook for $5 from Home Goods. the mail now goes in counter-top sorters from Target for a few dollars a piece. on the other side of the door is a $10 ikea magazine rack.

the set of 3 canisters was $3 at a thrift store, and on either side are the 50 cent ikea plant pots from the dead petunias, which now hold miscellaneous junk.

on the window shelf are two $1.50 Ikea plants in $.50 pots, which are nearly impossible to kill. the center plant and pot is Stef’s. we put up 2 empty Orangina bottles and a few wind-up toys to fill the space.

this is the view of the dining room from the kitchen. i picked up the chair for free on the side of the road. i may reupholster it, but i love how retro the orange tweed is. the bust is also a trash pile find, this time from my roommate, and i think it will end up in her room eventually. our kitty tower, previously blogged about, lives in the corner.

i made the window bench out of 2 cabinets that we found in our basement crawl space, which i repainted and sewed cushions for with Ikea fabric. the pillows on the bench right now are just leftovers from the living room.

the kitchen table and chairs are from Ikea via craigslist. Stefanie bought the stool at Ikea just for the sake of having stools at that counter, but they are too high and we pretty much never use them.

Stefanie had this dresser and didn’t want to use it anymore, but she couldn’t get rid of it or diy it because it belongs to her family so we’re using it as a sideboard. we detached the mirror to make it look obvious that it’s a bedroom dresser. the runner is a folded-up tablecloth. the drawers hold all of my tools since i do most of my crafts in the dining room.

our living room is a bit bipolar since al of the major furniture is Stefanie’s, and a lot of the accessories are mine. for most of the time we’ve lived here i’ve just left it as a vintage feeling room (i do like all of Stefanie’s decor choices), but it’s in the process of having more modern pieces incorporated into it.

there’s no overhead light in the room, so we added an Ikea knappa pendant lamp. i still think $25 is too much for a bunch of pieces of plastic, but look-wise it’s worth it.

both sofas came from Emory announcements for $40-$50 each. i want to reupholster the wing sofa with something bold and modern, but right now it’s got a comforter cover over the center of it as a temporary fix, which looks surprisingly good. the pillows are all either from Ikea or made with Ikea fabric. the quilt on the sofa is from Anthropolgie, so it was obviously not a bargain, but it is really comfortable for a quilt.

the triangle end tables, coffee table, and the boxes in the coffee table are also from Ikea. the round table behind the sofa is an antique that Stefanie got as a gift. it’s Dylan’s favorite place to sleep.

all of the artwork in the house is from our friend who lived here before us. she lives in a tiny apartment now, so we’re holding it for her.

here we’ve got the credenza that i made (previously posted about) holding the TV. the mirror that we took off the dresser in the dining room is propped up against the wall. it does have hanging hardware, so so might actually attach it to the wall. the cubby bookcase was either free or really cheap, and it’s good for stashing the clutter.

the chair was a bit of a splurge at $50, but Stef really liked the unique shape. it’s got a towel draped across it because the cats like to sleep there.

this $5 orange chair is kind of hideous, but it’s also the most comfortable chair in the house. the cats agree: Dylan likes to lie on top of the backrest.

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i finally got my camera back from the shop, so here are pictures of my two most recently finished projects:

was: a damaged chair from a thrift store
is: the same retro shape made funky and bright
cost of chair: $2.50
cost of supplies: $3 for paint, $8 for fabric (with lots leftover), $5 for upholstery foam
total cost: $18.50
how to: read the previous post for a rundown of everything i did.

was: a dining chair in dire need of attention
is: semi-traditional, but fitting with my retro-modern decor
cost of chair: free
cost of supplies: $5 for paint and $10 for clear lacquer (lots leftover of each), $4 for plywood, $4.50 for upholstery foam, $4.50 for fabric
total cost: $28
how to: read the previous post for a rundown of everything i did.

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I have way too many projects going on now, but now I at least have all the supplies, so there’s nothing holding me back from finishing them except that there are 5. here’s where I’m at:

1. Ikea Tullsta Chair
this is my roommate’s chair that she’s had since freshman year. it’s legs and the main part of the slipcover are MIA since the most recent time it was moved. instead of buying a new cover from Ikea, I decided to sew one. as it turns out, the white cover is only $30, so it’s not any cheaper to make one, but it will look much cooler. i’m still not sure what we’re going to do about the legs.

done:

• purchased 4 yards of Inger fabric (the one with the blue and black leaves) for $24
• purchased 2 zippers for $4 – one for seat cushion and one for back pillow

in progress:

• pin fabric inside out on chair
• make cover for seat cushion – front is sewn, but zipper still needs to be sewn into the back

to do:

• make cover for back pillow
• purchase and attach new legs (probably one of the many choices from Ikea

2. metal framed chair from thrift store
I bought this chair for $2.50 at a thrift store because I loved its continuous metal frame. suspended between the frame are a backrest and seat that had a black wooden frame with natural-colored wooden caning. it was so cheap mainly because the caning on the seat was torn, but I planned to rip it out anyways. I left the caning on the back and painted it the same color as the wood frames.

done:

• unscrewed backrest and seat
• removed old caning from seat
• sawed the seat frame into 2 pieces along the groove from the caning
• spray painted seat and backrest bright red ( one $3 can)
• wove fabric scraps to create a new base for the upholstery
• bought new fabric for the seat (the bold floral one) for $6, with lots left over
• bought foam for the seat for $5
• stapled fabric and foam on the seat

to do:

• screw the 2 pieces of the seat back together
• clean/polish metal frame
• screw seat and backrest back onto frame

3. old dining chair
this is the chair that I got for free at a yard sale while I was home in New Hampshire. it would have been done by now, but I left the fabric that I bought for it at home. I’m not sure if my parents will mail it or if i’ll just use something else.

done:

• removed old upholstery from the seat
• scraped and sanded away the old finish
• bought a gallon of “oops”/mis-tint light blue paint for $5
• applied 3 coats of paint
• bought a sheet of plywood for $4 use as the base for the new upholstery
• bought a piece of 2″ thick foam for the cushion for $5
• traced the shape of the seat onto a paper bag
• cut and sanded the plywood seat
• drilled pilot holes through the chair frame into the plywood
• bought half a yard of a black and white print satin for $4.50 and then proceed to leave it at home :(
• bought a pint of clear lacquer finish for $10 – I plan to use this on many projects
• applied 3 coats of lacquer

to do:

• staple fabric to the seat
• screw the seat onto the chair

4. window bench
a while back we found some old cabinets in the crawl space in our basement – 2 tall narrow ones and 2 short ones. I decided to turn the 2 short ones into a bench to sit below the window in our dining room along one side of the table. I didn’t discover until I’d already started working on one of the cabinets that they are different sizes, one is 36″ wide and the other is 30″. there is also about a 1/2″ difference in height which i may decide to correct with a plywood board.

done:

• remove old hardware and detach doors
• sand down old paint and try to sand down uneven surfaces
• paint with teal paint left over from painting the master bedroom (which was done by the previous renters)
• reattach hardware
• buy 2 yards of Inger fabric for the cushions (the grey one with white spots) for $12
• buy a 2″x22″x36″ piece of foam for $21 (why is foam so expensive?)
• cut the foam into 2 pieces, one 11″x36″ and one 11″x30″

in progress:

• sew the fabric for the foam cushions

to do:

• possibly sew a bolster pillow to sit along the back

5. quarter-circle sofa
weaving scrap fabric as a base for upholstery on the metal chair project worked so well that I was inspired to use this method on something bigger. using fabric to hold weight eliminates one of the problems i’ve had trying to turn my visions into reality – I don’t know how to bend plywood. this sofa is going to be a quarter of a cylinder with a 2-foot radius. I’m sure this will require some creative problem solving further down the line, but right now I’m just barely getting started.

done:

• purchased wood for frame: a 2′x4′ sheet of 3/4″ plywood for the arcs and 3 2″x3″ boards to span the length
• purchased 2 1/4″ thick 2′x2′ boards of birch plywood to use on the exterior of the sides

to do:

• cut and sand the quarter circles out of the plywood
• screw wooden frame together
• weave fabric over the frame
• buy a large sheet of thick foam plus small pieces for the sides
• buy fabric
• sew a tube of fabric to slide over the frame and foam
• staple fabric to sides of frame
• cut nice plywood for armrest/sides
• cut scrap plywood to upholster interior of the sides
• upholster sides
• attach upholstered portion to side panels
• stain side panels
• attach side panels to main sofa frame
• buy or make and attach legs to the sofa frame

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