Shopping At The Restore

It is no secret that I love to hunt for treasures at any thrift store, but one of my favorites is the Habitat for Humanity Restore. You never know what you will find inside - from building supplies to home decor. So on my latest trip, I snapped a few pics with my phone to share some of the goodies.

I was first surprised at the new tile - pallets and pallets of it. All of the boxes were still wrapped in plastic. There were both 12x12 and 18x18 in brown, beige, and gray. And very reasonably priced at $9.95 a box. I don't know how much the broom cost.

Then I ran across these dog houses. I have never seen dog houses at the Restore, so I had to take a picture. They were a good size and well built. With a little paint and TLC, they would make a fine casa for a dog. I would love to paint a cute house for my puppies, but they are much too spoiled to stay outside. I didn't see a price and didn't ask.

And then I came upon a sea of school desks. Seriously, there had to be at least 50 of them stacked up. I can picture them with funky color spray painted legs and a mod-podge map top. Or a chalkboard paint top. Tons of potential...but I have no use for a kid-size school desk. Click here for a knock-off mod podge recipe.

I also found these two attic ladders. They were in perfect shape and priced to sell at $25. And I need a new ladder because ours is so womper-jawed it is scary dangerous. But I decided to momentarily pass so that I could measure the attic hole in the house. I would hate to get the wrong size and then have to reframe the attic opening. I will stick with scary-ladder before that much work.

Finally I purchased this:

I could not believe my eyes when I saw it. A white, slide-in electric range with a flat surface, priced at 225 beans...sold in an almost-instant. I first texted a pic of it to the hubby to let him know I was buying it and then to my mom to get the final seal of approval. I really wanted stainless steel (who doesn't?!) but with the white cabinets and existing white dishwasher, this was the best route to go...especially since it is worlds nicer than the old one and cost pennies compared to a brand new range.

Now we are I am the proud owner of a new-to-me range that is bigger than the old one...which means the counter tops have to be cut. Never cut on solid surface counter tops before, but sure am going to give it a go. Stay tuned! So, any great finds at a thrift store lately? Ever found an item that was too-good-to-be-true? Is your dog in need of a new casa? Or are you going to go buy one of the school desks to upcycle and relove?

Rain = DIY #1 Enemy

I snagged this old stereo cabinet at a garage sale for $3:

And I had grand plans to turn it into a bar or buffet table for the Habitat for Humanity Restore & After fundraiser/auction. A little paint, caulk and TLC would have the cabinet looking super funky for minimal dollars. So I set out on my stereo-cabinet-to-buffet-table adventure and gutted the cabinet.

Baby and Paris helped, of course

Then I added a new board to the inside of the cabinet to cover up the holes from the record player. Cut new doors from plywood and covered them in zebra-print fabric to add some extra jazz.

And finally, it was time to paint. I chose miss-matched teal for the outside and apple green for inside. The cabinet looks extra cute with new colors. But the cuteness was short lived. So short lived that I didn't even get a good picture of it. The cabinet was outside drying and airing out the poly fumes when it rained. No, not rain...poured down buckets of rain. The first time it has rained in a month, and I wasn't home to save the cabinet from the torrential downpour.

Now the cabinet is unsalvagable and definitely not in a condition to be used as a fundraiser piece. One side of it is peeled apart and hanging there by the new paint. This is very bitter-sweet because we needed the rain, but the cabinet is ruined.

 

I haven't thrown the cabinet away yet. I just can't bear to throw it away yet. It is sitting in my driveway, slowly wilting in the summer sun. I am so mad at myself for leaving the cabinet outside. I should have left it in the garage. And now I am back to square-one for a rehab project for the fundraiser. That just means I'll have to work on another fab rehab...what a bummer... (sarcasm)