You know how a bunch of designers have been saying things like “every room should have something old in it”? Or have I been the only one noticing that lately? Sort of like how they say “every room should have something black in it” (but other than oil rubbed bronze curtain rods or dark mocha wood, virtually nothing in any of our rooms is black – although 95% of my shirts are black, so maybe that counts?). Either way, it’s official. I’m on the “something old” train.
It all happened when I was browsing craigslist (searching the words “dresser” and “sideboard” and “buffet” every week or so, if you’re wondering about my craigslist technique) since we want to convert a big piece of wood furniture like a dresser/buffet/cabinet to be a TV stand in the living room and also want a big buffet-ish piece for the entryway next to the front door. Then bam, out of nowhere, this happened:
I went crazy with sideboard lust. I immediately emailed the seller (it had just been posted that morning) and said “I love your sideboard, is it still available?” People ask us for craigslist tips so here ya go. Tip number one: don’t inundate the seller with a bunch of questions. I’ve found one of the most successful ways to get a good response is just to tell someone you like what they’re selling and ask if it’s still available. No complicated questions about size, finish, defects, delivery methods, price-negotiating, etc. That all makes you sound high maintenance off the bat. Just see if the thing is still for sale first.
Thankfully I heard back from the seller about five agonizing hours later and her response was very friendly. She indicated that she had a number of people interested and she was just going to sell it to the first full price bidder to come get it. This info was no surprise to me (aka: I knew she wasn’t bluffing) since about 99% of the dressers/buffets/sideboards on craigslist here in Richmond are listed for more money and aren’t half as easy on the eyes. We’re talking particle board dressers from Walmart listed for $180! Crazytown. Most other solid wood sideboards usually run around 400 beans like this one:
Tip number two: I like to use the “we’ll come get it and pay you cash right now!” approach when I’m trying to talk someone down on the price of something. But that only works when you’re one of the only people interested (when lots of people are vying for the same piece the seller will usually just wait for the highest bid since their fears of no one wanting what they’re selling are gone). So as soon as I heard that others wanted my buffet I knew it could come down to how badly I fought for it. And we wanted that sucker. Bad. John included. As in, he was totally crossing all appendages with me as an act of sideboard solidarity.
We probably would have paid $200 for it, especially after doing some googling around for something similar and coming up with other solid wood sideboards of about the same size on sites like antiques.com and craigslist alike for around $400 and $500! And when I looked for similar painted sideboards (in that pretty antique blue-green finish like the craigslist one) the prices got even higher. Like 695+ bucks.
So we probably could have purchased a wood sideboard and painted it to look distressed, but I wasn’t finding any other similar solid wood sideboards with the same chunky curved legs and perfect hefty size as the one that already came painted (and it was a few hundred less than the wood ones!). So we went all in. I emailed her back and said “Oh please oh please let me buy it! I’ll pay $155 so you’ll pick me over the others! I love it. If you’re available, we can come get it tonight and pay you in cash. Just say the word. I really am in love with it and promise to give it a nice home!”
Tip number three: if you want something on cragislist, especially something you think is worth more than the seller is asking, definitely give them at least full asking price or it’ll end up going to someone else. Often folks will buy things that are priced too low on craigslist just to resell them for more themselves (and I knew this buffet could go for more if someone linked to a similar one for $700 and made a good case about why it should be $400). So five bucks over asking price was my way of telling her “please pick me!!” – it was certainly worth five bucks to get the advantage and stand out from the pack.
Tip number four: if possible, offer to get the item right away (that way they won’t get an email from someone else offering them $50 over your offer in the day or two that it takes you to collect said item). So I shot off that “please pick me” email and then I waited. And about half an hour later I heard back. Sold! We just had to go grab it that night and bring the cash. So we switched cars with John’s dad (he has a Honda Pilot that has room in the back for pieces like this) and made haste over to the seller’s house with cash in hand while Clara hung with the grandparents. Tip number five: when you know you’ll be carrying a giant piece of furniture down three flights of stairs, it’s always nice to leave children in someone else’s care whenever possible – just so it’s one less thing to worry about while you’re cursing the day you ever laid eyes on that heavy-a$$ solid wood buffet.
About a half an hour later, this guy was in our entryway. And we were totally staring at it in that love-at-first-sight-in-a-cheesy-romantic-comedy way.
Tip number six: if a piece is old and painted, it always makes sense to test it for lead. Just to be safe. I used one of those lead paint test strips from Home Depot (they sell them in a set of four) and it tested out clean (many antique pieces were kept au naturale for decades and only painted in more recent years after lead paint was phased out, so I had pretty high expectations that this wasn’t lead paint but was very happy to have it confirmed). Whew. I do plan to use some sort of clear sealer on it, just to keep it from chipping any further, but I don’t mind the chips at all – I think it totally looks like something Anthropologie or Restoration Hardware would sell for 1K after sanding the heck out of a new piece to make it look old like this.
Once I saw it in the dining room I realized it was totally worth the price and those three long sets of stairs that John and I dragged it down. Doesn’t it look awesome with the green tones in the dining room curtains? This is the view from the kitchen peninsula. Can’t wait to add lamps and stacks of books and art behind it. Wahooo.
It’s pretty much my favorite thing in the whole house. There’s so much storage space and I love those curved baluster legs of hers. And every time I get a little pang about spending $155 for it, I just remember that we only paid $20 for Clara’s dresser that we refinished back in 2010…
…which we’ve now seen selling for $200+ every single time it pops up locally. So I guess scoring one big six drawer dresser and one giant leggy sideboard for $175 total brings the average price per piece down to $87. I can totally live with that. That’s basically the price of a three drawer dresser made of laminate from Ikea. And we actually got the old wood dresser in our bedroom as a hand-me-down from John’s parents (aka: free) so if you add that into the mix, we have three old wood pieces in our house for an average of $58 each.
So as much as we love clean and modern, we have to agree that an old piece in every room is beginning to sound like an awesome idea (we already have that old dresser in our bedroom along with an old chair & dresser in Clara’s room and a pair of old secondhand chairs in our office). And I guess we shouldn’t be surprised about the old furniture thing – I mean we like older homes packed with character, so it makes sense that an old piece of furniture with charm to spare is right up there with a box of Oreos and a Don’t Be Tardy For The Wedding marathon. For me. John wants me to clarify that that’s his idea of a nightmare.
Mandy S says
Love it!! And man, you guys really know how to take me down memory lane when you post those old (to us) songs!!
Melody says
Amazing piece of furniture!!! The hubs and I have a less leggy sideboard that was passed down to us… we know that it goes back 2 generations (at least to my husband’s grandparents) because of the old newspapers that were lacquered into the drawers as lining… they date back to the early 1900s! We have a very earth-toned house and I was thinking about painting it to liven the place up. It’s very scratched and worn and the varnish is looking a bit rough. Is it bad DIY karma to paint such an old, classic, family heirloom?!? :)
Sarah B says
Sherry, nice work but I thought for sure we would have a couple pics of it staged already! Can’t wait to see what you end up hanging over it.
Jennifer says
First of all … I LOVE YOUR BLOG. I’ve been hooked for several months now and I so enjoy my daily YHL fix!
Second of all, this post specifically really made my day! This April, after over a year of house-hunting ups and downs, my husband and I were finally able to move into our first home! Prior to our move-in, though, we were looking for a suitable dining set. We had a garage-sale-find table and 4 mismatching chairs which we were hoping to find replacements for before the big move. We really didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on something from a large furniture store, so we started looking around at antique stores and any garage sales we stumbled upon.
As it so happened, a co-worker of my mother’s who was prepping to move to Texas, was selling a bunch of stuff he had in storage that he didn’t want to take across the country. In said storage locker was a large banquet table, a smaller side table, a dining room table, six chairs, and a china cabinet. All matching. All from the 1930s. All stained solid wood. We were in love.
When we asked the guy how much he wanted for them, he said he didn’t know and asked us to throw out a number. I said $300 and he said SOLD. After reading this post, I cannot BELIEVE the deal we got.
My husband and I reupholstered the chairs (they were in dire need of some help in the cushion department … our butts were numb after one minute of sitting on them). Also, all of the pieces came with wheels on them. They were easy to remove (and can just as easily be added again, should we choose), so the table is pretty low at this point. If you were us, would you keep the wheels on the pieces? I’m scared that our table will roll while we’re eating on it (there’s no way to lock the wheels).
Thanks for this amazing post. And your amazing blog.
Jennifer
Michele @ Moonfield Lane says
Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous. A fabulous deal. Can’t wait to see it all dressed up. Love Jill’s idea about the bedroom prints!
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says
Don’t feel guilty about it! It was such a steal–plus, you’ll have it forever. It’s an investment :)
Sarah says
Awesome find! I just found an antique solid cherry wood dresser this weekend for $90 and am now using it for a TV stand – it looks fab, gives me extra storage, and matches my old house way better than that 1980’s entertainment stand we had in there before!
Lesley says
THANK YOU for the throw-back to my high school days. This song always makes me think about how our principal wouldn’t let us play it at a pep rally because it was so dirty. WTH?
karen says
I love it! I’m so glad you guys got it!!
Nancy says
We used to have that exact piece! It was a hand-me-down from a relative and we moved it with us to about 4 different houses and it had about 4 different paint finishes. It finally made its way to Habitat Restore! Yes, we donated it. So somebody else probably got a killer of a deal. It wasn’t nearly as cool to own it back when we had it. Things go in cycles. That’s the perfect piece for your space!
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says
Love this!! (And the song choice too! Totally brings back memories.) I am all about pairing modern and vintage and layering old and new. I love the character it adds to a space. This piece looks beautiful and really ties in well with the colors in the room! Great (and super lucky) find!
grace Nielsen says
Wow! You guys really scored on this one!! And it looks STUPENDOUS in your dining room!! How’d you decide to keep it there though? You said maybe television stand in living room? Just wondering…
YoungHouseLove says
We just dropped it in there first and liked it there do we said “sold!” and left it. Haha.
xo,
s
Melissa says
Love it! We scored an awesome washer dryer combo for $400 bucks after our house flooded last fall (we didn’t want to wait on insurance $ and needed clean underwear-it was a fantastic buy). Currently, I have been stalking Craig’s List for items like a sideboard, old wooden chairs, etc. to use in our farmhouse once we are done remodeling it. I have had no luck so far but think I need a more organized approach-your tips are great!
Laurie @ House to Your Home says
Your sideboard is seriously beautiful and looks perfect in your home! I actually sell a lot of furniture on Craigslist and you’re right asking a million questions totally drives me crazy especially since 9 out of 10 people seem to be looky loos and especially since I always put the dimensions in the posting, so my tip would be to read the ad before asking questions, another tip is if you think the price is fair don’t completely low ball the seller, we all like a good deal but asking half the listing price is an insult and isn’t going to make points with the buyer especially if you really want the piece.
Ginny @ goofymonkeys says
I love it – do you have a rule for how far you’re willing to go to get a CL find? 20 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles????
YoungHouseLove says
I think we have only bought things within 30 miles or so but I think if we were in love with something we’d go further!
xo,
s
Sarah says
It is a stunning piece. I would have panicked about getting it too.
I love how sometimes, a piece like that comes along and you get ‘the feelings’ for it, and it all works out for it to come home with you – like it was meant to live with you all along. :)
I love the old piece mixed in with your mostly fresh, modern, eclectic style!
Stephanie says
Can you guys make a playlist on Spotify or something? I have a feeling that we have similar taste in music! :-) Or make a list of your favorite songs? Pretty please? :-)
YoungHouseLove says
That could be fun! It might have old Britney, 90s hip hop, Timberland, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, and Nicki Minaj.
xo,
s
Jessica @ Dear Emmeline says
wow. it’s fabulous! and looks amazing with your curtains!!
Mariah says
It’s beautiful! Good eye! I love the paint color. My home is mainly mid century modern-ish (mostly scored from thrift stores and estate sales and grandma’s attic). But I too have a big antique buffet very similar in shape and style to this one, although at some point before I acquired it, it was completely stripped of its finish.
I love my buffet dearly and it goes by the name ‘Frankenstein’ since its big and bulky, a little beat up and stitched back together (with nails and glue) and comprised of some non-original parts that don’t quite belong (a fabricated replacement door, newish hardware, casters). It holds everything and its definitely the oldest thing in our living room!
Jenny says
Sherry, I got an old dresser at an antique store nearby (bizarrely affordable, though), and had a good long chat with the lady working there. She said bowling ball wax is the key to making certain kinds of old finishes look good-old instead of falling-apart old. She said they rub it all over pieces that have a slightly dry-wood look (I asked for clarification on that and she actually walked me around the store, pointing out which finishes would take to the bowling ball wax treatment and which wouldn’t) to preserve the wood and help it continue to look antique-y but also well cared for.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures here, but it seems likely that she would have pointed to your piece as one that would take well to the bowling ball wax treatment! Maybe there’s a way to test that, and other sealant options, on a hidden spot and see how they compare?
Good luck, and great work nabbing that!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip!!
xo,
s
emily says
i just want to say that i’m happy i’m not the only person who does The Train when super excited about something. often followed by the Tootsie Roll.
Amber C says
I bought a banquet like this in Memphis for $20 at a yard sale! I had been on the verge of buying a new one at Target or Pottery Barn, but the one I found was in great condition, and just the perfect amount of “old” for my house! Aren’t those chance finds wonderful?
Kelly says
My parents have a buffet in that exact same design/model that they refinished years ago, and it’s been living in their dining room ever since. It’s so funny to read about furniture on your blog, then go to my parents’ house and notice just how much they were into buying old furniture and refinishing it!
Koliti says
YAY! Talk about “Happy Dances” & “High-Fives”!! Score!!
What a perfect fit for you! Ahhh, the thrill of the hunt. All of your hunting skills (and patience) paid off.
How nice is it to now walk past that space and smile & enjoy,(instead of thinking ‘what are we gonna put there?’).
Congrats!
sarah says
our whole house is a mix of old and new and different finishes and paints, etc. i am in LOVE with your sideboard, and if you ever decide to sell it, i will send you a pick me email. i think 155 for that is an amazing price. i would have paid in the 400’s for it without blinking an eye!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks!!!
xo,
s
Kevin says
I’ve been meaning to ask … what (if anything) do you put on the legs of furniture that sit on hard-wood floors? I think I saw some chunky looking rubber things on some of your chairs in another post (which I’d love to know if you recommend, and where I might get something similar), but I can’t tell if there’s anything at all under the new sideboard’s legs (which, btw, does look amazing!).
YoungHouseLove says
Sometimes I put those little felt pads if I think it’ll scratch. This guy is so solid he won’t be sliding around at all, so I didn’t add anything.
xo,
s
Lisa says
It’s gorgeous! Then again, I may be biased, as I have one that looks almost identical, except it still has the original finish on it. It is part of a dining room suite we bought at an auction more than 20 years ago. We still have the table and chairs in our dining room and the buffet in our library (formerly the formal living room). Enjoy! It looks beautiful in your home.
YoungHouseLove says
I love that! Twins!
xo,
s
Short, Sweet Season says
Oh my gosh, I own an almost identical sideboard that I inherited from my grandparents, who used it as a buffet table in the dining room of their farmhouse for decades. It’s still in its original stained wood state, but I’ve wanted to paint it a distressed french blue for about a year, and seeing the state of yours confirms that I should paint it. Yay!
YoungHouseLove says
Yay! Send pics!
xo,
s
jeannette says
yum yum yum, great find and it looks so pretty in that space.
Tyra says
I looked through the comments and didn’t see anything…I was just wondering if y’all were planning to do anything to it, seal it or touch it up at all. I love it the way it is, it is just hard to tell in the pics if the paint is just chipped or if the wood is broken off in parts.
Love it!!
YoungHouseLove says
In the post I mentioned I wanted to seal it just to preserve it (I love the chippiness but don’t want it to continue to chip off on the floor). Not sure what I’ll use (wax or sealer) but I’ll keep ya posted!
xo,
s
Emily says
Your craigslist finds are always amazing, and this is no exception.
I wanted to thank you for your past posts on thrift stores on the Delaware coast. We’ve gone the last two years with our boys (age 2 and 4), and I convinced them to stope at Plum Antiques. I found this silver basket, brought it home and polished it, and I’m loving it every day:
http://instagram.com/p/MjePHPJjw0/
It’s a perfect reminder of our vacation :).
YoungHouseLove says
Love that place!!
xo,
s
Lark says
What an awesome find!!! I love buffet tables…especially ones that come in a such a great price and seem to fit in with the rest of the decor so perfectly. I’m inspired to start hunting for a desk for my son’s room that won’t break the budget. Maybe I should start my search on craigslist.
Mara says
Great find! I swear, the best Craigslist finds always involve several flights of stairs! Your sideboard reminds me of the furniture Miss Mustard Seed paints (love her stuff!). Can’t wait to see which lamps you pick!
dervla @ The Curator says
It’s beautiful! And that tardy for the wedding marathon is pretty easy to get addicted to :) I bet John is secretly watching over your shoulder.
Pat says
I love your dresser/buffet combo price rationalization.
cara says
Love it! We are getting ready to hang our tv on the wall then I can get rid of our nice but boring tv stand and get something vintage. Our house is more contemporary too but the old pieces add character. That is a great deal, plus no work like Clara’s dresser. The color is perfect!
Sam says
I love it! You guys are so lucky, everything I see that’s cheap is cheap for a reason, if you get my meaning…
That colour totally looks Anthro-esque (that’s a word), it’s amazeballs!
Donna says
What a great score! I love the color and the look! Lucky you!
Chrissie Whitley says
I have been doing the same searches on craigslist! Buffet, dresser, sideboard…and also server, and credenza, because some people’s definition of furniture pieces vary quite a bit.
(I love having to misspell dining table as “dinning” just to widen my search.)
Also, I’m near Charlotte, NC (I don’t know how it is in Richmond area), where a surprising number of people think a chest of drawers is a “chester drawers”… or worse – chester draw. Dialects kill. There is no chester, never was, never will be.
YoungHouseLove says
Awesome tip about the “dinning” misspelling- haha. So smart to cast a wider net!
xo,
s
Tabitha says
I always check out the Richmond CL for deals. I find such nice stuff up your way, and it’s closer than us going to Va Beach anyday! I’m glad I didn’t see that one posted – I would have had to put my boxing gloves on :) I’ve been eyeing sideboards lately, and this style is one of my favs!!!
Kelly says
Nice deal. I found a nearly identical one and a china cabinet like this one http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3421557699_7c698b0446.jpg
for $100 on ebay. I love it. Hope you do too!
YoungHouseLove says
Awesome! So pretty!
xo,
s
Julia says
My best CL deal ever? My hubs and I scored a less-than-a-year old patio set (table, chairs, and chaise lounge) that retails new for $2000 and we got it for $300! If you are willing to surf it out for a few weeks or months, you can score some amazing deals!
The worst? When we bought our new house, we decided to convert to a gas range, so we sold our old, yet fully functioning oven. It was about 10 years old and had some minor cosmetic scratches and dings, so we listed it for $150, and got a seller who was interested. We discussed it on the phone – she asked a ton of questions and even asked me to take and send additional photos of the scratches and dings, which I did. We agreed on a price of $100 and set up a time to meet. The next day she came to pick it up and then tried to haggle more – she now only wanted to pay $60. It really irritated me, because I had literally turned away three other people that morning offering to pay $75-$100, because I was trying to honor the verbal agreement we had made. Needless to say, I was not very polite to her after that! However, we did get an email later that day and ended up selling it to someone else for $125!
YoungHouseLove says
wow- that sounds like an awesome deal for that patio set! And as for that haggler, that’s rough! I’m so glad it worked out that you sold it for $125!
xo,
s
Carley says
That’s a beautiful piece! I love the detailing. Old furniture seems to be put together so much better, it’s so sturdy. Yay for gorgeous look and tons of storage!
Penny Smith says
So…. did you pay $155 or $175 for it? Cuz I think you have 2 prices mentioned. And that was a tad unfair to link to the Mahm veneer, when there are Mahm dressers that are stained wood. :) Though I might be a bit biased about Ikea at the momento, since I came home from a 2 1/2 hour trip each way YESTERDAY after going there in a cargo van of a relatives, to bring home things for my craft room, entertainment center (Besta) for our new ridiculously huge TV, and other random things I “had” to have for our new (old) house that has 1700 more living space than our current home! Hee!! :) IKEA ROCKS! LOL!
YoungHouseLove says
I paid $155. That’s all that’s mentioned I think (at the bottom I’m talking about $175 being the total cost for the $20 Cragislist dresser + the $155 sideboard we just got). Hope that helps! As for linking to the malm veneer- didn’t have any idea there were some that were stained wood and some that were veneer (we only have one and it’s veneer). Are the stained wood ones more? Maybe that’s why I linked to it since I was trying to find something in that price range for comparison. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Penny Smith says
Ahhhhh! I get the price now! Duh. :)
Yeah, there is stained white oak-but really, it is probably a veneer too… I have the white, and that is DEFINITELY a laminate. They are nice heavy pieces though! :)
Don’t ya love a great find on Craigslist?? I swear, I will never buy a new appliance again! Too many people selling 1-2 year old premium appliances for a deal!! At least here.
Penny Smith says
OK-it’s silly, but I totally love that you answer-though I know I have written things and never could find the response when I went back! When I DOOOO find it, I feel special! :) Hee!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Penny! You are special. We love you guys for reading!
xo,
s
Meagan {Green Motherhood} says
It’s beautiful! And the way it goes with the curtains? Perfect.
We have my grandmothers vanity from the original bedroom set my grandparents purchased when they got married. I love it so much. And in our dining room, we have my husbands grandmothers china cabinet. And in Isla June’s room, we have my mothers antique rocker which we recovered. These are probably my most favorite 3 pieces in our house.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, sweet!
xo,
s
DanielleR says
I would MARRY that sideboard lol! I’m insane with jealousy!
Cindy * Daisies & Crazies says
This *is* an unexpected piece for you guys. I really like it! Does she have a name yet? The first name that came to my mind was Lilian. haha
xo
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!! I was thinking Emerald or Eden. I think there has been one vote for Eden so far. Haha.
xo,
s
Lisa says
Vote #2 for Eden!
Chrisine says
Love the craiglist find!
I’m new to refinishing furniture, and I’m scared to sand my new dresser. When you’re sanding the intricate wood detail, do you just use a sanding block? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I like to use a sheet of sandpaper folded a little bit so I can work the pointy edge into those finer details and try not to sand them down and dull them. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
tricia says
Love the blue! PErfect and chippy : o ) Total score!!
Christina P (NS) says
I am so JEALOUS!!!! I have been on the hunt for the perfect sideboard for years and do the kijiji (pronounced key-gee-gee – our craigslist) search all the time – I find good items every now and then but never like this!!!
I can’t wait to see where it ends up!