Last weekend we journeyed two hours north to Arlington, Virginia so Clara could have some quality time with her cousin Elsa (and apparently so my cousin Travis and I could rock some daddy-plaid, shorts, flip flops, and matching Kettler bikes together (the latter of which were both his, found for a huge deal on craigslist).
While there, Elsa’s mom, Cat (who is Sherry’s BFF that we introduced to my cousin back in 2007 – and now they’re married with two kids) took us to this cool shop in Old Town, Alexandra called Red Barn Mercantile. It had tons of beautiful stuff, but what caught our eye most was this bowl of vintage printing press letters.
Six bucks later we snagged a “C” so that Clara can be now represented amongst our original collection of letters and numbers (7, J, S, L, O, V, E). The first three were purchased at a NYC flea market just weeks after we started dating on 7/7/05 (which explains our love of the number 7) and the last four came from a flea market in DC a few years later. We also looked for a “B” for Burger, but they only had lowercase ones (which just look like a “d” instead, since they’re backwards). Sorry Burgs! The search for an uppercase B continues…
But that’s admittedly not that amazing as $6 purchases go. It was actually our other $6 find on that trip that we’re still pinching ourselves about. You ready for this jelly?
Six dollars got us more than just this cabinet hardware…
…it even got us more than this whole cabinet…
…it actually got us SIX CABINETS. All for just six measly dollars. Not each. Total.
If you’re in as much disbelief as I was when Sherry first told me about her find (Clara was napping in the car, so I stayed outside with her and Sherry went in and called me with the details), here’s some proof:
We found them at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Alexandria (sooooo glad we decided to swing by there while visiting the area) and they truly were just selling them for a dollar each. Apparently they were once nightstands at a hotel. The hotel donated a truckload of them and the ReStore had finally gotten rid of them all (priced at $15 each)… until some overzealous purchaser brought back a bunch that he had leftover. So the ReStore guy told us they priced them at just $1 to get rid of them quickly (they already made their money we assume, since they have a No Refund policy).
Oh and for anyone worried about bedbugs, I’m an obsessed checker-outer due to a life-changing encounter with them back in NYC, so I frantically looked over every inch of them like a paranoid weirdo before taking them home (and then did another thorough check once at home, just to be sure). You can read about that harrowing NY experience here. When it comes to what I look for, I’ve learned that bed bugs are visible to the naked eye, so you should be able to see them and their droppings if you look everything over and check cracks & crevices. They also don’t like slick surfaces like glossy cabinets or plastic bags and prefer softer things like mattresses and upholstery where they can more easily walk, along with dark crevices where they can lurk/hide/ruin your life. So when buying something with more places to hide than cabinets (like an upholstered armchair) you’ll want to be extra careful – but you should still see some evidence of them in the form of small little stains on the upholstery, usually along the seams – which are (shudder) their droppings. You can also leave things in a holding area like a garage or sunroom for a day or two and recheck them again before bringing them inside.
And speaking of getting them home, miraculously we could fit two into our Altima – even with all of our travel gear like a pack & play, a dog crate, a baby in a big ol’ carseat, a husband, a wife, etc (one cabinet fit in the trunk and the other sat in the front seat while Sherry rode in the back with the Burger, the bean, the pack & play, and the folded up dog crate). The ReStore held the others since my dad was serendipitously going to be in the same area for a meeting (he drives a Honda Pilot so the remaining four fit nicely inside). We’re usually the suckers without any means to get big things anywhere (especially when we’re so far away from home), so it was a nice change of pace. I guess these $6 cabinets were just meant to be ours…
Well, as evidenced above, they actually cost us $6.30 with tax. So I guess it was the best six dollars and thirty cents that we ever spent.
They certainly don’t feel like shoddy $1 cabinets. I mean, just check out the interior fittings on them. Hellooooo slide-out shelves!
If you didn’t already connect the dots, they’re meant for our built-in office workstation that we talked about in this post and we hope to set them up like this: two cabinets against the left wall, open space for a chair, two cabinets in the middle, open space for a chair, two cabinets against the right wall to create built-ins that we discussed right here in this floor planning post…
With that arrangement we’ll have exactly 30″ for each of our chair openings, which is perfect since our chairs are 24″ wide (and six inches of wiggle room is a lot more than we have in our current small-homemade-desk-made-from-a-door situation). Of course our new cabinet friends do need a bit of work before they’re ready to move in permanently. For starters, they need a coat of primer and some glossy white paint (they appear to be 100% solid wood, so they should be great when it comes to adhesion and durability like traditional painted cabinets). Oh but we’re not going to paint the inside of them (lots of white built-ins actually have wood interiors – which hide marks and smudges a little more, too). All of the new white KraftMaid drawers from our first kitchen were wood on the inside, and we really loved it. But don’t worry, we’ll share all the painting details as we go.
We also need to do something about their height, because they’re only about 26″ tall and our chairs are 27″ (so the arms wouldn’t even slide under them if we added a countertop at this point).
Ideally we’d like our desk to be about 30″ tall, so I’m thinking I’ll build just a simple box on top of each cabinet pairing that I can paint along with the cabinets so they look seamless. Haven’t decided if it’s worth building it as a little open shelf up there or just fronting it with a solid piece of wood (kinda like those dummy drawers in front of kitchen sinks). Or we could build them up from the bottom. Not sure yet, but we’ll definitely keep you posted.
It was not only amazing to find $1 cabinets, but to realize that they weren’t too tall like 99.9% of the base cabinets out there (which are 35″ and hard to cut down since they’re one solid piece that includes the kickstep) was such a relief. Plus they were still deep enough for a desk (upper cabinets were the right height but only 12″ deep, which would make for a very very skinny desk or all need to be built out from the back with a lot more lumber than building these up a few inches). So yeah, we’re psyched. After some pretty thorough searching, the cabinet gods were good to us. Which was especially nice after the file cabinet gods weren’t as sweet (we searched for eight months for secondhand file cabinets for the office and ended up giving up and spending $150 on this system from Ikea). You win some, you lose some I guess.
Anyway, since not everyone can stumble upon the cabinet equivalent of The Dollar Store, we thought you might appreciate hearing the other places that we looked and the other solutions that we considered (of which there were maaaany). So we’ll be back to fill you in on all of that research / legwork / consideration in a few hours. Hopefully sharing a few other options that we considered may help someone else who can’t find secondhand cabinets that work for their project. In the meantime, what’s the best under-ten-dollar purchase that you’ve made? Was it clothing? House related? Did you buy a movie ticket and meet the man of your dreams there? Someone out there has to have one of those should-be-made-into-a-movie stories.
Hollie @ I'm Busy Procrastinating says
I haven’t made it out to our ReStore yet, but this reminds me that I need to get myself out there … and soon! There’s a great furniture consignment store that has a 50% off sale once a month on items that are past their selling time period, and whatever doesn’t sell after the 50% off gets donated to the ReStore. I need a good deal!
josie @ couponing made simple says
i was super pumped at the awesome cabinets for an awesome price, but when i saw the pic of them opened up i said (out loud):
“oh… oh, man.”
and my heart filled up with office organization hopes and dreams. i can’t WAIT to see how it all turns out.
i googled around to see if there was a restore close to me and there are THREE within 45 minutes. i haven’t showered yet today. i’m still in my pajamas. but i’m considering marching my also-pajama-clad children out to the van and heading to the nearest restore. right. now.
Brittney says
I definitely thought you were going to say you were use the cabinets as a base for a kitchen island but those will make for a super classy office… sweet find!
You mentioned having less room in your back seat due to a huge carseat and as a newer mom (Hadley was born this 3.19!) I’m terrified of those humongous convertible seats!! Which model did you guys go with? We only have a smallish car too so we’d prefer to not have to get one of those seats that could double as premium theatre seating…. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
We went with a Britax Roundabout thanks to reading reviews that it fits in small cars like ours (it does, although it still feels giant). There was a sweet sale on diapers.com when we got ours. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Brittney says
I know Britax is super safe and I have seen the Roundabout on sale at Target a couple of times so that’s actually a perfect suggestion. Thanks Sherry!
YoungHouseLove says
Sure- good luck!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
Great find! Do you really think you’ll now need that other stand-alone file cabinet in addition to these new file cabinets? You’re certainly not hurting for storage space.
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely plan to keep that in the office too (being your own business brings a surprising amount of paperwork with it, haha).
xo,
s
Darcy says
As I was reading this, I yelled “SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!” and everyone in my little cubicle farm area is laughing at me!!! I CANNOT believe you found $1 cabinets!!!! That’s a-FREAKIN-mazing!!! I am soo jealous I can’t stand it!! LOL!
My best deals have been clothing related — Adorable jeans at Ann Taylor Loft for $6 and change, and really cute little black flats at Target after Christmas for $6!! I thought those were amazeballs, until I read this!! Congratulations on your awesome score!!
Teresa says
I’m seriously jealous LOL!!! I may have to leave work right now and check out my Habitat store just in case there is an epidemic of $1 cabinets…. yea, I know, lol, not likely.
Can’t wait to see the outcome!
Adriane Wacker says
ooohhh I can’t wait to see what you do with those cabinets! Great Find!
Danielle says
Thanks. I looked up Habitat Restore and we have one close to us. So I will have to check that out!
[email protected] says
WOW!
That’s THE D-E-A-L! :)
Amazing! :)
bridget b. says
gotta love this! first the dining room chairs, then this. you guys are so lucky!
great idea with building the fake front to make the cabinets taller. i would love to hear more about that. we’re painting our kitchen cabinets, but the cabinets under the kitchen sink have water damage and will need to be replaced. i was nervous about whether we we would be able to find something tall enough to fill the space.
i’m going to the restore this week. hopefully some of your good luck will rub off on me!
bridget b. says
p.s. how did Clara do on her bike? could she figure out how to pedal?
YoungHouseLove says
She mostly just held on while daddy pushed with the long handle. And rang the bell a lot. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura says
yeah, I’m pretty sure that only happens in John and Sherry’s world. WHAT are the coincidences that just days after you post about the built-in desk sitch that you would actually FIND cabinets that are a total time-saver? For LESS money than the cost of a movie ticket for crying out loud?? sigh…
Anita says
Yay, you were in my ‘hood! I really hope that when your book comes out you consider doing a book signing event in Arlington. Now off to check out the Red Barn Mercantile site…
Emma says
Score! I can’t wait to see what you kids do with those lovely cabinets. I’m with you on the bed bugs. Ick! Bed bugs make thrifting and craigslisting so much less fun but one can take precautions as you did. Bed bugs hate extreme heat and cold so in the dead of winter, you can kill bed bugs by leaving your finds outside for a few days (under cover) or putting them in the freezer in a plastic bag. Good luck!
Jess says
I’ve got a great sell- bought on ekornes chair at a rummage sale for $50 and sold it 2 years later for $300. With a huge kitchen remodel in the process we are super stoked for the extra cash (although we will miss that comfy chair!)
Great find though, I’m hoping to do something similar down the road so I’ll have to keep our restore store in mind!
Sara @ Russet Street Reno says
If you want them to truly be built-in, you have to put the cabs on a 2×4 base (or however tall your trim is) and run the baseboards around underneath the cabinets, otherwise they are just a ‘desk’ instead of a ‘built-in’ desk. What a great deal on the cabinets! We hired my carpenter cousin to redo the crown moulding and baseboards on our DIY built-ins, matching it up ourselves was not an option.
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely planned to build them in with trim around them! We’ll share those deets as we go!
xo,
s
Assorted Annie says
What an incredible find! I’m so jealous. You guys have the BEST luck.
Begoña says
I paid 6€ for disco club tiket i didnt wanna get in cause i was really tired and it was like six o’clock in the morning. But a friend convinced me to stay just half an hour more and I meet the love of my life!! Still got the ticket, put it into a frame. I love to look at it from time to time to remember how life is built upon coincidence, chances, luck and destiny.
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!!!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Definitely will have to make the trip out to Arlington to check out that store (I’m from Reston)!
Katie @ Epistle says
Congrats on the find! I agree with either the riser idea or adding legs…I think either would look good and maybe be easier than adding something on top of the cabinet. But of course you guys are the experts…
Stephanie says
Whoops! Meant Alexandria.
Stephanie says
wow! I’m in awe. That’s seriously the best buy I’ve ever seen. I’m kind of jealous…
Momlady says
Cool score! I’ve been considering rising the height of a small freebie dresser I’m redoing with some legs I found at the Home Depot..I just haven’t been able to decide on the style since they have several to choose from. You might want to check out what they have in your area.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!!
xo,
s
JennyB says
I was going to this exact store on Saturday morning and my son fell asleep in the car preventing a visit. I would have died if I had seen these, they are AWESOME! Good find… and this is convincing me even more that I need to stop there. Thanks for posting!
Meaghan says
WOW!!! Find of the century!!!! A teeeny bit jealous but super excited to see what you do with them!
Note to self: must hit up restore in Richmond!!!
Meaghan says
I think this is one of my favourite posts so far!!! Who doesn’t love a deal, and I think you guys found the deal of the century! I can’t wait to see how your office renos progress. Congrats!
Beth @ 990 Square says
Just a heads up…about the bedbugs. A good way to kill any lingering ones on stuff you might buy? Leave it in your car for a few days after you buy it. Bed bugs die at about 120 degrees, the eggs die around 130. A hot car will kill them. And if you ever know any one with an investation, pesticides don’t actually work, only heat will. I only say this because a close relative kills them for a living…
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo,
s
Sara says
In the first picture, I did a double take because I thought Burger was balancing directly on the wheel – he’s taking his modeling career to a whole new level!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, he’s an agile guy.
xo,
s
Rachel says
Wow! What an amazing find!!!! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
Dani says
Awesome find! I am in love with Habitat. Just yesterday I stopped in there to drop off the fireplace mantle we tore off the living room wall and noticed they were unloading a transport full of BRAND NEW Rowe furniture! I got a gorgeous armchair (or it will be, once it is recovered) for $35! I couldn’t believe it. Going back today to see if they have another one.
Amanda says
I am beyond jelous! I have been scouring 2 different locations of restores, and countless garage sales looking for something almost exactly like that! I have a whole slew of arts and crafts supplies that are currently piled in big plastic bins in my closet that desperately need a new home. To make matters worse I am on an extremely limited budget (like, I can’t even afford Ikea type budget). Wish I lived in VA instead of IL so I could have snagged some when they had the whole hotel’s worth!
Samma says
Not sure if you have them in your area, but here in Atlanta there are a couple of 2nd hand stores that sell leftover hotel stuff. Not the same as buying for a good cause like ReStore, but I’ve found killer deals on wooden luggage racks, and seen good prices on tons of furniture, lamps, beddings, even the fun decorator bits hotels are constantly changing up to refresh their looks.
Worth a google if you’re not near a ReStore.
Holly says
Okay, I officially hate you…but not really because I LOVE you guys, just so TOTALLY jealous!! Can’t wait to see the finish product! Unbelievable deal…wish we had a ReStore around here!
Melissa K says
I think you just had to prove that the Habitat ReStore was, in fact, cheaper than building your own! Haha. What an awesome, amazing, inspiring find. I would have had a hard time breathing when I saw that price. I mean, $1 a pop? Come on! And do my eyes mistake me, or is the hardware on these VERY similar to the black glass ones from Hobby Lobby?
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that funny? It definitely has the same lines as the black ones from HL!
xo,
s
Veronika says
SHUT UP! It’s an ah-mazinggg deal!
I love posts like this, you guys prove that “too good to be true” can indeed be true sometimes!
janie says
I would build boxes on top, but put drawers in them, or pull out baskets that perform like drawers
YoungHouseLove says
Another great possibility!
xo,
s
Meredith @ La Buena Vida says
Alright, you’ve convinced me…I NEED to go to our local Re-Store after payday.
Emily Drake says
Wow! You guys lucked out on that one! What an amazing find that will work perfectly in your office. My husband and I are moving soon and you guys are definitely giving me some great ideas for the new house!
Amanda says
After a crash-and-burn attempt to diy a chandelier with drum shade (the components of which I got at a thrift store) I went back to said thrift store in search of inspiration and/or glass objects on which to vent my frustration. Instead I found a new, still in the box 18″ drum pendant light with champagne silk shade. Beyond perfect for over my dining table! The packing slip said $174.99, plus shipping, but they charged me…wait for it…five BUCKS! And nonprofit thrift stores have no tax in my state! I was grinning like a fool and clinging to the box all the way to the car.
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE THAT! What a steal!
xo,
s
Addie Klein says
Loving Elsa’s band-aids!
Blair says
That is such a fabulous deal. My favorite deal is when I was able to score nice glass plates and cups for a party for a dollar each but now in comparison to your cabinets, it doesn’t seem as good! http://thefirstapartment.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-save-on-dishes.html
~Blair
YoungHouseLove says
They’re perfect for a party! Love it!
xo,
s
Maggie says
I live in Arlington! I always love when you guys do post about nova. When your book comes out can you please do a mini book signing in nova so i can get it signed and meet you guys!?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- we’d love to! That’s up to the book peeps at our publishing house, but we’ll definitely beg to at least hit up a bunch of VA places! We love meeting you guys!
xo,
s
Jill says
I am excited in a way that I would be for myself if I made this find! Big Jazz hands! Can’t wait to see it!!!
Rachel says
I’d put the ‘box’ you manufacture UNDER the cabinets rather than on top. Check the inspiration photo – they look like they’re floating a bit with the recessed riser. Just a thought.
YoungHouseLove says
Definitely another possibility!
xo,
s
Carrisa says
You are hereby declared the winners of bargain shopping. I don’t think anyone anywhere can beat that. Totally jealouscakes over here.
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t know… someone just commented to say they scored a $200 faucet for one penny because it was discontinued! AMAAAAAAZING!
xo,
s
Lisa P. says
WTFraggle Rock! Talk about a steal of a deal! I don’t know how you two keep your energy up for all these projects. I painted a vase last week and I’m spent!
Tiffany says
My favorite under $10 buy was my husband…$7 to be exact. I was prepared to pay $45 for our marriage license which is the processing fee price in our closest major metro area of Texas. Thanks to a discount for going through a pre-marital class approved by the state (that was free), and getting our license one county away (where we live), the grand total came out to $7. It was also the cheapest birthday present I ever bought, because we went on his birthday to get it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that you got a deal on your husband! Hilarious!
xo,
s
Alison says
Thats pretty incredible. I love the printing press letters. My Grandpa worked on a printing press where his job was to place the letters just right and even owned his own printing business so he used those everyday. They hold a special place in our hearts. I guess I should find some to display in my own home.
Lauren says
So, the photo of Clara and Elsa makes me realize that my family and your family could probably never be friends. Because my husband doesn’t dress like John – and apparently he only hangs with guys who have similar style. ;P
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I have a solution! Buy your husband a shirt with soda on it (he has them all: Sprite, Dr Pepper, and Pepsi) and John will instantly be your husband’s bff.
xo,
s
Lauren says
Maybe I can find a soda shirt for a penny at a thrift store …
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, good plan!
xo,
s
Liz says
Wow, what an amazing find! Even $15 each would have been good. The hardware alone is worth more than $6. I guess it beats my 50 cent cane chair, but that’s the best deal I ever got!
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t know- a 50 cent can chair is pretty amazing!
xo,
s
Amy Cy says
I’d build them up to the right height from the bottom instead of the top just from looking at the inspiration photo. Just a thought:)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s definitely something else we’re considering!
xo,
s