Tips + Tricks | Craigslist

A week or so ago, I got a few requests for how I narrow down the sea of junk (hello massive 90s sofas and mattresses) on Craigslist to the gems. So, I asked a few of my favorite Craigslist bargain hunter bloggers to share their tips too. Here you go!!

First things first, BE SAFE! You're dealing with strangers, so think before jumping in. 1. Communicate at least a few times (by phone if possible) 2. Bring your spouse/friend with you 3. Let someone else (family or friend) know where/when you're going 4.  If possible, meet in a public area. Though, it's very common to meet at someone's home, especially if it's a heavy dresser, etc. Check out the address on Google Maps (street view) to make sure it's not in the middle of the woods, etc. 5. Be aware of possible scams (they are on there!) never send money before seeing an item, cash and carry only. That being said, I haven't had any negative experiences - everyone that I've met has been very nice and most importantly normal. But a warning definitely needs to be mentioned - be safe!

Here's our top tips!

"Search Craigslist often! Frequency is so important - using a Craigslist app, such as cPRO makes it easy when you have a free moment. Think about what a seller might call something verse what it actually is. My most recent find - rattan bistro chairs were found searching "wicker". Also, I love Mid Century Modern pieces, but typically people who label something as MCM overcharge, so try searching old dresser or wood dresser or estate/garage sale. These are broader searches (so you have to hunt more), but typically they are priced better. Some of my favorite key words are bamboo, rattan, wicker, mid century modern (sometimes you get lucky and get a deal!), wood dresser, old dresser. Finally, search nearby locations or along a travel route - if I find something I really want (for a good price), I'm willing to drive a little further!" 

I love, love, love my Chinese Chippendale chairs (though I still haven't upholstered them yet!!) We drove 2 hours and made a day trip out of it - we saw the Biltmore and some new vintage shops too.

"Never give up! I tend to hit Craigslist only when I have something specific in mind, that way I'm not filling our house with all of the random deals that I "just can't pass up." It takes a little bit longer to go looking for something specific, but the key is to be patient, to keep checking (even going so far as to set reminders) and to never settle for second-rate! This process has made my proudest finds all that much sweeter." 

I'm obsessed with Carrie's tulip chairs - she recently had the seat's reupholstered and they look amazing!! 

Follow Carrie's Craigslist finds on her blog, Dream Green DIY and Instagram! 

"My top tip is to check often, like all the time.  If you’re on the hunt for something, don’t think checking every other day is going to do it.  Craigslist has a great phone app that makes it so easy to check as often as you can."

Jen is a fellow lover of all things bamboo, brass and marble. So naturally, I'm crazy about everything Jen finds! I'm still looking for a bamboo brass cart! Check out more of Jen's Craigslist finds, here, here, and here

Follow Jen's Craigslist finds on her blog, With Heart and Instagram! 

"Check Craigslist frequently and keep your searches pretty broad.  Sometimes people mislabel things or call it by another name and if you search for something by a particular name you might miss out on some things.  I also always check the box for "has image", then click "by owner", and then I click the "gallery view".  It helps me to be able to scan through everything quickly."

Ok, how great are are Bethany's Mid Century Modern wire chairs!? Love them!! Check out Bethany's Craigslist scores, here, here, here, and here

Follow Bethany's Craigslist finds on her blog, Dwellings By Devore and Instagram! 

"I use the cPRO Craigslist app on my iPhone. I rarely have time to sit and browse Craigslist on the computer, and usually whenever I have a down moment (rocking the baby to sleep, waiting for my lunch order, waiting in line at the grocery store, etc) I will browse Craigslist using this app.  I like the feature that allows you to tag a post as a "favorite" so you don't have to waste time searching for that thing you liked. I don't think my keyword searches are much different than the norm, but these are my favorite search terms: "west elm", "mid century modern", "hollywood regency", "old wood dresser (or whatever item I'm looking for)", "vintage rug", "vintage ___", etc. I haven't started using the alerts tool, probably for fear I will actually find too many things I want or think I need. My husband should thank me for this, ha!"

Brittany is the campaign dresser finding queen! I'm also jealous of how much she can pack in her car! I have yet to find a long campaign dresser ... still on the hunt! Also, this rug wasn't found on Craigslist, but SO SO good!! 

Follow along with Brittany's finds on her blog, Brittany Makes and Instagram! 

"Respond immediately (and then think about it) "I love your table and would like to buy it. When is convenient for you?" Thank you so much, Pam 303-123-4567. I never ask questions at this point and chance another buyer's offer coming in while we're emailing/texting back and forth about details. AFTER the seller sets a time and gives me their address, we are buds, then I inquire about the item."

Pam is constantly posting amazing Craigslist finds!! Makes me wish I lived in closer so we could share :) Also, can't believe that her sofa was just $100!! Pam shares more Craigslist tips on her blog, here. 

Follow along with Pam's finds on her blog, Simple Details and Instagram! 

"Other than refining my search "by owner" and sorting my finds through "gallery" view, I really like to search for specific items that are currently available in stores. For example, I really wanted an Ikea Docksta table, which was currently for sale at Ikea for $199. I thought I could find it for less, and sure enough, a few weeks later I was able to snag one off Craigslist for $75! It's a great way to save a little bit of money on items that you might buy anyway. And the money saved makes up for any minor dings or scratches!"

Those cantilever chairs were only $60 for the set, SO good! The perfect example of how buying second hand can save you so much money! 

Follow along with Shannon's finds on her blog, Burlap and Lace and Instagram!

"Many of my favorite small local thrift and consignment shops also list some of their items on Craigslist. I’ve set an alert to be notified of anything they post so if I find something good I can call them right away to put it on hold until I can get over there."

Elizabeth is constantly posting drool worthy finds, like this Chinese Chippendale chair!! Check out more of Elizabeth's Craigslist finds here and here. 

Follow along with Elizabeth's finds on her blog, The Little Black Door and Instagram! 

"My favorite tip is definitely the "set alert" button!"  

Gwen has found SO many amazing rugs on Craigslist!! We have all hardwood floors in our MD home, so I'm definitely on the hunt! p.s. so funny that I emailed Gwen about participating in this Craigslist post, the same day that Gwen shared her amazing Craigslist tips, you can find them, here!

Follow along with Gwen's finds on her blog, The Makerista and Instagram!

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A big thanks to everyone that participated today! Hopefully, you picked up some new tips to find treasures among the junk!

Thrift stores are also the perfect place to find amazing finds, check out my tips here! 

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How to Pick the Perfect Gray Paint Color

I spent a good bit of time last week staring at gray paint samples, so today, I thought I'd share how to pick out the perfect neutral to warm gray. Grays are tricky! Whatever you do - don't use the first one you find!!

So why are grays so tricky? They range from bluish cool grays, to brownish warm grays with neutral gray in between. Grays go blue very easily! For gray, I prefer a neutral to warm gray, so that's what I'll be talking about today. I also love a gray blue, but I prefer it to read more blue than gray (verse gray with blue undertones), so that's another post :)

When starting, here's what I recommend.

1. Pick out several samples (~10) or use a paint deck and look at them side by side. This allows you to easily determine the undertones 2. Look at the samples in the room that the paint will be in (at different points during the day, especially for wall colors). The light will make all of the difference! Don't skip this step!

Need a starting point? Here are my picks! (from Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore)

For a lighter gray, BM Gray Owl (neutral) or BM Hazy Skies (warm). These are great wall colors, also try them lightened 50% for a lighter look.

Medium to medium dark, SW Dovetail and SW Gauntlet Gray (neutral) and SW Anonymous and SW Porpoise (warm, brown undertones)

Medium to medium dark, BM Chelsea Gray, BM Amherst, BM Kendall Charcoal (neutral, but still very rich).

Medium, BM Galveston Gray, a little warm

Medium, BM Eagle Rock, warm with subtle brown undertones.

Dark, BM Dragon's Breath, rich, dark, gray with brown undertones.

For my Drexel Campaign dresser, I went with BM Eagle Rock (mixed in Sherwin Williams Pro Classic) - the perfect medium gray with very subtle brown undertones. I finished painting over the weekend, but I'm still trying to replicate the two missing handles, photos soon!

Finally, my top pick for a neutral gray (from above samples) BM Chelsea Gray and BM Kendall Charcoal - they are neutral, but still very rich!

If you're picking out gray paint soon, I hope this helps!!

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Tips + Tricks | The Easy Way to Save Money

It's no secret that I love a good deal - I love saving money! It's kinda like a fine tuned sport .. it doesn't happen overnight, it takes research and practice ..

Want to know something that hardly anyone knows about me? When we lived in Knoxville (the first time, right after we got married) I had just finished graduate school, was looking for a job and was looking to keep busy .. so I got into couponing .. like extreme couponing. No, I didn't have an entire basement full of toothpaste, but I did have a small closet devoted to my finds (like cereal for .20 a box, David LOVES cereal!) I loved the rush of finding deals and paying next to nothing .. much like thrifting today!



With my current schedule, I don't have as much time to clip inserts, but I still LOVE saving money.

Here's my tips to save money without devoting half of your week to organizing, researching and clipping inserts. You probably won't find cereal for .20 a box with these tips, but you will save money while not spending tons of time and energy!

1. When shopping online, prior to checking out, search coupon sites, like coupons.com, for codes to save money at checkout. Typically a quick search will save you at least $5.

2. Take advantage of holiday and seasonal promotions. I know it's early to think about back to school sales, but they are already in full swing! Check out Back to School sweepstakes at Coupons.com. 

Here's just an example, visit link above to access the sale. 

3. Download money saving apps - if you have a smart phone, look for apps where you shop most. I love the Joanns app - you can almost always save at least 40% one regular price item, plus than I don't have to remember to grab my printed coupons before leaving home! Also, most craft/fabric stores will take competitor coupons, so it never hurts to ask!

 

4. Know when stores mark down clearance. If you catch Target's clearance on the right day, you can get some amazing deals! These x-leg ottomans were originally $60, on clearance they were marked down to $42, then in about a week or two they were marked down to $18, SOLD. I bought two of each, I'll probably return one set, but I couldn't decide .. I got there Thursday morning, just as they were marking them down. This site says that Target marks down home decor clearance on Tuesday though ..  so it probably just varies from store to store.

5. Finally, load grocery coupons on your store card from the specific grocery store or coupons.com. This is SUPER easy, you just connect your store card and click to load coupons online, scan your card at check out and it automatically links the coupons!

With smart phones and the internet, saving money is super easy, you just have to know where to look! Did I miss any tips? What are your favorite ways to save money?

Don't forget to look at Coupons.com back to school sales prior to checking out online!   

This is a sponsored post for coupons.com, all tips + tricks are ones that I use on a weekly basis!

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Tips + Tricks | Thrift Shops

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably noticed that I've traded my gorgeous photos of the beach for (equally gorgeous?) photos of thrifting. In California, I rarely found anything good thrifting and if I did, it was pricey! Craigslist was ok, but that's another post ..

(based on the survey last week, a lot of you wanted hear more about how I pick things, so hopefully this helps! Let me know if you have more ?s)

Today I'm going to share a few tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way. (Plus you'll get to see some of my favorite finds while in Ohio!)

1. Timing is everything. Think about when you would donate things .. probably on Saturday or Sunday, right? I've picked some of my best finds on Sunday or Monday morning. Going early on the day after things are donated is often your best shot. When I was in Maryland, I missed out on two amazing pieces because I went on Thursday and Friday (faux bamboo dresser and knockoff (or at least it better have been .. I didn't want to look too carefully) Eames lounge chair with the dreaded SOLD sign on them.. This isn't to say that you can't find great things Thursday/Friday, it's just not as likely. *Update: this is what I've found; however, every store is different. Learn when your store restocks. It may be in the middle of the week! 

Also, think about the weather, is it cold, snowing or raining? People are more likely to donate when the weather is nice, so that's when you want to go! Hello, spring cleaning?? Can't wait :) Winter has been extremely slow here, I guess people don't want to drag their old furniture out in frigid temps. I can't blame them ..

2. Frequency. While it's important to think about when people donate, it's also important to go often. My current favorite thrift shop is right down the street from me, so I'll often stop and do a quick scan when I'm nearby.

3. Location. If it's in a bad section of town, it will most likely have junk. Nicer areas (bonus for retirement spots) is where you'll probably find the best stuff. We're currently living in a vacation/retirement area, so the thrifting is a lot better here than 20 minutes down the road where the main town is.

4. Be friendly. Ok, this is applicable for anywhere you go .. but yes, while thrifting too. Becoming friendly with the associates may give you extra discounts, peeks into what they've just gotten in, or maybe even email notifications. This obviously depends store to store, but you never know.

5. Look for sales. My Goodwill colors their tags, and each week rotates a color at 50% off. My favorite is to buy a bunch of mismatched frames at 50% off and then paint them. All the frames that I've gotten in Ohio have been .50 to $5.00.

6. If you like it, grab it because it probably won't be there when you get back!

Now, once you're there, how do you differentiate junk from potential ..

7. Look for lines. Look past the walkers and cheap kid furniture and look at those GORGEOUS arms and the $5.99 price tag!  The back needs a lot of help .. we'll replace the spindles and top piece with straight wood and place a loose cushion on front OR hide it by upholstering it. For the seat, we'll replace it with webbing since it dry rotted .. here's a similar makeover.

The detail on the legs is what sold me on the chair below .. plus I love the arms (which ended up being a major pain to upholster!) 

after here 

8. Look for character. Those arms! Since we build a lot of things, we also think about the ease (and cost) of making it ourselves. I'm not a fan of the front legs, so I have plans to update them with something cleaner lined. But I did take that into account when deciding to purchase. These were $35 each - worth it for me! Note: the upholstery was dated, but in great shape, so I was hoping to reuse the foam .. once we got it in the car, we realized that it smelled like smoke. Since we had to throw it out, purchasing new foam was an added cost. If that's a deal breaker, you may want to get a closer sniff .. if it's in good shape and if you dare ..

9. Look for quality. Is it solid wood? Does it have dovetail drawers? Do all the drawers work? Are there dents and scratches? All these things are relative to the price, but make sure to take into account the time that it will take to fix .. I've gotten a few pieces that took entirely too much time to fix, so make sure to look past the potential and think about what it will take to fix it.

good as is, but the price was a little high considering I didn't have a place for it

good shape, BAD paint job .. you'd probably have to sand it all the way down. $350 for the pair .. too high for me

10. Think about the worst case scenario. If my plan doesn't work out, what can I do with it?

I picked up this coffee table for $7 .. I could easily sell the casters on eBay for $10-20 or use them for a future piece. ($7 is a small investment, but also think about with some pricier, is it easy to re sell if you don't have time to refinish it?) Or this lamp, I wasn't sure about the shape, but the two pulls could easily be used on a piece of furniture. (lamps in the photo were $5 for the pair .. they could be easily updated with spray paint!) 

11. Look for potential. 

Clean lines, but low, so add legs! After here 

Love the clean lines, but the top is laminate. So if painting, make sure to use a good primer for adhesion. I left these since I didn't really need them and the quality wasn't amazing. 

Clean lines! The campaign chest is missing one handle and a little beaten up, but for $15, YES! The top of this $9.99 coffee table is laminate, but since I'm upholstering it, no problem. I love that it's super long, 60".

$3 massive frame. Swap out the art, paint the frame (not the corners) and it's instantly updated!

$65 dresser. I also included a close-up of the leg detail .. this is what sold me on this one! It's is a 9 drawer dresser (the bottom looks like doors) .. still deciding what to do, the bottom 6 drawers, look busy, so I think a solid paint would visually keep it simpler, but I love the veneer detail on the top drawers .. still deciding on this one.

11. Think about time and cost invested. I'm still working on this one .. often I only think about the end result and not how much time it will take to refurbish. I touched on this in 9, but it needs it's own number. Will it need a light sanding or full sanding? How long will it take to fix the broken drawer? I don't like the legs, how easy are those to swap? The corner is broken off? Is it fixable? How long will that take? Probably the most time consuming DIY is upholstery, think about how easy it would be to put back together .. simple is better. Think about cost of supplies and where you'll get them too!

Most importantly, don't get discouraged! I probably only find something 20-30% of the time (less in winter) so it takes persistence :) BUT nothing beats the rush of seeing something from the front door, running towards it, and seeing an insanely low price tag. You never know what you'll find!!

check out The Little Green Notebook and Live Love DIY for their lists!

Do you have any other secrets to share? Leave it below in the comments! 

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Tips for Applying Nailtrim (and what I'm nailheading!)

As I finish the cane chair, I thought I would share another project that I've been working on ...

Yesterday I decided to put nailhead trim on our sofa. The other week I mentioned it to David and he was unsure, because of what was underneath ... so I forgot about it. Today as I was looking at it and I decided to try it, whats the worst that could happen a few little holes?

After applying nailhead to the Tufted Headboard and the Ottoman I've learned what works best for me, so here are my tips!

First, one of the most important things is to buy better quality nailheads (i.e. not from wal-mart). It will help keep the nails straighter as they go in, mine are from DIY Upholstery Supply

Also, I like to use a tack hammer rather than a rubber mallet because I have more control (I haven't had an issue with damaging the nail ... as long as I don't hit it too hard :) 

Here's how I do it:

1. Align the nailhead as close to the edge as possible to keep a straight line - this was pretty easy on the headboard since the wings didn't have a lot of padding, the sofa was a little more difficult.

When aligning the next nail, hold it above and center it, aligning it with the edge of the previous nail

2. Hold the edge of the nail with your pointer and thumb and lightly tap the other edge with your hammer until it grabs the wood

3. Hammer harder (once your thumb is out of the way!) till it is almost all the way down

4. Then tap back and forth until the nail is straight

5. and then hammer all the way!

It takes a little practice, but eventually you get in a rhythm and goes by pretty fast!

It's almost done - finished pictures soon!

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