Treasure Box Wednesday: Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

Given the only item I thrifted this last week, and why, I figured you all might enjoy seeing the Before, and then getting a glimpse of the Future. Cryptic, I know. But it'll all make sense shortly, trust me!

Here's the little hall table I found at St. Vincent de Paul thrift store...

I'd seen it two days before I bought it, and hadn't been thinking outside the box enough to realize that it would be perfect as a printer stand.

So I went back to the store with hope in my heart. Would it still be there, waiting?

But when I roamed around the furniture section of the store, I thought my fears were justified. My little table was nowhere to be seen. And then...

Over by the clothing, as a part of an elaborate Christmas display, there it was. And it still had a price tag!

I told the nice lady at the cash register I was interested in buying it, and that's when she said the words that thrill the bargain-hunter's heart:

"You know, this table's been here for a week now. Let's see if we can get you some money off of it."

A week didn't seem like a long time to me. But in thrifting terms it must translate into Dog Years. Anyway, the table came home with me. And after some hefting efforts that left bruises on my bruises, it, my desk chair and my computer desk all moved to the unfinished third floor of my house.

The area has only been used for storage these last years-- by me and by all the people who previously owned my house. There are two dirty but usable rooms, with aged wallpaper, ancient painted pine floors, and blinds that seem to have seen the Great Depression.

I'm going to work in the one room, while I finish the first one. Eventually, I'll have book storage...

The stained and yellowed wallpaper will go and be replaced by something subtle and off-white, to help brighten the rooms. The nifty old light switches, however, will stay...

The dirty, holey roller-blinds will be replaced with fresh curtains... maybe sheers...

And the pine floors and molding, which were painted a dark brown, will get a few coats of something light and bright, too. Maybe a cream floor and a pale colored (aqua or green?) trim.

You can see what I'm up against here, though. A patterned layer of wallpaper shines through from under the yellowed, more plain paper...

And here's part of the room that's already been relieved of its wallpaper. The walls need to be washed down again and then the cracks, plastered.
I was taking a look at potential wallpaper patterns and having small heart attacks over the cost per roll. $40? Seriously?! I need to do some more digging, because ya shouldn't have to mortgage the house in order to paper it!

Yep-- ya gotta start somewhere. And so, post-Christmas, the new project begins! I'll keep you folks up-to-date on any improvements.


Otherwise, I'll see you perhaps this coming Sunday for some new fun.

10 comments:

Lucy said...

It's going to look great when you're done! Don't cover the windows though, unless you front a high rise or something. That's an awesome couple of windows for the view!

Vonlipi said...

Wow! A third floor! How lucky for you! You have 2 more rooms to decorate! I look forward to reading about the progress.

Have amazing holidays and a great reno!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

What a great little table and what a great space! Just in case you're interested, while I've waited for the wallpaper bargain of the century or for hubby to "get on with it", I've successfully painted over wallpaper many many times.

Jenn Thorson said...

Lucy/Dick- No, I look out over my backyard, so I'll definitely leave the view visible. I just want some sort of treatments on the sides of the windows, to soften the look a little.

Vonlipi- Many thanks! I hope you have a terrific time headed into this new year!

Sandy- See, I was considering painting over the wallpaper in the still-wallpapered room, but it's really peeling in areas. I suspect it would just make things worse. Good to know, though, that you didn't find wallpaper to be terribly cheap either.

Miss Shirl said...

Wow! That is going to be some work! I found a site http://www.discountdecorating.com/ddoecom/index.php that has some fairly decent priced paper. You can get some of the same looks through sponging or stenciling. Your windo frame looks like it is stained dark. If you're in to natural wood you can sand it to lighten it up too and to protect it varnish or polyurathane would work (I would purchase a small can it goes a long way.) Never paint, or plaster when it's moist out i.e. snowing raining, humid. You'll end up replacing paint or plaster because it isn't sticking right. Learned the paint thing from Habitat. There was a few days we had to go to the ReStore because the conditions weren't right.

Jenn Thorson said...

Shirley- Hey, thank you for the link-- I'm excited to check that out.

I would paint instead of paper, but I think having the wallpaper on there might add just a touch of extra insulation for it.

Yes, the woodframe and floors are both painted dark-- it's not actually a stain so much as a wood paint. The wood underneath is just a plain pine, so I'm thinking I'll just repaint and then polyurethane. Thanks for the reminder on the moisture!

Miss Shirl said...

There is also insulation that you can spray into cracks and crevices. When it's dry it's spongy and fun to play with. Lol! Ok I've been playing with the house just a tad too much. lolololol! :) :)

Cape Coop said...

You could avoid the wallpaper completely- remove the wallpaper, clean the walls, paint them and then stencil a pattern on, or get a patterned roller and roll on a pattern! You can buy a piece of patterned dimensional paper and glue it to a roller, and use that, even. The possibilities with paint are endless and so much less expensive than wallpaper!

My Feathered Nest said...

Gee willikers, Jenn! What potential, but more work than this ole gal would take on. Enjoy your youth and have fun, fun, fun! If you checked my blog, I am painting my master bathroom. I felt a little overwhelmed, because I have never painted a room on my own before. BUT, after looking at what you have ahead of you, I feel like my job is a drop in the bucket...so, I am reinvigorated to tackle another wall. I bought more masking tape and a teeny-tiny brush to get next to the baseboard. Have fun, keep us updated and posted...Can't wait to see what you will accomplish. I'm pullin' for ya, Jenn!!!

Dr. James said...

Nice table. You have a great eye in finding items and giving them new meaning. I love your earlier work with Cristmas Trees. Great job.