You don’t have to spend $425 to get one of these!

Check your local flea market or used furniture stores first. I bought this chair for $20 at the Raleigh flea market. It was one of those days when the planets aligned. I went in search of a retro-style chair similar to one I had previously purchased (also a flea market find - $40). Well, this chair was the first item I stumbled upon. It was old, stained and you could tell the foam inside was a bit stiff, but the bones of the chair were absolutely perfect. 

Re-upholstery was inevitable with this particular chair, but that won’t always be the case with used furniture. If you find a cool piece, try removing any stains with a gentle fabric cleaner like Woolite. For tougher areas (oil, rust, blood), spot clean with Shout or Resolve, but USE IT SPARINGLY as you don’t want to damage the foam. You’ll be pleased to find that you can breathe life back into an old piece of furniture with a little love, warm water and soap.

I did like the original upholstery of this chair, but unfortunately, most of the stains were quite stubborn and hardened. So plan B was to search out a local upholsterer and some cool fabric. Now, re-upholstery can be expensive, so if you choose to go that route, its important to do your research and ask around. I also recommend paying close attention to the quality of the work. My chosen upholsterer came highly recommended by the nice ladies at a local fabric shop. And sure enough I was pleased when upon entering their studio, the upholsterers were reworking some amazing antique barbershop chairs with red vinyl, a task that requires ridiculous amounts of precision fabric work.

It took a couple weeks, some fresh foam, choice fabric and newly covered buttons, but now I have a gorgeous chair to complete my living room.

Now I know why the Salvation Army’s tag line is “Doing the Most Good.”

When I was in Boulder, Colorado a couple weeks ago, I helped my sister lug this beautiful (less than $100) antique gramophone into her storage shed as a surprise for my brother-n-law. She had told me the Salvation Army in Boulder was usually chock-full of great vintage stuff, but who knew they would have an item as rad as this old gramophone? My brother-n-law, Justin, being the handyman that he is, is going to restore it to (hopefully) a working state. I’ll try to get some pictures of the finished product so you all can see the before and after. Now here is where you awesome Tumblrs come in. Can anyone tell me where we may be able to get those heavy old records that gramophones used to play?

Vintage Find of the Day (Item 2): Music booklet of the song Girl of Mine by Harold Freeman from A.J. Stasny Music, 1919.

Despite the hideous 80’s frame this piece of music came in, the booklet is beautiful and in great condition for being 90 years old. I am going to re-mat and frame the booklet to display the cover featuring a lovely young woman with porcelain skin and an oversized floral hat. This was another great (and cheap) find from Antiques at Gresham Lake.

Vintage Find of the Day: Red clutch with handle

Looky looky what I got this evening at the vintage store Moda Amiga y Rastrel Reciclatge in Valencia. I collect vintage clothing and accessories, but I have a particular weakness for le vintage clutch. This little number only cost me 10€ and it just happens to be my most favorite color.