Happy Monday and Happy October everyone! October always begins to feel like Fall around here (even if it's suppose to be in the 100's all week....urgh).

Please share pictures or just tell us about any recent or favorite finds that have made their way into your homes. We always love to hear prices too.

No shopping for me so I'll just have to enjoy all of yours.

I found something and will be back to post picture later. Can't wait to see everyone's finds!

Thanks Sklyer for keeping this thread going for us. It is the ONE thing I look forward to a 'Monday' for!

Skyler, I'm also ready for the hot weather to end. August and September are my least favorite months. It should be cool in October, darn it, but it rarely is. I'm looking forward to seeing this week's finds.

I found this settee on Craigslist last week for $20. It is in great shape. I got it from a retired Engineer who does upholstery on the side. He just moved to our area and is more than half way set up with a large shop where he will make Commercial grade awnings for businesses and upholstering furniture.

When his shop is ready in a month or so he will recover this settee for me for a good price. So I didn't buy another DIY project!

I wanted a settee against the dining room wall, since it is an open space that is a pass through to get to the Den and opposite the kitchen, I didn't want the traditional placement of the table to be in the center of the room.

Now with a settee against the wall, then the table can be set closer to the wall and we don't need to provide more chairs for seating two on that side.

The settee is 6' long and the oval table with the leaf in it is 5' (otherwise it is a round pedestal table). So, there is a bit of room on each side to get into the seat.

DH will install the chandelier over the table when we have it all set up.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Ruth:
I found this settee on Craigslist last week for $20. It is in great shape. I got it from a retired Engineer who does upholstery on the side. He just moved to our area and is more than half way set up with a large shop where he will make Commercial grade awnings for businesses and upholstering furniture.

When his shop is ready in a month or so he will recover this settee for me for a good price. So I didn't buy another DIY project!

I wanted a settee against the dining room wall, since it is an open space that is a pass through to get to the Den and opposite the kitchen, I didn't want the traditional placement of the table to be in the center of the room.

Now with a settee against the wall, then the table can be set closer to the wall and we don't need to provide more chairs for seating two on that side.

The settee is 6' long and the oval table with the leaf in it is 5' (otherwise it is a round pedestal table). So, there is a bit of room on each side to get into the seat.

DH will install the chandelier over the table when we have it all set up.

Now, that's a deal, Mary Ruth!! And, I bet it will look smashing when it gets rejuvenated.

I also use a settee as banquette-style seating. It's in front of a bay window in my breakfast room and offers space-saving seating for the 48" round table in there. My settee, though not found on Craigslist, was also a good deal, made possible by my boss at the boutique where I worked. It was a 72" Indonesian roll-arm settee made from new and vintage/reclaimed carved teak, with a custom cushion.

It was a store fixture and she wanted to sell it to make room for new wall units. No takers for months. Finally she made me an offer I couldn't refuse (at a price well below cost) and even delivered it to my house.

Can't wait to see your pix when it's done.

I went to an estate sale Saturday and brought home treasures -- a lovely (and old) Davenport blue and white milk pitcher.

Six napkins -- fine linen with blue and white embroidery -- $3 for all

And a plate -- also by Davenport.

I also got a really nice lace tablecloth that is long enough to fit my dining room table with all leaves -- for $20 but it has a couple of wine stains and it is soaking. I THINK they will come out! I HOPE they will come out! If they do I have a really nice tablecloth for $20 that would cost hundreds if it were new!

Martha

MR -- a very pretty settee and a great price. Can't wait to see it finished!

Martha

Mary Ruth, I can't wait to see your settee set up with the dining table.

Linderhof, I recently was able to remove dried red wine stains by soaking the cloth in a strong solution of Oxiclean overnight. No scrubbing or anything. The stains just disappeared.

aychihuahua,
Do you have a photo of your settee? Sounds wonderful!

What I Loved about the settee is that the legs were simple style and the back was low, I didn't want another high back seating at the table. I already have two wing back and two higher back chairs (to use when company comes, otherwise will store elsewhere).

Since the dining space faces the kitchen, I wanted all seating to face the kitchen when 2-4 are dining (two 80% of the time).

72" long is just right isn't it? Love that size at this table.

Linderhof,
Read some of your blog and enjoy getting my updates on Google Reader.

Love the pitcher and the linen! Such wonderful prices, it is like... you can't leave them there for that!

Thanks about the settee, when DH brought it into the house I just said 'OMG' because it fit so well.

That's a great settee, Mary Ruth! Do you have an idea of the fabric you would like to use?

Martha as always you get the best blue & white china pieces and also linens! There will be an estate sale in our town in a week or so. They are very rare here. I'll have to check it out even though I'm no longer acquiring!

LOS,
Since my chairs (to be kept in guest room until we need them for company) will have the slip covers over them in this fabric. I thought this might work on the settee.

I will be going to the upholsters shop to see what he has in Sunbrella that he is unpacking into the shop soon. I thought of a wide stripe and Sunbrella has so many striped prints. He has a line of fabrics for the awnings he makes and said I can pick from that stock he has for $5 per yard!!! I hope there is something there, if not then I will use this fabric for the settee.

Hopefully there will be wide beadaboard in light wood 2/3 of the way up the wall as wainscoting so this fabric would tie in nicely. I would love to go formal with a nice satin stripe, BUT we are using this dining area more relaxed and cozy.

I have enough fabric to do what I want and to also recover another settee with wingback design in the Den (next room over where our TV is).

Martha, nice blue and white finds.

MR, great settee at a great price. YOu are so lucky at finding great pieces at those prices.
Have you considered doing a different fabric on the back of the settee?

No finds for me this week, well, not household anyway. I did get a great deal in a couple of pairs of winter boots.

VG,
Yes I thought of a different fabric on the back, but the back will always be against the wall, so I figured it wouldn't show. But it really would show on the ends!

I plan on making slip covers for my upholstered furniture once they are all upholstered. I thought about making a few (small table cloth type) squares of fabric to drape over the back of the settee to make a color pop for certain table settings.

I also thought of a nice deep charcoal gray velvet type fabric. BUT it is for the dining table to eat at and my Grand kids will be sitting at the table too, and we are informal in this room (this house lol) so I need to pick something that cleans easy in case of any food spills.

Nice finds! Good price on the settee too!

We went to an estate sale on the 50% day and I got this sweet little table. The owner was very particular about it and told me how he bought it in MD years ago for the wood top (cherry) but never took it apart. Glad for that! Wonderful wood tones and fits right where I wanted it to be. Estimate is 130 years old, some condition issues, but such a lovely piece...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: junk collector,

JC -- I love those really old cherry drop leaf tables! They are beautiful! Wish I had room for one!

Martha

junk collector,
Great table! wonderful to have extra table top space when you need it! Good find!

I have one drop leaf I will use for my sewing table when I get it into place.
That is what I used it for in Virginia (showing photo of the table in the guest room) house. I bought that at a local consignment shop near where we lived.

It didn't sell when I listed it on Craigslist so we took it with us, now I will have extra table top space when I need it too! Mine is a full dining room size with two leaves.

I plan on painting the legs to match the guest bed finish when I get to doing that room over.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

So much fun to see everyone's finds!

JC, great looking table.

MR, Will you slip cover the chairs in the fabric you posted here? If so, what I would do is one of two things. I would add a solid (grey or beige, beige would look better to coordinate with I think) canvas type fabric (similar to the texture you already have on the back and sides and then the solid on the front or visa versa. Add the printed fabric to the front and solid to the back and sides. Canvas type fabrics are usually pretty tough fabric. You can also get some fabric protector and spray it on.

VG, we think alike, I was thinking of the back as dark gray, but I am still torn about working the gray into the whole house with the mahogany (so that all my furniture would not be that one mahogany wood tone.

If I did dark gray on the back of the settee, then I would paint the legs to match and the piping would also be dark gray, I have a nice fabric already to make the welting or piping with.

Then when I want to change out the look, a simple slip cover with a skirt could make the room feel more festive with a bold color, or coastal such as Sunbrella navy and white stripe going vertically. I would then have that beach look for the summer.

I intend to treat the fabric with a protective so that it will be easier to maintain, and lay something on the seat for the little grandkids when they visit (you know, spills and messy hands).

This (featured print shown) is the fabric I do have and thought of using (already own and it looks rough but is very soft to the touch and not stiff at all) but I have to go through that upholsterer's stash of Sunbrella first.. I saw a few pieces here and there in that stack of rolls that I saw a glimpse of that were interesting. Those are already treated. He told me he has more of treated fabrics to show me.

I thank you for your suggestion and it is a GOOD one! I will post photos of what I find to make a selection.

The outside of the arms will show a small amount due to the fact that this settee will sit between two built in tall narrow dish storage cabinets we are building on each side.
For my convenience, we will make the cabinet with mostly pull out tray storage so I do not have to work that hard on getting dishes in and out to use. Looking for a door syle still that will coordinate with the wide plank wainscoting.

So, the sides of the settee will stick out about 23" from the wall and the cabinet will be 16" deep so that leaves only 7" visible (of the settee) on the sides. This means the wood end of arm and the side legs will show and only about 5" of the back fabric, and a small amount at the top from the piping.

I will not use this settee where the back will show in the room because then the back would face the kitchen, and in my house the men gravitate to the kitchen (and cook and want us to sample food... I have NO COMPLAINTS about this wonderful fact) and the women sit at this table while food is brought to us, and we have conversations going on, so I designed this area for us to be comfortable and face the kitchen.
Any extra seating we need with back to the kitchen will be two chairs I can bring in from another room.

While eating, we talk and hang around the table a bit, so that is why I want comfortable seating. This settee (I tried it a few times) can be sat at with feet up and back to the corner of one side, very comfy!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

Mary Ruth, I love the light heartedness of that fabric! But why gray for the back? Wouldn't beige be better? I always think of dark colors fading even though your settee won't be under or near windows.

When you make the slip cover will you also cover the wooden parts? Could you make it so that the arm parts are open? I mean the slip cover would then tie under the end front legs (and back too I guess.)

Junk Collector. That drop leaf table reminds me of an antique one (like yours) my Mom and Dad bought later in their lives. It was beautiful to look at, not so easy to dine at! My Mom used to speak of "feeding" it with a mixture of paraffin oil and denatured alcohol and something else. But the course I took this spring said that you can't feed wood a/c it is dead! And it is best just to dust it!

quote:

Originally posted by lady of shallot:
Junk Collector. That drop leaf table reminds me of an antique one (like yours) my Mom and Dad bought later in their lives. It was beautiful to look at, not so easy to dine at! My Mom used to speak of "feeding" it with a mixture of paraffin oil and denatured alcohol and something else. But the course I took this spring said that you can't feed wood a/c it is dead! And it is best just to dust it!

The man I bought it from said that he uses a mix of beeswax, turpentine, and linseed oil - melt the wax, mix in the oil, and then (off the heat of course) add the turpentine. I keep hearing "wood is dead and doesn't need to be fed" in my mind, so am glad to hear that just regular ol' dusting is fine. Really beautiful tone to the wood - I want floors to match!

LOS,
Gray because I am trying to bring that color into the house and tie it in with the other rooms. I have two chairs that will be used when needed (and brought to the table) and they will have this fabric on the seat and slip covered back and the frames are currently painted gray.

It is the look of warm and cool neutrals in the same room. That is why I got the fabric I have shown here, it has neutral beige but added gray in it.

Nothing is set yet, and I will wait until I see the fabrics that the upholsterer has in stock that he says I can view soon.

I am grateful for all your suggestions! Will post more as I get other choices.

junk collector,
The wood is fed, not because it is thought to be alive, but it is organic and thus dries out from the A/C or heat dehydrating it. The wax and oil 'feeds' or adds moisture back into the wood so it retains its luster, glow and color. For example, Walnut would turn ashy grey over time without protecting the natural oils in the wood if not sealed. And maple would also lighten and loose its glow and amber tones.

Also dried out wood that is not sealed is more prone to staining from items put on it or spills. That is why the polyurethanes of today became so popular, they freed us from feeding the wood on old furniture!

I used to have a large antique hutch, I oiled and waxed that thing and brushed the dust off all the carvings with a large natural bristle shoe brush. After a few years, one day I said to myself... Do I own this hutch or does it own me? I sold it.

I finally got a new camera and have the settings set right and now here is my Monday Morning find--

SOPHIA- she is a rescue dog, 3 years old, crate trained,potty trained and most of all, loves a bath. My vet said that she has had at least 1 litter of puppies- but those days are gone. I just can't imagine why anyone would want to get rid of her.

Sophiesmom, she is adorable. Glad she found a good home with you.

quote:

Originally posted by sophiasmom---formally known as goldiesmo:
I finally got a new camera and have the settings set right and now here is my Monday Morning find--

SOPHIA- she is a rescue dog, 3 years old, crate trained,potty trained and most of all, loves a bath. My vet said that she has had at least 1 litter of puppies- but those days are gone. I just can't imagine why anyone would want to get rid of her.

What a sweet face! You never know what has happened to cause a beloved pet to be given away, but I know you will give her a wonderful, loving home and that's what's really important.

Sophia is just adorable. I know you will take good care of her. She must be so happy to be in a loving home now. : )

My 10yr old Lhasa is named Sophie : )

What a sweet dog Sophie is!
There are many reasons people give up pets including health issues, etc.

When in Virginia, we adopted two Siberian Huskies because their human parents were getting a divorce and could not take the dogs to condos... Huskies do not do well left alone, and they would have had to separate them.

So, she told her vet to look for people who would want to adopt both. We came along and took both and enjoyed them the rest of their lives (a bit over 6 years) and we enjoyed them so much.