Cheap Thrill

When Mike and I combined households, we both had some furniture.  Well, he had some furniture and I had a lot of stuff - good furniture, inherited furniture, knick-nacks, and LOTS of STUFF!  We are now overflowing with stuff.  Mike said that if we were to inherit furniture in the future that we would have to rent the Municipal Auditorium just to store it. 

One of the things I have really wanted since we combined households is a set of matching dining chairs.  I really wanted some with a rush seat that would give the room a French country sort of feel.  I have looked and looked for them when I'm out and about bargain shopping for other items.  I've found one or two here or there.  I've even emailed some of the bloggers I follow to ask them where they bought some chairs.  I've had no problem finding chairs.  The problem is that I wanted at least six and really would like to have found ten that were matching.  So, that sort of propelled me toward buying new. 

I didn't really have a hard time finding what I want in new chairs.  The problem there is my budget couldn't be stretched that far.  You see, most of them are priced somewhat like this add at Hayneedle.com

Even at the sale price, I just cannot swing that for ten chairs - really, I cannot swing that for two!  So, at the suggestion of my friend Stephanie, I began perusing Craig's List and Freecycle.com.  Even there, I could find one or two here or there - but not the six I really needed nor the ten I wanted.  Then, one day, on Craig's List, I noticed some which were similar to four of the chairs we already have.  You can see them HERE.  They are the red arrow-back chairs. 

So, because I had such success with painting my bathroom light fixtures, I thought I could get them and paint all ten (the ones I already have and the ones advertised) to match.  Plus, they were a super, dooper bargain at only $10 each!  So, I went and picked them up one afternoon.  I brought them home and took a scrub brush and some soapy water out onto the deck and gave them a good cleaning.  (They really weren't all that dirty but for some reason, when I buy something second-hand like that, I feel like I have to wash the 'other people' dirt off because you know, my dirt is different from theirs!)  After all the scrubbing, I was pooped.  So, I left them on the deck to dry.  Then, a black cloud blew in and I scared it off by bringing the chairs into the kitchen. 

We have lived with them like they are for the past couple or three weeks and I am starting to really like them the light blond color that they are.  Oh, I may paint them some day, but for now, I'm just pleased to have a matching set here that are comfortable in which to sit.