Newest Addition

I'm a believer in good quality pieces of furniture that last a lifetime.

When my husband and I married we spent a hefty chunk of money at IKEA, furnishing nearly our whole house, er, apartment. Since then, I've watched one by one, the pieces fall apart during our many moves and daily use. My favorite story: when our then-two-year-old Ben cracked our Levsvik coffee table in half with his head- and barely shed a tear! True story! In fact, the only crap pieces we have left are shelves- two I had to re-back, and one is barely standing...

My frustration, and desire to own 'real' furniture began early. I turned to Country Home magazine, and Country Living... envying the beautiful real wood pieces I could fill our home with. Around the same time, Theo and I used to take day trips up to Big Bear Lake. We couldn't afford to stay the night, but we could muster up gas money, and bring snacks and my studies (and magazines). I'd prop my feet up on the dashboard of his dark red truck and read chapter after chapter of grad school books. We would drive around and decide we wanted to live in the mountains, on a lake, in a cabin. We would drink warm drinks in the cold, and browse cabin themed shops. Bring a blanket and lay by the lake in the summer. Then we'd fight reality and head back down the mountain to our two room apartment on edge of sketchy Long Beach.

I found what was the beginnings of a huge antique store being assembled on one trip. I had to stop, and found I wanted everything in the place. I found myself talking the owner down to $80 on an old dresser. He told Theo I had 'a good eye,' and seemed peaved that I worked him down to such a steal of a price. I beamed with pride. I soon rehabbed the stripped dressed, painted it white, and later a stunning shade of Ralph Lauren Paint's olive green. I still have it in our entry hall, housing all my table cloths.

Flash forward to later married years and working at a furniture store in Madison, we soon added nice sofas that hold our large asses to this day. My furniture envy grew even more, spending hours among the real oak attic heirloom pieces for sale. All around the southern WI area I utilized a local furniture store's annual 50% sale, as well as two local antique malls, craigslist, and few dumpsters and curbsides... I've been adding one or two nice, usually expensive pieces of furniture to our home since.

Sure, we still get the occasional IKEA shelf- the kids just got some serious lego storage a few weeks ago, but mostly, I'm adding heirlooms. And I'm loving it.

So... since we moved to Buffalo I've been roaming the occasional sales finding great functional pieces of furniture. A few months ago the boys got a huge set of vintage lockers for the play room from Second Hand Rose. This week, my Christmas present came early in the form of this great red pie-safe-like cabinet, also from SHR.

Still sitting in my entry hall, as I have yet to decide where it will go... but look at the storage room for yarn or crafting items. So. Love. This. Cabinet.

Oh, and I snapped a shot of my knit goodies for sale in the shop this weekend, too. See all the scarves and hats on the wall and on the coat rack in the middle there? Yay. I hope I sell a few things. :)

Back to work, knitting I go!