Bargain Shopping in Furniture Land

I am here today to tell what has been consuming my time. Besides work of course, which has been eating my lunch. But outside of work?? Furniture shopping! And in blogworld, it’s pretty much illegal to not spill the beans on good bargain finds. 

 

I bring to you, the Furniture Outlet Circuit in and around Austin, TX!

Pottery Barn Outlets - this outlet has a William Sonoma Section, A West Elm Section, and duh, a Pottery Barn section. Apparently they all are owned by the same company. What I love so much, is you can find plenty of current holiday items (ie. Ornaments, runners, pillows, candles, placemats) in the Pottery Barn section. It is not just a hodge podge of broken, offseason items. Which they have that too, but the cheaper in-season items lure me in every holiday season. Then, they have a great assortment furniture at great prices. It’s always scratched or dented somewhere, but if you are an easy going furniture shopper like myself, you can easily find a million pieces that will work out great for you! I always keep my eye out on the stuff I really like on the west elm and pottery barn website, that way I can spot the deals real quick. You can also call if you have an item in mind. My sister usually has her eye on things and calls frequently until they show up. Last year, I, well actually my sister, spotted the west elm rug I had been drooling over for about 700 dollars cheaper than retail. It was missing 4 tassles, but I did not care one hoot.

Now.. Restoration Hardware Outlet. First up, I would never ever buy anything full price in this store. It’s ungodly expensive. And I just refuse to walk in. But the outlet?? Totally Tessy approved. I scored these chairs for 174 - 25%, (about $141 each after tax). 

I have been on a dining chair hunt for ages, so you have no idea how excited I (and my sister, #1 furniture confidante) that we FINALLY pulled the trigger and bought these babies. Now where are the rest of the chairs you ask…perfect Segway

The JOSS and Main website / furniture auction thing is sending me the missing bench. You become a member (zero cost), and then you just search the deals. I’ve heard they are super slow to ship things, but if you have patience, who cares! Hopefully it be here in the next two weeks. The fact that it was less than half the price of the west elm bench I have had my eye on for a very, very long time helped me decide to just buy. I hope it gets in on time for our Annual Girls Christmas Party!

And last but not least,  a new place I added to this year’s list: Four Hands Furniture Outlet in North Austin. I liked these chairs, but couldn’t find 4 of the same kind. I also decided they might fit a true formal dining space unlike our big open room. Regardless, I really want to come back to look for bedroom furniture.

Now, for the rest of the week - I will scour black Friday deals. 

I am already a tired shopper ^^proof above^^ but I want to be prepared this year!

 

Refinishing furniture with Chalk Paint for First timers

There are a million Chalk Paint How to's on the interwebz, but I finally decided take a stab at it myself. I learn best by doing, so there was only so much I could read before I actually bit the bullet myself. My motivation? We have a few small furniture pieces we need on the 1st and 2nd floor, and I'm all about finding them on craigslist and refinishing. On Saturday night we stayed in, and I was completely determined to finish an old night stand that we are now using as a lamp stand on the 1st floor. 

 

Now, Annie Sloan paint isn't cheap, it runs at $39 smackaroos a can - which is supposed to cover two large furniture pieces - and if you wanna cover it with wax, that is another $30 bucks a can. Overall, it gives furniture a great shabby chic look, so I think it's very much worth it.  Especially when you compare it to buying NEW furniture. I mean geesh, we all know that can annihilate any bank account. 

 

So, as I know very little about this paint - I called up my sis-in-law Sara, and she gave me the skinny. She's the expert chalk painter in the fam, and here is what I learned. 
 

First find it - Annie Sloan Paint isn't sold everywhere. Go to their website and find out who sells it. I bought my two cans at Michella's in Old Town Spring. What I liked about this place was the samples they had. Sounds weird, but keep reading.  

Wax on / Wax off - Every chalk paint color can be fininished with clear wax, dark wax, or a combination of both. Or you can forgo wax all together - to really get the chalk look. Your waxing decision will make a big difference in the final look of your piece. These sample boards below really helped me decide: 

Now for materials - I've got all the usual suspects below. But most importantly - the dish rag and water (not pictured here) are the most important. And as soon as you open up a can an door into your paint container - seal that sucker right back up immediately. Exposure to air changes the consistency - which you don't want to happen to unused paint. 

Before we get started - here's my little night stand turned lamp table before - pretty ugly - I know. I liked this piece because it was small, and I figured would serve as good practice. I recommend everyone start out small, because even this small piece took me about eight hours (four on Saturday, 4 on Sunday). 

Now, I've sanded this piece, which isn't always necessary with chalk paint. But since this piece was dark, and my paint was light - I knew it was required. I also think any piece looks better if sanded. Obviously it is up to you. I have also heard about liquid sand paper to save time, but I didn't have any and will try that on my next project. 

 

Then I started painting. This was after the first coat. What's most important is I dipped my brush in water occasionally, then wiped off excess on the rag to help the paint go further. Some people dilute the paint outright, but I heard this brush in the water trick is easier from Sara. 

Here is the rag and water bucket toward the end of the project 

On Sunday I was finally finished. I'd say I put three coats everywhere. Places that weren't sanded well probably had four coats. Excuse my old, ugly hardware.

I plan to get something new in the future. 

this color is Arles - and has no wax finish

And that was my first go at chalk-paint furniture painting! I wish I was looking forward to repainting the six chairs in my dinning room. 

But I am not. (So much left to do in this room!!) 

Over and out!! -Tessy.