I have the urge to purge. Ok, and the need to bring the benjamins, because I have to pay for my fancy new table somehow. You know, the table which I have not yet ordered. Sorry to disappoint you guys — I’ve been busy, but hoping to order asap.

Anyhow, if you live in the Austin area and are interested in any of my fine wares, please leave a comment or respond to the craigslist ad and I’ll make you a sweet deal.

First up, I still have this stupid table. I have gotten a trillion emails about it, but no takers. Please come get it.

Craigslist ad HERE.

Oh, I also have a pair (yes, TWO) of those Knoll executive chairs for sale, but they’re not posted on the Craig. They look like this but with five legs:

Upholstery is a gray green wool in good condition, although there are some spots. Casters are a bit sticky. Knoll labels still intact. Sorry I’m too lazy to take new pictures. Make me an offer.

Next up, vintage cube table.

Craigslist ad HERE.

It’s in pretty good shape, and it’s taking up valuable real estate in my living room.

Next I have a pair of (TWO) Lane walnut end tables.

Craigslist ad HERE.

You can kind of sort of see both of them here:

These are dope. Solid walnut, inlaid edges. A few nicks and one spot in the finish pictured.

Buy them before I change my mind…

And then there is this brass console table, for which I have only hideous pictures.

Craigslist ad HERE.

Um, yeah. That is a shamefully bad picture. But hopefully you can see through the glare to the majesty within.

Brassy is as brassy does.

What else? Oh yes — this:

The infamous blue velvet and chrome rocker. She’s Italian, I think. Sexy as all get out. But if I can get the right price, out the door she goes.

A lot of people have expressed interest, but I’m going to try to sell her locally if possible. If you live in the area, make me an offer.

That’s all I have for now.

Buy my stuff, please.

It’s that time of year, y’all — the time of year when the whole world slows down to a snail’s pace and everyone is on siesta time. That’s because (at least in our neck of the woods) it’s over 100 degrees outside and even walking out to the car forces a stinky sweat. I know you’re too hot to contemplate big fancy posts about the design world and stupid trends blah blah blah, so instead I’m going to tell you about all the window shopping I’ve been doing from the comfort of my air conditioned home.

I really want this dumb craigslist headboard so I can just be done with the neverending no headboard drama, but these stupid bitches won’t write me back. If it’s not available, delete the post, people! Anyway, I’m still pretending they are going to let me pick up this king sized, gold leafed, wood carved goodness. For $100 no less.

Then I will pair it with my new white duvet and these cutie pie tie dyed sheets from Overstock. I love so many of the colors, but I’m pretty sure only ivory, rose or black, would look good with my stuff/paint color. Guess which one I’m going to pick? $36 bam!

Moving on from the bedroom, it’s time to replace our milk and cereal bar encrusted rug (thanks, Ike!).

I could buy the exact same leather braided rug we already have ($150 here), or I could shake things up… maybe like this.

Of course, who knows exactly what “this” is, since the picture is so craptacular? You’re killing me, craigslisters. Anyway, if I buy a totally different rug, then I will need… other totally different stuff. You know how it goes.

I’ve been eying Ikea’s Hovas sofa for a while now… it’s so cheap! But it’s white, and I explained what happened to the rug, right? But it’s slipcovered! But will I ever wash said slipcover? Hmmmm. Has anyone ever sat on this sucker? What do we think about it?

Speaking of Ikea, they reissued the wildly popular Vago patio chairs (thanks to Modfrugal for the tip!), and I’m dying for a set, but our store doesn’t stock them. I think you should all call your local congressman to complain.

And since I apparently only like black and white things (did you figure out which color sheets I want yet?), I’m thinking about running over to our local West Elm and picking up these blackened planters on sale. Or maybe I will just save myself some sweat and order them. I’m so environmentally aware.

Ok, maybe not, but I am aware that I’m lazy.

Stay cool, homies!

Craigslist is littered with asshats who think their doo stained sofas should fetch 1st Dibs prices, but you can’t let that stop you from using the craig for good and not for evil. To be perfectly honest, it’s been a while since I checked in and zoned out on tables and chairs. Today I had a few extra minutes to search for treasure, and I was a little surprised by all the awesomeness I found among the mirrows, rod iron, and chester drawers. Of course, much of said stuff was Knoll and therefore astronomically expensive, but I did find a few cheap and shiny gems. Warning, many crappy pictures shall follow. People, please learn how to use a camera so you can stop making our blog ugly. Thank you.

That’s right. Smoked glass and brass coffee table. $65 here. Shazam!

Mirrored coffee table. Cool shape but those flowers are dumb. It wants to be painted black so badly. Can you help it? $60 here.

Neato chrome chair — would look amazing floating in a room where you could see it from all angles. Gold star for decent photography. $60 here.

I actually opened up photoshop for this, just so you could see the majesty of this sweet little bedroom set in all its glory. $150 here.

It’s got the Mediterranean flava. $35 here.

Pair it with this light. $50 here.

And this rug. $120 here.

And hey, why not this pair (yes, two) of square topped, vintage pedestal tables? $25 here.

Or skip the trad trend and get retro with a pair of square brass mirrored tables. I like these better for our room, anyway. $90 here. The hideous photography is free. You’re welcome.

This will also go nicely in our fantasy room. Antique buffet with clean lines and pretty wood. $75 here.

In a totally different room (like, my living room) lives this huge heavy black lacquer 70s coffee table with BRASS base. $45. Within walking distance of my house. Why have I not bought this again? Did I forget to put the link in? Silly me.

Finally, this is not really cheap ($350 here) but I love the shape. The vaguely southwestern pattern/palette is potentially troubling, but I say you just Nagel the bleep out of that shit.

Perfect! And only $10.

And there you have it. Obviously I have rekindled my craig obsession, which is bad since I need more furniture like Oprah needs more celebrities to tell her how AMAZING!!!! she is. Now go buy one of these things, send me a picture of it in its new home, and I will post it.

As long as the picture is good.

Last week my brother and his fiance moved to Portland from Virginia with only the goodies they could fit in their car.  Being the altruistic older sister that I am, I took it upon myself to scour craigslist for all the Pacific Northwest has to offer.  I found quite a few bodacious goodies for their downtown loft, some they loved and bought and others are making their big design crisis appearance today.  And guess what?  Not a single item has a bird on it.

First up was this leather sofa, at $900 it was a bit steep, but oh that charcoal leather looks so soft and dreamy.  Plus it’s in amazing condition.  Also, the number one rule of craigslist is don’t talk about craigslist, but the number two rule of craigslist is this:  always talk the sellers down.  It’s so important it really should be rule number one, but, hey, I’m not in charge of these things.

Next was this mid century teak coffee table.  Since I’m in the market for a coffee table myself, and a big square block of wood is exactly what I want, I was pretty excited about this find.  Turns out the table is much to large for their small condo, so it was a negatory.  It’s $100.  Someone go buy it.

Since I’ve never met anything in white tufted leather that I didn’t love, I was pretty excited to stumble upon this sofa.  Turns out the bro and his lady already found a couch just right for them, which means I won’t get to visit this gem in the fall.

Pick your chins up off the ground.  This was easily my favorite Portland Craigslist find and for $20 (twenty dollars!!!!) I prayed to all things holy that D & E would share my sentiments.  Luckily my bro has great taste in women who has great taste in tables and they bought that mofo.  Dear portlanders, this table had been on craigslist for a week.  You should be ashamed of yourselves.

If you’re hankering for a piece of brass in front of your sofa after seeing the last dreamy table, they had two of these tray tables, this one here and this one here.

Or get some brass for behind your sofa here

This arc light was priced a bit high (remember rule number 2!) but I still think someone should race out and get it.

I usually defer to ebay for all interweb lighting purchases, but I thought this little gem was just delightful.

Turns out there’s lots of burl wood laying around in Oregon (go figure).  I found this tabletop here and this one here

Ok, this is where I pull out the showstopper:

I found and developed an obsession for this rug early on (wouldn’t it look AMAZING under that brass coffee table???!!!).  The young couple decided to pass and their loss is your gain, Portland readers.  Go, roll around on this rug, stare at it longingly for hours, I will hand write some love letters for you to read aloud to it, the rug will like it, I can tell.

I’ve seen pics of all the pieces D & E have selected so far and it all looks awesome, I can’t wait to check it out in person.  As for Portland craigslist:  All in all, I found some pretty good stuff up north, you dudes have a pretty nice well to tap into.  And to whomever ends up with the rug:  sleep with one eye open.

Oh, PS, if there are any amazing secret stores the new Portlandiers should know about, leave a comment, yo.

Not even 4 days back into the design blogging lifestyle and I’m already trying to justify a $650 coffee table purchase.  Let’s start with some back story:  Some of you may remember that I’ve been living large with the panthers for the better part of 2 years:

But since the introduction of the tiny blessing baby Eero into my life, I’ve come to realize that the wobbly glass topped felines may not be the best-baby-walk-trainer out there.  After several frantic craigslist and ebay linked emails with Erin I found this:

$650 of pure, swirly, formica and bronze cocktail table magic (plus $180 shipping).  I tried.  I really really tried to justify this purchase but if I were going to spend $830 on a coffee table, would this be the one?  Ok, yeah, probably.  Can you guys save me from myself, or is this actually justifiable keeping in mind that my budget was $200? Share your wisdom.  Pretty please.

When Elissa wrote to us for help designing her living room around a newly purchased vintage couch, she appealed to our sense of Texan loyalty. Ok, plus she told us how much she liked the blog, and we’re total suckers for flattery. Buckle up, kids. This is going to be a looong post, because as a Texas ex-pat now renting a gorgeous 30s apartment in Seattle, Elissa really needs our help moving forward.

Elissa says:

PLEASE HELP ME. Here’s the thing, I got this couch off of Craig’s List. I call it my “grandma couch.” Because it so is… I just love it. The problem is… I’m terrified to buy anything else. All I have is a hand-me-down unfinished Ikea mission-style couch table that is against the wall for my record player that I figured was better than the storage stubs my record player was previously on. I’d really like to make my front room nice, but I’m terrified that if I get something not in the style of my couch, the couch will look really weird, and if I DO get something in the style of my couch, I may as well put out a bowl full of unwrapped hard candies and cat hair and call it a damn day.

I want to make my place awesome but I’m totally commitment phobic. I need guidance rull bad y’all.

Dude, there is nothing in this apartment. How do people live like this??? Nature abhors a vacuum, Elissa. I would have filled this placed with tschotskes five seconds after moving in.

Well Elissa, you’ve come to the right place. I love to play decorating party, and I love an empty space. So, looking around I notice some fairly modern pieces that need to be integrated with the awesome grandma couch. I also see that the front room is pretty tight and needs to remain open. She can’t paint because the apartment is a rental. When I asked Elissa if she had any ideas or if there were any things she wanted to avoid, she mentioned that she liked Persian rugs and hates glass.

HATES GLASS?!

I’m going to overlook that for now, Elissa. Let’s get started with some inspiration:

So is it possible for a grandma couch to look modern? If the homes of Nanette Lepore and Annie Schlecter are any indication, then absolutely — especially if you want to reupholster it in a punch color. I’m just guessing that isn’t an option right now.

This room gave me a mini brainwave: Elissa can’t paint, but she can add big color and/or texture through a folding screen. Putting something sculptural in that back left corner would rock, too. So, I propose she buy a cheapo screen off CL or Overstock and staple some fabric to that bad boy. It couldn’t be easier. Even duct tape would work.

Keeping that in mind, I found this groovy bird of paradise fabric that I felt had a Persiany feel. I really like the muted but interesting colors:

And then I made it into a folding screen… ok, I pasted it onto the wall in photoshop.

My formula for designing her space went a little something like this: CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. I mean, why else would she ask the world’s biggest penny pinchers for advice? Ok, seriously — to create an eclectic/transitional vibe that would embrace the grandma couch yet avoid going Miss Havisham on Elissa, I mixed an organic pattern with a modern, geometric pattern, and kept the furnishings light and airy so that the room would feel open.

Room #1 source list: Tapestry is $30 from Amazon, Rug is $179 from Ikea, floor lamp is $79 from Ikea, coffee table is $40 from Seattle craigslist (I might paint the base black…), sweet Thonet chair is $25 from Seattle CL, velvet pillow is $32 from Urban Outfitters.

Did you see all that craigslisting I did? Hells yeah.

I also did another room with a Persian rug I found off Seattle CL. I’m calling this one, Ike’s Room With Grandma Couch.

Room #2 source list: fabric is $7/yd Ikea Kajsastina, rug is $150 off Seattle CL, floor lamp is $249 from CB2, reclaimed wood and metal coffee table is $116 from Overstock, leather Wassily chair is $70 from Seattle CL, velvet pillow is $32 from Urban Outfitters.

At this point I became weary of photoshop,and then I decided to just pull a textile combo that could be used with the furnishings I selected above. You can use your imagination goggles, right?

Tree of life tapestry is $38 at Urban Outfitters, Ikea rug is $179, magenta velvet pillow is $28 at UO. Dizang this would make a cute room. Also, apparently I love stripes. And hot pink. Who knew?

I’m sure that once art and accessories are added in, Elissa’s pad will be killer. I’m pretty excited about this room, in case you couldn’t tell… maybe I went a little overboard?

Do you guys have a favorite combo?

Thanks, Elissa, for writing in with your question. I had a super fun time playing decorating party with you!

Before the blackouts started in Texas, I was a craigslisting fool. First I sold this:

Then I sold this:

Hooray for me! Now all of this purging has opened up the extra space (and cash) to — wait for it — buy more stuff off craigslist. Thus far, I’ve been pretty restrained in my purchases. I did buy this rug for Ike’s room:

But that was a necessity… relatively speaking. I know. It’s a hard luck life I live. Anyway, I’ve been trolling craigslist like a crack addict, hoping to score a new (to me) headboard or perhaps even a fancy dresser, when what did I spy with my gimlet eye but this –  the most amazing craigslist post I have ever seen:

Queen Bedroom Set w/ Dressers (Black)

selling my bedroom set. its all black with a tempurpedic mattress. the only pics i have are with my friend and the snake so disregard them.

Yes peeps, this is for real. And still for sale. Now, close your eyes and try to remember what the bedroom set looked like… What’s the matter? Can’t you remember? For the life of me, I can’t imagine what may have turned your attention elsewhere.

Happy Friday! Hope you stay as cozy and warm as a snake in a den.

Still no credenza in sight for the technocordy crapfest that’s hanging out in our living room. I thought I had a contender, but the seller turned out to be a flake. Douche. The upside is that I have found a few entertaining tidbits on craigslist, and I’m posting my favorite today:

Vintage Upholstered “Cat” Chair

And I quote: “More a decorative piece than utilitarian. Covered in red velveteen with pleated skirt and faux furry cat on back. This chair wobbles a bit; should be glued. Sold as is.”

You know, if they throw in those curtains, I will call Bonanza on this “cat”ch.

Happy Friday!

For, I do believe it may be nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than to buy mismatched couches off craigslist. Because jigsawing a large impulse purchase into a decor scheme already undone by many many many previous impulse bargain buys is definitely taking up arms against a sea of troubles. And don’t forget that I must also bear the whips and scorns of yon Hunny’s pissed off countenance.

It’s a calamity, I tell you.

After I finish craigslisting my lesser used possessions, I’m considering behaving like a grown up and buying a brand new couch — something I choose, and not something that is chosen for me by the whims of the craigslist marketplace. Honestly, the very thought is so foreign… I’m still trying to wrap my wee head around the idea. New? Who does that? Well, I guess I might.

The biggest biggest hugest problem is of course what to buy. You see, it seems that most perfectly normal living rooms have one lovely couch, flanked perhaps by a pair of chairs in a different shape or fabric to add visual interest, like so:

Such an easy formula: A+B=Awesome. Ok, the fancy art helps, too.

But the stupid formula won’t work for us since we are a two couch household. Does this mean I have to buy two new couches? Because one couch is fine — one couch is easy to decorate around. But when you buy another, unmatched couch, well then shit just breaks down. Add in a different couch, and I start gnashing my teeth and tearing out hair (not my own, of course) in big disgusting clumps. Trying to solve the 2 couch equation turns me into a deranged, indecisive idiot. Because unless you’re starting out with a hardcore plan, it is very hard to do the mismatched couch thing and do it well.

See, this is not working for me. I kind of see what they were going for, but nope.

And this room is very pretty, but I’m not sure I would like it in real life.

I guess keeping everything monochromatic would make it easier — but kind of boring. Although I am in sweet sweet love with the couch resting against the wall…

This is kind of what I had in mind, mostly because I already have a navy chesterfield. What do you think about pairing it with a fat white slipcovered sofa? I’m worried they will look unbalanced when placed next to each other.

On the other hand, I guess I could just save up to buy two matching couches…

But I really don’t want this to happen.

Enough with the typing. Look at these pictures of matching couches and try to guess what I’m thinking about them:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

UPDATE!

I can’t believe I left this one out… obviously the drama is making me dizzy.

Exhibit D

Why do couches have to be so bleeping expensive, y’all? And so big and hard to switch out? It makes deciding what to buy incredibly nerve wracking. I need a decider. Oh, but I’m happy to decide which couch to put in YOUR house… funny how that works.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my couch saga on Friday, where I hope to post personal pictures of my actual seating drama. It’s like freaking Sofas Of Our Lives around here.

In the meantime, I’d like to know what you think.

To match, or not to match? That is the question.

After getting contacted by a professional organizer from the Hoarders show (seriously!), I figured it might be time to confront my “issues” and punch them straight in the face. Ok, and I will sheeplishly admit that I bought yet another couch that we have absolutely no use for, and Ben finally said that enough was bleeping enough. So we spent this past weekend rearranging furniture, photographing stuff for craigslist, and dealing with a fair amount of flaky beeyotches (and some super nice folks, too). I sold half of it, but I thought I might share a few pieces of the hoard with you — mostly for your entertainment, and also to see if you want any of this crap beautiful furniture for your home. You know you do.

I mean, who would not want this king sized peach taffeta tufted headboard with matching coverlet? Gents, just try to stop yourselves from emailing me RIGHT NOW to reserve this bad boy. This sucker begs for strawberries and fine fine champagne in bed — not that we would ever mar this baby with our own foodstuffs.

No sir. Just look — pristine and smooth as a baby’s butt. Kind of even looks like one.

How about four vintage Saarinen style captain’s chairs? Sure, they are cushionless and could use a good cleaning. Sure, for some inexplicable reason the top lifts completely out of the base when you try to pick them up (anyone out there know how to fix this?). But there are four of them. And they are hard to find. Buy them. Please.

I’m just going to give these vintage lamps to one of my friends if I can’t sell them. That’s how little I care about them. Oops, I mean, “that will be $60 for the pair, please.”

On the other hand, I would like to get approximately one brazillion dollars for my gigantic Italian glass Marbro lamp. I didn’t even bother putting it on craigslist because I know some chump would just offer me $25 for it, and that would make me very cranky. Anyone know a good dealer?

Enough with the depressing stuff that didn’t sell. Let’s talk about my success stories.

I made a tidy little profit off our Danish table and six janky broken chairs, sold to a guy who sweet talked me into holding it for him by bribing me with Momma cookies. He turned out to be a dealer AND I didn’t get no cookies. Well, at least I’m 99% sure he was a dealer. He never actually admitted it, but he didn’t deny it when I asked him point blank. He did say that it was for his own home, but I think that was a dirty dirty lie.

Should we talk about craigslist ethics, here? I mean, I don’t mind working with dealers, but why lie about it? Don’t be a shady bastard.

I would have to say the highlight of my weekend was selling our Mulhauser Mr. Chair to a guy who really really likes it. Plus it was his birthday and he was really hungover, which was extertaining. Plus he really liked our house, and is thinking of buying something near our neighborhood… So, in my fantasies I have already sold our house and most of the remaining contents to him and his nice wife, while the hunny and I retire to the country, comforted by the fact that our beloved ex-home is in good hands.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to be alone with my fantasies, please.

Do you think Karly would notice if I snuck into her house, stole the panther table, and replaced it with one of these?

Fierce! And only $500!!!!! They practically sell themselves.

In case you were wondering — YES, these are actually on the Austin craigslist right now. Better hurry before someone else snatches these beauties up!

My name is Erin, and I am a hoarder. I have been a hoarder for 12,364 days.

Reportedly, the doctor was quite perplexed when I arrived clutching the umbilical cord for dear life, swearing that I just might find a use for it someday. As a child I had so many stuffed animals that my mom was forced to suspend them from ribbons tied like nooses round their furry little necks, and then hang them from a golden chain swagged across the ceiling. It was only a little scarring. But also informative — I still like gold. And things. Lots and lots and lots of things. Pass on the nooses, though.

Now that I am grown, my obsession has inflated to brobdingnagian proportions — not that the average person would ever know it. Because, like many addicts, I hide my disease well. I work hard at configuring every micrometer of storage space to resemble a Tetris puzzle so that our public spaces appear free and open. Clutter is mostly minimized, although I must admit a newly acquired chair or errant tchotke can temporarily upset the balance.

But most often it’s just a matter of time before the latest and greatest finds are somehow absorbed by the ever expanding attic, closets, or backyard shed. The garage, unfortunately, has been permanently sealed off. Evidently it has become molecularly unstable, and the addition of even one more lamp may open up a black hole. Or so I’ve been warned.

My lamp lust runs like a jingle — bet you can’t stop at just one. It seems that I can’t even stop at 27, and those are just the table lamps. I’m not even counting the unmounted ceiling fixtures and sconces, piled high in wiry drifts.

Then there is the vast, still multiplying chair population. They may be motley multitude, but I love them all well enough to know each by heart. There are: 6 Danish rope cord chairs, 4 Burke tulip chairs, 4 Saarinen tulip captain’s chairs, 1 Milo Baughman tufted chrome chair, 1 chrome Thonet styled rocker, 3 lucite backed barstools, 1 Knoll handkerchief chair, 1 Knoll executive chair, 1 wood and wicker barrel chair, 1 leather club chair, and of course the grub worm chair. Embarrassingly, those are just the chairs I currently have no use for.

I take comfort in the certainty that I am not alone. I frequently sniff out kindred spirits on craigslist who are desperately attempting to offload dozens of items, hoping to make space for their cancerous thrift habits.

It is a vicious cycle. And perhaps — just maybe — some of you out there know what I’m talking about. Maybe you can understand a compulsion that never ceases, gnaws even at your sleep (you have scored in your dreams, haven’t you?), and threatens to push you out of house and home. You know that you should not buy one single more thing, that you should instead hold the biggest garage sale the world has ever known, that clearing the hidden clutter would bring about a Zenlike epiphany.

Yes, I know all these things — and more. And still I bought another ceiling fixture last Sunday… but it it called to me like a shiny gold and lucite siren. And it was ridiculously cheap! And I had to have it. Deals like that are a near religious experience.

My name is Erin, and I am a hoarder. I have been a hoarder for 12,364 days.

[All photographs by Rune Guneriussen, a magically delicious photographer who obviously knows a thing or two about hoarding]