Nifty Thrifty Girl » furniture

what are the chances?

niftythriftygirl — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:27:31 +0000

Remember this…

the retro dresser I found at the local thrift store and made into our tv stand? What are the chances that I would find another dresser just like this one? Apparently, pretty good because I found another at our local thrift store…exactly like the first one! This dresser wasn’t as pristine as the last one but it was marked down to $17. YES, $17!!! I knew I could work my magic for that price. In typical Nifty Thrifty Girl fashion, I was so anxious to transform the piece that I forgot to take some before pics to show how ugly it was. I did snap some photos of the drawers so you can get the idea of its gold/yellow ugliness…

And a shot of it primed…

And…the finished product…

Our new dining room buffet. I thought the original drawer pulls & knobs were pretty cool so I painted them with a satin nickel spray paint and re-installed them.

Not bad for a mere $17, eh? I spent more on the paint & spray paint than I did on the dresser!

Have a project you’d like help with? Don’t hesitate to contact me! Stay tuned for more re-dos that I will be offering for sale.

weekend roundup

niftythriftygirl — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:48:01 +0000

I’ve been good all summer and haven’t gone to a single yard sale/estate sale. As the season winds down, I find myself yearning to hit a sale. So…last week I hit several and gathered a few items…

vintage yellow tin

bottle brush trees and misc ornaments

mid century modern dresser

I also, finally, got my new pendant lights up in the office and dining room. Here’s a shot of the new office light…

Thank you, O.co, I LOVE my new lights!

from pathetic to pink

niftythriftygirl — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:15:55 +0000

A few weeks ago my town had it’s annual spring clean up – which means tons of junk that people clean out of their houses is put roadside for pickup. I’ve always looked forward to this time of year so I could scour the streets for junk treasures. Like they say: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

This year, however, because I am trying to purge I decided I would avoid looking. Ha. When I took my dogs out for a walk early on the first ‘trash’ day they stopped at a roadside pile and sniffed. And what to my wondering eyes did appear…but two vintage basket weave metal patio chairs. I gazed at them, pondered, shrugged them off and decided to go on my way. Hours later I could not stop thinking about them! So…I went back and they must have been meant to be mine because they were still there.

Here is their before and after:

After much scraping, metal brushing, rust removal, priming and painting, I have a lovely pair of pink patio chairs!

retro dresser re-do

niftythriftygirl — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:18:04 +0000

I was lucky enough to stumble across this 5′ dresser at my local thrift store. For a mere $49 this gem (that needed a little TLC) came home with me!

I’ve been wanting to replace my giant, cottage-looking armoire that held my tv for some time now and I knew this piece would make the perfect contemporary tv console. So…with a little paint and some new drawer pulls…let me introduce you to my new tv console…

I’m thrilled with the results. It’s a much needed change from the old armoire, plus, it makes the living room look so much bigger.

side table make-over

niftythriftygirl — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:15:32 +0000

A few weeks ago my daughter and I headed out for a little shopping. I had been thinking about a pair of side tables I had seen at an antique store. I’ve been wanting side tables for quite some time and I couldn’t get these off my mind. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for but the price was right, at $36 for the pair. Instead of heading to the antique store I took the chance and headed to the local thrift store. With those side tables still in my mind, I couldn’t believe what was sitting in front of me when I walked into the thrift store. Two perfectly adorable side tables.

They needed some major TLC but at a mere $8.99 (!) each, I knew they would be coming home with me.

I cleaned them up, sanded them lightly and gave them several coats of paint. I also sprayed the handles with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint. And here are the little darlings now:

I just love these little tables and I found the perfect matching lamps for them once they are in place in my living room!

What’s in drawer #3?

niftythriftygirl — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:07:28 +0000

I haven’t had my usual good luck at yard/garage sales this summer. It seems there isn’t an abundance of furniture or vintage pieces. Then, last week I hit the jackpot. As I pulled up to this particular sale my eyes were drawn to a white dresser. As soon as I got close enough to inspect it…and to see the price, I was overjoyed and almost yelled, “It’s MINE!” For a mere $25 this little gem came home with me.

It was perfect – it was sturdy, it was already white, had glass knobs, and two darling upper drawers. I knew exactly how I was going to transform it for my dining room.

And here she is…

I am in love with this piece of furniture!

This piece has got me so excited, I’m off to find more bargains. Happy sale-ing everyone!