On a Pedestal

We have a wonderful cabin on Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma:

I've been fixing it up for years.  We added on a bedroom, bathroom, laundryroom, and two decks (the one story part to the right and everything with a deck railing) several years ago.  But we rarely get to go there. 

Last weekend we went to there to put new locks on the doors and to put a few fishing lines in the water.  The result was a vow to use the cabin more and to get it finished enough that others can use it as well (if you want to use it, just ask!).  It has two bathrooms, three bedrooms plus a big enclosed sleeping "porch" (the front half of the upstairs where all those windows are) that sleeps 9 kids.  When I get everything to where it's supposed to be, the house will sleep 18!

So I'm all cabin-on-the-brain this week. 

As I drive around town, my eye habitually monitors all lumps on curbs -- I usually spot them from a block or more away.  It's just the way I am to my core. 

Yesterday, I found this:

It turns out that my very nice, new, caddy-corner backdoor neighbors are having to remodel a bathroom to accomodate a disability and this sink didn't fit in with their needs.  

It just so happens that this is the exact $377 (+ tax) Kohler pedestal sink that I've adored for years. 

It also happens that, at the cabin, I have this:

The sad little bathroom with the dinky vanity and the marbelized plastic (yes, PLASTIC!) tiles.

There IS one problem with the new sink:

There is a piece broken off of the base.  I am completely unconcerned about this.  Epoxy will rejoin the two pieces and I could care less if there's a crack visible in the base.  Most of my possessions have a crack or a chip or a ding or some other imperfection (for that matter, I have a few of those myself).  I would much rather have free imperfection than expensive perfection.

I can't wait to upgrade this room with the new sink!

Now, to find (for free on the curb, of course!) the clawfoot tub that I have dreamed of for the other side of the bathroom.  Keep your eyes peeled for me!

And now I'm looking forward to doing a blog series on the cabin.

I Swear... Free Stuff Finds ME!

This morning, we innocently got in the car to take me to work and look what was sitting on the curb in front of the housetwo doors down our street with a sign on it that said "Free -- Please Take!"

So Mark and I carried it up the street to our house. 

Geez!  It's not even a project!  Just perfect and gorgeous!

I'm thinking $200 on Craigslist.

Gotta love spring cleaning bounty!

A Color Called "Faith"

I sure wish I was good at remembering to take those side-of-the-road "before" pictures!  Instead, you get the blurry oops-we-almost-forgot-to-take-a-before-picture-but-snapped-one-almost-too-late photo.  Oh well!  If you can't make it out, picture worn dark brown paint, mouse bedding and droppings in the drawers, a missing drawer knob, and a mirror harp that came in four pieces.  Blessedly, the mirror was intact!

I gathered up about 20 cans of free paint on the kitchen table and then pulled out about six that seemed the most willing to lend themselves to "robin's egg blue".  Two partial quarts of white, two partial quarts of different blues, and a sample-size jar of brown.  Then I tried not to second-guess it too much and just dumped them all in together.  Thus, we call this shade "Faith" because I just had to trust that it would turn out to be the right color!  I kinda prefer to have God choose my colors for me.  Left up to my own devices and indecision, I can take MONTHS to choose one of those microscopic little paint chips.  New method: dump, stir, and paint!  No thinking allowed!  It turned out to be the color it's "supposed" to be!

We DID break down and spent $16.31 on reproduction glass knobs because "Faith" just HAD to have the right knobs!  But everything else was free.

Here's the after photo of "Faith" in my flea market booth (price tag: $130):

Ok, I'm going to use my birthday money to get a new camera TODAY!  I promise.

Curbside Seating

I found this chair on the curb. 

Its finish was all scraped up and it had stickers stuck to it and the seat was irreparably stained.

So I painted it.  And recovered the seat with fabric I've had sitting around for years.  It transformed into this:

And then I made a back pillow for it.  So now it looks like this.

Total investment: $4 because I had to buy spray paint (HATE that!).  Now listed on Craigslist for $35.