A Fluorescent Edge

Speaking of painted furniture legs, I just stumbled upon these amazing outdoor benches from the Summer Snow line by Uhuru design in Interior Design Magazine. They are custom made in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and probably out of my price range (isn't everything these days?) I think you could DIY the look. It works because of the tension between the natural element (that gorgeous reclaimed wood) and the hyper-artificial (neon, as a category, does not often happen in nature!) I would consider buying a natural slab of wood, like this one that I just saw on craigslist for $100 (or better, yet, snag one from my in-laws property for free),

and adding metal table legs with a nice coat of neon spraypaint.

Or customize an already-in-one-piece table from craigslist. I think this little side table from West Elm would also look killer with some neon legs.
The effect would be super sexy, and chances are, you wouldn't run the risk of having the same thing as everyone else.

Stalking: asian console table

Most of the time, I follow the "I'll know it when I see it approach," letting inspiration come from some fabulous find, and building a room or vignette from there. But sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet about something very specific, and while I can usually find it, I generally can't afford it.

Like the console for the dining room. There's already such a mix in there--contemporary turkish rug, farmhouse table, eames shell chairs, 1970s chinoiserie armoire, giant paper chandelier--it's kind of like finding the last piece in a pretty complex puzzle. But I have a vision. An asian altar table, or asian-inspired console table, in chartreuse. Specific, I know, but it is out there.

This one is perfect. But one of a kind, and no longer available.
Wisteria has one, for a mere $849.


House Eclectic has one, for a (slightly) more reasonable $630.
Did I mention that my budget is $100, tops?

Right.

So, I'll need to find an old wood one, and paint it, like this altar table that I found on Decor Pad (not for sale).


Easy, right? Wrong. So far, the Asian import stores that I've tried don't have anything in my price range, and even this one from Pier 1, with a simpler, but workable shape, is out of my budget, for $179 even on sale.

Even if I could stretch my budget, I hate to spend that kind of money at a big box store.

So what's a girl to do?


I found this set on craiglist, and was very tempted, especially since those stools would come in handy. But it reads a little too tiki to me, and they wanted $140, and I've sat on it for a while so it may not even be available any longer.

I continue to stalk craiglist, but if anyone has a good (local) source for asian imports, do tell!

It's lucky that I enjoy the process so much.

Stalking: Mid-Century Tallboy

I've been looking for a dresser for the guest room for months. While I occasionally dabble with the idea of a waterfall dresser, something sort of squat with wide-spaced handles, like this:

or something square but stacked at the top, like this blonde heywood wakefield-esque piece:

mostly I think I want something more classic midcentury, up on legs, to go with the midcentury desk that's in the room. One big problem: the dresser will go in a sort of niche next to the closet, and the space is only 36" wide, ruling out all the standard 36" dressers, like this absolutely gorgeous specimen.


I've had a few get away, too, either because I waited too long or because a dresser was part of a larger set that sold together.

I'm going to see this one later today, and hoping the finish is nice--it's hard to tell in this photo--because the dimensions are perfect and the hardware will work very nicely with the desk. I also kind of like that it looks like it has two eyes and four smiles.


I just have to say, it is amazing what a treasure trove of mid-century furniture I have encountered on craiglist over the past 6 months. I see listings for crappy new dressers for twice as much money and wonder who would buy them.

But maybe that's just me.