Thursday, September 20, 2012

Looking For Some Cheap Style? Knowledge Is Power In Nashville Tennessee Where We Will Be Trolling For Treasure This Morning. Status: Not My Turf!

Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee - Large Letter Postcard


Nash-Vegas Baby, Nash-Vegas!  Home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, lots of amazing independent singers / songwriters and even a full scale replica of the Parthenon!  That's all well and good (especially the singer / songwriters) but you all know why your reading this and it ain't for no guided tour, at least not of the city.  But maybe Nashville's craigslist...now that might be interesting.  Let's have a look.

Remember what I said in the title of this post about knowledge being power?  Let's start

of with a great example of that.  When looking for treasure on your local craigslist, keep in

mind that the best deals are had when you stop being told what you're looking for (lose the

keywords) and start using your own knowledge of vintage modern items.  Case in point:


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Here you have an ad for a "DESK w/chair - $65"  Oh, but what a chair!  That, my lovely

friends, is a Norman Cherner by Plycraft chair.  My little purple pee pumper about skipped

a beat when I saw this ad a few hours ago!  Oh how I wish I was in Nashville right now.  I

actually Hurt for not having a chance to scoop this lovely thing up!  Be quick, it may just still

be available since there aren't any clues in the ad as to what it is.  Just PLEASE let a Mr.

know if you get it and Send Me Pictures!  ::Sigh::

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There are lots of other less gut wrenchingly fantastic but still worthy finds to be had in the

Nash-Vegas area such as this nice vintage "man chair" and matching ottoman for $75.  It's

maybe not everyone's cup-o-tea but I learned a little lesson at the Green Shag Lot Sale last

spring about these retro chairs.  A friend of mine brought a pair of them to the sale and I

didn't think much of them.  OMG...they were the most sat in, looked at and haggled over

items in our space!  Don't count out the retro!

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Now here's a sneaky little bargain for ya. I can't be 100% sure but I'd bet a couple dollars

worth of gasoline and an hour of my day that these are Herman Miller / Eames shell chairs...

though, once again, they are not listed as such
. Looks like they could use a little clean up but

at $15 each, well I'd happily sit down and scrub on the pair! Plus, they'd pair up nicely with

the table below!

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No no, it's not a Herman Miller or anything like that. It' probably Steelcase and without a

hoity toity designers name attached, but it's got style for miles and is designed to be virtually

indestructible. It'll outlast any of us with just the minimum of care taken. I think the above

Herman Miller / Eames shell chairs would look fantastic with this classic modern institutional

table. $60 and it's yours!

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I've no idea what this actually is or what it's supposed to be used for but I know I'd love to

have it! It would make an amazing display. I'd just have some glass cut to fit the "outriggers",

extending out maybe 3 inches with rounded off corners of about 3 inches as well. It would

look so MOD! Even if the chrome is shot, paint it glossy white! There's no price but it looks

like it would be cheap. The ad is for a "Building full of random furniture". Ohhhh...how can

you resist THAT!?!?

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OK, first I gotta say this: really, it's THAT hard to center your subject in the frame? Look at

some of these pictures! It's like they let their kids take the pics on an old camera phone that

they don't use any more! Anyway...If you ain't so hung up on getting originals versus

reproductions and you just want good looking / high style stuff, check out this nice pairing

of an Eero Saarinen style Tulip Table with Eames style shell armchairs w / dowel bases (my

personal favorite!), all for the low low asking of just $375. That's just $75 each piece! And

who knows, you might be able to haggle them down a bit!

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But if the white mod set above is maybe a little too pricey for ya, how about a good basic

danish style dining set with a Formica laminate top that you can trust will survive your kids?

This rather nice set is being proffered for only $95! I bet with an afternoon of elbow grease

and Howard Restore-A-Finish it would look amazing too!

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Get your Lazy on in a vintage Eames Lounger and Ottoman knock off for only $275. Not a

bad price! I paid $300 for mine. They go up from that around here for one. Check out what

they go for on eBay! Yikes! It's, again, a crummy photograph but it looks like it's in good

condition. Seeing it in person can make all the difference though. It' might be all wobbly or

stink or something! Still, it looks worth a check out.

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If you can live with the "transitional" drawer pulls or are willing to swap them out for something

a bit more stylish then the $50 each asking price on the dresser and chest of drawers might be

a good deal! Take a close look at the wood accent details. Do not those handles just clash with

almost everything about these case pieces? I wonder if maybe they aren't original. Or maybe

they aren't as bad in person as I'm thinking they are.  In any event, a $100 looks like a bargain

to me for the set
!

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Lastly we have this frumpy set of 4 Contemporary Highback Chairs for $35 each. But, once

again, it's now what you're told but what you know that will make your craigslist scavenging

day. These ain't no everyday Contemporary Highback Chairs. Oh no my good taste havin'

friends. These be hard to find Adrian Pearsall highback dining chairs by Craft Associates!  I

want 'em, I want 'em, I want 'em!!!  Alas, Nash-Vegas is too far a drive to try and snag any

of these items, so go...snatch up this great booty and report back!  I wanna know who got

what!

5 comments:

  1. WOW! I want the dining chairs too. I just picked up the Adrian Pearsall dining table that would go great with them. Let's see who do I know in Nasville...

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  2. Here's the etagere: http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=700570

    Just sayin.

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  3. We have been known to roadtrip to Tenn. more than once and have always come back with a full van. Don't have the schedule right now but I'm sure we'll be back up that way again eventually!

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  4. Nice - I love that chrome unit. That desk and chair pairing is hilarious. The world's ugliest desk paired with one amazing chair.

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  5. Totally Awesome finds in my backyard! THANKS!!! Decisions,decisions. Haha! The Eames knock off and dresser are already gone but the rest are still there. Thinking of going after one or two of them! :)
    Thanks again bud!

    ReplyDelete