Monday, August 03, 2009

Score!

As far as I'm concerned, furniture is expensive. Any furniture, even the supposedly cheap, put-it-together yourself stuff. And when you buy the cheap stuff, it may not, despite your best efforts, be very sturdy. We've (I've) been in want of several pieces of furniture lately, including:

1) A comfortable pull-out couch situation for our family room

2) A recliner for Matt (that's more of a thing HE wants, but we've been looking at them so I'll add it here)

3) Some kind of long, closed, storage piece to go on the long wall in the dining room

4) A kitchen table and matching chairs (we have a table and chairs now, but they are kind of a mishmash and not in the chic way)

5) A new dining table and matching chairs

Until recently #6 on that list would have been bookshelf for Michael's room.

It seemed like time to remove the rest of the board books from Harper's shelf, then we had some on a shelf above the changing table (but Michael has been resembling a monkey lately and that shelf needed to come down), and the rest were sort of unceremoniously flopped into dilapidated* wicker baskets which weren't working so well as of late. So I was thrilled when, a few weeks ago, my friend MaryEllen (Auntie M) said her sister had a bookshelf she didn't need anymore and did I want it?

My expectations were not high, not because MaryEllen's sister has poor taste in furniture, but because if it was a GREAT bookshelf maybe they wouldn't be getting rid of it. But oh it is, it is a great bookshelf. And I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. And then we moved it into Michael's room, put things on it, and now I love it even more. It actually reminds me of something I would see (and covet) in a catalog like PBKids or Land of Nod - but we got it for free!!!

See how pretty:





One man's trash is my happy, happy day.


*I seriously always thought the word I wanted there was dilapiTated and I'm pretty sure I've always pronounced it as such. Embarrassing! I had to look it up three times after I saw the suggested spelling to make sure that was the word I meant. Which is a lot of effort for a blog post about a free bookshelf, but at least I learned something.

11 comments:

Emily said...

That IS a sweet piece of FREE furniture. We JUST bought 2 new bookshelves at IKEA - one for the family and one for Katy's room, and I was shocked at how much they cost, even at IKEA.

And no you did NOT organize the board books by color! You are too MUCH! It looks awesome.

See you Saturday, yay!

Sarah said...

1 ) Love the bookshelf. LOVE it. I think our taste must be pretty similiar because I also LOVE:
2) the color of paint of Michael's walls, which is the exact color of Eli's room. Well, the playroom now but it WAS his room.
3) I can't believe you organized those books by color. Way to overachieve.

Laura said...

I also very-much-LOVE this book case as well. I've been on the hunt for a sturdy bookshelf for Lincoln's room also, but until we decide if (when)we are buying him new "big-boy" bedroom furniture, my search has been halted.

And darnit, I thought I would be the first one to notice your color coding efforts but you have other friends with a keen eye and prompt commenting! This looks like a perfect match for Michael's room! Lovely!

Nowheymama said...

I love it! And I would list all of the free items we have in our house, but that would be a post to itself.

CARRIE said...

Ain't nothing better than getting a great deal...or steal.

Liz said...

Love the bookshelf! We got a cool freebie one too years ago and it is in Luke's room. And I LOVE the fact that you organize the kids books by color! I am totally going upstairs and doing that when I am finished with this post. I put them away on the shelf smallest to largest but your way is way more cool. :)

Kate said...

I, too, felt all special and observant noticing/admiring the color coding. Hee!

That's a great looking bookshelf! Nice work!

Astarte said...

That *is* a cute little kid bookshelf!!! Score!

Do you live near an IKEA? Man, I love that place, and they have some really great deals. Even if it's a ways away, if you can get to one, it's worth it. Plus, they have free babysitting for kids 3yo+!!!!!

Swistle said...

I LOVE IT. I also love that you rainbowed the books.

samantha said...

That bookshelf couldn't BE more perfect. AWESOME SCORE!

Unknown said...

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