Oscar the grouch style
Apparently me and Jon now think it is our duty to pick up all unwanted furniture that is headed for the trash.
I thought my obsession for trash to treasure pieces was nutty, but my poor husband. I guess he’s been with me for too long, because now he can’t drive without checking out what is curbside and figuring out what days different streets have trash pick up.
In the last two days we now have this is our garage:
I should have bought my video camera for the insanity of picking up that dresser. All of the drawers were out and thrown around the curb, it was pitch black and oh yay the actual dresser didn’t fully fit so we had to drive home with the trunk completely open!
Here are some close ups:
We loved the lines to this chair so of course she was coming home with us!
I’m going to try and recover this piece myself. We’ll see how that goes.
This chair also had some unique lines to it. I can’t wait to give it a fresh coat of paint and some fun fabric!
A little round end table with a fun pattern on the doors:
Now I know I’m not the only one that does this. So fess up what’s the latest thing you’ve grabbed from the curb?
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ON THE BLOG
My living room is one of the rooms that evolved drastically from when we first moved one. Originally I painted the walls chocolate brown and did accents of white, blue and orange. That lasted maybe 2 years.
Our dining room sat empty for months. Okay maybe it was empty for just a handful of weeks and then we couldn’t take it anymore and put in a folding table and plastic outdoor chairs, but in my mind that was still empty.
On the main floor of our house we have a Florida room. Being that it’s a Florida room it is a considered a 3 season room, because there is no heat in the room. The previous owners used it as an indoor patio with outdoor furniture and it looked like this when we moved in.
A vintage croquet set! The mister wouldn't stop, so I had to sneak back later. Luckily, it was still there. Sadly, my mister doesn't share my love for curbside finds.
Whow!!! I wish we had that kind of curbside treasure around here….
Trying to remember the last dumpster diving find…but I think it was a couch for my in-laws when we were in FL! 🙂 (They're big fans of frugal/free shopping.)
You two must have a blast. It has been ages since I found anything worth taking on the curb. Last thing I remember almost taking was a TV antena for the roof.
I actually haven't done this … not that I WOULDN'T, just haven't been tempted yet!
Gosh, where do you live?! How could you NOT pick those items up?! I'm not as much as a curb person as I am a craig's list person…and the man's not a fan when he sees the "before's" but when he see's the "after's" he's often pleased. (The hard part is having enough time getting those finds to the "after"!)
What two great chairs you found!! I wish our trash days in our area were this cool! People are only getting rid of their junk – lol – I'm guessing most people donate thier items around here + we always get flyers about a donation day
I would have no hesitation about picking something up…but I never find anything! You have some serious good luck scaveraging. (i think i just made that word up!)
This curbside trash concept has me confused! The only curbside trash in these parts is tucked inside big old garbage cans. I don't think people can get away with leaving furniture at the curb and having the trash haulers take it away. I don't think they get out of their trucks for anything. Maybe it's a regional thing? (and possibly a reason to move!)
I have a friend who checks the curb for tossed furniture every weekend … he has collected some really lovely pieces of furniture — a beautiful armoire comes to mind!
not too shabby…pun intended 🙂 i found some outdoor toys for the kiddos, but hardly ever come upon treasure like this!
i think it's hilarious that your husband now takes part with you!
I'm so impressed that you have so many curb options! I never see things around here. Except for a bar cart that I found one day that is great.
But I would pick up something in a heartbeat!
Love the chairs! Great finds!
Man, good finds! We don't have trash days like that in our neighborhood.
So jealous! That is some good shit! My fiance used to bring home good stuff all the time when we lived in our 800 sq. ft. house. Now that we have three times that to fill, he says we have too much stuff! Where's the logic in that?
Wow I'm totally jealous! Those are some great finds! I wish my neighbours would start getting rid of old chairs!
You guys are hilarious! I'm so jealous!! I go running around my neighborhood scoping the neighbors dumps and I have yet to find anything of value. Love the chair that's on top of the dresser. Great lines!
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Jeez Frickin' Louise- we never have "trash" like that around here! You need to have a post dedicated to all the fabulous afters for those treasures. I have been looking for a dresser like that for my son's apartment.
You picked up some great stuff!! We don't have people that put stuff out where I live but I know if I went to the city I could probably find some things! Which I will once I have room for them!
Why don't I ever find anything good along side the curb? The best thing I've ever found was some empty boxes when I was getting ready to move.
Looking forward to your updates to the pieces.
When I first saw the picture in the beginning of this post I was like What the heck?!?.. lol But I can relate.. we did this a lot when we lived in Ohio.
those two are awesome! I grabbed a free chair today from Craig's List. If I had a garage I would be out of control. Can't wait to see where they end up!
People don't throw stuff out on the curb here. However I have so many childhood memories with my mother, slamming the breaks on when she saw a good pile. As a pre-teen my sister and I would slump down in the seat so no one would see us.
You can totally cover that chair yourself! Love your finds! I am always on the hunt…..
I am known as the trash lady because of all the things I have found from the trash and refurbished. Most recently was a cane chair that I plan on spray painting black. Have fun with all of your projects! I know I enjoy mine, but boy my garage doesn't…it's packed.
we don't have a big space so i've had to "curb" my collecting of furniture, etc. i haven't picked up anything on the side of the street, but the free section of craigslist in DC has been where i go to find stuff
I *love* picking stuff up from our neighborhood curbs! The latest is a couple PERFECT bentwood chairs. Also recently, and my favorite, is a gorgeous huge farm table.
Wow, no one in my neighborhood ever throws away things like this! I'm so jealous.
I hope you repost photos…I'm interested in redoing a chair or two and would love to see your end results. Plus, let me know any tricks you may or may not discover!
Thank you!!
What a lucky lady to find such good trash pile treasures! I wish my neighbors would throw out more vintage chairs for me to reupholster!
My bed frame . . . . and lots of other things.
It's crazy to me that people throw away furniture – at least donate it, people! Oh well, their loss, your gain, right?
Wish I could plan a fun, trash-snag run sometime soon!
This is amazing. You are a woman after my own heart! What great treasures!!! I got my vintage drinking cart off the trash on 96th street, lol. If I had space and a house I'd be doing lots of great projects like this. So inspiring! Thanks for sharing your awesomeness!
http://fromme-toyou.tumblr.com/post/378220871/one-mans-trash-another-mans-treasure-when-we#notes
The thought of you and Jon trying to pick that up from the street is cracking me up. Great finds!!
Love the chairs and OMG, we had that table. Dad kept his cigars in it and we had a horrid brass lamp that sat on it. I think my mom discarded in the mid 80's!
my husband and i stopped in the pouring rain to grab one of those entryway storage bench/hook combo things from pottery barn last spring. we had just picked up our wedding invitation envelopes from the calligrapher, so i had to balance all the boxes on my lap for the thing to fit in the car!
i've gotten so bad (or is it good?) at collecting things that one of my husband's business partners snagged an awesome rocker off the side of the road because he thought i would like it…and i do 🙂
You two must have a blast.
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Great finds – my husband and i take things from the garbage as well. It's always funny when people are like oh I like that – where did you get it. And then I tell them it's from the garbage.
I just came across your blog and I am loving it! My dream is to become an interior designer, so I'm really impressed that you've taken the plunge! I actually just picked up a chair, much like the turquoise and lime one, but in MUCH worse shape! I can't wait to see what you do with them!