Garage Sale Gems & Funkified Bookcases

When I was looking for furniture to fill my apartment this past summer I quickly realized how expensive it all was going to be.  There was no way I could afford to spend $500 dollars on a kitchen table and chairs let alone even $100!  There is a lot of truth to the title "broke college student"!  So thrift stores and garage sales became my only option and my new best friend.  Since a young age, my mom has passed on the love for both and of course tagged along on our many 'thrifty' excursions!  Good mother-daughter bonding time :) 

My first find of the summer was this gem, oh how I love thee!

It was at a moving sale of this single retired teacher of 30 some years.  She was such a sweetheart, I really enjoyed talking to her.  For some reason people have the tendency to tell me their life stories within the first 10 minutes of meeting me, I seem to have a "I will listen to absolutely anything you have to say" sign flashing on my forehead.  This old trunk was originally her fathers and is from the early 20's.  It's a little rusty and beat up but that is why I love it so much, so much character!  I use it as a coffee table in my living room.  It makes for a great conversation piece!

My second great find of the summer was this pretty basic round table and four chair set.  It was originally this nasty light brown color and pretty scratched up but other than the cosmetics it was in pretty awesome shape!  I found it at Goodwill.  The manager said she didn't have any room for it and just wanted to get rid of it so she gave it to me for an amazing $20 bucks!! YES!  It originally looked something like this:  (I forgot to take before pictures of all of these projects but I found ones that are almost exact)

I sanded all the chairs and table down and then painted them a semi-gloss black.  I found the super cute chair cushions at World Market on sale for $8 a piece.  I am not totally finished with them yet though, this coming summer I would like to paint them in a antiqued white and then sand them down for a distressed look.

And my last but not least find (well for this post anyway) was just a plain old bookcase.  Boring? Of course not!  I LOVE bookcases.  I'm not sure why but I just love the look of them displaying all things adorable.  I found mine at a local thrift store called The Red Barn for just $6 dollars.  It originally looked something like this:  but grosser...if grosser is a word.

 

Similar to my table and chairs it was also a nasty light brown color so I also sanded and painted it black to match my dining set (I will eventually distress the same too).  I thought it needed some pizazz, and then it hit me! Re-purpose the back!!  It was gross and falling apart anyway so I ripped that sucker off.  I went to my local Walmart (they seem to have the best fabric prices) and found this fun geometric print.  Starting from one end I slowly stretched and stapled the fabric to the back of the bookcase until covering the entire thing.  I cut off the excess and whalah!  I LOVE it!  I used some of the left over fabric to make matching couch pillows, so coordinating I know :)

The only down side is that it does not make for a very sturdy back to the bookcase.  Mine is pressed straight up against a wall so it doesn't really matter or bother me, the thing is a beast and isn't going anywhere I'm sure.
Have any of you ever done something like this?  Let me know!