Thrift Store Stars

It's a simple equation, really: Thrift shop wonders - room in my house = a Tumblr blog. Mostly furniture, but anything at all may show up here. Where's the kitch? For the kooky, weird, or downright creepy rewards of thrifting, visit my son's blog: Checkerboardpear.tumblr.com

[thriftstorestars]

An absolutely gorgeous Mid-century Modern buffet/chest of drawers. I want this so badly my teeth ache, but I don’t have the $475 to spare right now.  I’ve never seen a piece in the same style, and I like the lighter finish-- much as I love mid-century furniture, it does tend to be dark. 

As far as I know, as of 8/12/2016 this is still at the Now and Then Consignment Boutique in Port Charlotte, FL. 

[thriftstorestars]

An impressively sized piece of needlepoint. I’d probably line it to use as a throw rug in a lightly trafficked area, or make a cushion for a bench from it. Heck, even the frame alone is well worth $17.99 at this size.

North Port Fl Goodwill.

[thriftstorestars]

Owl: sleepy, or desperately hung-over? You decide. Either way, he’s adorable.  North Port, FL Goodwill

[thriftstorestars]

I’m seeing a lot of these Marushka prints on fabric, turn up lately at the thrift stores I frequent. I’m liking them more and more. They’d be great in a lanai or sunny room here in Florida, where most printed art fades to shades of sickly blue in no time flat. 

[thriftstorestars]

This sofa and love seat are obviously not a pair, but with new slipcovers, they could be. The fabric on both is clean and sound. I do like the bittersweet berry pattern on the couch, as is. I also like that both pieces are on fat brass casters.

Suncoast Humane Society Thrift Store, Port Charlotte, FL.

[thriftstorestars]

Back in the late 1960′s, early 70s, there was rather an arms-race between blender manufacturers. Status was accorded to who had the blender with the most buttons. No, I don’t understand that either, and I was there. Aren’t “On” and “Off” the only buttons a blender really needs?

Still, as an artifact of its time, it’s a wonderful one-- though not for that price, yikes! Especially since it’s a bit work-worn, and melted there on one side. I suspect an unwelcome liaison with an electric skillet.

[thriftstorestars]

Another huuuuuge painting, this one was a good four feet square, if not slightly bigger. It’s hard to grasp how powerful an image this is, at this reduced size and picture quality. I can well imagine it at the end of a hallway, or as the sole color in a large dining room. 

If you’ve ever smelled “Tea Rose” perfume by the Perfumer’s Workshop, you’ll immediately know how this painting struck me. “Tea Rose” is a perfect imitation of the fragrance of a tea rose-- petals, stem, leaves and all-- if that tea rose was the size of a basketball. Or, perhaps the size of this painting. I’m not tall enough to wear “Tea Rose” and my house isn’t big enough for this painting. Doesn’t mean either aren’t masterpieces of their respective arts, though!

Now and Then Consignment Boutique, Port Charlotte, FL.

[thriftstorestars]

Oh, how I wanted this chair! Not for the harvest gold and canned-spinach green upholstery, but for its solid construction and its mid-century take on the classic wing chair form. Just to rub salt in, the next day I saw one in an interior shot in HGTV magazine. Covered in what was either light camel-colored suede or a microfiber equivalent, it looked sophisticated and sleek. $49.95 at the Port Charlotte, FL Goodwill.

[thriftstorestars]

This good-sized vase was far prettier in person than in the photo. Goodwill, North Port, FL.

[thriftstorestars]

North Port FL, Goodwill

[thriftstorestars]

If this had been the “My Neighbor’s House” puzzle, I’d probably have brought it home, because this surely dates from the 1950s, early 1960s. Maybe earlier. The tin is metal all the way up, not cardboard with metal ends as later sorts were. Of course, no guarantee of all the pieces being in there. 99 cents at the North Port, FL Goodwill.

[thriftstorestars]

A neat dining set, that looked far nicer in person than in this photo. Each chair has a double leg indention on the front of the base, and the table top’s veneer was done in pie-slice fashion. This one was way out of my league, though, at over $400 at the Murdock Habitat for Humanity. Seems their prices always run high there, sad to say.... All for a great cause, though, right?

[thriftstorestars]

A six drawer mid-century chest, with brass drawer pulls. Oh, how I salivated over this one! It was great quality, solid wood with dovetailed drawers, though I couldn’t find a label or stamp anywhere. There was nothing wrong with it that a good cleaning and some finish refresher wouldn’t have fixed up within a half hour.

The drawer pulls were certainly different, with a finger ridge on the inner sides and those brass handles on the outer ones. At just $29.95, someone got the deal of the week at the Port Charlotte, FL Goodwill.

[thriftstorestars]

A huge oil painting, titled “The Forest.” I saw this on a miserable day with temps in the high 90s and humdity to match. Standing in front of it, I could almost smell the water and the fresh, mossy scent of lush undergrowth, and feel the cool air. Alas, as it was every bit as long as a 4-seat sofa, I had to walk away. $49.95 at the Port Charlotte, FL Goodwill

[thriftstorestars]

A pretty little print of some species of Bird of Paradise. I love the detail of the dangling inchworm getting the eye from the bird on the bottom! Suncoast Humane Society Thrift Store, Port Charlotte, FL.

[thriftstorestars]

If I’d had aaaannnywhere to put this vintage TV lamp, I would have snapped it up. Obviously, I’m a softie sucker for bronzed shoes belonging to babies who are probably now grandparents.... Suncoast Humane Society Thrift Store, Port Charlotte, FL.

[thriftstorestars]

The one that *didn’t* get away. This is a masterwork of cross-stitch embroidery, three feet long and a foot and a half tall. Each stitch is 1/16th of an inch square. There is a touch of metallic thread worked into the fish, to give their scales a subtle, realistic shimmer. It’s signed only with the initials “CM” and the date of ‘96, also in tiny stitches. Whoever you are, CM-- this is breathtaking work! Bravo!

I sprinted across the room to snatch this off the shelf for $7.99 at the North Port Goodwill.