Adventures in Craigslist Furniture Ads

In the spirit of yesterday's guide to furnishing your first home on the cheap (without loss of style or comfort), I've plunged in to the world of the Philadelphia section of Craigslist to dig up some examples.

Here are this week's great finds, along with tips on updating.

1. 1890's Sofa Table. This sofa table is a (relative) bargain at $125, looks very sturdy and could be used as a makeshift dining area, bed stand or side table. The leather upholstery (on the table top) seems to be well-weathered and doesn't require any updating. The finish itself isn't terrible, but I would personally spray paint the entire piece in a cream color. Maybe robin's egg blue. As you can see, the beauty of the piece is in the shape of the legs and the general proportion. A solid paint color will highlight those aspects.

2. Chaise Lounge, $375 A bit pricey for our general purposes (furnishing a home for not a lot of money), but not so bad when you consider that Baker is selling a similar one for $2,000+. I personally find chaise lounges to be entirely necessary to my very being, so if I were so inclined, I'd buy this, then re-upholster in a turquoise or raspberry linen, then painting over the wood in gold, white or black (if with raspberry).



3. 1950's Blonde Oak Dresser, $65 Slightly hotel-esque, but sand down that oily sheen, replace the knobs and paint really any color you wish. I'd advise spray paint specifically made for furniture, available at Home Depot/Lowe's. Could also be used as a sideboard.

But at least I could shop

My apologies about being AWOL for about two weeks. I will spare you the details, but I came down with a severe bronchial infection. It was decidedly not glamorous.

However, there is one good thing about all that bed rest, besides watching a weekend of That Girl...online shopping. I'm one of millions who puts off shopping until the last available moment, which turns out to work in my favor, since retailers start marking things down. Not that I'm cheap, mind you, just exuberant. I like buying lots at a time, in multiples.

As usual, anthropologie has the best home stuff on sale. Here are a few things that I liked:

- Glass Candlesticks (left), about $8/piece. Glass candlesticks are pretty fantastic, because they give you a nice stately tablescape without entirely blocking everyone's view. The light reflects on the glass, which is a pretty effect.

- Lion Workshop Toy, $10. I'm a big advocate of using children's home accessories as legitimate decor. Buy two, use them as accent pillows--works particularly well on "modern" style sofas.

- Fleur de sel lamp, $60 This lamp sort of reminds me of the fantastic Bodo Sperlein collection for Spanish ceramics maker Lladro. The texture is magnificent. Because it's all in white, the overall texture, not necessarily the rosettes, that is noticed. So I wouldn't worry about this being too frou-frou.

Your Bed Also Counts As Furniture

Looking for a new bed? Head to Princeton. It's nearly enough to make you wish that you still lived in a studio apartment, if only so more people could see this fabulous piece of furniture.

Actually, nothing is enough to make one wish they lived in a studio apartment. But you catch my drift.

Especially for basement dwellers...

...or anyone else living in an indirectly-lit, ultra dreary apartment.

In July's Vogue, I saw a mirrored/metallic-finished bureau that would infuse a dark space with a bit of light and whimsy. And we all know that whimsy is of utmost importance. Remember, you'll never-ever-ever fool someone in to thinking that your 300 square foot shoebox is really a grand penthouse. That just happens to be a basement apartment. You get my point.

But you can fool someone in to thinking that your apartment is a fun-filled space that reflects a bit of personality. And maybe a little light.

So that's where the whimsical metallic furniture comes in. Matthew Izzo carries quite a selection, though you could always spray paint a boring old piece (it took me roughly 3 cans of gold spray paint for a medium-sized desk with drawers). Moderation is key, as if I had to tell you- limit yourself to one metallic piece per residence. Okay, maybe two. But only if they are in different rooms.

P.S: "Gold or Silver?" Normally, I would go with the undertones on this- gold is warm, silver is cold, etc. But some of the silver finishes on the Matthew Izzo pieces appear to be olive-based, so this adds up to a matter of personal style. I'd go with silver if you have a lot of 'modern' boxy type lines, and gold if you have more antiques. For some reason, mixing metallic this way works.

Mother Mirror.

I must admit that I am extremely mirror-phobic. In this case, it's not a self-esteem problem, but a specific, traumatic incident: A run in with the 1980's.

When I moved in to my present bedroom, there was a half a wall of mirror tiles cemented to the wall. The tiles were immune to even the highest concentrations of goop-remover (it effectively erased 1/8th of my mental capacity, I suspect), and had to be taken off with a hammer and chisel, portions of the wall coming down with it.

Who on earth would do such a thing to their unsuspecting walls?

I suspect its another case of Home Cross-Dressing: Trying to pass off a room, home feature or accessory as Something That It Clearly Isn't. In this case, it's trying to pass off an incredibly tiny room (9x12) as a much bigger one. We've all seen those home tips that encourage you to visually extend a room's parameters by the way of mirrors. When read by a normal person, the urge is to procure a clever decorative mirror, displaying it on a wall of your choice.

When the same article is read by someone who is out of their mind, the urge is to haphazardly glue a series of mirrored tile squares halfway down a random wall. After the damage was done, did the person say, "Well now, it's just like having a huge penthouse! You'd never guess that I resided in a shoebox!"

I don't think so.

Repeat after me: You'll never, ever, EVER be able to pass off a miniscule room as a lofty space. You can mirror yourself in to next week, but the only thing your walls will reflect is the pity on your guests' faces.

But while you can't magically lengthen and widen a room, you can give the appearance of spaciousness with a well-chosen mirror.

The Mist Mirror from Foster's Urban Hardware (124 N. 3rd) begs to be hung in multiples, thanks to the art work-like framing. I'd go with six- 2 rows of three, on the horizontal- in a non-descript hall or foyer. I suppose you could hang these above a sofa, as the caption suggests, but make sure you purchase enough to make an emphatic enough statement. Three small mirrors above a large sofa looks skimpy, not minimalistic.

Placing a larger mirror above a mantel is an ideal thing to do. The somewhat unbroken vertical line that results heightens the ceiling. Try the Raleigh Arch Mirror from Restoration Hardware (4130 Main Street, Manayunk; 300 Route 73, Marlton, NJ). The arch nicely complements the horizontal lines of a mantel and the ceiling line.

In a smallish bedroom, I'm mad for this Venetian Beaded Mirror, also from Restoration Hardware. Since it's tilted, it reflects more of the blank ceiling, giving a hint of spaciousness. Be careful, since this is a major statement piece- keep this on a spare wall (meaning no accessories, and especially no messes), and try your best not to place it directly across from your bed, lest you come off as tawdry. I wouldn't encourage putting it, as the company recommends, in the bathroom, since most of us aren't very amused at such a bold, even if nicely framed, image of ourselves emerging from the bath.