Bulluck's Winter Sale

Ever heard of Bulluck's lamp sale?   My mom and aunt have been going to this event for YEARS.   So long that I have inherited some of their hand-me-downs.   I just started going myself a couple of years ago.  It started as lamps but now includes furniture, art, and decor.

I usually just take some of my vintage lamps to have them rewired.   They do it on the spot for around $10.  Then you can buy finials, bases, and shades separately.  The shades are pretty cheap and I do not just mean the price.  Anywhere from $5 to $20 but also cheap on the quality spectrum.  I end up getting some cheapies to tide me over until I splurge to buy what I really want.  And then, those cheapie shades just continue to hang out for a few years.  Because after a few months, who really cares anyway?

Here some pics from last years excursion.

 

 

You can take your own lamp bases there or purchase one of theirs.   Then you pick your base, finials,  and shades.  And they can make ANYTHING into a lamp.  There is a guy there onsite to drill holes into statues, pots, ginger jars, etc.  Ir's really fun to see what crazy stuff people come up with.

Last year I took this lamp that I had purchased somewhere? for $5.  I paid $3 for the finial, $2 for the base, $5 for the shade and think I paid around $16 to have it completely rewired.  Under $30 for a lamp is not too bad in my opinion.

 

The early bird definitely gets the worm.  Two very stylish young fellows got there early to camp out at 6:30.  The sale didn't start until 8:00 and it was freezing.  It would have taken a bomb and someone holding me at gunpoint to get me there that early.

They scored these great lamps for under $50 each.  I took a pic because you know how I like to torture myself with missed opportunities.

 

I really contemplated buying these guys but passed since my real problem is that I have no tables to place said lamps.  But they were about $40 each if I recall correctly.

And remember these?  We got a lot of Instagram action on these elephants.  I think they were $16 for the pair, maybe.  I was bored by this point and could not bring myself to stand in line for the purchase.

There will be lots of ceramics.  Ginger jars last year out the wazzoo.

If you decide to go just a few words of advice:

And don't take kids or you get this face after an hour:

Have a definite game plan and someone to help you edit.  You can easily get overwhelmed and end up with a bunch of garbage without the bargain ticket price.

If you are rewiring any vintage lamps, hang on to the original harps.  Two years ago they threw out a square mid century harp and I didn't realize the new harp didn't work with my original shade until I got home and it was too late.  Still kicking myself for that one. 

I still can't decide if I want to go this year.  You know I hate to miss a bargain!  If you decide to go. hit me up and give me your feedback!   This is a really popular sale with interior designers.  Here is the actual link to the Bulluck's site with more teaser pics.

Till Next Time,

Tricia

Trina Turk Facelift

Can I get a "Whoop!  Whoop!"?  Happy 2013 to all of our friends, family and fans!  We have been noticeably absent from the blogging arena for the last month, who are we kidding- two months.  Writing that first blog post after a long break is akin to getting back in the saddle.  Not so much filled with apprehension  but more like, well...sheer DREAD.  Blogging is like pulling teeth for me.  I always have LOTS to say but putting it on paper is another story.

I have promised Jennings for three days now to do a blog post on a recent super exciting acquisition of RV.  Alas, that post will have to wait until tomorrow because it has been trumped this morning by a PHENOM delivery that I am just dying to share!

So for those who don't know me well, let me just say that my typical taste is ummm, not exactly of the bargain price variety.  However, being a stay-at-home Mom to two kids and a Great Dane who consumes more food than I do, I have certainly learned to think outside of the box budget wise.  The only thing I love more than a fab designer piece is a unique (cheap) piece that you can transform into something spectacular.  So here is my dynamic re-do.

I picked these chairs up two summers ago at a church yard sale for $10 each.  They were pretty disgusting but I loved the shape.  I think they were probably old office chairs that had been stored in a basement for 40 plus years.  Geez.  I wonder what confessions have been made in these puppies.

After many attempts at sanding the black paint off the legs myself, I convinced my husband to break out his sander.  Lesson learned quickly.  Why bust it yourself while you have
A.  a husband
B.  a husband with tools?

The legs were bare in no time and I just added a fresh coat of white enamel paint.

The upholstery left much to be desired.  It was a dusty and mildewed old blue and black vinyl.  It had to go!  It did leave me with the great idea to upholster the arm with vinyl trim, though.  I mean I have two kids and a dog.  That thing MUST have a wipe-ability factor of 10.

When we moved into this house 3 years ago I had ordered fabric samples of Trina Turk's indoor/outdoor line for F. Schumacher.  I got it from a design firm in Chicago who, at the time, had the best price around at $60 per yard.  Everywhere else it was $90 per yard and up.

Super Paradise (Left) and Pisces (Right) both in Driftwood were my absolute faves.  I was going through a grey and yellow moment.  

You can view the entire line of Trina Turk fabric online HERE.  I didn't end up buying any fabric then- let's just say it takes a village and a few years to put my plans into action.  Anyway, you know I did a straight up happy dance when both fabrics showed up in a local fabric shop for just $7.99 a yard.  Uh, yeah.  I'll take some of that.  Ten yards of each to be exact.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it but, PLEASE!!! It was almost free.

So after having the chairs for  a year and a half and the fabric for a year I finally made a pledge to use them both.  I got my new chairs this morning- freshly re-upholstered at break-neck speed.  I almost passed out as they were coming up the sidewalk.  

Inside in Super Paradise

 Back in Pisces

Pattern Detail at Leg

Side View

Oh, I'm sorry.  And I have TWO.  Now just scroll back through this post while mentally listening to "Play" a la Jennifer Lopez circa 2001.  

Oh, hell.  HERE you go.  

Now imagine that I paid $20 for the chairs, $120 each for upholstery and $7.99 for a few yards of fabric.  Less than $160 each for custom chairs.  That's right.  Take it low one time.  That's the kind of dancing I've been doing around here today. 

Till Next Time, 

Tricia

Mid Century Lighting Crisis

A few weeks ago, Tricia and I ran across this lovely pair of Mid Century lamps. Despite their beautiful gold and black finish, that was in excellent condition, the hardware and cords were in desperate need of some TLC.

Not to worry, we LOVE a project! With a little help from the wonderful ladies (and gentleman) at D. Baxter's lamp shop our new treasures were cleaned up in no time. We replaced the old cords with new ones, refinished the sockets, and replaced the harps.

Now, one thing still remains to be done...the shades! This is such a difficult decision for us, whether it is lamp shades, fabric for a chair, a coffee table color. Not everyone likes neon coral ( I can't seem to get enough)! So, we thought we would turn this one over to you. What color would you like to see these shades?? A pretty turquoise or blue, emerald green, hot pink, chartruese (the newest color to grace the runways)...What?! You tell us. We really can't make one more decision!

 

What color would you like to see. Choose wisely, they will be up for sale once this one last little detail is done. These could be sittin' pretty on your sideboard in no time.

 

Till Next Time,

Jennings