I have temporarily acquired a new chair:
Which my cat has already colonized.
I bought it, just today, for The Ugly Princess. My own description of the princess’ tower is “opulent but shabby”. Now that the show is a go, I’ve been scouring the web for (inexpensive) bits and pieces to set the scene. I happened upon this chair on the website for ReStore, and since it was less than two minutes from where I work, I jetted over on my lunch hour. It’s exactly what I want: it’s beautiful, but also obviously broken-in. That’s why I’m not concerned about Bailey claiming it for now, although I intend to cover it in an old sheet and then vacuum it thoroughly before the show – Mandy is allergic to cats.
But as for WHAT ELSE is at ReStore…they only take donations of furniture, appliances, and building materials which are genuinely useable – they can’t be used as a dump. There was a dining table, six chairs, and a sideboard, all of a gorgeous blonde wood, in perfect condition…the whole shebang for $500. There was a sleigh-style queen size bed, with padded head and footboards, for $100. I WISH I HAD A HOUSE. If ever I do get to buy a place, I’m furnishing it entirely from ReStore.
And from FIND. Where my family donated most of my grandma’s furniture. And the ReUse Centre.
These are places which are working to get us to rethink how much we use, and waste, and help others who don’t have anything to waste. Having visited these places (and Kijiji!) recently, I’m aghast at why anything lasts in those shops for longer than a day! Because the furniture in them is
- Fantastically unique – NO ONE else you know will have that dining room!
- Cheap. WHY buy something new and cheaply made that looks like everything else, when instead you can have something cool and in great shape that cost you almost Nothing??
- Buying that amazing, inexpensive furniture helps someone else.
I see no negatives to this. So, at the risk of losing all my future set pieces, go check these places out.