On the Hunt

When moving, it is sometimes necessary to find new furniture. As I cannot afford to go to the furniture store and pick up anything I want at any price, that means I have to bargain shop. This includes going on CraigsList, hitting estate sales, rummaging through thrift stores (and some are much nicer than others!) and looking through want ads.

My daughter wanted a drawing table for her new room. Since she is quite the artist, I was more than happy to comply with her request. I've been looking ever since, and today I think I found the perfect little table. It's an antique, it's round, just her size, and more importantly, it was cheap. I found it at a cool little place here in town that buys used furniture, fixes it up, and sells it.

Since I'm also planning to decorate my new place in an English cottage style (gee, wonder where I got that idea?) I've been trying to look for suitable items. I wanted a Queen Ann style coffee table and have been scouring all my resources to try and find one. Lo and behold, I picked up the perfect match today at the same place I found my daughter's table.

Last week, I hit an estate sale and found a wing back chair in near perfect condition for $15. Yes, $15. But even better? The lady was getting ready to close shop and said, "Make me a deal! I want to get rid of it." So I offered her $10. She accepted. Woo hoo!

There's a few things I've learned on my hunt for a good deal. 1) People are usually willing to bargain with you if they really want to get rid of the item. 2) Don't buy the first thing you see if you don't absolutely love it - there's always something better that will come along. 3) Shop around!

Do you love to haunt thrift stores and antique shops? Are you a bargain hunter or would you just rather go into a store, grab the first thing you like, and high-tail it out of there?