modern thrifter
I love beautiful things and thoughtful design. Our family lives off a single income so that I can be at home with our kids, so patience and persistence have been the key to finding stylish things on a tight budget. I also design things with my husband. You can see our work at The Mahoney
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More liked posts![[ IT’S HERE ]
Okay, this is a terrible photo. But I couldn’t wait for a sunny day to take pictures so I could share the news that my new living room rug came yesterday. Thank you to those of you who responded on Facebook with advice as to which rug I should order. I ended up buying an 8’x10’ rug from Urban Outfitters that was on clearance for $99.
It’s not the rug of my dreams, and most likely it will someday move into a bedroom. But for the time being, I think it will work great.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/17a3dcfe35fa4464ee644b6cb4a4c1de/tumblr_mh3e1slePl1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ IT’S HERE ]
Okay, this is a terrible photo. But I couldn’t wait for a sunny day to take pictures so I could share the news that my new living room rug came yesterday. Thank you to those of you who responded on Facebook with advice as to which rug I should order. I ended up buying an 8’x10’ rug from Urban Outfitters that was on clearance for $99.
It’s not the rug of my dreams, and most likely it will someday move into a bedroom. But for the time being, I think it will work great.
![[ LIVING ROOM UPDATES ]
Ever since we saw the first few “fauxdenzas” pop up in the blogosphere (specifically the ones on The Brick House, and Door Sixteen), we’ve been plotting one of our own. Hosting guests for Christmas seemed like good motivation to make a few improvements to the living room.
We bought three 30” x 24” Applad/Akurum cabinets from ikea, and picked up some thick birch plywood from a Kerf warehouse sale for under $20. We were really hoping to get some of their walnut plywood, but there weren’t any pieces long enough for the top. For the price, I’m happy to settle for the birch, though if we ever stumble across a long plank of the walnut, we’ll probably make a swap.
The storage capacity of these cabinets is fantastic. We currently have the kid’s board games, some books, toys, and our record player stored away inside. I’m still figuring out what to put on the top, but here is my quick attempt to pull something together with the stuff I already had.
The vintage Anri Form tray was a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. I think it needs a few taller things inside, but for now, it’s a happy new home for my miniature wood dishes that had been residing on top of my refrigerator. I also added these hand-cut crystal candle holders that I’ve been storing in the cupboard.
We still need to patch up the back wall where the wood panels previously were, and hang some art. Oh, and I still hate the rug that’s in this space. Since everything that I like is around the $2000–$3000 price range, I’m thinking of ordering this super cheap one from Urban Outfitters until I either win the lottery, or some company starts selling huge beautiful rugs for under a grand.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/ecec2c4b9b50e29b25349e54aee275e0/tumblr_mg3611AvrV1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ LIVING ROOM UPDATES ]
Ever since we saw the first few “fauxdenzas” pop up in the blogosphere (specifically the ones on The Brick House, and Door Sixteen), we’ve been plotting one of our own. Hosting guests for Christmas seemed like good motivation to make a few improvements to the living room.
We bought three 30” x 24” Applad/Akurum cabinets from ikea, and picked up some thick birch plywood from a Kerf warehouse sale for under $20. We were really hoping to get some of their walnut plywood, but there weren’t any pieces long enough for the top. For the price, I’m happy to settle for the birch, though if we ever stumble across a long plank of the walnut, we’ll probably make a swap.
The storage capacity of these cabinets is fantastic. We currently have the kid’s board games, some books, toys, and our record player stored away inside. I’m still figuring out what to put on the top, but here is my quick attempt to pull something together with the stuff I already had.
The vintage Anri Form tray was a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. I think it needs a few taller things inside, but for now, it’s a happy new home for my miniature wood dishes that had been residing on top of my refrigerator. I also added these hand-cut crystal candle holders that I’ve been storing in the cupboard.
We still need to patch up the back wall where the wood panels previously were, and hang some art. Oh, and I still hate the rug that’s in this space. Since everything that I like is around the $2000–$3000 price range, I’m thinking of ordering this super cheap one from Urban Outfitters until I either win the lottery, or some company starts selling huge beautiful rugs for under a grand.
![[ HAUL OUT THE HOLLY ]
I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting all week to pull out all the Christmas decorations. We always cut our own real tree, and typically we get it Thanksgiving weekend. Since there is an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, we decided to hold off until this weekend to avoid a dead tree by the big day. Tomorrow is the day, and we’re all pretty excited around here to deck the halls.
I thrifted this sweet little santa this morning for a whopping 30¢. He was made in East Germany, or “Germany East” as it says on the bottom, and the condition is amazing. He’ll be a welcome addition to our decorations.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mebe9s7Gy61qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ HAUL OUT THE HOLLY ]
I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting all week to pull out all the Christmas decorations. We always cut our own real tree, and typically we get it Thanksgiving weekend. Since there is an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, we decided to hold off until this weekend to avoid a dead tree by the big day. Tomorrow is the day, and we’re all pretty excited around here to deck the halls.
I thrifted this sweet little santa this morning for a whopping 30¢. He was made in East Germany, or “Germany East” as it says on the bottom, and the condition is amazing. He’ll be a welcome addition to our decorations.
[ RETREAT ]
As a very visual thinker, I’ve learned over the years—and especially since having kids—that I function far better if I have one area in my house that I can count on to be clean. No matter how loud, messy, and wild the rest of the house gets during the day, having my little spot keeps me from totally freaking out.
Those of you with kids in school are probably familiar with the hurricane that rips through the house each morning, and making my bed has long been the first chore in the morning clean-up ritual. Even though I keep my bedroom really tidy (ahem…don’t look in the closets), I still felt like I needed a better place to retreat.
We had a chair and a nightstand sitting on the wall opposite of our bed, but I had been looking for a small desk for nearly a year. A few weeks ago I saw a craigslist ad for a $10 vintage desk, and even though it’s not my ideal piece of furniture, I couldn’t argue with the price. It is about 2” too wide for the space between the doors to our bathroom and closet, but it’s solid wood, so I’m going to have Patrick cut it down to fit.
I wish I could say it was teak or rosewood, or something sexy like that, unfortunately I think it’s a homemade project, crafted from much cheaper wood. But, I’ll say it again: $10. And it functions just like I need it to. Plus, it’s amazing what a few pretty accessories can add!
I picked up the brass Tensor desk lamp over a year ago at a garage sale for $3, and I’m so happy that it finally has a place. You might have seen the planter on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. I picked it up at the thrift store run by the local senior center for $1.
I’m not much for houseplants, mostly because we get no sunlight and they always die, but I’ve heard these snake plants (aka mother-in-law tongue plants) are easy to grow. The kids obviously need a pet because when I brought it home they were arguing over who would get to dust its leaves and who would water it.
We’re still planning to paint this wall black and do something different with the flooring. I get excited thinking about how that’s going to look, but right now we’re in the middle of some minor kitchen projects, so it will have to wait.
![[ SCRAP FABRIC PILLOWS ]
I have a lot of odds and ends fabric scraps stashed away, so when the sudden urge to swap out my pillow covers hit, I was prepared. I always use the envelope method for sewing pillow covers because it’s quick and pretty much fool-proof. This time I added a little more patchwork to the front to make them a little fancier, but the total sewing time for both pillows was still under an hour.
Patrick bought me a wool blanket from MacAusland Woolen Mill as a birthday gift back in June. I’ve been trying to score a Hudson Bay blanket from thrifts or estate sale for years, but I haven’t had any luck, so I’m thrilled to finally have this one instead. I wanted to add a little more color, so I made a new pillow cover for the bedroom, too.
Now, time to switch gears from sewing pillows to Halloween costumes!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbk7mbFyJ21qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ SCRAP FABRIC PILLOWS ]
I have a lot of odds and ends fabric scraps stashed away, so when the sudden urge to swap out my pillow covers hit, I was prepared. I always use the envelope method for sewing pillow covers because it’s quick and pretty much fool-proof. This time I added a little more patchwork to the front to make them a little fancier, but the total sewing time for both pillows was still under an hour.
Patrick bought me a wool blanket from MacAusland Woolen Mill as a birthday gift back in June. I’ve been trying to score a Hudson Bay blanket from thrifts or estate sale for years, but I haven’t had any luck, so I’m thrilled to finally have this one instead. I wanted to add a little more color, so I made a new pillow cover for the bedroom, too.
Now, time to switch gears from sewing pillows to Halloween costumes!
![[ WAY WASHINGTON ]
We have an embarrassingly large stack of prints and posters sitting in our art shelves that have been waiting for frames, but this Way Washington print by Aaron Draplin has been at the top of the pile. We’ve been fans of Draplin’s work for a while, and Patrick picked up this print at a lecture he gave in Seattle last year.
The frame and glass were thrifted for $14, then Patrick cut a custom matt with our new matt-cutter. The frame was kind of a pinkish gold color, but a few coats of Rustoleum took care of that.
I think this wall needs a little more art, so I’ll have to go through the pile and figure out which piece will be next. We also picked up some vintage maps at a book sale over the weekend for 5¢ each, and I’m trying to decide if/how I want to display them, too.
Here’s one more look at the wall, and a little sneak peek of the black trim and curtains (that are hanging funny because they still need to be hemmed).
You can buy your own Way Washington print here. Have another state you love? Choose from Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, South Carolina, Vermont, Kentucky, Utah, and even Canada.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb0o6xNhLN1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ WAY WASHINGTON ]
We have an embarrassingly large stack of prints and posters sitting in our art shelves that have been waiting for frames, but this Way Washington print by Aaron Draplin has been at the top of the pile. We’ve been fans of Draplin’s work for a while, and Patrick picked up this print at a lecture he gave in Seattle last year.
The frame and glass were thrifted for $14, then Patrick cut a custom matt with our new matt-cutter. The frame was kind of a pinkish gold color, but a few coats of Rustoleum took care of that.
I think this wall needs a little more art, so I’ll have to go through the pile and figure out which piece will be next. We also picked up some vintage maps at a book sale over the weekend for 5¢ each, and I’m trying to decide if/how I want to display them, too.
Here’s one more look at the wall, and a little sneak peek of the black trim and curtains (that are hanging funny because they still need to be hemmed).
You can buy your own Way Washington print here. Have another state you love? Choose from Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, South Carolina, Vermont, Kentucky, Utah, and even Canada.
![[ SUMMER WORK ]
Apparently, I’ve been on a bit of a blog break. It’s been somewhat unintentional, but I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I’ve been working on while taking my break.
I’ve gotten back into illustrating over the summer, and after many years of very sporadic drawing, it’s taken me a bit to find my style again. The little girl and puppy above is one of my favorites that I’ve done so far.
Patrick and I are also taking part in the Cosmic Sans show put together by Constellation Co. on September 6th. We’ll be auctioning off our prints (along with designs from 24 other designers) to benefit Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. and 826 Seattle, a nonprofit writing and tutoring organization for kids.
Here is my letter G (as in Gordo, the space monkey launched from Cape Canaveral in 1958):
And Patrick’s letter A (Apollo):
We’ve also been hard at work on a few logo and branding projects. My favorite is our hand-lettered logo for Ice Cream Social in Tacoma (the company website is still in the works):
Besides designing and illustrating, we were finally able to sand and paint the window trim in the living room. We also hung curtains, but I still need to hem them, so no pictures for now. Soon, though, soon—or maybe not until the kids start school again and my house isn’t covered in legos from sun up to sun down.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m96zkd9ttI1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ SUMMER WORK ]
Apparently, I’ve been on a bit of a blog break. It’s been somewhat unintentional, but I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I’ve been working on while taking my break.
I’ve gotten back into illustrating over the summer, and after many years of very sporadic drawing, it’s taken me a bit to find my style again. The little girl and puppy above is one of my favorites that I’ve done so far.
Patrick and I are also taking part in the Cosmic Sans show put together by Constellation Co. on September 6th. We’ll be auctioning off our prints (along with designs from 24 other designers) to benefit Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. and 826 Seattle, a nonprofit writing and tutoring organization for kids.
Here is my letter G (as in Gordo, the space monkey launched from Cape Canaveral in 1958):
And Patrick’s letter A (Apollo):
We’ve also been hard at work on a few logo and branding projects. My favorite is our hand-lettered logo for Ice Cream Social in Tacoma (the company website is still in the works):
Besides designing and illustrating, we were finally able to sand and paint the window trim in the living room. We also hung curtains, but I still need to hem them, so no pictures for now. Soon, though, soon—or maybe not until the kids start school again and my house isn’t covered in legos from sun up to sun down.
![[ ART ROOM PROGRESS]
Improvements have been slow lately on the house, but on the upside, we’ve been having a lot of fun. We just returned from two weeks in Montana that we’re packed full of family, sun, camping, and swimming pools.
Now that we’re back, I’ve been starting to hear a lot of “I’m bored” complaints from the kids, since they don’t have all of their cousins to play with. Good thing we’ve made a little progress on our art room. Once they get started on a project, they are easily enraptured for long stretches of time.
We still have lots to do in this room, but here’s what we’ve come up with so far:
Art Table - We’ve been hanging on to this old table since my first apartment because it folds up so small, but it’s solid wood, and really heavy. It has a bad paint job from my early 20s, so I don’t really care if it gets marked up with sharpies and paint. The thrifted chairs were previously used in the dining room before we replaced them with these.
With all of the windows, this spot gets pretty good natural light, and eventually I’d like to hang a roll of seamless backdrop material from the ceiling like this, so I can pul it down when I need to do product photography for our graphic design portfolio.
Map Shelves - These are a new exciting find that we picked them up from the UW Surplus store for $15. I’ve been wanting flat files for such a long time, but they are really expensive. Even though these don’t have drawers like I originally wanted, they are incredibly deep, and the height of them stacked (we bought two units) makes a perfect counter height for a standing work space.
Work Bench - I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time, and eventually I’ll get some better photos. We bought this at an estate sale last winter. It has two built in vice grips, a shelf, drawers, and a cabinet. Since we don’t have a garage, and our carport isn’t big enough for a work space, this sturdy but compact work bench has already been put to good use.
We also still have these shelves with my sewing cabinet, though they need a bit of reorganizing. And I’ve been using some vintage suitcases to store all of my fabric.
There is still plenty to finish in the room—ripping out the carpet, adding some shelving and bins to hold all of the various art supplies, and installing some better task lighting. For now, though, the room is serving the exact purpose we had in mind—space to be creative and messy.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m78kfx5ITK1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ ART ROOM PROGRESS]
Improvements have been slow lately on the house, but on the upside, we’ve been having a lot of fun. We just returned from two weeks in Montana that we’re packed full of family, sun, camping, and swimming pools.
Now that we’re back, I’ve been starting to hear a lot of “I’m bored” complaints from the kids, since they don’t have all of their cousins to play with. Good thing we’ve made a little progress on our art room. Once they get started on a project, they are easily enraptured for long stretches of time.
We still have lots to do in this room, but here’s what we’ve come up with so far:
Art Table - We’ve been hanging on to this old table since my first apartment because it folds up so small, but it’s solid wood, and really heavy. It has a bad paint job from my early 20s, so I don’t really care if it gets marked up with sharpies and paint. The thrifted chairs were previously used in the dining room before we replaced them with these.
With all of the windows, this spot gets pretty good natural light, and eventually I’d like to hang a roll of seamless backdrop material from the ceiling like this, so I can pul it down when I need to do product photography for our graphic design portfolio.
Map Shelves - These are a new exciting find that we picked them up from the UW Surplus store for $15. I’ve been wanting flat files for such a long time, but they are really expensive. Even though these don’t have drawers like I originally wanted, they are incredibly deep, and the height of them stacked (we bought two units) makes a perfect counter height for a standing work space.
Work Bench - I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time, and eventually I’ll get some better photos. We bought this at an estate sale last winter. It has two built in vice grips, a shelf, drawers, and a cabinet. Since we don’t have a garage, and our carport isn’t big enough for a work space, this sturdy but compact work bench has already been put to good use.
We also still have these shelves with my sewing cabinet, though they need a bit of reorganizing. And I’ve been using some vintage suitcases to store all of my fabric.
There is still plenty to finish in the room—ripping out the carpet, adding some shelving and bins to hold all of the various art supplies, and installing some better task lighting. For now, though, the room is serving the exact purpose we had in mind—space to be creative and messy.
![[ EDISON ]
If you’ve never heard of Edison, Washington, you shouldn’t be surprised. This small town in the Skagit Valley has a mere 133 residents, according to the 2010 census. But even with such a small population, Edison has a lot to offer.
We drove up for the afternoon to celebrate our anniversary, after hearing so many good things about the cafes that line the one main road through town. Our first stop was Farm to Market Bakery for lunch, and we were not disappointed. I won’t ramble on about the food—there are plenty of online reviews—but it was worth the drive.
We had heard a lot about the gourmet fare in Edison, but we were surprised that no one had mentioned the three or four galleries and artist studios in town, too. There was a really great printmaking exhibit at Smith & Vallee and while walking through, I turned a corner and stood face-to-face with this:
For those of you who haven’t met my husband in person, let me just say, the stranger in the print must be Patrick’s doppelgänger. I wonder if the other patrons in the gallery at the same time as us noticed it.
The day before we visited Edison there was a community-wide garage sale (I’m still a little bummed about missing it), so there were a few leftover sales happening while we were there. One of the best discoveries was a tent sale outside of Smith & Vallee that was filled with surplus wood slabs. I was desperately trying to think of a project that would justify a big chunk of black walnut, but I’m sure it would have sat in some sad corner of the house waiting indefinitely for me to do something with it.
At the same sale, Patrick found a nice mat-cutter—something he’s been wanting for years —for $10. Now we have absolutely no excuse for the lack of art on our walls.
We browsed the other shops in town which were filled with handmade art and crafts—not at all the kind you’d expect in a small farm town, but more along the lines of what you’d find in Ballard. Then, on our way to Tweets for pastries and coffee, we spotted a “free” pile, stacked in front of a little shop. We scooped up a few spools of nice yarn and a small wool cabbie hat for Alden. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to bring home a few goodies from an already delightful experience.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5lfmw74hd1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ EDISON ]
If you’ve never heard of Edison, Washington, you shouldn’t be surprised. This small town in the Skagit Valley has a mere 133 residents, according to the 2010 census. But even with such a small population, Edison has a lot to offer.
We drove up for the afternoon to celebrate our anniversary, after hearing so many good things about the cafes that line the one main road through town. Our first stop was Farm to Market Bakery for lunch, and we were not disappointed. I won’t ramble on about the food—there are plenty of online reviews—but it was worth the drive.
We had heard a lot about the gourmet fare in Edison, but we were surprised that no one had mentioned the three or four galleries and artist studios in town, too. There was a really great printmaking exhibit at Smith & Vallee and while walking through, I turned a corner and stood face-to-face with this:
For those of you who haven’t met my husband in person, let me just say, the stranger in the print must be Patrick’s doppelgänger. I wonder if the other patrons in the gallery at the same time as us noticed it.
The day before we visited Edison there was a community-wide garage sale (I’m still a little bummed about missing it), so there were a few leftover sales happening while we were there. One of the best discoveries was a tent sale outside of Smith & Vallee that was filled with surplus wood slabs. I was desperately trying to think of a project that would justify a big chunk of black walnut, but I’m sure it would have sat in some sad corner of the house waiting indefinitely for me to do something with it.
At the same sale, Patrick found a nice mat-cutter—something he’s been wanting for years —for $10. Now we have absolutely no excuse for the lack of art on our walls.
We browsed the other shops in town which were filled with handmade art and crafts—not at all the kind you’d expect in a small farm town, but more along the lines of what you’d find in Ballard. Then, on our way to Tweets for pastries and coffee, we spotted a “free” pile, stacked in front of a little shop. We scooped up a few spools of nice yarn and a small wool cabbie hat for Alden. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to bring home a few goodies from an already delightful experience.
![[ ARE WE THERE YET ]
I found this Rand McNally travel activity book a few weeks ago while doing a quick scan of the kid’s book section at Goodwill. I pulled it off the shelf assuming it would be mostly used, torn, or at the very least, scribbled upon. To my delight, it is in near perfect condition. The middle even has an entire section of perforated stamp/stickers with beautiful one-color illustrations that have never been torn.
The book was designed in 1971 by Bradford/Cout Design, which at one time was based in Illinois. There is virtually no information regarding this company, and as best as I can gather, they folded up shop in the early 2000s. This is the only other thing that I have been able to find online that was designed by them.
Here is one of many game pages in the book:
The secondary illustrations were done by Dorothy Milikan & Terry Rose, and while I prefer the more graphic illustrations done by Bradford/Cout, I think they managed to integrate the two styles quite well, as you can see in this diagram:
Of all the pages in the book (this being just a small selection), this spread is my favorite:
I love how good design is so timeless. I plan to keep this high on the shelf in order to keep excited little hands off of those stamps and games, but I do plan to make some color copies to use in the car for our next long road trip.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m56iweDdSK1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ ARE WE THERE YET ]
I found this Rand McNally travel activity book a few weeks ago while doing a quick scan of the kid’s book section at Goodwill. I pulled it off the shelf assuming it would be mostly used, torn, or at the very least, scribbled upon. To my delight, it is in near perfect condition. The middle even has an entire section of perforated stamp/stickers with beautiful one-color illustrations that have never been torn.
The book was designed in 1971 by Bradford/Cout Design, which at one time was based in Illinois. There is virtually no information regarding this company, and as best as I can gather, they folded up shop in the early 2000s. This is the only other thing that I have been able to find online that was designed by them.
Here is one of many game pages in the book:
The secondary illustrations were done by Dorothy Milikan & Terry Rose, and while I prefer the more graphic illustrations done by Bradford/Cout, I think they managed to integrate the two styles quite well, as you can see in this diagram:
Of all the pages in the book (this being just a small selection), this spread is my favorite:
I love how good design is so timeless. I plan to keep this high on the shelf in order to keep excited little hands off of those stamps and games, but I do plan to make some color copies to use in the car for our next long road trip.
