So often, I see decorating shows or articles which say they are low-cost, but then I see that they have spent thousands of dollars on one ROOM! One night, just for fun, as I sat in my cozy living room, I thought about where our living room furniture came from and how much each piece cost. You might find the origin (and price) of the furniture interesting:
- Ikea birch veneer-style computer desk ($30 at the Salvation Army. We had a truck and took it home ourselves, saving delivery costs)
- Upholstered office chair (probably one of the more expensive items at $90 on sale at Office Depot, floor sample)
- Wing chair ($30 - thrift shop)
- Reclining chair: ($35 - Goodwill)
- 40's/50's solid wood side drawer tables (junk store - $15)
- 50's beach solid wood table (junky thrift store - $15)
- Office lamp with green glass shade (thrift store $5)
- Ikea-type printer stand (found on side of road - $0)
- Tall office bookcase (found on the side of the freeway - $0)
- Pine shelves (found on street, refinished - $0)
- Shelf (Ikea scratch-n-dent section - $20)
- wooden bookshelves (Inherited - $0)
- 2 metal CD stands ($5 each)
- Large ceramic lamp (thrift shop - $30) + shade (found - $0)
- Standing lamp (yard sale - $10) + shade (thriftshop - $7)
- Corner shelf (rescued from trash - $0)
- Oriental bin (rescued from trash - $0)
- Oak TV unit (found on street - $0)
- 1990's TV set (won - $0)
- Fax machine (community swap - $0)
- Rattan shelving (estate sale - $15)
- Wood shelving ($15)
- Period ceramic lamp with shade (thrift shop - $7)
- Large wooden office trash can (thrift shop - $7)
- 2 fake oriental rugs (bargain store - $25 and $15)
- sheer white curtains (Anna's Linens bargain store - $20)
- 2 magenta pillows (rescued from fresh trash - $0)
- 2 lighthouse pillow covers on old pillows (99 Cent Store - $1.98)
- 2 cylindrical pillows ($1 each)
- Hassock ($15)
- Mirror (thrift shop - $10)
- Solid wood occasional table (thrift shop - $16)
I won't go into the knickknacks - but I do have a 1930's lithograph commercial print which I snapped up for $80 (probably worth $400?) Other art includes: 4 period lithographs (thrift shop - $10 each = $40), marine oil sketch (swap meet - $7), oil painting (thrift shop - $15), seascape (gift - $0)
Shall we add it all up? If my calculations are right, it's about $600! The two upholstered chairs would have costs that much new! These pieces were all accumulated over time - much easier on the pocketbook. These are NICE pieces of furniture, which are not to be ashamed of. Food for thought.
By pam munro from Los Angeles, CA
