Thrifting Goddess

I must have been in the zone on the weekend. Inspired by PMM and Michelle I have been in thrifting training over the last six months. We have two favourite shops to browse in, one of which is on the way to the block at the Margate Train. So every weekend we drop in and look around, trying to envisage items for furnishing our hut one day. New furniture is so soulless don’t you think? Rob also felt that as the hut will be brand spanking new (we still live in hope that it will get built soon!) it would be nice to have some pre-loved furniture to provide some character. We have been undecided on what style of dining chair we’d like. Do we go country? But the price of “trendy” bentwood chairs had put us off. A couple of months ago we visited the train shop, and I spotted four chairs. They’re not country, I guess they’re retro, a little daggy but beautifully crafted. The best bit was that they were Tasmanian made, by a (now extinct) company called Pipers Tru-line. Made of Tasmanian Blackwood. They had a nice padded seat, and a curved wooden back, we’re guessing 1970’s? Because of their supposed dagginess they were reasonably priced. We snaffled them. My first real dining chairs- the novelty of this was exciting, each time I walked past them I experienced a little thrill.

I then had my Pipers eye in so to speak. Barely a month later, I spied another Pipers Blackwood dining chair at the Train shop. This chair was a little wider, with a padded back, and arms; a Carver chair. It was extremely comfortable. I dragged Rob over to try it out, so we bought it and its twin (which was hiding out the back), these were even more of a bargain.

Then this last weekend, we drove by the Train shop on Saturday. But Rob was keen on Sunday, and was duly rewarded. This time I spied two IKEA armchairs. We tried these out a couple of years ago in the Richmond store, and I thought I was going home alone- Rob wasn’t leaving it! But the freight costs are a little prohibitive. Although not quite the ones we wanted they are still enormously comfortable and the price wasn’t too bad. I stood guard over the chairs (there were others customers circling like sharks) and despite a scary moment when the other shop owner wanted to check that the price tag was correct (he went away grumbling how lucky we were cause he meant the price to be for each chair not the pair) we scurried away with our new chairs. I have abandoned the couch in favour of mine. At the risk of you realising just how domestic our life is, neither of us could imagine being happier than sitting in our chairs with little rugs over our knees, drinking a glass of wine and watching TV. We even thought it a little pathetic! Nigella sulked at us until I relinquished my chair for her turn.

Now I didn’t think my weekend could get any better. But I was wrong. On Monday we headed to the block. Driving past the Train shop we instead visited the tip-shop for stakes for our new trees. I jumped out and from the car park spied the perfect lines (well I thinks so) of a Pipers Tru-line chair. Barely able to contain myself I rushed over and sure enough somebody had abandoned two dining chairs that match our Carvers chairs. They had obviously been unloved for a long time, worse, judging from the state of the wood they had been left outside! Like the big brown eyes of a puppy in a pet shop window the chairs pleaded with me, I couldn’t leave them there. The shop attendant said we could have them for $5 each! My god I nearly kissed her. Triumphant we took them home to provide some TLC, a little sanding, some new foam and fabric and we have two more perfect Blackwood chairs. Rob is a little worried though- will our hut turn into the home for lost Tru-line chairs? I’ll post some photos soon!