Friday, November 30, 2012

Craigslist Adventures! or....Preparing for a House of Our Own



I have never used Craigslist in my life before the last couple of months. However, when one is building and furnishing a house on a budget, I'm finding it can come in very handy! I've found many of my treasures there.

The most recent was something we weren't even expecting, and consider it to be a Providential gift.
Jordan had been pricing windows bought new, of various different kinds. We of course both prefered the more old fashioned, wood frame kind, double hung with separate glass panes. Because an old fashioned log home needs windows to match, right? But, windows of any kind, especially what we wanted, were way more expensive that we had been counting on. One place quoted us a price of between $300 and $400 a piece. And we need 16 in all. Yikes!

So, that was somewhat discouraging, we had about decided we'd just have to go with something cheaper and modern for now, and hope to be able to replace them with something more historic in the future.

Well - I got a hunch to do a quick search on (where else..?) Craigslist. I found only one listing that I thought looked really worthwhile. It was for 11 new wooden windows, and they looked 'right' to me, but I hesitated about showing them to Jordan, because they might 'not' be right....lol.

However. I did show him, and he said they were perfect - just the exact style that should go in a 19th century house.

So, the next day we were driving up to Oklahoma city to pick up our windows! They were even better in person. They were brand-new, never installed handmade window reproductions that someone had ordered for a period house restoration, but then changed their mind about at the last minute.

So -  we got 11 windows for roughly $70 a piece. Plus we got 2 more half windows for free that we are planning to use for the bathroom! 

Aren't they great?? I can just imagine looking out of them already!



They are a bit dusty right now, but will clean up nicely. :)


They even use the old-fashioned system of cast iron weights, ropes, and pulleys inside the frame to open and close the window. Sweet! We couldn't have asked for anything more perfect or period-correct.


Here are a coule of examples of old fashioned windows, inside and out:




Back at the beginning of October, I really got to thinking about the 'big' items we still didn't have for the house. I had looked in our area craigslist before for clawfoot tubs, and either hadn't come up with much, or the ones I had seen were really expensive. But, I decided to look again, this time I saw several affordable options, but finally decided to call about this one:

My cast iron bathtub!! The enamel inside is in perfect shape (forgive it being a bit dusty!), not a nick or scratch to be seen. The outside has been painted cream colored, and there is a small scrape in the paint. I may repaint it a brighter color someday, but I'll wait and see. I bought it for $150.00, which considering the other prices I'd seen for tubs in this good of shape, seemed like a deal. The man I bought it from said it was taken from a turn of the century farmhouse in Oklahoma.

I'm envisioning our small bathroom to look something like this:


Or this:

Or this:
...something looking quite simple, clean, and bright.

Since we were going to be driving 2 hours away to pick up my bathtub in one of the bigger towns in our area, I decided to comb through anything that was described by the word 'antique' in the town's craigslist just to make sure I couldn't make the trip more worthwhile. And I found a sure-enough treasure:


I loved this bathroom sink/vanity from the minute I saw the picture. It's absolutely perfect in every way for what I wanted . The hinged mirrors on the side are so cute, and I love how the small sink makes me think of a china bowl-and-pitcher on a cabinet.


The piece isn't actually antique, but a very well made, sturdy modern-made antique style. :)
 Isn't the carving pretty?

The two top drawers hide the plumbing, but the bottom drawer actually works.
Jordan wants to eventually replace the faucet with something a little less shiny. :)


I've been so thankful that over and over the right pieces for the house have fallen into place just at the right time! :)

11 comments:

Sharon Kwilter said...

I've been a craigslist convert for about 6 years and I rarely buy anything new for the house anymore. Those NEW windows were an unbelievable score! It's hard to believe someone actually wanted to get rid of new reproduction windows. Usually they only want to get rid of old windows with layers and layers of paint.

K. M. Updike said...

Oh my! This is quite amazing! You are very inspiring! I love simple, clean things, too! And old things and history!

I saw this summer you were following me and when I read your blog I couldn't understand why *I* hadn't been following you sooner! Your blog is so much fun and I really enjoy reading about your home building adventures and all the wonderful things you find!

Kayla

Rachel Hope said...

Wow your house is going to be amazing !
I'm so happy for you both, those windows are really nice. My family loves craigslist.
That picture of you and your significant other is too cute. Its so nice to see young people wanting to live an old fashioned lifestyle.
Blessings ~ Rachel hope

Lilac Bud Gal said...

Oh that is just so exciting!!! I love all the pieces you got, especially the windows!!! Those are just perfect. :) I'm thinking that Becca and I are going to have to come up and visit you so we can see your new furniture pieces in the house. :)

Kellie said...

Oh Atlanta!!! It's just so much fun to see you furnishing my dream house... lol :)

The tub is perfection - I love those nice fat ones.
The windows... The Windows!!! What a miracle! I love those windows to pieces. Everything perfect windows should be!
The little vanity/sink is so delightful... I'm just sitting here cooing over it;)

Congrats on these beautiful finds.

AuntieNan said...

Hi there! So exciting -- we furnished our "new" addition to our very old house and would have loved to be as lucky in our window procurement!!

I also wanted a cast iron tub, but our plumbers & plumber-helper said it was too heavy for the upstairs. (Later research with knowledgeable construction geeks said they were probably just too lazy to get the tub UP the stairs!)

As to where to put it -- remember some people may want to use a hand-held shower, and so tucking it under the eaves could be a problem, if the shower-ee is tall!

Best of luck with your lovely house,
Auntie Nan

Unknown said...

Lovely! Atlanta, it's so great to follow you and Jordan as you move towards a home of your own! Thanks for sharing!

rebecca jane said...

squeep!!! so perfect! i can't wait for your house to be done. it's going to be so adorable. :D

SisterlyLove said...

That is so neat! What gorgeous pieces. We have a cast iron claw foot tub. It has a humpback whale painted on it. Not as weird as it sounds. It's really cool. :)

Genevieve

Emily said...

I cannot believe you got the windows for that price!! Amazing! And I love the vanity! And I love bathroom #2, it's my favorite.

Rachel Heffington said...

Beautiful! This makes me long so for a house of my own! How cool that you could get so many great windows! What a blessing. :) Thanks so much for sharing all this! I love the last piece especially.

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