This post comes straight from Hemet California, the land of estate sales and strangely cheap vintage finds. I’d like to introduce you to the coolest person in Hemet, Morgan from The Brick House. And let it be known i’m obsessed with this post already:
Thrift Spotting with The Brick House
I spend an inordinate amount of time digging through thrift stores, hunting for some perfect vintage piece that’s under $100 and usually spot something I think could be amazing, but might not currently fit in my space.
The worst thing about thrift stores is that they are packed full with some of the ugliest crap imaginable. Conversely, the amazing thing about thrift stores is that sometimes, if you’re lucky, they might also hold something incredible at a very thrifty price.
It’s a crapshoot really. But hey, all thrift stores are regularly getting donations, so you never really know what you might stumble on.
Recently while tootling around at a local Salvation Army I came across this great cane lounge chair. I know cane furniture (or wicker, or rattan for that matter) might tend to make folks think more Golden Girls than super hot home décor, but I’ve always been a fan and think rattan mixes well with more modern spaces. Plus, The Golden Girls rule.
In my head I sort of imagined buying this chair, fixing it up and incorporating it into some sort of 70’s surf shack. Like a laid back and textured vintage den, somewhere you’d want to listen to music and make-out in.
Kind of like this kind of vibe:
Anyways, that very nice cane chair I found was only $20, and this octagonal coffee table I spotted was only $15.
For $35, I thought they could be lovely living room friends.
Mood boarding…
Firstly, I’d have to reupholster the cane chair cushion in a deep navy velvet. Then the ugly too red wood on the coffee table would need to get a dark gray opaque stain rubbed all over it. Yum.
Pair those with a vintage Lafer sofa in a buttery leather and suddenly you’re less Golden Girls and more hot dude with excellent taste sexy time pad. I’ve seen Brazilian Lafer sofas on Craigslist and at the flea market anywhere form a few hundred to a few thousand bucks. Depends on size, condition, all that kind of stuff.
I’m loving the chunkiness of a jute rug layered under a cowhide and have been obsessed with Fiddle Leaf Fig trees (which seems like the go to tree everywhere I look). Guess what – all three can be found at Ikea, including the PS Vadmal throw.
I found a pair of folding vintage wood chairs for $60 on Craigslist and thought some sort of marble and wood side table would be a great place to throw down a magazine and a drink and chill out on the couch. This Harvey Probber marble table will cost you a pretty penny (especially if the seller knows what it is) but similar tables make the rounds in thrift stores and flea markets and can be found at a pretty reasonable cost.
For lighting, I was thinking all brass vs. all organic – like Jere vs. Noguchi. Noguchi hanging lamps are fairly inexpensive but a true Jere brass lamp will set you back. Any sort of large-scale glammy type lamp would be amazing, even a big swiveling mid century wall sconce could be pretty perfect .
Throw it all together in front of a white painted fireplace with Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl on the walls and you got a sassy mix of vintage pieces all at a pretty affordable price.
INDEED, Morgan. Indeed.
Welcome back 70’s, your delicious weirdness has been missed. Now, to get me to Hemet to buy me some wicker….
And go to The Brick House. Be prepared to get lost in her insanely awesome DIY’s and really beautiful pictures of her own house….