This wasn’t an inexpensive project, by any means. But we did a lot of shopping around and found just the right things at times for just the right price. Here’s a breakdown on what was purchased and where:
= New couch was a Crate and Barrel find on Craigslist for $350. It belonged to a graduate student and his wife who barely used it and it didn’t have much wear at all.
= Bar was also a Craigslist find; it was originally purchased at Copenhagen for something like $1,200 and we got it for $300.
(Craigslist tip: When I helped Scott find a couch, I did not find much on Craigslist. But Phoenix seemed to have a jackpot of good stuff that people were practically throwing away! I don’t know if it’s a difference in tastes of the two cities or what. I found that if I searched for my favorite brands it would help to narrow it down to stuff I actually liked.)
= Curtains were found at World Market (6 panels purchased at $42 apiece. Had a 10% off coupon as part of their frequent buyer program.) Curtain rods are from IKEA. 5 rods purchased at $6 apiece; 10 ceiling fixtures at $3 apiece; 3 packs of clips were $5 apiece.
= Paint used was Behr Premium Plus ($30 a gallon). It has the primer already in the paint. The painter against getting the primer inside the paint for the red, and boy, was he wrong.
= Console table / 2-person desk was purchased at IKEA for $250.
= The small silver lights with black shades on the console table were purchased at a “model home sale”. There is a home staging company that buys furniture and decorations in order to sell a home, and then sells them. We got them for $15 apiece.
= 2 silver vases ($60 apiece) and 6 bunches of crystal flowers ($8 apiece) were from Z Gallerie.
= Two black chairs (to be used near console table) from Denmarket for $99 apiece.
= Two red barstools from Denmarket for $139 apiece.
= Z Gallerie Broadway photo was $89. But the custom frame job was botched and the staples were showing at the front of the print. They gave it to us for 50% off. We bought several things (including the NY art, $39 that is currently above the bar but is moving), got home and realized they’d forgotten to put the Broadway photo in a bag. They credited Anil another 20% off for forgetting it. I spent 15 minutes with a knife and some scissors and fixed the framing issue, and the price tag ended up being $27!
= Clock is from Crate and Barrel; $79.
= Nesting tables are barely shown in the photo, but that’s ok because Anil returned them. They are originally from Denmarket; 3 for $149. We got them back to his place and he realized he couldn’t put his feet on them (they are white glass.) So he returned them and he plans to buy two of these in silver from West Elm.
= New outlets and light switches and plate covers for things like phone jacks (that are unused.) I didn’t pay attention to how much this stuff cost; we only bought them for the two walls that we painted. It didn’t cost much, though, and it gives the walls a cleaner, fresher look. Eventually I’d like to change all of them in the condo and do other things like upgrade the thermostat to this century.
= This fan has been chosen for the living room from Thingz ($500.) Anil is going to purchase it this week. I think it’s really remarkable and will be a conversation piece for the room once it’s there!
So, that’s about it so far! What do you think?