Okay, so if you know me at all you know that I rarely pay above $10 for anything when it comes to second-hand shopping. Like, anything, including furniture. But one Saturday about a month ago while I was exploring the secondhand/antique store market in Northwest Arkansas I found these chairs.
Vintage robin’s egg blue fiberglass chairs? Are you kidding me? Now, I have no place to put these. No use for them at all. I was quoted a price of $25 each, and, sighing, I walked away from them.
Only to visit them twice more. They were out in the lot of a SUPER antique store called Exclusive Antiques (2305 S. Thompson, Springdale) that is run by the nicest woman. Inside it’s curated and organized in the most attractive manner and outside, it’s like a salvage yard. I mean, the best of both worlds, as far as I’m concerned. I love everything she has her store stocked with, but her prices are antique store prices — not steep by those standards at all, but not the right price range for re-sell, obviously. I mean, that’s not what she’s in the business for. I would think if you were an interior designer in this area, though, you would make this store one of your regular stops. ANYWAY.
The second time I went to visit them, I had a hard time turning in to the lot, because traffic was so bad, and from my angle, I couldn’t see them. My heart just dropped. They had been sold. My beautiful blue chairs had been sold. I was so disappointed. But I was wrong! They were still there! An important rule of secondhand shopping: if you’re totally bummed and depressed when your item is sold out from underneath you, you should have BOUGHT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. So I bought them.
I just don’t know what to do with them.
I mean, I think they would look SO adorable in an eat-in kitchen paired with a chalk-painted white round table. But I have neither an eat-in kitchen nor a chalk-painted white table. So they are living in our guest bedroom right now. They’re not the fancy brand of fiberglass chair (Herman Miller) but they’re vintage, and fiberglass, and SUCH an attractive color…I’m contemplating listing them on Chicago Craigslist for when I go back in the Spring. Maybe I could finance my buying trip with them, who knows?
That is, IF I can stand to part with them.
What do you think? Impulse buy or smart buy?
by Lara Jo
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