Thursday, February 25, 2010

Trash Picking Thursday!




Today I'm linking up with two parties, the lovely Kendall at Finesse Your Nest for Trash Picking Thursday and the wonderful Leigh from Tales From Blogeritaville for Thrifty Thursday.  For these parties we are going down to the basement of the Bliss House, where you'll find many of my TP'd finds that are both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.  And for me, functional is the name of the game.  These days when I am out and about I try to look for things that have storage, whether it's a large piece of furniture, or an accessory.

At the very bottom of my stairs you will see this console table.

I found it on a curb in the neighborhood where I grew up, not far from here.  This neighborhood has been a treasure trove for trashpicking and our favorite spot to scour.  The neighborhood is still transitioning from empty nesters to young families and there is always good furniture.  We have NEVER come home empty handed from treasure hunting there.

I am assuming that this was the server part of the set.  It was an oak color, so I painted it black and added some rub'n buff accents on the sides and hardware for some pizzazz!  It makes a nice statement at the bottom of the stairs.


I use it to store all of my stash of used, slightly used and unused candles.


I needed a place to store some books and this was the perfect piece.  I can't remember what curb this came from, just glad I got to it before the trashmen! It just needed a little cleaning, but otherwise, perfect condition.


This cute bookshelf also came from my old neighborhood and Mr. Bliss uses this in his office area of the basement for storing the printer and other office supplies.  It's collapsible and a pretty walnut color, so I didn't paint it, just cleaned it up.


I got this picture on one of our all-time favorite trash picking adventures.  It was myself and my bff/trashpicking partner, Denise and this particular time, we brought another couple of friends.  We picked at a house that was sold and at that exact moment, the homeowner pulled up and greeted us.  He was as nice as could be and invited us into his beautiful home to see some other furniture that he was selling.  The four of us ended up pooling our money and purchasing quite a bit of beautiful furniture that day.  Here is the picture that I kept for myself!

He gave me this Pottery Barn bench for free.  It was pink and I just painted it black and it sits under our fireplace in the basement.

So that's it for this weeks TP Thursday bash.  Thanks to Kendall and Leigh for hosting and be sure to go to Finesse Your Nest and Tales From Bloggeritaville to see other curbside/thrifty treasures.

Don't forget to enter my Blogaversary Giveaway.  There is only 1 day left!

Also, I've been making some changes to my blog lately and need your help!  Since I switched to Updated Editor (which I love) I have had a hard time dragging things in my layout.  Also, I've learned that different browsers are showing my "Page Bar" and other elements in the wrong place.  And lastly, when I view my blog, the wrenches are visible, are they visible to you?  And if so, how do I remove them?  Ugh.  So frustrating!  I would appreciate any help you can give me.  Thanks and have a great day!

16 comments:

Wendy said...

Kim, I love the new look of your blog! Will grab the button! I don't see the wrenches when I view your pages! Isn't it amazing how much time it takes to get it organized!
What great finds! You do have luck on your side :)
Hope you aren't getting too much snow today :)
Wendy

LYNDA QUINTERO-DAVIDS said...

YaY! Another fellow curb minor! I've had some near fender benders at times when the wicked head flips over a treasure in the trash!
Great finds...

:D Lynda
http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com

Love the Decor! said...

Love the new look!!
I can't believe someone would throw that great cabinet out!! How amazing to have such a fun place to go "trashing"
~Have a blessed day~

Marigene said...

That is some major free storage you have scooped up...I never see anything good curbside.

Glo said...

Nice trash finds!

I love the new look of your blog too!

Unknown said...

Your blog looks great. No wrenches and everything was where it was supposed to be.

I dearly wish we lived in an area where people put furniture out on the curb. Alas, I've never lived in a place that does that. A few years ago, the people across the street got new windows and shutters and put the old ones out for the trashman. I kept looking out the window and trying to work up the courage to go take a couple of shutters, but I never did. I've kicked myself a hundred times since!

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Wow! You have found a lot of good stuff. I have had pretty good luck in the past, when someone would move around here, but nothing in quiet a while.

Melinda said...

It is truly amazing what people don't want anymore. Alls the better for those of us who end up with the goods.
Your wrenches don't show for me either. I learned a long time ago to ignore them--they are only for your eyes anyway.

Melinda

Debbiedoos said...

Kim you cracked me up!~ We love that find on the extinguisher...I bet on craigslist it was pretty cheap!!~ It is cool and a conversation piece! Speaking of conversation pieces....from Trash to treasure seriously I can't believe you found that stuff and fixed it up so nice! Well I can, but what don't people understand....they throw good stuff out!!~

stephanie said...

"Trash Pickers" that would be a great show for HGTV!! I ususally make the husband get out of the car and take it, I'm the "look-out"!! Someone gave me a great tip once, go to a college town thrift shop once school lets out. Supposedly many great things are left behind when kids graduate or leave for the summer!

Tina said...

Your blog looks perfect from my end Kim:) Oh how I miss trash picking!! Our council in our little country down does not do a kerbside pick up...maybe I should run for council and introduce one;) Great finds, I can't believe you got that pottery barn bench for free and that cabinet is gorgeous, who would toss that out??? Thanks for sharing and have a lovely day ~ Tina x

Kimberly said...

That is so funny.

One time my roommate in college brought home a beautiful chair, but we noticed that it had some weird smell to it. Later the biggest hairiest spider crawled out from under it. I was sitting right in front of that chair.

I would have screamed if it crawled up my back.

Great finds!

Paula@SweetPea said...

You have found the best stuff! It's hard to believe what people just throw out.

Terri Smith said...

Ah Kim..you are the sweetest! Thank you for adding my button to your beautiful site!

WoW..I love what you did with the piece of furniture you found! What a lovely addition to your "already gorgeous" home!

I'd take more photos of my home interior to share, but I'm embarrassed to admit mine is no where near as organized as yours. Kim, yours is "perfection."

But ya know, now that I've been blogging and have seen so many lovely, organized dwellings, I'm really starting to get motivated. We'll see how long that lasts.."grin"...

Thanks again for all your visits over to my place. It been such a pleasure having gotten to know you a little better.

Blessings, joy and sunshine,
Terri

Queenie's Vintage Finds said...

Hey Kim,
Amazing that you found these things by the curb! You are good girl...and when I say good...I mean real good! :) Wish we had stuff like this beside the curbs around my area.
They look so pretty in your home.

I really enjoyed your home tour in the post down below too...your home is beautiful!
Have a great weekend!
Big Hugs,
Queenie
P.S. I hope you got well and are feeling much better by now. :)

Kendall@ Finesse Your Nest said...

Wow! Looks like you are hitting the trash pick jackpot! I live in a neighborhood similar to yours and people are always putting GREAT STUFF on the curb! I LOVE that little console you found and painted black! Looks like such an expensive piece!

Thanks so much for linking up to Trash Pickin Thursday and I'll look forward to future trash treasures from you!