Like most, pickers, I have rounds I like to make to various places, like the flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales, etc. This one particular day, I was on the hunt for a chair to pair with a desk. I had absolutely NO intention of bringing home more furniture. My house has been stashed to the brim for too long, and I was on my last couple of pieces to finish before I could do some major makeovers in my shop. Time for a retro Mid Century modern makeover.
I promised you this year I would share more of how God is working in my life, and I can’t help but share this providential story with you!
My kids and I went into Goodwill this time, and headed straight for the furniture section because I needed to get back home. I stopped dead in my tracks and whispered to myself, “Oh no.”
WHOA
Here is what I saw. (I make no apologies for the fuzzy photos because it’s ridiculously hard to take a photo while holding on to a squirmy baby in winter clothes – ha!)
I walked by and pretended not to be interested while my inner picker voice said, “You can’t just leave them here!!” Seriously, just look… here is a set of Bassett furniture that is just screaming for a makeover.
To make matters worse I had a 35% off coupon to boot. What to do, what to do?!
My kids looked at me with big eyes as if to say, “Please don’t bring home more furniture!” I asked what they thought and they knew what a gold mine this was for us.
You see, ever since my sweet little baby girl came early, we’ve had a large hospital bill to take care of every month, and I had to meet another bill deadline soon. You can read more on that story from this post.
Feeling a pit in my stomach, I decided to purchase the retro Mid Century modern set. gulp. A bonus was I saved $65 off of retail, so that should make me feel better, right? I hoped my hubby would be okay with it – he’s easy-going, so not too much to worry about there.
The eerie feeling wore off when after I had a potential client ask if I had a Mid Century Modern chest of drawers. Whoop, whoop!
DIY TIME
After working out the details of doing a custom piece, I was able to take the earnings from that chest and pay my bill for the month. God is sooo good. He knew what I needed, and my “logical” thinking almost made me miss out.
I refinished the credenza same as this United Furniture found curbside, and my thrifted Broyhill Brasilia. I love sanding down the drawers to retain the wood grain and then painting the cabinet a gloss white for a stark contrast.
See…my living room is full while working, and I’m aching for summer! Can you believe I’ve had shop lights and a HEATER for my shop for nearly a year, but have not had them installed yet? I told you I’m crazy busy (or just plain crazy). tsk.
THE REVEAL
Here they are all finished and ready to go.
Not only did the chest sell quickly, but then the credenza a couple days later by a local client.
A treat for me was I even found this awesome retro Hallmark wrapping paper lining the drawers. Fun!
I love what I do, and I love my Lord for blessing me so. You may just want to follow me, so you can be in on the next blessing! ♥
Pin and share to inspire others to think outside the Mid Century Modern box.
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Also, more DIY for you like my retro Mid Century modern makeover:
Loved reading this heartwarming post Larissa. Our biggest enemy can be living in our heads rather than trusting our instincts, intuition, divine messages – whatever you want to call them. Those were a great score – my eyes would have been bulging at the sight of them too.
Thank you, Marie. Yes, sometimes “things” can get in the way and we can overthink our circumstances. I’m so glad He knows better than I do!
Dear Larissa,
What a beautiful finished product! And what great talent the good Lord has blessed you with! Isn’t God sooo good?! God loves to bless His children!. He is an amazing provider!
Scripture teaches us in John 15:4, “Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch
can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in Me.”
Keep your eyes on the prize!
Blessings!
So sweet of you to say, Yolanda. Yes, amazing provider for sure. I keep telling myself to start a journal of His goodness, but keep putting it off. I know it would bless me in more ways than one. 😉
God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t he? That turned out great.
AWESOME piece.
Larissa I’m so thankful that you have decided to share a little more of your personal stories. What an encouragement to hear of how God provides just what we need when we need it. I love your work, your heart and your style.
Adina @ Simply Country Life
That means so much, Adina. Thank you for giving me encouragement in all that I do. <3
WOW – this post really spoke to me. I also have a huge hospital bill from my spinal surgery last year. I’m thinking maybe I should paint furniture! I’ve painted things for my own home and now I’m wondering, why I’ve passed up so many pieces thinking “I don’t have a place for that” when it was a great deal!!! I’d love to chat with you sometime about this!
Doreen
You would do good at it, Doreen! God has totally brought all this to the forefront for me and I’ve been able to help our family when it needed it most. 😉
beautiful pieces in the past, and i’m surprised at how much i love the newer re-dos with the pops of color!
Yes, they were. It’s fun to revive them with a new look while keeping the style the same. Thanks!
Desperately seeking bedside table for my personal use of the same style as Bassett dresser at the top of the page. Bought the long dresser last year and painfully regret leaving behind the bedside table.
Have you tried Etsy or eBay? I don’t have anything currently like that style in my shop. :/