where the magic happens
Many of my gracious readers (well, one reader: Jeana!) requested “After” pictures of my bedroom and the bedroom set that I scored. You can click any of the pictures to get a larger view, or just go off and have a cocktail and wait for a less nest-y and unwieldy post tomorrow!
I wish I had some “Before” pics to assault you with. Not pretty. Not that I’m all the way there; not shown is my horrid apartment-issue vertical blinds or disorganized closet with the broken door. Le sigh.
Wow. I need new pillows. Those lamps were a score from the Long Beach Flea Market that I went to with the Ukulady. I had been flirting with them all day, and I went back to them just before we left. The vendor wanted $65. I offered $25 and she said yes. Wha? The lampshades are from Ross Dress for Less and were 9 bucks apiece. They’re beautifully made.
The headboard is actually two headboards. My mom bought them in Mexico for my twin beds when I was about 7 (better shot of the headboards). You’ll see the matching mirror in another shot. The duvet and sham covers are an uber-score from Linens N Things, which is going out of business. I highly suggest you do some bottom-feeding there, stat!
The print at left is by Jordan Crane — it’s a pillow and it says “sleep”. Bought at Bizarre Bazaar (precursor to the crafty Felt Club) in LA in 2005. Check out his unbelievable art here.
Naked ladies! What’s not to love? These oils were picked up for 5 bucks each at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in ’06. There were dozens of them — a guy named Otto painted them, his wife was the model — all right profile, all naked, all the same hairstyle. The paintings spanned years, from young Mrs. Otto to elderly. I kick myself for not buying more of them.
The print behind the lamp is a silkscreen (“Love Your Money”) by Kate Bingaman-Burt, of Obsessive Consumption fame. I had been itching to own a piece of hers for ages, and finally got a great Etsy deal when she had a moving sale.
You can see the gold lining of the lampshade. Without a doubt, they are the finest lampshades I have ever owned.
Keeping company with the Mrs. Ottos are the matching mirror previously mentioned and a variety of thrift store paintings. Also up there is an embroidery of mushrooms (a gift from Tamar), a silly photo of me at about age 8 (my sister L had it displayed in her home for years, but then she mailed it to me a couple years ago without explanation), and a gorgeous photo of a water lily that my sister Ann took. In a 99 Cents store wooden frame! There are some themes going on with this art arrangement; discuss.
That’s an IKEA lamp and lampshade.
Two pieces from the bedroom set. I think they’re made of gumwood with a walnut veneer. The set was originally bought in Delaware in the 1950s, and the label says “Unagusta Manufacturing Corp, Hazlewood, NC.” They came to me via craigslist, from the daughter-in-law of the original owners. I got them for $100. I know! You can’t see in the photo how the fronts of the pieces have a lovely curve to them. Propped in the corner is the enormous mirror that mounts above the credenza. There it will have to live until I move into my mansion.
The dresser is piled with a bunch of projects-in-progress on top: a paper lamp my friend Sybil made me (trying to figure out where to relocate it) and some other art which I’ll talk about once I get it properly framed and displayed.
Eep! You can see a bit of the horrible vertical blinds.
A slightly better shot of the credenza.
One of the bedside tables. The front panel is hinged so that it pivots down to create extra horizontal surface. And there’s lots of space inside for my secret diaries, and Benadryl, and sleep mask, and … stuff.
This is my favorite. It’s a lithograph I got at the best-ever White Elephant Sale (that benefits the Oakland Museum) back in ’02-ish. Not signed nor dated. I ordered the frame and mat from the excellent FramesByMail.com. It’s such a friendly piece of art. Seriously, I could look at it forever. What art have you acquired that you love?
I hope you enjoyed this little tour. Come on over and let’s spoon!
Related hamblinks:
- purge-a-tory: all the rest
- purge-a-tory: music
- dear diary: I actually got some sh*t done this weekend!
- Today, I organized
- florid prose
- ass cradlers and time keepers
- …and nobody wants your awful recliners, either.
- music week! day one
$25 for both lamps?!?! $100 for the whole bedroom set?!?! SCORE!!!
And I LOVE your headboard arrangement. 🙂
As I always say, when shopping for home stuff, I have time on my side. I will tirelessly wait out all the overpriced “collectibles”, all the awful craigslist flotsom, and strike when, and only when, the iron is hot. For I am a full-on yankee cheapskate.
Thanks about the headboards! My sister-in-law had commandeered them for a couple years in the mid-90s and used them like that, so smart! I’m sure it chaps her hide when I wrested them back from her and used her idea. Sorry, Pat. I’ll make it up to you.
First of all: Thanks for the custom built post! I’m honored!
Best of all: I am so much in love with the headboards and matching mirror! The colors, the birds, the trees–they are PERFFECT! Just throw them in the robot pile for me when you kick the bucket, m’kay?
Other of all: Your art collection is awesome! Now I’m super curious about Mrs. Otto and her never changing hair. And the bedroom set that the sweaty boys delivered for you is AMAZING! You’re on FI-YAH with the craigslist deals!
Thanks again!
Yay, Zesty! Okay, robots and Mexicana to Jeana, check.
Ah, yes, you remember the sweaty boys. I forgot to mention them in this post, but how I loved them! I’ll have to move something again, SOON.
That would be such an awesome name for a band:
The Mrs. Ottos
I love your mom for getting you the gorgeous headboards with matching mirror. Well done! Everything looks so nice and warm. I will hire you to be my personal shopper.
Becky, much better than Domino or the Chronicle home/interior design stuff. I was just complaining the other day to the artist that made “Home” on Leavenworth street that the Chron needs a interior design on a shoestring budget column and photos at least once every couple of weeks. Anyway, can this be the first submission? Or do they already have this column? I love the headboards and every little find for your bedroom, especially the Mrs Ottos. You know the first time I ever heard the word credenza was in 1997? It’s nice to see it again. But I digress…Best art/design finds or worst: a nicely framed print (don’t know what kind of print, just wasn’t typical paper) of The Chinese Girl but Tretchikoff (aka the blue lady as most of my friends call it) purchased for $10 c. 1994 at the OM White Elephant Sale and on the other side of beauty, a hideous, frightening, black, gold and green Rodin wannabe garden sculpture of a big black hand holding a man and a woman in a passionate embrace—weighed a ton and scared a lot of racoons, and finally, a $0.50 four inch sculpture of the Kool-aid pitcher made likely by a second grader, all at the OM White Elephant Sale.
Becky, much better than Domino or the Chronicle home/interior design stuff. I was just complaining the other day to the artist that made “Home” on Leavenworth street that the Chron needs a interior design on a shoestring budget column and photos at least once every couple of weeks. Anyway, can this be the first submission? Or do they already have this column? I love the headboards and every little find for your bedroom, especially the Mrs Ottos. You know the first time I ever heard the word credenza was in 1997? It’s nice to see it again. But I digress…Best art/design finds or worst: a nicely framed print (don’t know what kind of print, just wasn’t typical paper) of The Chinese Girl but Tretchikoff (aka the blue lady as most of my friends call it) purchased for $10 c. 1994 at the OM White Elephant Sale and on the other side of beauty, a hideous, frightening, black, gold and green Rodin wannabe garden sculpture of a big black hand holding a man and a woman in a passionate embrace—weighed a ton and scared a lot of racoons, and finally, a $0.50 four inch sculpture of the Kool-aid pitcher made likely by a second grader, all at the OM White Elephant Sale.