Craigslist Is My Best Frenemy

I introduced you to my new love last week - my library card catalog.  I found that piece on Craigslist, after almost a year of searching for the perfect piece in my price range.

Since then, I have been obsessed with Craigslist, checking almost hourly (and I'm not really kidding) for things on my IKEA shopping list that I can get at a steal and save not only money, but space in my vehicle when I take my epic shopping trip (more on that shopping trip later).  I have started wanting more and more items that I find, which is why Craigslist is currently both my best friend and my enemy.  It's essentially screaming at me to spend money on awesome pieces for the house, but I really need to be careful and make sure that the items are actually great deals and items that we need rather than want.

Rhode Island is situated between two IKEA stores, one in New Haven, CT and the other in Stoughton, MA.  With as many colleges and universities as there are in New England, IKEA furniture is perfect for students as well as young professionals starting out in their first place.  There are easily hundreds of new Craigslist postings per day of just IKEA pieces.  I have been searching through all of these listings for items that may be on my shopping list and for items that I want but wouldn't necessarily need or pay full price for.  I've even gone so far as to set up alerts that notify me whenever a new item matching my search criteria is posted.

Anyways, last week, after coming back with my card catalog, I started looking for some seating for in front of the fireplace in the Living/Dining Room.  We plan on having a large dining table that can seat ten on top of the 9x12 rug that I purchased, and then in front of the fireplace, we want some additional seating that will allow us to relax and enjoy a fire, if we ever get the chimney inspected and cleaned.  I was originally looking for two matching chairs that we could put a small table in between, but everything I was finding was going to cost over $300 after refinishing and recovering.  I was looking for something much less expensive, and I ended up finding the perfect thing.

Enter the Klobo. The Klobo is a discontinued IKEA Loveseat similar to the Klippan series that is currently available.  It's a really low profile couch that will allow the heat from the fireplace to spread throughout the room and for us to be able to see the fire from sitting at the dining table.  It is only a loveseat, so it will fit only two people, or maybe three really small people, but it's still better than nothing. Plus, the price.

I only paid $75 for this.  Really.  And it's original list price was somewhere around $150.  It's in near perfect condition, despite it having a natural/off-white canvas fabric.  There are only a few dirt marks on the front side of the loveseat, and those could probably be washed out with some spot remover, but I'm not sure if that's going to bother me right now, because I am almost 100% sure that I'm going to recover it.

And speaking of recovering it, I put a couple of throw pillows that I found in the prefect colors for the room on it, and then took a few pieces of fabric out of my stash that I could potentially recover the Klobo with.

Premier Prints Circles True Turquoise (Discontinued) and Premier Prints Small Dandelion Turquoise/White 

I also just ordered a bunch more swatches from Fabric.com to see if I can find one that I like and that won't be too overwhelming in pattern. I'd like the pattern to be able to be used on the seat cushions for the dining table chairs too, since I don't want the space to have too many different patterns.  Plus, I need to make sure that the pattern I choose doesn't clash too much with the rug that will be going under the dining room table.

Fabric Swatches in Snake Pattern: Premier Prints Canopy Stripe Slub Aquarius, Premier Prints Solid Turquoise, Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor Towers Pacific, Premier Prints Cameron Slub Aquarius, Premier Prints Dandelion White/True Turquoise, Richloom Sensu Mallard Teal, Premier Prints Nicole Slub Aquarius, Covington Majestic Velour Peacock, Premier Prints Linked Macon Apache Blue, Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor Sticks Pacific, Premier Prints Linked Jade, Premier Prints Jiri Stripe Jade, Premier Prints Lulu Stripe True Turquoise

I can't wait for them to come in so I can see which will look best with the rug and the other furniture I have planned for the space.  Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with Craigslist?  What kinds of finds have you drooling and pulling out your wallet? Which swatch do you love the most right now?

I introduced you to my new love last week - my library card catalog.  I found that piece on Craigslist, after almost a year of searching for the perfect piece in my price range.

Since then, I have been obsessed with Craigslist, checking almost hourly (and I'm not really kidding) for things on my IKEA shopping list that I can get at a steal and save not only money, but space in my vehicle when I take my epic shopping trip (more on that shopping trip later).  I have started wanting more and more items that I find, which is why Craigslist is currently both my best friend and my enemy.  It's essentially screaming at me to spend money on awesome pieces for the house, but I really need to be careful and make sure that the items are actually great deals and items that we need rather than want.

Rhode Island is situated between two IKEA stores, one in New Haven, CT and the other in Stoughton, MA.  With as many colleges and universities as there are in New England, IKEA furniture is perfect for students as well as young professionals starting out in their first place.  There are easily hundreds of new Craigslist postings per day of just IKEA pieces.  I have been searching through all of these listings for items that may be on my shopping list and for items that I want but wouldn't necessarily need or pay full price for.  I've even gone so far as to set up alerts that notify me whenever a new item matching my search criteria is posted.

Anyways, last week, after coming back with my card catalog, I started looking for some seating for in front of the fireplace in the Living/Dining Room.  We plan on having a large dining table that can seat ten on top of the 9x12 rug that I purchased, and then in front of the fireplace, we want some additional seating that will allow us to relax and enjoy a fire, if we ever get the chimney inspected and cleaned.  I was originally looking for two matching chairs that we could put a small table in between, but everything I was finding was going to cost over $300 after refinishing and recovering.  I was looking for something much less expensive, and I ended up finding the perfect thing.

Enter the Klobo. The Klobo is a discontinued IKEA Loveseat similar to the Klippan series that is currently available.  It's a really low profile couch that will allow the heat from the fireplace to spread throughout the room and for us to be able to see the fire from sitting at the dining table.  It is only a loveseat, so it will fit only two people, or maybe three really small people, but it's still better than nothing. Plus, the price.

I only paid $75 for this.  Really.  And it's original list price was somewhere around $150.  It's in near perfect condition, despite it having a natural/off-white canvas fabric.  There are only a few dirt marks on the front side of the loveseat, and those could probably be washed out with some spot remover, but I'm not sure if that's going to bother me right now, because I am almost 100% sure that I'm going to recover it.

And speaking of recovering it, I put a couple of throw pillows that I found in the prefect colors for the room on it, and then took a few pieces of fabric out of my stash that I could potentially recover the Klobo with.

Premier Prints Circles True Turquoise (Discontinued) and Premier Prints Small Dandelion Turquoise/White 

I also just ordered a bunch more swatches from Fabric.com to see if I can find one that I like and that won't be too overwhelming in pattern. I'd like the pattern to be able to be used on the seat cushions for the dining table chairs too, since I don't want the space to have too many different patterns.  Plus, I need to make sure that the pattern I choose doesn't clash too much with the rug that will be going under the dining room table.

Fabric Swatches in Snake Pattern: Premier Prints Canopy Stripe Slub Aquarius, Premier Prints Solid Turquoise, Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor Towers Pacific, Premier Prints Cameron Slub Aquarius, Premier Prints Dandelion White/True Turquoise, Richloom Sensu Mallard Teal, Premier Prints Nicole Slub Aquarius, Covington Majestic Velour Peacock, Premier Prints Linked Macon Apache Blue, Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor Sticks Pacific, Premier Prints Linked Jade, Premier Prints Jiri Stripe Jade, Premier Prints Lulu Stripe True Turquoise

I can't wait for them to come in so I can see which will look best with the rug and the other furniture I have planned for the space.  Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with Craigslist?  What kinds of finds have you drooling and pulling out your wallet? Which swatch do you love the most right now?