Thursday, June 12, 2014

How Exercising Got Me a China Cabinet for $25

This is a story about how exercise combined with being in the right place at the right time, got me a china cabinet for $25.   If you ever needed a little motivation to get out there and do your workout, this is it.

This past April, I began running (I just completed the Couch to 5k Program!) and there was a relatively hot morning a few weeks ago when I was really struggling to get motivated and get out there.  I finally decided to just do my run (more like "Get it over with") and boy am I glad I did, because I stumbled on a Yard Sale right near my house that had a big china cabinet sitting at the curb.  I noticed it as I jogged by and made a mental note to mention it to my husband when I got home.  After my shower, we were getting ready to go grocery shopping when my husband agreed to swing by the yard sale to check out the china cabinet. 

Seeing it up close was a little disheartening.  It was very dusty, which was highlighted by the sun shining directly on it and you could really clearly see all the scuffs and scratches in the sun, including a chunk of missing wood, but instead of a price tag, there was a sticker that said, "Make offer."  The homeowner came over and told us it was a Broyhill and asked us to make her an offer.  Truth be told, we weren't in love with it seeing it so up close with the sun highlighting all of its defects, but we kept talking to her about it and I finally said, "I don't want to insult you."  She said, "Guys, we're moving and downsizing and I'm not bringing this thing back into the house, so how about $25?"  Neither of us could believe our ears, so we agreed and made arrangements to borrow my Father-in-Law's van to bring it to our house (which was literally around the corner).  

A couple of hours later, it was in our Dining Room in place of the sideboard that used to be on that back wall:

BEFORE
I used some Murphy's Wood Cleaner and Windex to give it a really thorough cleaning.  I even used Q-Tips to get into all the little corners and crevices, since there was dust in all those spots.  I was practically inside the China cabinet with the Windex, cleaning all the grime off the back mirror and inside of the glass.  Well, they say hard work pays off and I'd like to say they're right:
CURRENT
Here are some of the crevices where the Q-Tips really came in handy:


As far as that chunk of missing wood I mentioned earlier?  Enter, Minwax's Stain Marker:

These things are amazing.  I bought one in the shade 230 - Early American, for less than $6 from Amazon.  When it got to my house, I just shook it up and applied it to the bare wood.  No sanding, no nothing.


It made the huge blemish practically invisible.  Here is another place where I used it (you can still see the dent, but no discoloration):


Another thing I did to spruce it up a bit was spray paint just the hardware silver.  The rims on all the china inside are silver, so I thought it would be a nice update to all the tarnished brass the hardware previously was.

I just unscrewed the hardware and then placed the screws back into the backs of the hardware and punched holes into the top of a pizza box to stand the hardware up.  Then, I gave them all two nice coats of Krylon's Sterling Silver Spray Paint.  After they dried, I screwed them back into the china cabinet and was thrilled to see how it instantly updated the look.

After cleaning it, we were able to stock it up with all the beautiful china we inherited from my husband's Grandmother and the champagne, martini and cocktail glasses we got from our Wedding Registry last year.  

Stocked Up!

I love how it sort of makes the room seem more formal, but also so much more functional!  Prior to having a china cabinet, our china and glassware were in boxes in the basement.  We hadn't yet used them since living here, but since unpacking them into the china cabinet, we've already gotten to use them for Mother's Day Dinner.


Have you unexpectedly scored anything great lately?  Tell me in the comments!