G'day sweeties, it's early Sunday evening here at the Beach Cottage. We spent the morning down the beach, the kids on boards, and Mr Beach Cottage went for a swim while I sat on the side drinking coffee and chatting. There's a storm brewing up as I type, I soooo love that, and if it really starts to pour with rain, which I hope it does, we might go down to the sea with a flask of something hot…
So I thought you would like to see my $5 deck chairs, recently found on a garage-sale-treasure-hunt. As soon as I saw these, there was no doubt they were coming home with me, not because they are particularly special, or a rarity and for sure they held no value to the owners of the home who were getting rid of them, but to me I was attracted by the weathered wood, something I surely cannot buy.
It was Saturday morning and Mr BC and I were out on our own and decided on an impromptu garage sale session. We grabbed ourselves some coffees, the local paper and plotted our route.
We pulled up outside a couple of garage sales next door to each other – newly built homes and I wasn't too hopeful we'd find anything there…I would much rather find an old ramshackle house with an old lady with old treasures waiting for a new home than a young family with heaps of plastic toys on the lawn…but one thing I've learnt of this thrifting journey…you never know, what you will find…where.
There were two of these little beauties, in a bad way, with built-in mould but I thought they could be easily recovered and after a quick look I knew that it would take little more than ripping off what was on there and stapling on some new canvas.
The garage sale holder was desperate to get rid of them she told us. But I wasn't interested in her first price of $20 – when I first started thrifting I wouldn't have even blinked at this price, but now I evaluate much more what the item is worth to me, what I would pay for it new, and then I kinda evaluate the balance between the two.
I've wanted deckchairs for a long time so the worth to me was pretty high, though, to be honest I still want much older ones, with old faded canvas, the proper thick stuff that you don't see any more. They remind me of England and those lovely seaside towns where rows of them are laid out on the promenade and old dears sit contentedly knitting, with their husbands collapsed beside them asleep in full suit and tie. Candyfloss towns with deckchairs where we'd go for a day out sometimes, and eat ice-cream, throw big old pebbles from the beach and drive home, tired, salty and sun-kissed.
Sooo, with all those deckchair romantic memories floating around my head, I got my chief negotiator to wangle the price to $5 each. Done deal.
I've not done any make-over-ing to them yet and in fact as I sit here thinking about this and mused about it a little bit more, I may well move on from my initial thought of using the heavy cotton stripe I already have in my fabric stash…to sourcing some real canvas for a much more durable, authentic feel.
I tried one of them out this afternoon – just stuck it on the deck with a new magazine from England – Period Living and the light beginning to fade, rain in the air…
What do you think? Do you like my deckchairs for a few dollars a piece? I hope you do…but really, who cares? I love them, they're me and thrifting them is saving resources and our Earth for those Beach Cottage kiddos. Gotta love that…
Anyway, I'm going.
There's roast pork in the oven, potato waiting to be mashed and the kids have crashed out watching Grease in the Family Room…I just love that Sunday evening mooching
I hope your weekend was as good as mine was and that you, too, may well have found pleasure in a thrifted thing or two…
blogged for Rhoda's Thrifty event over at Southern Hospitality
plus Susan's Metamorphosis at Between Naps on the Porch
check out their blogs (grab a coffee, you'll be awhile!)
Hi Sarah
I have an identical one that I got from a second hand shop about 4years ago. I can’t remember what I paid for it now but it sure wasn’t $5 although it is in much better nic. I have it in my bedroom for the extra pillows etc that come off the bed but I hardly ever sit in it. Unfortnately we hardly have any room on our verandahs. That is one of my complaints with our house that they built the verandahs way too small. I would extend them if I could. Love the colour of your deck as well. We currently have a strong red stain which is worn off in places but I do love your colour and I think it could work on mine. It is really hard to cover with the stain. I have the same cushions as you but mine are a lot worse for wear. How do you manage to keep yours looking so great. Mine have faded from many washes..Time for new ones I think!
Beautiful chairs, Sarah. I understand about the “wants” category. After months of shopping avidly, I’m finally getting down to the “only if it screams ME” brass tacks of it all.
Great post!
I heart the beach chairs! They are perfect!
Sarah, It just tickles me to think that on the other side of the world, you are doing the same thing that we are doing here. Finding a treasure at a yard sale and getting cozy on a Sunday night with the family…perfect..and so are those chairs!
?, Susan
Hi Sarah!
The chairs are definite treasures and the video is too!:-)
Love your deck chairs…in fact, I love the entire deck area (that I could see in the picture). A great find – and a great price!
Love the chairs.. What a find!!
they are soooo beautiful….. I saw some last month and for some reason only later I thought >>>I could have thrown them over my fence while goning to work, as of course in the afternoon while coming back they werre gone
Those chairs- they’re great! The photos made me feel as if I had taken a trip to your deck without the 17 hour plane ride ; ) so thanks for the trip to the beach. It’s tough being landlocked here smack in the middle of the USA.
I didnt know that Australians drive on the left side of the road either. It was fun taking that little ride along with you!
What an amazing story to go along with these fabulous chairs. I think they are very English holiday and should provide you hours of relaxation.
ttfn…
You do have the best husband!!!!
I loved the slightly stalker-ish feel of the video when you walked off to the sale and MrBC narrates…..
Sarah – I was thinking about your recent scrubby window find. No doubt someone has already suggested putting mirrors in place of the glass planes. There is a cute picture of one in this post, I think 4 photos down. http://vtinteriors.blogspot.com/2009/09/beach-house.html
Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
Romana
Your videos are so fun to watch. I liked seeing a bit of Australia and driving on the wrong side of the road. Tee hee…and of course, hearing your accents. Those beach chairs are a great deal, but are they comfy?
Hi,
Glad to see you are posting videos now… That just adds a nice dimention to your blog. Love hearing your and Mr BC’s voices and seeing you in action in your home town. We just did one from Sequoia National Park in California last weekend for the first time; it’s kinda fun! My FB link is on my blog if you want to visit our world…
with love, Barb
Great find! Have been looking for some of those myself; trying to learn how to sew as the perfect yet hard to deal with fabric awaits.
Always a pleasure to read your blog, it was our first link.
Just found this post. What fun, going to a garage sale with the Beach Cottage Couple! Loved the video.
Mr. BC did a great job!