Rack 'em up! Another item diverted from the landfill.

As part of the great late August move-out I found this very serviceable-looking drying rack on the loading dock, all assembled and ready to get its dry on, mesh top and all.

This might just be the Lexus of drying racks.

Of course I already have a drying rack, but a recent arrival to the city said she could be interested in such a piece (and who doesn't like saving $30 on something that will last for DECADES?).

Her decision..... take it!

So here it is, doing its job just being a drying rack after a little journey from one apartment complex to another.

Watching laundry dry is slightly more exciting than watching paint dry?

Happy freestyling, and don't forget to offer things to people who just moved.

Late Night on the Loading Dock: Classic Upholstered Chair Finds a New Home

An end of summer late night treasure from the loading dock passed through my world,
way back in early September.

Almost unbelievably it was:

pet hair free,

stain free,

rip free,

with legs intact,

and no suspicious smells.

In addition it had a lovely shape and some retro-cool upholstery.
Do you see the depth of that seat??

Hello gorgeous!

My own apartment is on the full side, but I couldn't let this go, so I texted a nearby friend who already owns a similarly shaped chair if he was interested in this piece, and interested in picking it up...in about... right now...yes I know it is after 10:30pm......but......

Yes, RIGHT NOW.

Who doesn't love slightly demanding late night texts offering free furniture?

He was game for the adventure, drove a few blocks over, and immediately said yes upon seeing the piece.  Being, among other things, an accomplished musician and regular host to jam sessions, he is always looking for comfortable seating.  He said this little beauty was going in front of the piano, and here she is.

How about a lovely duet?

So now this lovely little chair (aka Chairie amour) lives in a gracious rowhouse, ready for a jam session, having been saved from an uncertain fate after being left on the loading dock.

We make such beautiful music together

I think the view out this window is far better than any view from inside a landfill.

Happy freestyling.

Isunda gray couch cover find, ta da!

In my last post I described finding the Isunda gray couch cover for free on our loading dock / furniture discard area. All it required was a little dis-assembly of the discarded couch so that I could remove the cover pieces.

And then wash them. 

And then dry them.

And then partially disassemble my existing couch,

 take off the old boring blah beige cover and replace it with the new gray one.

No pictures for any of those steps, you can imagine what doing laundry looked like.

But it is safe to say that even though the tag says 'no machine wash' for all of the cover pieces, you most definitely can was them in a machine, using cold water, gentle cycle, and line drying.

No need to dry clean.

Here she is!

Contrast couch, with new pillows!

The lighting is kind of wonky, but I think it looks a 10^6 times better.

Did you notice the brown square velvet pillow on the right? 

Looking good together.
From initial find to final product it was only 2 days.

Happy freestyling!

5 shades of [Isunda] gray

I resisted owning a couch for a long time, well into the post-college years, well well into adulthood. Couches represented some sort of commitment to a space that I never expected.  Multiple apartments in multiple states can attest to my lack of residential continuity.  But, finally, in April I finally took the plunge and bought a couch.  Well, an Ikea couch - which is like 1/4 of a real adulthood couch - and it was only $200 on craigslist, so a little more than a really nice pair of shoes and about 1/10 of what you would spend on a quality piece of couch-ness.  Be that as it may, I have for some months now been the owner of a 'sand' colored Ikea Karlstad couch.  Who buys a beige couch? I did, because it was one of two decent options for sale at the time.  It is very comfortable for napping.

There it is in the background, doing not much of anything, blending into the other-tone-of-beige wall.

I've wanted to get a grey cover for the couch, but they retail for $150. What??? 

That Isunda Gray though, it will haunt you.

It seemed wrong to spend almost as much on a cover as I did on the couch itself. So I covered it with throw pillows and a blanket and realized it was ok-meh just being beige.

Then, one night, I was looking for picture frames and I saw this....

 Oh Lord. There it is. Having had to disassemble and then reassemble the couch when I bought it, the size and shape were very familiar.   Please please please please please don't be covered in parakeet vomit and mysteriously technicolor stains. Please.
(I approached cautiously, waiting to be disappointed)
....

No parakeet vomit.

No smells.

No pet hair.

All the pillows present and accounted for.

Some random extra wood screws in places, ok, I can handle that.

No legs, who cares? I'm not here for the couch.

Is this really here, and happening?

Yes.

Off I went, to get my tool kit so I could loosen those hex nuts just enough to separate the armrests from the center section. I stripped off that cover - easy as pie - its only attached with velcro anyway.  In one place the previous owner had screwed through the armrest cover, but it is in a spot you can't see once the pieces are assembled.  10 minutes later the pieces were in my washing machine and on their way to becoming part of my living room update.

We'll see if the guys even notice once I change it out. That's a story for the next post.

Happy freestlying, don't be afraid of a lil' bit o late night disassembly.