Out with the old, In with the old.

Yesterday I had my first experience with an antique mall, and well, I'm hooked! First of all, let me just say that it was not at all what I expected. Of course there was lots of junk that you have to sift through (I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure), but there are some really amazing and unique pieces.

I was looking for furniture for the new house. We will be getting new couches and a dining room set, but I wanted to get some quality pieces that bring a little more character into a home, but that don't break the bank. Turns out, antique stores are the way to go!

One area in need of replacement was our "office."


Very "blah", right? Well, I hit the jackpot at the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall, a place I have driven by probably hundreds of times since I moved to Des Moines three years ago.


Much more sophisticated, right? The black desk struck my eye first, especially with a price tag of just $75. It is solid wood, and looks as though it was just refinished. The drawers provide lots of great storage. Then I looked around for a solid wood chair to go with the desk. I found the chair above for $15, but I do plan to repaint it down the road (color suggestions welcome). The side cabinet was the most expensive piece at $113.50, but it was perfect for what we needed to house our computer tower and printer, so we couldn't pass it up. You can't tell from the picture, but it is also solid wood that has been repainted with a dark turquoise paint. Jury is still out on whether or not we will repaint it or not.


We spent the rest of the evening wiping everything down and came out with 3 towels that looked like this. There's just no telling where or how long these items have sat.

So for $215.71 (including tax) plus a little elbow grease we completely updated our office look by upgrading to better quality and more eye-appealing pieces. I think I'm now an antique store addict so stay tuned for more exciting finds!