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Two Things

This weekend was a busy one, and we were hoping to share a fun and (mostly) simple tutorial for a porch project, but (of course!) we ran into a handful of road blocks in the eleventh hour. So instead, I thought it would still be nice to show you a few new additions to our home – even if they’re still waiting for a little love and final placement.

All (half-finished) house projects aside, we’ve been keeping our eyes open for certain furniture pieces that we know we’ll need when the time comes. We have running tallies of items listed in our phones (a light fixture here, a sideboard there and wouldn’t it be great if a pair of chairs found us?! ), as well as measurements of walls – just in case. You never know when a neon sign will derail your errands or when a flea market run is in order. (We just. can’t. not. go!)

ONE. Remember when we found this dresser in an alley? It’s been living in our bedroom along with this dresser as additional clothes storage until we can set aside time to install an actual closet. (Our room is dresser madness. Madness!) The problem is that we had intended for the former dresser to eventually live in our guest room, but since we’ve been using it daily ourselves, we’ve found that the drawers stick (something fierce). It’s also massive, and we were beginning to have our doubts that it might be too big for our tiny guest room.

Enter this guy!

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It was nestled on its side and stacked on top of an end table at a neighborhood yard sale. I almost lost it when I spotted the poor thing, all beat up. Not known as the one to play it cool, I called Scott over, and he agreed that our house should be it’s new home. It’s in rough shape, but my goodness, those lines! Once we can get our own closet worked out, this will be the cutie that lives in the guest room (and the other dresser will likely take a hike). It’ll stash linens, blankets and extra guest toiletries, but there will still be enough room for our visitors to have a spare drawer, too.

TWO. On Sunday, we headed to the summer-monthly Randolph Street Market. From clothes to furniture to antique rugs, artwork and venus fly traps, Randolph consistently knocks it out of the park! So much so, that we found ourselves disassembling this beast and strapping it to the roof of our wagon:

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We first mentioned here that we were thinking of turning the little storage room off of our kitchen into a walk-in pantry. Or maybe we’d tear down the wall and enlarge the kitchen? Well, after living here long enough to notice our habits, we have definitely decided to turn that funny space into a mini indoor work room. It’s close to the back door (which means it’s close to the garage), and it’s large enough to hold storage shelving and a massive work bench. This bench! At 3′ deep and 5′ wide, it was made for that room. As soon as I saw it, I got this adorable visual of a happy Scott, sanding down something or other (maybe a plinth for the never ending baseboards? Ha!). It weirdly made my heart swell, and after a round of painless negotiations, it was ours.

For now, the room is a cluster of tools, boxes and paint cans, but we’re counting down the days when we can organize it properly. And while this room’s purpose may not make a lot of sense to some, it’ll be great for making messes in the winter and properly storing paints and liquids that shouldn’t freeze. (Not to mention, it’s going to be life-changing to easily find the sandpaper or wood glue without swearing.) Ooh, it’s going to be good.

Any good summer finds on your end lately? Can we see?

PS… If you’re going to the Randolph Street Market, pre-purchase your tickets online to save some money, or check Goldstar/Groupon for a current deal!

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  • Julia@Cukoo4Design7.2.14 - 7:13 AM

    You always find the coolest stuff. Love the dresserReplyCancel

  • Laura @ Rather Square7.2.14 - 8:59 AM

    I do like the lines of that dresser! Will you be fixing it up or leaving it as-is? The only “finds” I’ve had lately are what we’ve been gathering for the kids rooms as we work to set those up before the end of the summer. Many trips to Ikea, searches on Overstock, pinning, planning, etc.

    Good luck with the porch – can’t wait to see the tutorial!ReplyCancel

    • Kim7.2.14 - 10:16 AM

      It’s in pretty rough shape, so once we’re able to get to it, we’ll have a better idea of whether we can salvage the finish. We’re on the fence, but we’d love to give it a shot!ReplyCancel

  • Kris7.2.14 - 9:48 AM

    Someday I’ll make it to that market! If you ever want a short roadtrip, the Maxwell Street Days in Cedarburg, WI has some great stuff also. Cute town with cute shops also.ReplyCancel

    • Kim7.2.14 - 9:52 AM

      Oh, we haven’t heard of that one! Thanks for the recommendation!ReplyCancel

  • Nicole S.7.2.14 - 10:01 AM

    Let me know if you need the other dresser taken off your hands…I’ve been looking for one for our guest room. ;-)ReplyCancel

    • Kim7.2.14 - 2:09 PM

      Thanks, Nicole! Unfortunately, it might be a while until we can get to building out our closet…ReplyCancel

      • Kim7.2.14 - 2:10 PM

        Oh, and it would definitely be a project! Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for?ReplyCancel

        • Nicole S.7.10.14 - 2:37 PM

          Oh, who knows what I’m looking for! All I know in this case is that I’d like a less-deep dresser to fit in the guest room closet. Something with character. One thing I miss about living in LS are the alleys! There aren’t as many in Albany Park for scoring treasures. I tend to choose things I find beautiful and figure it our afterwards. ha!ReplyCancel

  • I really love both of these pieces and am wildly jealous! We’ve been on a drought of new-to-us finds, mostly because we’ve been busy shooting weddings every weekend. Hopefully we’ll get some antique market-ing in over the next few weeks!ReplyCancel

  • Cait7.2.14 - 1:39 PM

    You guys find the best stuff! And I love the idea of a workroom for projects. Color me jealous!

    I feel like the alley dresser could be useful somewhere – maybe in the future workroom, or the studio? Is it big enough to hold painting supplies? It could be cute with DIY leather handles like this or maybe rope? And since you found it in an alley you (probably) won’t be crushed if it gets a little paint on it?

    Then again, how many dressers does one couple really need, right? My hoarding tendencies are showing…ReplyCancel

    • Kim7.2.14 - 2:11 PM

      Haha, we SO badly want to get rid of items that aren’t working in this house, so we are ready to de-clutter! We seriously need to set aside some time on an afternoon to shoot photos, list things and start clearing out!ReplyCancel

      • Cait7.2.14 - 2:53 PM

        That makes sense, and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of luck on Craigslist (or maybe even Etsy?). I think sometimes I get overly attached to pieces (like a coffee table my granddad’s friend made that may not be working in our library) or I try to hold onto them “until we find the perfect replacement”. Sometimes you just need to clear out!ReplyCancel

  • Angela Santiago7.2.14 - 11:56 PM

    Love the dresser! Maybe after a few touch-ups, it’ll be even prettier. Same goes to the other piece. Bet they’ll be fabulous!ReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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