Friday, May 27, 2016

Bringing French Country Home : Goodwill Hunting!

There I was. Cold hard cash in hand. At my weekly check-in at Goodwill. 
 I quickly scoured the housewares aisles and came up empty. Drat!

Saturday was a big sale day and they usually stocked the shelves a day or two in advance. 
That's when I usually found "it." But I just didn't see anything I couldn't live without.


I wandered down the housewares aisle looking sad.
I knew exactly what I was looking for, well, sort of. (Anything white, silver or ironstone).
Very specific, I know. I'm a "know it when I see it" shopper.
And I hadn't seen it. Yet.


I wasn't about to leave the store without thoroughly checking every single space
so I went downstairs and began my usual search pattern.


Not looking for anything big like a couch so I skipped that area.
 On to the smaller furniture where I'd found some treasures in the past 
like this curvy little side table that I'd painted white and distressed.


But wait! What's that?
There. Back in the corner with the plastic chairs and garden tools.

Looks like a ... a basket!
I picked it up gently and inspected it further. 
It was big. From the looks of the carved wooden handle, I thought it was old.

My heart jumped a little.
Woven splint wood sides and bottom in fair shape
(a few broken bits on the corners but that just gave it character). 


And now, a peek at the bright pink sticker: $5.
Sold!!!
I didn't know where I'd use it but it had to come home with me.

I realized I had to stick to my self-imposed anti-hoarding rule to get rid of something
every time I bought something new. So I donated a belt.
Hey, that counts!

I took a picture of it and emailed it to my antique go-to galfriend, Rusty. 
"Look what I found at Goodwill! What do you think?" I asked, then tapped the "send" key.


While I waited for a response, I logged on to Ebay and searched for antique baskets. 
I soon found a near twin of my basket. It was labeled "Shaker Laundry Basket, early 1900s." 
And the price was several hundred dollars.
Could it be a Shaker? I held my breath.


Rusty replied promptly, "Oh, my gosh. It's Shaker . . . Probably late 1800s, early 1900s. 
You did good!"


Wooo Hooo! I didn't really care if it was valuable.
Okay, that's not totally true, but mostly I was just tickled to know it had some history.
And I realized its less-than-perfect condition affected the value. But I didn't care.
I loved the different-sized splints on the sides and bottom. 


And how the wide vertical pieces wrapped around the bottom.


Once home, I spent the next few hours playing with my new toy. Trying it here and there. 
Finally, I settled on the top of the fridge and leaned
a silver tray in one corner and my favorite chicken in a basket in the other. 
The inside held some large domed plate covers and a big cake stand. Yes!


Then, I draped a pretty crocheted scarf over the edge,
accenting the old wood nicely and covering a broken splint.
Perfect!


I love the richness of the wood splints and the hand-carved handles. 
You just don't find that color or craftsmanship on something new.
Sigh.




53 comments:

  1. What a great find! I LOVE the goodwill, and I have furnished my entire house with mostly goodwill or other thrift store finds. I love the treasure hunt aspect, and I don't even mind if I do not find what I am looking for, there is always another day!

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  2. What a wonderful find and the price was RIGHT!

    I like how you have it displayed.

    FlowerLady

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  3. Your Goodwill looks like a huge store, and it's two stories! Glad you discovered this find. I like it when that happens. I have a few Goodwll stories too. I don't have a regualr routine, but stop in when I'm near one. Glad you gave this treasure a good home. Great way to use it!

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    1. Oh Sarah. I like it when that happens too. We have several GW stores in the area but this is my favorite one. I always find a treasure.

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  4. What fun! I love to just hunt and like you, I know it when I see it! That basket is really special. Happy you found it!

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    1. Thank you Linda. I went to some estate sales this morning and came home with a cute little metal table. Missing its top but that can be remedied. I love being able to use things that would have probably ended up in a landfill somewhere.

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  5. OMG, I would have brought that basket home too! Great find! Although, I think I see some dishes I would have come home with too!

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    1. Thank you Carole. I have come home with quite a few GW dishes, and glasses, and paintings, not to mention a stack or two of books!

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  6. What a wonderful find! That's what I like about that place you never know what you'll find! I love to scout the thrift stores on the weekends, have fun decorating with you basket. Lisa@ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air

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    1. Thank you for stopping by Lisa. Good luck with your shopping excursions.

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  7. That Shaker basket is so beautiful and I love how you displayed it! I guess I get to the Goodwill at the wrong time because I never find anything this special there:-)

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    1. Thank you Lottie and don't give up. There's always new things coming in at GW every day.

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  8. What an awesome find!! That old basket is beautiful...love it!!
    ~Cindy

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    1. Thank you Cindy. They don't make 'em like that anymore. So glad you appreciate it.

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  9. That's a beautiful basket and I love the history. I like your table, too! Good job at Goodwill.

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    1. Thank you. Do you have GW-type stores in France? I know you have some great flea markets.

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  10. Loved this post! Your basket is a treasure for sure!!

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  11. Wow! Love the basket and your display. I have a chicken in a basket too, at the lake house. Also, I'm a Good Will Junkie! Can NOT stay out of there!!

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    1. Thank you Kathy. Oh goodie, a fellow GW junkie. Should we start a support group?

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  12. wow. great deal. you do a lot better than I do at Goodwill. I think it's persistence. anyway, well done on scoring the basket.

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  13. Oh my, I wish we had a Goodwill like that here! What a wonderful find, Pat, and it makes a great vignette above your fridge. Thanks for sharing.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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    1. Thank you Sandi. We're lucky to have such a nice GW. Lots of goodies.

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  14. Pat, what a find! I've made a few good discoveries at thrift stores too, but your takes the cake! Just beautiful, and I love that you kept it in it's original state too. Mimi xxx

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    1. Thank you Mimi. I agree with you...why mess with a good thing?

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  15. Oh my gosh, that basket is gorgeous! Great find!!

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  16. What a beautiful shaker basket...I love hunting at the Goodwill when we are in AZ. Happy hunting...

    Wanda

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  17. Hi Pat, nice to meet you. Just found you thru Talk of the Town and chuckled all thru your basket story. A treasure, indeed. My favorite Goodwill shop is in Virginia where I always find things that make me smile. Rarely do I find the wonderful old lovelies here in Florida so that makes me go home to New England more often. Looking forward to more of your posts.

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    1. Hi Chris, so nice to meet you too. Glad you enjoyed the post. I imagine there are some fantastic goodies in New England. Thanks for visiting.

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  18. Congratulations. It's beautiful!
    Please drop by and say hello!
    ஐღLauraღஐ
    Harvest Lane Cottage
    ...doing what I can with what I've got where I am
    on a short shoestring budget!
    ~~~~~

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    1. Thank you Laura. I'll check out your blog soon. Thanks for visiting.

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  19. Great find! I like how you displayed it also! Blessings, Janet

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  20. A treasure indeed! I like how you styled it.
    Amalia
    xo

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  21. What a fabulous find!

    Thanks for sharing with SYC.

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  22. Way to go! The basket is beautiful and large enough to have lots of different uses. I have never walked into a Goodwill store that nice.

    Happy Thoughts of Home!!

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    1. Thank you Stacey. Yes, I agree with you. I'm sure to find all kinds of uses for this goodie.

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  23. Great find! I love how you styled it with the scarf. I used to have a Goodwill store between my job (teacher) and home. I sometimes got lucky if I dropped by on my way home in the afternoon. I guess the new stuff was out. I haven't been so lucky since I moved.

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    1. Thank you Ellis. It was a find...Guess it pays to look in the corners and under the piles of stuff. Glad you liked the scarf.

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  24. I am a treasure hunter too.
    There is nothing more satisfying than finding something wonderful- as you did.
    Thank you for sharing this with us at Thoughts of Home.

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  25. What a gorgeous find! You mostly certainly did bag a bargain. Just visiting your lovely blog via Jann's Share Your Cup.

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    1. Thank you Kim. It's nice to meet you and I hope you stop by again soon.

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  26. Oh gosh Pat, what a score! I love it and would have nabbed it as well. I probably wouldn't even have thought to google about it, but so glad you did. Love how you styled it! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. Thanks Jann. I can't wait to go to GW again! What treasures await?

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  27. Dear Pat,
    I am just stopping by to let you know that I am featuring your post at my party this week. Have a fabulous day.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  28. I would have gotten that too! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

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