a different type of campaign trail

a cup of joe

Lately I've been working on a different type of campaign trail.  It isn't a campaign trail in the political sense, but in the furniture sense.  See, I've been borderline obsessed with finding a campaign style piece for my new place.  I've been combing Craigslist in search of either a nightstand for my bedroom or long dresser to use in my entryway.  But my luck has run dry because over the past two weeks, I've lost out on two amazing CL campaign style deals to other, faster CL stalkers.

My third attempt happened last weekend at the Arlington Flea Market when Jenny from Little Green Notebook posted she would be selling the mate to the chest pictured above for $50.  I thought I'd finally get my hot little hands on the piece, but was disappointed to find that another chick arrived 15 minutes earlier (at 6:15am!) and beat me to the chase.

But last night I struck gold.  I found this little baby listed on CL for $25.  I immediately emailed the seller to see if it was still available and as luck would have it, it was!  I drove out to the boondocks of Alexandria and the nice guy (who had no idea what type of treasure he had in his possession) knocked $5 off the price.  I handed him a crisp $20 bill and said, "sold." He even loaded it into my car for me!

my new nightstand: the before shot

Now to the fun part: here's what I'm planning to do with it.  I'll clean up the hardware and prime and paint it a shiny white lacquer.  I think I'll end up removing the wheels from the bottom (which I thought were ugly, but found very helpful as I wheeled it into my building and into the elevator).  It's going right into my bedroom to be used as an awesome nightstand.  Here are a couple inspiration pictures to give you an idea of what the finished product will look like.

lonny

I just can't finish a campaign style furniture post without sharing the two most blogged about pieces.  The first is another awesome CL find that Jenny from Little Green Notebook re-painted.   

before...

...and after!

Lastly, there's the equally, if not more, awesome set of drawers in LA-based designer, Vanessa de Vargas's home featured in the December/January issue of Lonny. I *almost* considered painting my nightstand kelly green, but decided it wouldn't really go with the color scheme in my bedroom.  

lonny

Stay tuned for a "Campaign Trail: Part II" for the big reveal of my nightstand once it's all painted!

images via a cup of joe | little green notebook | lonny | mine