barn sale discovery

  I just love a good story about discovering something special and unexpected for a bargain price.  This one was from one of our regular customers - Carol.   Carol sent us a note along with some photos of an amazing find.  Her latest acquisition is this industrial metal shelf that she has used to display her wonderful collection of creamy white stoneware.  Finding a diamond in the rough is a skill that Carol has used throughout the years. This industrial shelf has got to be at the top of the list.  I think it is wonderful!  Price for this beauty discovered at a recent barn sale    $25

Here is the story behind the shelf in Carol's own words

I was looking for an industrial rack for that spot in my dining room for about a year but didn't have $500-1000.00 to spend on one.

About three weeks ago a friend of mine was driving down a road a couple of miles from her house and saw a "barn sale" sign. She was going to keep on driving but had that thought of "you never know". When she went in the barn a couple of women were loading a very cool set of old metal school lockers in their truck. She poked around and found two other industrial racks that were a bright cobalt blue and neon yellow. They were much smaller and square in shape with only a couple of shelves left in both. She decided to call me and let me know. I ran over there in about 2 minutes and looked at the shelves. They weren't exactly what I wanted...however I looked behind a sheet that was hanging in the back and there was the rack I did purchase. The minute I saw it I knew it was perfect. Then I asked the seller the price and held my breathe. He hesitated and then told me $25.00 and my heart stopped...really. I ran to the bank, got the cash, went back and paid him and then went home to get my trailer.

All I did when I got it home was to scrub the surface rust off and dirt off the shelves and then I applied three coats of butchers wax to them to prevent rusting. The color was a perfect dirty "greige" and I was thrilled to be able to keep  it original.

I did neglect to mention that the man I bought the rack from had about 30 of them at one time from a closed down factory that he had been employed at. He said that this was the last one and he had sold the others to motorcycle enthusiasts who cut the bottoms off of the racks and used them for stands for their bikes and the top half for storage of parts.

The reason I got that $25 price was because the seller was not familiar with the latest decorating trends. When I told him I was going to use it for storage of my bowls and dishes he looked at me like I was nuts!

I DON"T THINK SO!

Her dining room harvest table was another steal - $100 at a Midwest flea market.   Carol said that it had been stored outside in the mud and the bottom 4" of the legs had rotted away. She removed the rotten wood and replaced it with the tops of wooden fence posts (a Home Depot purchase for $5 each)   She sanded down the painted green top to show off the original pine planked surface.

below is another one of Carol's incredible finds.  This magnificent crystal chandelier was a Brimfield flea market find that she painstakingly cleaned and rewired

  

her home is filled with treasures discovered during shopping trips to flea markets and yard sales

 

here are some creative ways that Carol used flea market finds throught her home

 I am always happy to see a beautiful and stylish home decorated on a budget.  That industrial $25 shelf in the dining room looks just as good - if not better then one that cost $500 to $1000.  Great discovery Carol, thank you for sharing!