Six Hundred American Dollars

Now that we've transitioned Luke from his crib to his toddler bed, I've been wanting to find some furniture for his room. Most of his clothes were stored in baskets under his changing table. That was fine when he was a baby and the clothes were little. But now that he is getting bigger, he really needed some kind of dresser or chest with drawers.

Then comes the dilemma. Do we purchase new furniture that he might bang up, scratch, or color on. After all, he is only two. Or do we try to find something cheap at IKEA that will work for a few years and then buy something else when he is a little older. What to do?

So I started searching craigslist. The area where we live is a very transitional area so people alwasy seem to be moving in our moving out or downsizing or leaving the country. So there are some good deals on craigslist but they go fast. Some stuff is either really old and ugly. Some stuff is cheaply made - particle board and veneers. Some stuff smells like smoke.

On Friday all of that changed. I found a queen bedroom set which included the headboard, footboard, nightstand, three drawer dresser and mini-armoire. It was Ethan Allen and it was about six years old. Nowadays most of Ethan Allen's stuff is made overseas and is that veneer/particle board stuff. But this stuff was made in the good ol' USA and was solid wood (pine, we think). Great condition. Very heavy. This would kill two birds with one stone in that it would provide a nice bed and nightstand for our guest room upstairs and it would provide storage for Luke's room.

The best part? They wanted $700 for it all. My negotiating husband offered $500 and they met in the middle at $600. I *hate* negotiating. He thrives on it. Of course, he reminded me as we pulled up to their 6000 sq. foot house that they probably don't really need the money.

The pictures don't do it justice. But I am so excited about it. It is hard to find nice looking furniture for boy rooms. This stuff will last for a long time. The wood is dark enough that if it does get scratched or colored on, it won't show. If it does show, we'll break out the brown Sharpie marker.

Of course, now with new furniture I think we need to paint Luke's room and get new bedding for the guest bedroom. Maybe I can convince Kevin since I just saved him so much money.

By the way, Luke is doing great in his toddler bed. He loves getting into it every night. Believe it or not, he stays there until we come get him. We tell him to call for us when he wakes up, but he just sits in his bed and plays with his animals until we come. Let's hope this trend continues.