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217 Comments

  1. Karen
    April 9, 2013 @ 10:20 am

    WOW…what an amazing find!! Love were you put it too! I’ll see if I can get my act together and share one of my finds.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 12:36 pm

      Right??? BEST FIND EVER. If there were a prize, I’d win for sure…
      Link up those spoons I was just admiring… no need to be too literal with it being the best ever…

      Reply

      • Linda
        June 27, 2013 @ 1:27 pm

        Victoria, Love, love, love what you do, I think we may be long ago separated twins!!! oK, loving the Downton Abby portal and would love to see you paint it white to match your room trim! Yezzzhir, that would be another built in!

        Reply

        • Janice
          August 1, 2013 @ 8:52 am

          Paint it white?????? NO, VICTORIA!! Don’t do it!

          Reply

          • Deb
            December 19, 2016 @ 5:08 pm

            Agree!! Love painted pieces, but NEVER this one (two/three? Lol)

            Reply

          • Deb
            December 19, 2016 @ 5:29 pm

            Agree!! Love painted pieces, but NEVER paint this one (two/three? Lol)

            Reply

        • Dirinda Lacen
          January 9, 2017 @ 10:47 pm

          PAINT IT??!!! Not on your life! It is perfect just the way it is!

          Reply

  2. Jessica@CapeofDreams
    April 9, 2013 @ 10:29 am

    Wow Victoria, that is incredible!!!!! I love it.

    My great find is my collection of African woven baskets. Slightly underwhelming considering your score, but I love them. Here is the picture of them hanging in my dining room. http://capeofdreams.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/dsc01874.jpg

    And here is my blog post about how I came about collecting them.
    https://capeofdreams.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/basket-case/

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 12:39 pm

      I can still smell those baskets… and your story is way better than mine… I only traveled a few miles, not all the way across the globe!

      P.S.– You should also link up above!! So that readers see a thumbnail image of your post!!

      Reply

  3. Tina
    April 9, 2013 @ 10:29 am

    OMG that is amazing! Insane can’t believe you found it once-in-a-lifetime amazing. Plus it looks perfect there.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 12:41 pm

      I know, RIGHT?! I’m thinking about sleeping in there… uncomfortable, sure… but so glamorous!!

      Reply

  4. Sandi
    April 9, 2013 @ 10:57 am

    So. You’re going to hate me. But.

    I saw your awesome Downton Narnia Portal and swooned…..

    …over the center section. Yes, yes I did. LOL So I watch y’all dismantle it and remantle it (why not?) and LOVE what you did with it!!!!

    And I’m all…wait! Where’s the way cool sink?????

    So now I’m mopey. But VERY happy for you.

    Yes, I’m blogistically demented. This will come as no surprise.

    It’s beautiful. 🙂 Congratulations!!!

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 12:52 pm

      I really think I am JUST as pleased with my Narnia photoshop as I am with the actual wardrobe… when I showed Paul, I pretty much was falling over laughing… and he was like—yes. Funny… and I was like—not funny! The FUNNIEST thing EVER.

      The sink IS awesome… but Paul was resistant to the idea of actually blocking off windows in the name of furniture. So strange, he is…

      Reply

  5. Heidi S.
    April 9, 2013 @ 10:59 am

    Wow that is REALLY a good find (and a great price)! And the condition is AMAZING! Good thing it wouldn’t fit in my house, or I might have had to fight your for it. hahaha…Of course I am to lazy to scope Craigslist and your husband is much more understanding than mine is! He would have made me do it myself, which if given the opportunity I would.
    I posted up my dumpster diving story (alas without pictures).

    I can’t wait to read everyone elses tales of interesting finds!

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 4:58 pm

      To Paul’s credit, he didn’t even bother to try to talk me out of it. Kind of surprising since we really had no idea if it would fit anywhere at all… he did say no more Craigslist, for a while… like it’s the casino or something and he’s taking away my tokens.

      Reply

  6. Garden, Home and Party
    April 9, 2013 @ 11:12 am

    Victoria,
    That piece is beyond beautiful, and the bargain price? you are a craigslist genius…and probably the most patient person (where sifting through all their stuff listed, is concerned) I’ve ever met. Okay, I know you don’t want to damage the piece in any way but the piece is so similar to the kitchen you love I believe you will upset the balance of the space time continuum if you don’t modify it and place it in the kitchen. Coincidence? It appeared only days after your post about the kitchen, I think not! Meanwhile, the picture you’ve shared does show it off well, even if you only have 5 square feet of living space left after situating it in the living room.

    Thanks for the kind words, right back at you! Oh, and I was almost (almost) embarrassed by my paltry “finds” after reading your post but I’ve linked anyway. 😀
    xo,
    Karen

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 5:05 pm

      Strangely, just HAVING it is satisfying my need for fancy kitchen stuff. Like, it doesn’t actually matter what I do with it… I’m pretty sure that is the definition of hoarding, right there.

      Plus, if we DON’T put it in the kitchen, we can take it with us when we move… if we make it work, I will NEVER leave this house!!

      On the other hand, the kitchen? With this in it? Would be CRAZY awesome.

      Reply

  7. Martha
    April 9, 2013 @ 11:17 am

    That is an amazing find! It’s gorgeous. Is this its permanent location, or are you still hoping to find a way to fit it into the kitchen? Can’t you move a wall or something? 😉

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 1:02 pm

      I’m cracking up—those were my EXACT words to Paul: can’t we move the wall?

      He looked at me… and was like, it holds up the center of the house… COULD we move it? Yes… Do you have ANY idea how much work that would be? No…

      It’s bizarre, how closely it matches what I wanted… and I’ve kind of gone back and forth on cutting it down, but I really don’t think that I’ll be able to do it… I just love it too much!!

      Reply

      • Laurel
        April 9, 2013 @ 1:08 pm

        I’d cut it… It is gorgeous and perfect, but wouldn’t you love to look at and use it every day just like in Pilar’s kitchen? And wouldn’t it make the whole room magical?

        Reply

        • Kim
          April 9, 2013 @ 2:06 pm

          Why not leave it where it is and make that room the kitchen and the kitchen into a sitting room? You could just make the window smaller so the sink fits underneath. Easy, right?

          Tell your husband that I’m full of simple solutions like this.

          Reply

          • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
            April 9, 2013 @ 5:20 pm

            Kim, I’m cracking up… Paul says he has access to ALL the simple solutions he can handle… but the true beauty of the internet is getting ideas you never even considered—like moving the entire kitchen… which is now something I’m actually going to run by Paul… not even because of the cabinet, but because it’s an idea for our wacky kitchen that we hadn’t even considered.

            Reply

            • jen
              April 10, 2013 @ 11:59 am

              I showed this to my husband and he said the same thing – if they don’t like the kitchen where it is, just move it to the sitting room and work the wardrobe in. You should totally do it! I mean, if Paul feels like moving all the plumbing, etc…
              Personally, I think this would make your kitchen BETTER than Pilar’s.

          • Tracey
            April 9, 2013 @ 8:15 pm

            I agree with Kim, something about mountains and moving them – well this piece is exactly what you were looking for – maybe worth considering re-purposing the living room! Always think laterally.
            My favourite find was a surprise discovery of life drawings from the 1920’s hidden in Uncle Rupert’s shed. No one in the family knew he drew nudes or studied art formally at one of the best art schools in Australia. So when Aunty Jess handed me a roll of really old paper I almost threw it away, but decided to have a quick look and there before me was this gorgeous 1920’s female nude, elegantly posed. Aunty Jess was quite the prude so we thought it likely she knew about the drawings but didn’t want to acknowledge them publicly. In all we discovered 35 full size life drawings and dozens of studies. Uncle Rupert’s shed was an absolute treasure trove, we still have most things (although we did have to leave his etching press behind – way too heavy even for the truck we had) – but I do still have the book binder’s press and etchings and his easel and wooden paint box – the list is endless but we treasure everything we were lucky enough to find. I’ll take a couple of pics see how I go with uploading them.

            Reply

            • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
              April 10, 2013 @ 12:00 pm

              I LOVE your story! Especially the detail about some being life-sized… That’s amazing! Any chance your Aunt was secretly his not-so-prudish art model?

              Amazing too is how you think you know someone, and they turn out to have an entire passion no one even knew about! Do you display any of them? I mean, maybe not the full-size ones, but something on a smaller scale?

              p.s.- I was awake in the middle of the night… mulling over moving the kitchen. I think I need to have an actual presentation before suggesting it to Paul.

        • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
          April 9, 2013 @ 5:17 pm

          Laurel,
          It would make the whole room TOTALLY magical. No joke. We did talk about cutting it… it makes sense in a lot of ways: it solves the kitchen design issue, AND is WAAAYYY cheaper than buying actual cabinets. Plus, the refrigerator would JUST fit in the now-empty sink area.

          Reply

          • Laurel
            April 9, 2013 @ 5:35 pm

            How much/what part would need “trimming?” It’s so neat, it would be a shame not to see it used in such a perfect setting.

            Reply

            • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
              April 9, 2013 @ 5:49 pm

              Eight inches off each side (about) but part of those inches is the very top of it which is carved all the way around the edge…really decorative, and we’d lose the whole side of it…

              Also, there is still that window in the corner, which I am just ignoring, but Paul so annoyingly keeps pointing out as not something we should block.

              The real solution here is to find another one just like it so I can feel like I have one to spare, and one to hack into.

      • Heather M
        August 19, 2013 @ 6:36 am

        Don’t cut it down. That is like sacrilege. It is absolutely gorgeous. Love the story and what you did with it. Can you re-purpose the sink into some thing or use it somewhere?
        I admit I am jealous of your house. Totally love what you are doing. There was this monstrosity of a house we looked at once upon a time that called my heart but just couldn’t pull it off. Some one else ended up buying it and making the outside beautiful but I want to know what they did INSIDE.

        Reply

  8. Carrie
    April 9, 2013 @ 12:44 pm

    Now I want one! A portal to Downton Abbey? Sign me up! {amazing piece with an even better story, I’m so happy that gorgeous piece gets to live another day!}

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 6:13 pm

      Thanks!! Just having it is hugely satisfying… like I won a prize. A giant, unwieldy kind of useless, but totally awesome prize!

      Reply

      • Laurel
        April 10, 2013 @ 11:38 am

        Could you just leave one of the sections off and use it somewhere else in the kitchen?

        Reply

  9. Laurel
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:03 pm

    Bahahahahaha…. YES. I actually had to convince a coworker to help me carry a dresser(just a week after abdominal surgery where I was not supposed to lift anything) from Craigslist because my husband refused to help me bring something new into the house before getting rid of at least one of the existing “spare” dressers we had sitting around. But it was an amazing deal on a highly collectible mid century piece and it came with a matching mirror.

    I am certain my husband is less understanding and willing than yours though.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 5:52 pm

      It’s entirely likely that I am just WAY more annoying than you are, and therefore harder to say no to.

      I seem friendly, but I can be relentless in the pursuit of some item that I “need.”

      Reply

  10. D'Arcy H
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:04 pm

    OMG, Victoria, I can’t believe you got this for $300!!! Did I read that right? As a lover of Eastlake furniture (I have lots from my family, but NONE this spectacular), I’m so happy for you. And impressed that you got it apart, put it back together, and wrote a blog post all within a week! Kudos to Paul … I hope he realizes now how awesome and worth the effort it is! I am looking around my house to see where my portal to Downton Abbey is … but I haven’t found it yet.

    I’m not sure I did the link-up right … but here’s the whole post enchilada.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 9, 2013 @ 6:05 pm

      Right? Right? I KNOW!!! It’s LITERALLY unbelievable. I look at it, and I’m like—am I imagining that’s IN my house??

      Everything else now looks totally out of place and sad… including the house… but whatever. I can wear my tiara comfortably in the same room and not feel at all ridiculous.

      Reply

      • D'Arcy H
        April 9, 2013 @ 8:57 pm

        I forgot to mention the sink. You are going to use THAT in the kitchen … or someplace … aren’t you? It would make such a cool auxilliary sink. Or even a dry sink. Too cool to not feature in a special place!

        Reply

        • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
          April 10, 2013 @ 12:08 pm

          I love it too… Brian says it’s called Tennessee marble, and is most likely actually from TN given the age… it’s just a matter of figuring out how to configure a piece of furniture that is larger than our house!!!

          Reply

  11. Danielle
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:21 pm

    Oh my goodness… I am literally wiping tears out of my eyes from laughing so hard. If we lived near each other I would’ve totally been like “I have the keys, let’s go!”. That piece is gorgeous with a capital GORG and a total steal.

    I read this to Tyson over coffee and when I got to the part about the built-in wall and Paul being “sure this was the wife’s idea… and that she and I would have gotten along just fine.” he started rolling. He knows Paul’s plight ALL TOO WELL.

    You are hysterical, my friend! Beautiful find with an amazing story.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 12:17 pm

      Hey fellow party-giver… I’d ask to borrow ice, but I hear you ran out…

      I’m pretty sure that I can just stop looking on Craigslist now, because I think this was my entire supply of universe-bestowed treasure ever coming my way.

      Reply

  12. Tonya
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:29 pm

    Holy moley batman. That is amazing, wonderful, awesome, gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, lovely and I am glad I didn’t have to move it:) Sounds like your husband deserves “free for whatever coupons” for the next year. 🙂

    Any creative project in store for the center section?

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 12:19 pm

      You’re so right… he totally deserves coupons. Although what he’d ACTUALLY like is for me to just stop looking on Craigslist ever again! And that’s the one coupon I’m not handing out. 🙂

      The center section hasn’t spoken to me yet… I assume it will eventually… and that it will require Paul to do something he doesn’t want to.

      Reply

    • Nada
      March 15, 2016 @ 11:51 pm

      I did not lough so hard in a long time. What a great piece that Narnia of yours and even better sence of humor.

      Reply

  13. Stacey
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:36 pm

    Hey Victoria! This must be the find that involved the U-HAUL you were telling me about. HOW IN THE WORLD did you keep this a secret from us? It’s AMAZING!
    I admire your determination more than you know. I also MUST give Paul a round of applause for evening attempting to get this piece for you. I’m quite certain that Richie would laugh at me and say “TOO BAD, WOMAN! I didn’t sign up for this”! HA HA!

    It does look great in your house but I’m sorry it didn’t work out in the kitchen. I know you had big dreams. You really did get a great price so it was indeed “a great find” and totally worth it. Congrats.
    P.S. Great Party! My glass is empty… I need a refill.

    Reply

    • stacey
      April 9, 2013 @ 1:47 pm

      HA HA…. I meant… a round of applause for EVEN attempting. And … have a lovely EVENING! 🙂

      Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 12:23 pm

      Yes! This is totally it!! It lived in the garage for a while which made me sad… but we’ve been so busy with non-house stuff that literally finding the time to deal with it took this long.

      I’m exhausted from my own party… I left early and abandoned my guests… now am wading back into the mosh pit.

      Reply

  14. Vanessa (@IsleStyleLiving)
    April 9, 2013 @ 1:59 pm

    AMAZING.

    Simply AMAZING.

    Clearly you’ve discovered not one, but TWO portals to the most magical places in the land.

    All I find on Craigslist is beat up coffee tables.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 12:52 pm

      Laughing… yes, I’ve waded through my share of beat-up coffee tables too… that and really ugly sofas.

      Reply

  15. Annie
    April 9, 2013 @ 2:01 pm

    I SO enjoyed this post. I feel like you can somehow make that fit in your kitchen. Somehow. Can’t you build your kitchen AROUND the cabinets??

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 1:20 pm

      Laughing… I know, right? Walls and rooms should be forced to reconfigure themselves in service to a greater design.

      Reply

  16. Darling Lily
    April 9, 2013 @ 2:10 pm

    I am speechless. (Not a thing to take lightly, as all who know me would tell you!)

    It is soooooo incredibly gorgeous and perfect!!! I mean, seriously here, a dream come true. The power of positive thinking!!

    And best of all, Paul can sit and stare and ponder and figure out how to recreate one for the kitchen.

    Because we both know he totally can.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 1:22 pm

      Yes! Now that he can see this one up close, he can figure out how to build a slightly smaller version for the kitchen!!! I’m going to tell him that the universe sent it just for HIM… not for me!!

      p.s.- I too was speechless… also totally unusual, for me.

      Reply

  17. Jen
    April 9, 2013 @ 4:10 pm

    So, here I am – green with envy – because the piece you just found for $300? I’m trying to get something similar size constructed for our master bedroom (though far less grand and in the arts & crafts simplistic style) and the quote he just came back with is $3500. Oof.
    Here’s my post on favorite finds – I have way too many to select one, so I did a selection of seating choices. 🙂
    http://jenfromtheblock.com/2013/04/09/favorite-finds/

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 11:44 am

      Hey!! I’m still thinking about that Victorian chair you gave back!! If you haunt CL long enough, you’d probably find some kind of closet for your MB… although, surely not in the timeframe you’d like!

      P.S.— If you’re so inclined… link up, above… the thumbnail image at the end of my post will get more views than down here…

      Reply

  18. Alex
    April 9, 2013 @ 5:36 pm

    Ok I CANNOT believe your husband. He has the patience of a saint. That is an unreal find! And the magic fairy dust…touche!

    And I am going to STRANGLE my computer. Apparently my old blog entries do not have proper backlinks to the entry that I want to add to the Link Up and I can’t link it up!

    Here it is: http://www.northstory.ca/?p=277 – The $49 MCM Credenza.

    Just in case you know how to fix this. B/C I totally cannot.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 1:27 pm

      More than a few people were either confused, or kicked out of the inlinkz thing… and now I wish I hadn’t specified any requirements for type of link post vs blog home… but I’m afraid to change it, even though it says you can alter it while in progress… since Danielle had about 17 issues with her linkup not working at all, on and off!!

      Reply

  19. Jim
    April 9, 2013 @ 5:59 pm

    I was smiling at this by the end of the first paragraph, by the second I had to stop because I was laughing so hard. As it went on I thought, no, I feel for this guy, hopelessly outgunned by a cupboard and needing now to “improvise adapt and overcome” (Clint in Heartbreak Ridge. Like what I did there?). Now I feel I should refer you back to my previous comment about expectation management.

    Having said all that, it’s one hell of a lump of furniture, and once you figure out what to do with it, it will be a wonderful tool-store in Paul’s shed.
    😀

    Jim

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 4:57 pm

      I think here is a case of ME managing HIS expectations… or defeating them…or crushing them… or something unpleasant and taking twelve times longer than he thought.

      The photo where his back is covered in dirt is both hysterical, and SO, so, so not funny because he was genuinely like—I CANNOT believe I am doing this for something we do not in anyway NEED.

      Reply

  20. Sue
    April 9, 2013 @ 6:11 pm

    Hi again. I am stalking you as my new favorite blog. I agree with one of the above commenters that this is no coincidence happening. If you built it, he will come, or something like that has happened and someday you and Paul will figure out how to put this into the kitchen as it is so similar to what you just posted about. The masters at the round table got together and decided to give you a gift. I don’t have a blog post about a favorite find to link up or I would. A funky find I had a few years ago when my Dad died is his boxes and boxes of coins he collected, and tons of leather backed Easton Press books that I was selling on ebay for awhile and have often thought to post via Craigslist (locals only cuz I don’t want to pay shipping anymore). This was the most wonderful post I have ever read or seen. and you have stolen my heart.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      April 10, 2013 @ 5:55 pm

      Well… I’d say definitely put the books/coins on CL… as you can see, I’m Craig’s biggest fan!!

      Even if the wardrobe never makes it to the kitchen, I’ll still love it. At night I sing it to sleep and stroke its side…

      Love your Junebug post!! Such an underappreciated movie!

      Reply

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