are you Craigslist chic?

Last weekend my mother-in-law said to me, "I saw something in the paper and it made me think of you...". I immediately thought the article was about letterpress printing. She handed me the Globe and Mail LifeStyle section and the headline read, "Craigslist Chic". I squealed and soaked up the accompanying photos.

If you don't know yet, I am a Craigslist hound. When my husband and I moved into our condo last year, I sought out 95% of our furniture on CL. This wasn't because I loved trolling on the site for hours - it was mainly out of necessity. Our budget was limited. That and I couldn't find what I wanted from price-friendly stores like Ikea. I've since had to stop my CL obsession because I can't fit anything else in here. Now I only have a CL desktop folder for the photos of treasures I find.

Here a few items that made it into our home last year.


This is blue cupboard was used in a little boy's room. He outgrew it so I took it off his parent's hands. I've left the colour as is, it gives quite the punch of colour in our pale grey bedroom.


I love the lines and curves of this antique drawer. The mirror was missing, so I just used one of my long mirrors and placed it behind the unit. I left the distressed paint as is; it was too charming to strip it away.

We needed a bedside table and this one fit the bill. A little wobbly, but you can't really tell since it's on carpet. Again, I left the original paint alone since it matches the antique drawers.

The Japanese one-person sofa is one my favorite finds. The previous owner was leaving the country and couldn't take it with her. I promised her I'd give it a good home. I gravitate towards pine furniture and couldn't pass up the TV console when I found it. I trekked to Richmond Hill for the second-hand green bookshelf. At $15, it was worth it.


I so had to have this 70's two-tiered table. It was in pretty rough condition when I picked it up so I gave it a face lift. I'm no professional, but some sanding and white spray paint made this easy peasy.

So how 'bout you? Are you CL savvy too?