Monroe Makeshift: Hello Handsome

A few weeks ago I welcomed a new man into my home. Nope, not my husband. This handsome piece of wood:

So how did we meet? I actually picked him up off the street. A street that happened to be right next to one of my favorite salvage shop. I hate to give out my secret, but since they get new items in stock daily, I suppose I can tell you all that Hammond Salvage is a great place to find used and vintage anything. This place is stuffed full of furniture, accessories, jewelry, dishes, fabric, art and frames, lamps, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Back to my story. When I pulled up outside the store that evening, I immediately spotted a fantastic mid-century modern style dresser on the sidewalk outside. It looked sturdy and only had a few nicks and scratches. All of the drawers worked wonderfully, and it was exactly the size we needed. It didn't have a price tag though, so I figured it must be pricey. Similar dressers I found on Craigslist were $200-$300. For example:

$365 on Craigslist

$345 on Craigslist

$295 on Craigslist

Expecting my dresser to be priced that high, I moved on and worked my way through the rest of the store. I looked at other dressers, fabric for curtains, and lamps. I still couldn't get my mind off that dresser though. On my way out, I decided to ask the owner how much she wanted for it. Drumroll please?

It was only $45! Sold! Well not exactly. Being the married woman that I am I had to text a picture to husband who was at work. Then convince him to go look at it even though it wasn't love at first sight. (What do you mean you don't want this fresh fella in our home!?) Then remind him that it was everything we ever wanted and more, and that we'll figure out a way to get it home. Then promise him I'd clean the shoe brushes and old man underwear out of the drawers before we brought it in the house. (I only wish I was kidding. I also wish I had a picture. Hilarious.) He reluctantly approved and this baby was ours.

My parents took my dad's truck to pick it up the next evening and we spent the next day cleaning it out (very thoroughly!) and stocking it full of our DVD's and Wii games. I love that it fits our space so perfectly, that the drawers seem to be make for DVD cases, that there's a special drawer with dividers that we can use for "junk drawer" type stuff, and that I can get under it with a vacuum I love the gold detailing, and the waved drawers are growing on me. The TV viewing height is just right and I can still hang a couple pictures above it. We also found out that it's made of solid walnut. Bonus!