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Finn & I haven’t made many “grown-up” furniture purchases since being married. In fact, 90% of our stuff is from college, passed down from family members, or thrifted. We’ve just never felt like it was worth it to fork over a bunch of money for pieces that might not work/fit in our eventual home.
But now it’s time for that to change, and we’re pretty darn excited to find pieces that we both love. And ones that aren’t totally beat up from years of wear and tear. The first item to go? This black dresser in our master bedroom.
You guys probably remember this piece from our old bedroom, when we gave it a more contemporary look with modern hardware. The hardware helped…a lot. But we were both not in love with this piece of furniture. And why keep something around that you don’t absolutely adore?
As Craigslist virgins, we decided it might be worth it to list the dresser online and see if anyone local would want to take it off our hands. I snapped a few photos, took some measurements, and Finn put it online one morning for $150. He was convinced that absolutely no one would buy it for $150…but I told him to give a whirl and we could always lower the price. What did we have to lose?
We got an email from someone in 1 hour (!), and he wanted to pick it up that night! Say what?! I’m pretty sure I gave Finn a big dose of “I told you so!” that night. 🙂
With our black dresser gone, it was time to find a replacement. Stat.
After Bridget found Maggie’s bedroom console from the Crate & Barrel Outlet, I knew that I wanted to check out that store to see if I too would have some luck. So my mom & I headed to Naperville one afternoon, ready to shop! If you live in the Chicagoland area, this is a store you must check out! They’re not giving things away…but the prices are drastically reduced. Some items have minimal damage, but nothing that you couldn’t fix or hide. We looked through all of the furniture and decor, but sadly no good dressers.
Just for fun we decided to go to the Land of Nod outlet (which is also owned by Crate & Barrel and is right next door). We expected to only find children’s items (which it mostly was), but there were also a few pieces of furniture that could easily work in an adult space.
That’s when I spotted this dresser. The quality wood, the mid-century inspired design, the size & walnut color…it was all spot on. I had to have it! Originally listed at $899…they were selling it for $400 because it had a few scratches and a couple of areas with minimal damage.
With $200 worth of Crate & Barrel gift cards leftover from wedding gifts, and the $150 from our Craigslist buyer, I only had to pay $50 out-of-pocket. Not bad for our first quality piece of bedroom furniture.
The only bad part about this dresser? It’s HEAVY! Holy moley…you should have seen Finn & I lugging this bad boy up the stairs and into our bedroom. Quite the workout and a definite test of our marriage. Nothing says teamwork like carrying an awkward piece of furniture up 2 flights of stairs with your honey. 
The dresser is the perfect size, holds lots of storage, and is a great area to show off our favorite accessories. 
I’m also thrilled because now we could hang our favorite piece of city art over the dresser. I was waiting until we found new furniture before I made any holes in the wall. So it was a relief to finally get something on our bare walls!
We’re both loving our high-quality furniture, at a low price and we think it’s the perfect jumping off point for the rest of the space.
Here’s what we still have left to tackle…
MASTER BEDROOM TO-DO LIST:
New, large rug- Replace nightstands with matching ones (not sure on color yet…)
- Hang art or mirror over the bed
- Change up a few of the bed pillows
- New bench that is more proportionate (you’re gonna love the one I chose!)
- Sell 1 dresser & instead do vanity/work desk area
- Add personality on nightstands/dresser with accessories
- Hang art & frames on walls
- Add window treatments
- Stain blades of wood fan to match floor color
Replace black dresser
Until we get to those other items on our master bedroom to-do list, I’m simply gonna stare at my new view and enjoy the one area of our new home that is looking good & put-together.
And to prove to myself just how far we’ve come…here’s how the space used to look.
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