Patience pays off

If you recall I got an office out of our big remodel. I had a vision for what I wanted for my desk. I wanted a Craftsman or Mission style desk. I also wanted a table to be able to work on my photography and scrapbooks, as well as have space to work when I work from home.

We drove down to historic Aurora, Oregon to look at all the antique stores to see if I could find something. I found a few…

We’ve looked at Craigslist and found a few that looked like this…

One “L” shaped with a matching two-drawer lateral file cabinet… too dark and not really what I was looking for…

One with hardware that matches other furniture, but still not quite what I wanted…

Another “L” Shaped in light oak that was from Office Depot… which the seller claimed they paid $900 and wanted $300…

Another “L” Shaped in darker oak and a place to hide the printer, but had a place for a “tower” computer and I have a laptop, but they claimed that they paid $1,096 and wanted $800. Really spendy and I wanted to see it to see if it was a “sound piece of furniture”.

I really liked the last one, but it was hard to connect with the sellers (NOTE to Craigslist sellers… put a phone number in your ad if you really want to sell something).

I was getting frustrated with the sellers and then I received an email from Hubby with the link to an “Craftsman Style Executive Desk” at an Eastside consignment store. But then when I read the link provided showed it retailed for nearly $3,000! I choked. Then I looked at how much they wanted… not too bad… but still more than I had planned on spending, so it had to be perfect.

Well… as the title eludes… patience pays off. After nearly nine months of waiting… Not only was it solid oak, it was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and a very sound desk… It was PERFECT, save for a tiny dimple! (until the idiot movers delivered it – they scratched it!! It has been repaired, but I’ll be posting a separate post about that – naming names and ripping them!)

Now, back to my new desk… As you can see the style matches our kitchen and bathroom cabinets…

It has TWO keyboard trays… and TWO sets of three drawers (two short and two legal size)…

Something else I really Really REALLY love is that my pen/pencil holder matches the desk. Grandma B gave it to me a few years before she died. I cried when Grandma gave it me. It’s not terribly fancy, but it is the only thing I have from my late Grandpa B (who we lost way too early in 1979). I remember him making them… Again, it’s perfect. I feel Grandpa with me. the photo doesn’t show it too well, but the stain is actually really close. 😀

Since I’m showing off my new desk you can see from three of the above photos I have an “purplish” light switch… well, it’s not paint… it’s my FAVORITE painting in the world… Monet’s Waterlillies… I found it while we were on vacation was thrilled. The Offspring thought I was nuts… nope! Just a Waterlillies fan!

Again… it’s the perfect touch… Now I need to get my Waterlillies print hanging! 😉

Have you ever scored really well on a Craigslist purchase?