We've had our new house since last November and decorating it has gone a little slower than I anticipated. I would have thought
DesignSponge would be knocking at my door by now but instead I got a city worker knocking on the door and telling me that our new waterline passed inspection.
Good news, I guess. I think part of the delay in decorating is just that we haven't had time and the other part is moving past the bad decisions the former owners made. It's an old house with lots of charm but the former owner made some recent upgrades that stripped some of the character away. And it seems kind of wasteful to redo something that was just done, so we are just getting settled a bit before we decide how to spend our retirement savings. I'm always on the look out for cool furniture though and sometimes in the excitement of the moment I buy something that is so freaking cool only to take it home and think 'what am I doing?'.
But I don't think that about this bench. I found it at a garage sale around the corner for $50. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I returned a couple hours later with $40. The owner said
I was a meanie for only having $40 with me. I acknowledged that statement. I meant business.
Sadly the original upholstery is in rough shape but the springs are good. I can strip it, paint it and then recover the cushioned areas. I can take the easy way out and repaint the frame black or white or... if I get my floors refinished to a flat black as I wish, then I can paint the frame pink or purple or lime green. Oh boy... so much choice!
And then because I am a
loving kitty mama/pushy stage mom/Dina Lohan, I forced Stella to sit pretty for me on my new acquisition. At first he wasn't so sure...
But then he settled down and posed like a champion.
It makes my cat love infested heart swell with pride to see him so handsome. It's easy to forget that when we met him, he was a street cat; covered in mats the size of fists, with his ear tips bleeding and detached from frostbite. We took him in about three years ago and he still repays us with plenty of affection and an occasional accident outside the litter box. And to see him now... he looks like like he's King of the World.
Or at least King of the New Garage Sale Find. Either way, he's King... even though I named him Stella by accident.
18 comments :
He couldn't have a cuter deformity! He looks like a little teddy bear!
He is sooo cute.
X x
Oh Stella! How is so handome!
I make my cat pose sometimes. But she is kinda rebellious and often refuses to cooperate. Such a diva! ;)
The bench is a fabulous find! It's very unique and has lots of character. Love it!!
That bench is amazeballs. I think its Scandinavian, its definitely mid to late Victorian (When furniture was so fugly it was cool). My inner textile historian is quietly appalled by your renovation schemes, but my inner decorator is a firm believer in making good antiques work for your life, instead of sequestering them away in museums and letting them gather dust. I'm excited to see what you make of it!
Also, cat. What a dreamboat.
OOh loving that bench and your hard wood floors. And of course, the furbaby ;-)
~ B.
What a fab bench you found. And good for you only paying $40 for it. Upholstery is no cheap thing so don't feel bad about low-balling the price:)
lots of attractiveness in this post! more than usual (har,har). that bench is AMAZING as is...but i cant wait to see what you do with it. Stella the boy cat looks so handsome and proud! what a cutie!
What a sweet story about Stella! I just love how you didn't change his name when you found out he was a he! :) I'm feeling the itch to decorate my own place, but I'm still in a temporary rental, so it's mostly just dreaming, no, let's call it planning, at this point! :)
GReat Bench,for sure. Good wheedling!
Ohhh Stella looks a lot like our Werner...except Werner was sable/chocolate brown, but same fur length, texture, same build and handsome kitty face. Werner was a tragic rescue too and the last years of his life were happy, thankfully. Stella is a lucky boy. :-)
Re: the bench, what Rose said, lol. With my fondness for very old, shabby things I'd probably use it as it is till the fabric totally fell apart and then finally re-do it, lol. The patterned velvet is fascinating...agree it looks Victorian. Wonderful find!!! Oh, and your floors are beautiful! My poor old former-rental home's hardwood is trashed. We're saving up to have it sanded and refinished....maybe cherry...mmm, wood!!!
Pretty bench, pretty cat! We once had a cat named Carlo who turned out to be a Carla.
In Italian, stella = star. And that's a boy name.
And the bench just screams out "potential".
I love your cat, and you for rescuing him!
awwww what a sweetie.
great rescue story and I love his survived-the-streets cropped ears.
a one of a kind cat!
Lol he does look like king of the world (and what a cutie might I add!) Love the couch, it's so cool :)
What a great find, and yes a lot of work by the sounds of things you intend to do in order to make this bench gorgeous again but I'm sure it will be worth it.
Thanks for the Stella pictures, he really owns that look....
Aww, he's gorgeous! And so fluffy!! I love hearing about people taking in cats who need homes. Both of my cats are rescues. However, only one allows me to dress her and pose for pictures.
like the bench it's kinda comfy.
ayumi
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